New out of the box

[Shadowquad]

I just received my Solo bundle from Best buy. I have heard alot of issues about GPS ect. Is there anything I need to do before my first flight? GPS mods? Firmware?

Will the Solo work with any other brand camera that the Gopro? Will need to go get one I guess. I have a Xiaomi clone.
Thanks

 

[Chuck]

Hi Shadowquad, and welcome to the forum. I just picked up my second Solo from Best Buy. While updating everything, I got 12 satellites while indoors. I wouldn't worry too much about your gps until you get in a few flights to see how it does. As for cameras, GoPro seems to be the way to go for Solo for now. Most people here lean towards the goPro 4 Black, but the GoPro 4 Silver is also a good one. You want to make sure you download the Solo manual from 3DR, and read it well. I have mine printed and in a binder and refer to it quite a lot. Not knowing your experience with UAV's, I would highly suggest taking it slow and easy your first few times out. Fly in open areas free of a lot of wifi activity and obstacles. Solo is so easy to fly it can lull you into flying over your head very easily. Just take it slow, and get used to how it responds to your stick input. It is also highly recommended to assign FLY:MANUAL to your "A" or "B" button and practice flying in manual so you can take over in case of gps signal loss or other problems. I am sure if you fly safe and use your head, you will be fine. If you have more questions or problems, the people here are the best for helping you out. Also use the search box here. You can look up almost anything you may have a question about. Good luck, and safe flying.

 

[Don H.]

Hi Shadowquad, and welcome to the forum. I just picked up my second Solo from Best Buy. While updating everything, I got 12 satellites while indoors. I wouldn't worry too much about your gps until you get in a few flights to see how it does. As for cameras, GoPro seems to be the way to go for Solo for now. Most people here lean towards the goPro 4 Black, but the GoPro 4 Silver is also a good one. You want to make sure you download the Solo manual from 3DR, and read it well. I have mine printed and in a binder and refer to it quite a lot. Not knowing your experience with UAV's, I would highly suggest taking it slow and easy your first few times out. Fly in open areas free of a lot of wifi activity and obstacles. Solo is so easy to fly it can lull you into flying over your head very easily. Just take it slow, and get used to how it responds to your stick input. It is also highly recommended to assign FLY:MANUAL to your "A" or "B" button and practice flying in manual so you can take over in case of gps signal loss or other problems. I am sure if you fly safe and use your head, you will be fine. If you have more questions or problems, the people here are the best for helping you out. Also use the search box here. You can look up almost anything you may have a question about. Good luck, and safe flying.

I noticed a lot of folks recommending setting the "A" button to manual.
Are folks using that to be synonymous with Stabilize? I set it to Stabilize instead due to if it gets into a wonky flight flight mode when it is getting visually difficult to see I can hit the "A" button and have it go level. In true Manual mode it can still be in a pitch and you have to figure that out when you hit the button. Manual, like Stabilize, do not rely on GPS for flight. It's just giving you one less thing to struggle with when things start going bad.
Just curious.

Don.

 

[Jubalr]

You are better off with manual, as it will not only stabilize the Solo, but hold it's current altitude. Stabilize does the same thing, except that you are now responsible for altitude. on Stock props, Solo will generally slowly descend at half throttle in stabilize mode. The difference in how the 2 work is:

Manual Mode: Will use the barometer to hold altitude. Raising or lower the throttle does not directly control the motors, but instead tell the FC that you wish to climb or descend. Climb and descend rates are limited by a pre-set parameter in the FC. Will still keep Solo level as it holds altitude.

Stabilize mode: Pilot controls altitude by directly controlling the power to the motors, from 0-100%. Climb and descent rates are several times faster than manual mode. Will still keep Solo level.

 

[Don H.]

Got it..Thank You Jubair. I'll have to play with that next time I play with it.

Don.

 

[User Name]

I agree with Chuck in that the stock GPS is fine for now. The last big firmware update did seem to improve lock times. The only reason I replaced mine was because I frequently fly in areas with large obstructions to the sky (next to cliffs) and just feel better with more satellites being picked up. I've never once had an issue with the stock GPS beside slow locks, pre-latest firmware.