Is Anyone flying their Solo with Stock GPS? Poll

Stock GPS

  • Flying your Solo with stock GPS (Rev a or b)

    Votes: 42 63.6%
  • Aftermarket and which one?

    Votes: 24 36.4%

  • Total voters
    66
Two solos which both came with REV B. Both swapped out with BN-800's bought from Banggood for < $18. Way more satellites (20+), better HDOP (0.5-0.6), and faster lockup times. Using custom 3D printed bracket of my own design. (see signature line)

UPDATE: Both BN-800's have now received Taoglas antenna upgrades which cost just $5. Also installed true EMI absorber. They now receive more satellites even faster than before. This is the best patch antenna to use on the M8N for both GPS and Glonass.
 
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Spend the 80 bucks. Easily get 20+ satellites in no time. GPS issues not even a consideration. Spend more time flying and using all its features.
I have got 2 Rev B's and 1 Rev A just sitting in box.
 
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The stock one failed me a lot 7 satellites at best upgrade to the MRO and the 3DR shield best investment I have made I fly every time knowing I won't have issues
 
Spend the 80 bucks. Easily get 20+ satellites in no time. GPS issues not even a consideration. Spend more time flying and using all its features.
I have got 2 Rev B's and 1 Rev A just sitting in box.
How much do you want for that RevA?
 
My first Solo had Rev A. Upgraded it to MRO pretty quickly, and also ordered and added the shield. Rev A worked ok, but I wanted the peace of mind (and cheap insurance) that both brought.
Bought my spare Solo/backpack/gimbal during the big sales, then bought another MRO and shield. All THAT stuff sits in a corner of my closet. The new Solo (which I software uprev'ed test flew before putting it back in th box) does have a Rev B, according to the box label, but the MRP and shield are still unopened and sitting there.
So yeah, I like that new GPS. Peace of mind is cheaper than replacing the whole thing...
 
My first Solo had Rev A. Upgraded it to MRO pretty quickly, and also ordered and added the shield. Rev A worked ok, but I wanted the peace of mind (and cheap insurance) that both brought.
Bought my spare Solo/backpack/gimbal during the big sales, then bought another MRO and shield. All THAT stuff sits in a corner of my closet. The new Solo (which I software uprev'ed test flew before putting it back in th box) does have a Rev B, according to the box label, but the MRP and shield are still unopened and sitting there.
So yeah, I like that new GPS. Peace of mind is cheaper than replacing the whole thing...
What on the box tells you if it's a Rev a or b?
 
Long time watcher first time poster...I think. Anyway, I bought 2 solo's during the big sales push and did the GPS replacement on 1. Mainly this was because of the wait times for GPS lock. I want to believe its version A.
Happy with the Solo!
 
Well, I was all ready to cast my vote in the poll but the 3dr god's were not with me yesterday as I opened my NIB backpack bundle (See other thread https://3drpilots.com/threads/new-in-box-solo-connected-then-not-so-much.11492/#post-119781). In any event before it bricked itself (my term for not being able to pair and or fact re-set) I was able to get a few sat locks.

Question about how sensitive the Solo is to sat locking? I'm used to dji where I get 12 to 20+ and am able to lock in my palm (Spark) and then move the drone while maintaining gps lock. I can do the same with my P4P, MP etc... I noticed yesterday with my Solo that once locked - best I got was 8 sat's that if I moved it an inch, or picked it up I would loose all sat's and have to reset? Is this normal behavior for Solo or are folks able to lock then move?
 
Best to upgrade GPS board. Issue then over. There are a mods on this forum that will help but replacing it is best.

Sent from my SM-N900V using 3DRPilots Drone Forum mobile app
Yeah - I have heard that but surprising as it may seem this poll shows that 60% of folks (who have taken the poll that is) are flying stock and for the most part not having any issues. I'm cool with arming it and not touching it if that's what others are doing due to stock GPS but again more of a curiosity question as to folks who are flying stock what order of operations do you follow for a successful flight.
 
Yeah - I have heard that but surprising as it may seem this poll shows that 60% of folks (who have taken the poll that is) are flying stock and for the most part not having any issues. I'm cool with arming it and not touching it if that's what others are doing due to stock GPS but again more of a curiosity question as to folks who are flying stock what order of operations do you follow for a successful flight.
2.5k acres mapped on two Solos with RevA. Only changes to the GPS were putting the V2 Shield and the OEM shield stacked together in the GPS bay, a firmware update to the RevA Neo7n to get it to v1.01 and some parameter tweaks on the Neo7n to get a more accurate fix.

Once it's locked, you can move it fine without losing lock, though turning it upside down or otherwise obstructing the GPS bay can lead to a momentary drop. Once it's up at altitude, I've never had an issue with it (typically 0.7 < HDOP < 1.0 ).
 
2.5k acres mapped on two Solos with RevA. Only changes to the GPS were putting the V2 Shield and the OEM shield stacked together in the GPS bay, a firmware update to the RevA Neo7n to get it to v1.01 and some parameter tweaks on the Neo7n to get a more accurate fix.

Once it's locked, you can move it fine without losing lock, though turning it upside down or otherwise obstructing the GPS bay can lead to a momentary drop. Once it's up at altitude, I've never had an issue with it (typically 0.7 < HDOP < 1.0 ).
That's good to hear,, especially since my nib solo backpack bundle which I believe had a Rev b turned out to be a dud in more ways than one. My new solo solo due in a day or two may well be an a and I'd like to get it in the air stock.
 
That's good to hear,, especially since my nib solo backpack bundle which I believe had a Rev b turned out to be a dud in more ways than one. My new solo solo due in a day or two may well be an a and I'd like to get it in the air stock.

I've flown my two rev b solos for about 6 months and have never had a gps incident. I setup the same way, unpack everything from my solo box, set the box top on level ground, place solo on the box top, power up solo, controller, then tablet, then put the props on. I always get a ready to fly before the props are on, I then connect my tablet to solo, and usually have 12 satellites, check that the GoPro 4 black has powered up and then start camera recording. I don't move solo in doing this.
Prior to solo I learned moving my cx20 prior satellite locks can cause problems.
 
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I bought two SOLOs for Christmas 2016 ... well I bought one and loved it so much I bought another in January from BestBuy ... both came with a gimbal and extra battery for 299. I still haven't opened the second one because the first one has performed flawlessly ... I have no idea what revision board it has in it, but I love it and hopefully the second one I bought has the same board. Not sure this helps any, but my stock SOLO works great. I'm holding off on opening the other one I guess, since I haven't needed to. Now I guess I want to go take the top off and see what color it is? Or should I not?
 
My solo purchased in Dec 16 had revA, no problem out here in rural aust on my 40 acres. Only getting 8 satellites with revA. Updated to revB this week and the new shield and now get 14 satellites. Maybe in a city area it might make a difference but had no trouble with revA, changed to revB as a precaution.
 
I got fed up waiting 3 to 5 mins for 8 sats or less using a Rev a. Some days I couldnt even get a sat lock at all. So I did the mro upgrade on all 3 birds with the Rev 2 shield. Now get 12 to 19 sats in under 1 minute. Well worth upgrading imho.

Irish,
I'm a rookie in the upgrading and tinkering wrealm, I have 3 of these and love them. One was new the second a refurb or return does not remember, and the 3rd was a parts bird I call number 3 that wouldn't start or run until I bought a new board off eBay and it runs great now. I do see it takes a good while to acquire enough satellites to turn white and clear to fly. Can you explain the the mods you did to improve the signal and where you found the parts. Thanks
 

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