This is one of those share their knowledge, or at least my experience posts.
I was an early adopter of Solo and it's still my favorite drone. With North of 500 flights on Solo 1 it was time to give it a break so out came Solo 2. I got Solo 2 and 3 from Best Buy during the $299 sale what a deal.
I spent this week fitting Solo 2 with the Green Cube, mRo GPS unit and Open Solo. I'll share my experience in case it may help someone else out.
First I unpacked Solo 2 and went to update it which was a pita. I paired Solo to the controller and the update went fine right up to the point the controller rebooted then it would get stuck in waiting for Solo. I remember having a similar problem back in 2015 but I couldn't get past this point with Solo 2. I tried everything including several factory resets but what finally worked was I removed the SD card off the Solo main board installed it in my PC and read it. Windows said the SD card needed repair so I let it repair it. I put it back into Solo and the update worked the first time.
Next I uploaded the required Open Solo files with the stock flight controller using Solex and that went smooth. I installed the Green Cube which was pretty easy. Then I uploaded the remaining files and parameters which went smooth also.
Problem number two. With open Solo loaded I turned on the controller and Solo and got a compass calibration error which really meant I had to calibrate the compass. Try as I might I could not get the compass to calibrate. I used the Solo app as well as Solex and rolled Solo over just like the illustration and I could not get the compass to calibrate. I stood out in an open field spinning Solo around and I could not get the compass to calibrate. I even tried Mission Planner and could not get the compass to calibrate. But I did have a brilliant idea, Solo 2 did not have a carrying case so I was using the original cardboard container. After dancing with Solo for a while I got to looking at the fabric strap that came with the Solo box and it looked like a back brace. So I wrapped it around my fat arse and wow I felt better. I felt younger and thinner and the two handles actually acted as holsters for me to carry things, you might laugh but give it a try. LOL
So beaten and frustrated I went to the ultimate source, YouTube. I found the following video on Pixhawk compass calibration which used a more traditional method of standing the vehicle on its side and nose and then spinning around 360 degrees. I mimicked this guy's moves exactly and the compass calibrated in the first shot
With a proper level and compass calibration it was time to test fly Solo 2. I armed Solo 2 to spin up the props then brought it into a hover and it was rock solid. Wow the motors on Solo 2 were quiet, I was running my standard APC props. I guess after hundreds of hours Solo 1 is due for new motors. Back when it was cool I used to lube the motor bearings after every 15 or 20 flights but it seems opinions have changed and the bearings are probably bad due to dust accumulating from the oil. Noisy motors or not Solo 1 still flies great and I'll probably hold off until I see some kind of negative symptom.
So I'm excited to go out and do some follow with Solo 2 and see how Open Solo performs.
I was an early adopter of Solo and it's still my favorite drone. With North of 500 flights on Solo 1 it was time to give it a break so out came Solo 2. I got Solo 2 and 3 from Best Buy during the $299 sale what a deal.
I spent this week fitting Solo 2 with the Green Cube, mRo GPS unit and Open Solo. I'll share my experience in case it may help someone else out.
First I unpacked Solo 2 and went to update it which was a pita. I paired Solo to the controller and the update went fine right up to the point the controller rebooted then it would get stuck in waiting for Solo. I remember having a similar problem back in 2015 but I couldn't get past this point with Solo 2. I tried everything including several factory resets but what finally worked was I removed the SD card off the Solo main board installed it in my PC and read it. Windows said the SD card needed repair so I let it repair it. I put it back into Solo and the update worked the first time.
Next I uploaded the required Open Solo files with the stock flight controller using Solex and that went smooth. I installed the Green Cube which was pretty easy. Then I uploaded the remaining files and parameters which went smooth also.
Problem number two. With open Solo loaded I turned on the controller and Solo and got a compass calibration error which really meant I had to calibrate the compass. Try as I might I could not get the compass to calibrate. I used the Solo app as well as Solex and rolled Solo over just like the illustration and I could not get the compass to calibrate. I stood out in an open field spinning Solo around and I could not get the compass to calibrate. I even tried Mission Planner and could not get the compass to calibrate. But I did have a brilliant idea, Solo 2 did not have a carrying case so I was using the original cardboard container. After dancing with Solo for a while I got to looking at the fabric strap that came with the Solo box and it looked like a back brace. So I wrapped it around my fat arse and wow I felt better. I felt younger and thinner and the two handles actually acted as holsters for me to carry things, you might laugh but give it a try. LOL
So beaten and frustrated I went to the ultimate source, YouTube. I found the following video on Pixhawk compass calibration which used a more traditional method of standing the vehicle on its side and nose and then spinning around 360 degrees. I mimicked this guy's moves exactly and the compass calibrated in the first shot
With a proper level and compass calibration it was time to test fly Solo 2. I armed Solo 2 to spin up the props then brought it into a hover and it was rock solid. Wow the motors on Solo 2 were quiet, I was running my standard APC props. I guess after hundreds of hours Solo 1 is due for new motors. Back when it was cool I used to lube the motor bearings after every 15 or 20 flights but it seems opinions have changed and the bearings are probably bad due to dust accumulating from the oil. Noisy motors or not Solo 1 still flies great and I'll probably hold off until I see some kind of negative symptom.
So I'm excited to go out and do some follow with Solo 2 and see how Open Solo performs.
