Old New Guy or New Old Guy?

[Bozz]

Greetings, 3DRPilots. Another new Soloist here. I recently picked up a nice barely used package from an owner that lost interest. The backpack, multiple batteries, chargers, etc and everything in good condition. Haven't got to fly yet but have spent a lot of time reading and researching the best options to bring my new bird up to date.
Solex, Open Solo 4.0.0, Firmware updates with partition recovery to keep the OS 4 update in case of reset, etc. Everything paired, 9 satellites, batteries fully charged, compass calibration successful. Test motors via Solex app good to go. Itching to get it in the air BUT..."Press Fly to Start Motors" doesn't start motors. In my case, it may be worth noting, when I do motor spin up test via the Solex app, I get a blinking Fly button indicator on the controller while engine is spinning during test. Blinking stops as soon as test stops.

I am not interested in running a camera at this point and the real reason I jumped on this Solo package was to do some surf fishing and dropping bait. Mine came with a gimbal which I have removed. I hope to keep it as lightweight as I can.

I'm sure the problem getting the motors to spin up when pushing the Fly button is something simple but I'm not coming up with a solution. Help/advice anyone?

 

[Joe Horn]

Forgive the obvious question, but are you holding down the Fly button long enough? At least in my setup, it has to be held down for a few moments. It does not act like an ordinary on/off button.

 

[Bozz]

Thanks for the reply, Joe. Yes I hold it down rather than just tap it. There's a green "advancing" bar on my controller display as I hold the Fly button. And I've held it down well beyond that displayed bar too just to be sure.

 

[RichWest]

You can manually start motors, using a stick controlled method. Many use this method while in "Manual" flight mode to override the lack of GPS lock limiting flying in "FLY" mode. 9 sats is a near minimum threshold, 10 or 11 is a reliable count shown to fly in stabilized.

See this thread for a discussion to both motor start/fly and motor stop/landing...for "manual" mode flight.

Landing in Manual Mode and Stopping Motors

I have searched around in the discussion threads, and I haven't been able to find a definitive answer as to how to land and stop the motors (quickly and easily) when flying in manual mode. Sometimes when telling the Solo to Return to Home when it has GPS lock, it will lose GPS lock and switch...

3drpilots.com

I recommend the mRo gps board over the two stock version'd boards. GPS was the biggest issue with Solo during the first years after release.... The mRo board was the solution.

 

[Bozz]

Thanks much, Rich! After reading comments and reviews on the mRo boards, I'm on the hunt for one. Someone take my money!

 

[Bozz]

Is there a recommended supplier/seller for this mRo board? Everything I've looked at is apparently sold out.

 

[RichWest]

Try reaching out to mRobotics directly, they maybe able to help you with an alternative version.

Another solution is the HERE gps module, it looks like the Enterprise's flight disc and typically mounts on a mast...

Curious have you tried to manually start the motors by the stick method?

 

[Bozz]

Thanks Rich. I did try to start the motors using the stick... inadvertently. I tried that several times prior to making my initial post up there not really knowing that was a way to start them. But I know I did try the full back and right as well as the full back and left. I'm not going to get too excited until I make the GPS upgrade.

I have reached out to mrobotics via their website couple days ago. Just waiting to hear back from them. I recall seeing an m9n option as well but it wasn't listed as a direct plug n play for the Solo like the m8n was.

 

[Bozz]

I received notification that one of the mRo boards came available from mrobotics. Be on its way to me soon.

 

[jonbrotherton]

If you need a bait drop or battery mods let me know. SoloFlies.com

 

[Bozz]

JB you read my mind. Bait drop is on my list as well. And as time goes on battery mods will probably be a necessity.

 

[jonbrotherton]

JB you read my mind. Bait drop is on my list as well. And as time goes on battery mods will probably be a necessity.

Yessir! Be careful with the batteries. They usually give you some warning by showing a fast drop in percentage remaining, but sometimes they just die without warning and drop. You might can do the battery mod yourself. Solo Battery Mod for Dummies (Rev).pdf

 

[RC Zee]

Heed JB's warning regarding batteries. I have about 12 of them, some NIB from five years ago. Using Madhackers solo battery checker I can see current battery status but these are old batteries and only use them in my spare solo (I have 4) with a fixed camera mount for a 360 camera since not long in the air most times. If you are planning on flying a lot, do the battery mods or order a BMSOnes adaptor for regular 4 s batteries. which I did, and they don't have to be 5200 mAh Lipos as the adaptor is programable. There is also a Li Ion version available if looking to the future but the adaptor can be programmed for either version and sounds like you are comfortable with tweaking things. Welcome to the Solo club!

 

[Bobdudeman]

Good morning everyone. I'm new here and my first drone is a solo I picked up on trade. The gentleman that traded it to me fired up and ran it and it worked just fine. He said I will need an older phone for some reason to run the solo camera app I guess. I did not realize this and downloaded the new solex app to my new telephone but cannot download the solo app or at least open it for that matter. My question is this, if I use an older phone now can I transfer the select app I purchased for $30 to that phone? Or do I have to continually buy it every time I use a different phone? I have an older Samsung Galaxy tablet that I could use but I don't want to have to pay for it again. Any suggestions would be very helpful thank you

 

[jonbrotherton]

If you have solex you don't need the old 3dr app. You can install solex on any of your Android devices that you are signed onto with the same account you bought it with.

 

[Bobdudeman]

Okay great. So I only have to purchase it once and can you use it on any of my devices. I can't get the GoPro app to work though on my new phone. Or the solo app I guess that's what it is. Well I actually got the solo app to work on my phone now so when I get home I will try it out with the GoPro and GPS. Stay tuned

 

[jonbrotherton]

Okay great. So I only have to purchase it once and can you use it on any of my devices. I can't get the GoPro app to work though on my new phone. Or the solo app I guess that's what it is. Well I actually got the solo app to work on my phone now so when I get home I will try it out with the GoPro and GPS. Stay tuned

Solex replaces the old 3dr app. You also don't need the GoPro app and should not use it while flying the Solo.

 

[Bobdudeman]

Ty, how do I use the GoPro for visual then? I'm a bit confused I think. Does the solex app link to the GoPro camera on my gimbal then?

 

[jonbrotherton]

Ty, how do I use the GoPro for visual then? I'm a bit confused I think. Does the solex app link to the GoPro camera on my gimbal then?

The Solex flight screen shows the live video feed with flight data overlay.

 

[Bobdudeman]

But thank you. Can't wait to get home and try it then