New Solo firmware available now 1.0.5

Raybro · Jul 3, 2015

rrmccabe said:
I will run a video later. Never lost GPS.

Dirby wants Rodney's video when he flys it into the ground.....lol

Raybro · Jul 3, 2015

rrmccabe said:
OK Solo #2 in the air.

Couple things I noticed but the first is not concrete at this point.

1) My range seems to be down. About 2800' is all I can get out of it compared to Solo #1 with original firmware. This could be related to the new Solo, the new firmware or conditions. The other one would do 3200' to 4200" easy on any given day.

2) Hitting your altitude ceiling initiates RTH. I never did that for me before. However I could not set my ceiling to unlimited before either.

No issues with acquiring GPS with this firmware for me.

Woohoo!

rrmccabe · Jul 3, 2015

Rodney Johnson said:
Rich
Did you notice Sat count by any chance?
How many would it reciever and lock onto..
I just tested mine again and it would show 12 and a moment later the transmitter would say, ,, Lost GPS signal. Not happy at all... I'm about ready to let her fly itself into the ground and have 3DR send our a new one. Or return,,,

I tried to video this but screwed it up in about every possible way ! I forgot to drop down the top header telemetry to get all my info and the screen capture program I used was totally out of sync which I could have fixed.

That said, I can tell you this.

The flight I paid attention to took longer to get GPS than normal or it seemed like it because I was paying attention !

I took about 1:20 from power on to get the GPS FLY go ahead. I had 13 satellites while flying. I was more interested in making a cool video that capturing good data. Sorry.

3DR please make the top telemetry bar drop down automatically. I will click it if I want it to disappear.

Rodney Johnson · Jul 3, 2015

Raybro said:
Dirby wants Rodney's video when he flys it into the ground.....lol

That's funny, , thanks a lot

I just came back from a test fly "in town" and started out with 12 sats and ended with 14.. could not believe it.. can't explain it.
I'm going to my last test sight where I was having GPS issues a few days ago and test again and see if I have the same issues.

I got out to 1200 feet before the Solo lost signal and returned, that's not very good range. But I will have to try it again out of town and see what the range is then. ..

We're are you guys testing your range, , wide open area or other?

RossDaniel · Jul 4, 2015

Sara. There is no tab on the plug. Just use a pair of pliers to grab the male end, not by the wires, jiggle it out. Leave it out for about 10 seconds and plug back in. This should reset the controller. The other option is a hard reset by holding power and fly down at turn on. Look in the rear vents on the controller and look for a flashing yellow light. This is a good sign. If it's solid, there are issues.

RyanG · Jul 4, 2015

I got mine 500 ft and I was scared, so I brought it back.. I am REALLY afraid to fly it out over the ocean / bay here in Tampa.

Ryan G

rrmccabe · Jul 4, 2015

I did fire up Solo number 2 today.

I ran it out 4450' which is my personal best so the firmware apparently did not hurt range. These things are much more temperamental than the phantoms when it comes to forward pitch. That said going high can be detrimental to distance. I slowed it down to about 10 mph at the end to keep the pitch down.

I did have some GPS issues. I started off in front of house so it was shielded to the south sky. Not a perfect test but after 6 minutes I had 5 satellites and no GPS lock. Powered off and back on and got immediate lock.

Otherwise uneventful.

RyanG · Jul 4, 2015

Glad to hear the range is improving.

Jubalr · Jul 4, 2015

rrmccabe said:
I did fire up Solo number 2 today.

I ran it out 4450' which is my personal best so the firmware apparently did not hurt range. These things are much more temperamental than the phantoms when it comes to forward pitch. That said going high can be detrimental to distance. I slowed it down to about 10 mph at the end to keep the pitch down.

I did have some GPS issues. I started off in front of house so it was shielded to the south sky. Not a perfect test but after 6 minutes I had 5 satellites and no GPS lock. Powered off and back on and got immediate lock.

Otherwise uneventful.

Nice test and good results Rich. Was that with the stock Solo antennas? If so, that's pretty good on those lousy antennas.

Bren · Jul 4, 2015

I tried a second range test today, the first since updating the software yesterday. I was in the same location in the middle of the desert. I made it a mile last weekend but was only able to do about half that today. Video was awful today, as well. If I was trying to get shots I wouldn't have been able to. It would freeze and roll and wasn't much help for navigating. Gotta get that ironed out.

Do the upgraded antennas give a stronger video signal as well?

rrmccabe · Jul 4, 2015

Jubalr said:
Nice test and good results Rich. Was that with the stock Solo antennas? If so, that's pretty good on those lousy antennas.

Yes sir. Totally stock.

Rodney Johnson · Jul 5, 2015

rrmccabe said:
I did fire up Solo number 2 today.

I ran it out 4450' which is my personal best so the firmware apparently did not hurt range. These things are much more temperamental than the phantoms when it comes to forward pitch. That said going high can be detrimental to distance. I slowed it down to about 10 mph at the end to keep the pitch down.

I did have some GPS issues. I started off in front of house so it was shielded to the south sky. Not a perfect test but after 6 minutes I had 5 satellites and no GPS lock. Powered off and back on and got immediate lock.

Otherwise uneventful.

Rich,, could you please verify,, was that 4450 feet or Meters.. I'm trying to gauge today's results with yours and see if there is any consistency at all..
I just came back from the lakes area with a 2065 Meter flight at 53 meters High. Also I started out with 7 Stats and within a minute or so I recieved 14,, that is the best I have seen on this solo as of today. This is with the update.
Now if you got out to 4450 Meters I will keep pushing the stick and see if it will make it.
Thanks for the info.

SteveMyers75 · Jul 5, 2015

I'm wondering if there's a way to boost the GPS signal on the u-blox NEO-7 /Taoglas setup used on the Solo.

Yesterday I was at local a field where a few others with another brand of Quad were flying.
I asked about their SAT count and HDOP on the ground.
I was seeing 8-9 SATs at about 2.2 HDOP (220cm) after a couple of minutes.
They were between 12 and 14 SATs and 1.4 to 1.8 HDOP (140 to 180cm) at the same area, within 15 Meters.

Also, looking at the Datasheet for the NEO-7 says it should be able to work with GLONASS also.
Anyone know if this is in the cards for the Solo in a near future update?

Ref Datasheets:
https://www.u-blox.com/images/downloads/Product_Docs/NEO-7_DataSheet_(GPS.G7-HW-11004).pdf
http://www.taoglas.com/images/produ...5.4.A.02 GPS Patch Antenna 1575MHz 190410.pdf

Miken · Jul 5, 2015

SteveMyers75 said:
I'm wondering if there's a way to boost the GPS signal on the u-blox NEO-7 /Taoglas setup used on the Solo.

Yesterday I was at local a field where a few others with another brand of Quad were flying.
I asked about their SAT count and HDOP on the ground.
I was seeing 8-9 SATs at about 2.2 HDOP (220cm) after a couple of minutes.
They were between 12 and 14 SATs and 1.4 to 1.8 HDOP (140 to 180cm) at the same area, within 15 Meters.

Also, looking at the Datasheet for the NEO-7 says it should be able to work with GLONASS also.
Anyone know if this is in the cards for the Solo in a near future update?

Ref Datasheets:
https://www.u-blox.com/images/downloads/Product_Docs/NEO-7_DataSheet_(GPS.G7-HW-11004).pdf
http://www.taoglas.com/images/product_images/original_images/GP.1575.25.4.A.02 GPS Patch Antenna 1575MHz 190410.pdf

Do we know what antenna they are using? Has anyone tried to fly with the GPS cover off? How does GLONass and GPs work together? Do the signals from each work together or does the Neo use the best constellation?

rrmccabe · Jul 5, 2015

Rodney Johnson said:
Rich,, could you please verify,, was that 4450 feet or Meters.. I'm trying to gauge today's results with yours and see if there is any consistency at all..
I just came back from the lakes area with a 2065 Meter flight at 53 meters High. Also I started out with 7 Stats and within a minute or so I recieved 14,, that is the best I have seen on this solo as of today. This is with the update.
Now if you got out to 4450 Meters I will keep pushing the stick and see if it will make it.
Thanks for the info.

Mine is feet so you are 50% further than I am. I am reasonably sure mine would go further but I have only flown it from home which is flying out of hole. I lose LOS in 400' if I do not have 400' of elevation. Right now I am just shooting it out between an opening in the trees.

I know there are guys that have went almost 2 miles stock with them. But they could be flying off a mountain as far as I know.

Nice run distance!

SteveMyers75 · Jul 5, 2015

Miken said:
Do we know what antenna they are using? Has anyone tried to fly with the GPS cover off? How does GLONass and GPs work together? Do the signals from each work together or does the Neo use the best constellation?

These are not my photos,but I can't locate who posted them so I can't give credit where credit is do.
If I find out, I'll edit and add proper props.

A shot of Solo's antenna:
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=823c4e3e8064b62f!745&cid=823C4E3E8064B62F&group=0&parId=823c4e3e8064b62f!744&authkey=!ACGZjLYBcKR0Y5U&o=OneUp
(Hit the right arrow and the next photo is the u-blox NEO-7N on the opposite side of the same board)

The Solo and Artoo complete teardown courtesy the same Group/Person:
Solo
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=823c4e...CGZjLYBcKR0Y5U

Artoo Controller
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=823c4e...CGZjLYBcKR0Y5U

Rodney Johnson · Jul 5, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Mine is feet so you are 50% further than I am. I am reasonably sure mine would go further but I have only flown it from home which is flying out of hole. I lose LOS in 400' if I do not have 400' of elevation. Right now I am just shooting it out between an opening in the trees.

I know there are guys that have went almost 2 miles stock with them. But they could be flying off a mountain as far as I know.

Nice run distance!

I made another flight just a few hours after that one right when the sun when down and the mosquitos started eating me. I got out to 2600 meters,,, so that's 1.6 miles over a corn field at night and I still lost the lights and could not see it. Had a few family members ask what would happen if it crashed or got lost,,, told them ,,, simple ,,, it would crash and get lost.

I would like to know if there is any link between Gopro attached and bad GPS reception. I have not had any reception issues but I don't have the gopro mounted after my last issue with GPS.
Rich have you heard of any issues related to gopro effecting GPS and or Compass ?
Thanks

RyanG · Jul 5, 2015

Man.. I flew mine today out to 400 meters and I lost it in the sky over the ocean (I figure that is the safest place if it does crash, although I would be out $$, at least no one would get hurt). I then just flew it backwards as I couldn't see it so I watched the controller to see how it was getting closer.

Pretty cool though..

rrmccabe · Jul 5, 2015

Rodney Johnson said:
I made another flight just a few hours after that one right when the sun when down and the mosquitos started eating me. I got out to 2600 meters,,, so that's 1.6 miles over a corn field at night and I still lost the lights and could not see it. Had a few family members ask what would happen if it crashed or got lost,,, told them ,,, simple ,,, it would crash and get lost.

I would like to know if there is any link between Gopro attached and bad GPS reception. I have not had any reception issues but I don't have the gopro mounted after my last issue with GPS.
Rich have you heard of any issues related to gopro effecting GPS and or Compass ?
Thanks

I have not heard of GoPro issues at all. But have not tested. Great job on 2600 meters. That is awesome.

Rodney Johnson · Jul 5, 2015

RyanG said:
Man.. I flew mine today out to 400 meters and I lost it in the sky over the ocean (I figure that is the safest place if it does crash, although I would be out $$, at least no one would get hurt). I then just flew it backwards as I couldn't see it so I watched the controller to see how it was getting closer.

Pretty cool though..

I have never purchased a pre-made unit, "EVER" So the Solo is the first one ever. I have always built my own and installed what I wanted for radios, Flight controllers and everything else,, just as most have done over the years.
when you do this you are always testing and reading and finding the best combination of parts and once all of this is assembled Now you have to test it and see if it will fly.
The Phantom and Solo and all the others the design, calibrations, motors, ESC ,, everything is already tested and ready to go.., WELL TO A POINT.

Everything I have ever built, be it a airplane , Helicopter, Boat , copter, ""everything"" I have always tested it capabilities to the extreme because I want to know what its going to do and how its going to react up front so there are no surprises later. I am finding that the range is well beyond VLOS and works very well and I am finding this to be true even in town with all the other WiFi in the air. Granted I have not flown to max limits in town but where I live there is a Open test field for crops so I use that to fly over for safety reasons and because it is in town it is subjected to LOTS of WiFi.

I don't know how well the WiFi will do around buildings but again I know the GPS isn't up to the task so Im not going to bother testing the Wifi until the GPS issues are solved.
As of now I am still not happy with the GPS and sat count. I am getting 20 Sats on a
Ublox Neo-M8N GPS
If the Solo could do that there would be a lot less gps related issues