Just received a 3DR Solo for free from a friend and need some help

MrRags · Dec 2, 2023

CharlieKeck said:
I'll be lurking here in an hour or so: Saturday Honey Do List awaits, plus gotta test fly this guys Solo that just got updated and calibrated.

Ok well hit me up when you have some time today to walk me through the ssh upgrade. Can’t wait to get this thing going. I am gonna go out today and search for a used tablet that will work with Solex bi can’t find a list of them on here so I’m gonna hope I get lucky

GFields · Dec 2, 2023

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

CharlieKeck · Dec 2, 2023

GFields said:
Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

Good to see you have been diagnosed with a disease, spread by old Solo drones.
---
OK, for a direct SSH update:
- download WINSCP This allows modification of the Linux file system on a PC. It also contains a package called PUTTY, which allows the Windows user to log
into a Linux system. (Looking forward, after getting into the Linux on the
Solo, the user is root and the password is TjSDBkAu .

The direct SSH method wants a more current OLD version of the Cube software. So, the preliminary step is to update the Cube individually before applying the new files.
TO BE CONTINUED, Stand by

MrRags · Dec 2, 2023

CharlieKeck said:
Good to see you have been diagnosed with a disease, spread by old Solo drones.
---
OK, for a direct SSH update:
- download WINSCP This allows modification of the Linux file system on a PC. It also contains a package called PUTTY, which allows the Windows user to log
into a Linux system. (Looking forward, after getting into the Linux on the
Solo, the user is root and the password is TjSDBkAu .

The direct SSH method wants a more current OLD version of the Cube software. So, the preliminary step is to update the Cube individually before applying the new files.
TO BE CONTINUED, Stand by

Ok I am finally back from Christmas shopping

. I will start booting stuff up and getting it ready for upgrade soon. A couple of questions for you.

1. About how long should I expect it to take to upgrade? So I know whether it’s hung up or working.

2. What would you recommend I get online and purchase as far as a tablet or something with a fairly big screen and that will work fine with the Solex app.

CharlieKeck · Dec 2, 2023

...continuation.
To update the Cube, you need the correct version of Arducopter. It is attached in the previous post, but CHANGE the extension to .apj .

Then, grab the files from here: Install via SSH

Launch WINSCP. I set the Windows directory on the left, and the Linux system on the Remote (right side).

You will need PUTTY to actually issue Linux commands. It is embedded within WINSCP, to activate it hit the icon circled in red, on the attached screen shot.

Go here: ArduCopter Firmware

Scroll all the way down to the bottom of:

Install Via SCP/SFTP Application

Start at step 2, as the .apj file is the one you want.
Once done, back to Install via SSH
and follow the instructions.

Note that the controller update takes 5 minutes, screen doesn't lie. Wait it out, then it'll ask you to repair to Solo.

Let me know!

CharlieKeck · Dec 2, 2023

MrRags said:
Ok I am finally back from Christmas shopping . I will start booting stuff up and getting it ready for upgrade soon. A couple of questions for you.

1. About how long should I expect it to take to upgrade? So I know whether it’s hung up or working.

2. What would you recommend I get online and purchase as far as a tablet or something with a fairly big screen and that will work fine with the Solex app.

The Solo upgrade goes fast. The controller can take five minutes, it may go dark and disable the buttons but it'll be back. Wait it out, see my most recent post.

I'm not a tablet head - someone here will have some advice, hopefully. I have an old Nexus 7 that I used for an IRIS+ drone yrs. ago, but it won't run SOLEX...

Before starting, make sure both Solo & controller are charged up...a power failure during the update would be NG.

CharlieKeck · Dec 2, 2023

Starting cold, give yourself two uninterruptable hours. It's not a task you can rush and there's no need to rush...it's step by step.

It'll take you a bit of time to get WINSCP set the way you want. I forgot to mention, in WINSCP you can literally drag and drop files from local to remote file systems. Pretty painless.

MrRags · Dec 2, 2023

man your scaring me LOL. SO you said to be continued on your earlier post. Does that mean you had more instructions? I have never done SSH stuff before so I'm not 100% comfortable doing this at all but will hope for the best.