Poor Solo

[Frank Foster]

OK flame me if you want, but I have to vent. With the thousands of new Solo owners out there, I'm getting frustrated at all the problems people are posting. Besides the problems, which almost all can be solved, with a reading of the manual, there are the ones that are buying, and returning/exchanging, trying to ween every drop of savings they can muster. I know money is money, but come on, this used to be a $1500 or more kit. Kinda like looking a gifted horse in the mouth. And I'm pretty sure if Best Buy were to be giving them away for free, there would still be some people complaining, and trying to return their free Solo. The problem is now, as I see it, the Solo is too cheap! And I guess it is too complex. Most of these new owners need something that only has an "ON" and "OFF" button. Get home from the store, charge the batteries, take it out in the yard, and push the "ON" button, and watch it fly away, like an expensive fireworks device. Come on Folks, give the poor Solo a chance. It is a very complex, electronic, computer controlled device. Perhaps even more complex than your desk top computer, and I'm still having problems with Win 10. Oh well, it will settle down in awhile, I just feel plain sorry for the little fella (Solo), I had thought all the bashing was done a year or so ago. OK, stick a fork in me, I'm done.

 

[beatstanfurd]

Feel better?

 

[pyrate]

well he is right you know
I just went through an entire post about flying over 400 feet where 90% of the people were more concerned that they could not go above 400 feet than the fact that it is no legal in the US

It was my great fun to point out that clearly no one on that post even tried to read the manual

what is so funny, is that the solo will way out live the phantom 3 that was released when solo was,

This is why I for one will party when Best Buy runs out of solo stuff

 

[FlyXlsa]

Given many new buyers will have never flown a descent UAS or perhaps any UAS, I'm hoping for lots of crashes and spare parts to be showing up on eBay in near the future.

Is that evil?

 

[3drHighMileFlyer]

Hello, this is my first legit drone I actually take pride in owning and flying. I have owned many cheaper drones in the past few months that I learned on. Cheop ones as if you crash it your not that mad because you only spent $50 buck on. I've had ones where you crash it your really worried about bent gear shafts or something else. I've had ones like many people with no return to home function. My most expensive one was $126 stealth Galileo, also sold at Best Buy that was the most I spent on a drone. I later returned it bcuz of a burnt out motor on it. I then found the solo. I was one of those that bought it recently and every day I'm still in love with it completely. For me it's the most sophisticated drone I've ever came across in person. So for many people that bought it and didn't really know what they were getting into they do complain when they realize, hey this is really a hobby I just dived into. A lot of people want exactly what you said, pop a battery in and turn on everything and fly instantly. Yeah you can somewhat do that with the solo, but I find it takes about 5-10 minutes just setting everything up. Double checking propellers, connecting phone, putting my action camera in, etc. I think for many that bought the solo and are in over their heads they NEED to take it seriously or return in before they crash and can't return it. I've learned A lot from owning cheaper drones and now this solo is 100x better any drone in the price range of $100-$300 available right now. To me I think of the solo as a $1,200 price tag bcuz of its awesomeness and what people have actually paid for it. Even tho I only spent $300+ tax on it. I view it as an advanced drone that I've invisioned since day one of leaping into the drone hobby.

 

[nikono]

1. Solo is not $300 drone. It needs a GoPro 4S/B to be complete.
2. Flying Solo is nice. I can drink a cup of coffee while it hovers.

 

[3drHighMileFlyer]

I know I know it's not a $300 dollar drone, well yes it is be because it can be bought for $300. But I get your point of why you say that. And it actually doesn't need a GoPro to be complete. I am using a off brand $50.00 action camera that works the same as a 400+ go pro minus being able to use the gimble. I still get live feed and can record straight to phone or straight to camera. Which I prefer so I don't ever risk loosing footage. It connects the same to the fix mount, and i plug in the hdmi cable for live feed and it pops up instantly. So yes my drone really only costed me $300 and I already owned a GoPro clone. Yes I do have 6 totals batteries, 2 smart battery charger, two remotes, one spare drone as parts and one main drone for flying hobby. So I guess you could say it doesn't cost just $300 lol

 

[3drHighMileFlyer]

I know I know it's not a $300 dollar drone, well yes it is be because it can be bought for $300. But I get your point of why you say that. And it actually doesn't need a GoPro to be complete. I am using a off brand $50.00 action camera that works the same as a 400+ go pro minus being able to use the gimble. I still get live feed and can record straight to phone or straight to camera. Which I prefer so I don't ever risk loosing footage. It connects the same to the fix mount, and i plug in the hdmi cable for live feed and it pops up instantly. So yes my drone really only costed me $300 and I already owned a GoPro clone. Yes I do have 6 totals batteries, 2 smart battery charger, two remotes, one spare drone as parts and one main drone for flying hobby. So I guess you could say it doesn't cost just $300 lol

I didn't buy the solo to take awesome video or get some really cool shots from. I bought it because it was a steal for the price and to have fun actually owning a legit drone that is really cool, like being able to set the remote down and the drone stay right where it is mid air! Lol

 

[pyrate]

you are sure missing the fun of solo
but you seem happy, and happy is good

 

[3drHighMileFlyer]

you are sure missing the fun of solo
but you seem happy, and happy is good

I agree that I may be missing part of the fun without having an acutall gopro. I have been contemplating buying a used GoPro just to see what it is about with the gimble. But I really would only take full advantage of the GoPro and solo gimble probably 10 days out of a year total. The price isn't right for me to go out and pick a go pro up for my needs. I appreciate your comment. I am pleased with my solo and happy with it. I hope you are as well and enjoy every minute flying it. I did have a scare today where it was windy and I enabled stabilize mode and I throttled down and the solo leaded right to the side and I started shaking after I throttled back up and hit the pause button. I flew it in manual or fly mode the rest of the battery. Man that was scary lol

 

[dhodgeh]

I'm also one of the newbies, but the Solo is my 2nd drone. My first was a cheapie that I used to get at least an inkling of how to fly these things.

In a past life, I did race RC cars, and while not quite the same thing, I think that experience helped a bit in what to expect from the controller and dealing with the different orientations.

And I did read the manual and spend some time exploring the app while connected to the Solo on the ground. This proved very helpful on my first flight.

On of my primary interest now is photography, and I saw the Solo (with it's current pricing and since I already had a Go Pro) to be a good platform for exploring both aerial photography and video.

I've just made my first couple of flights under manual control, with my next steps exploring setting up the smart shots. Fortunately for me there is a nice under utilized park just a couple of blocks from my house which is proving to be good location to practice all of this.

This is all leading up to my next drone purchase, which in all likelihood be a Mavic. That portability is very compelling, given the places we like to travel to where lugging something like the Solo may be a bit much.

D

 

[FlyXlsa]

Cheap Action Cams do work with the Static Mount. Just turn it on before you fly and off when you land. YouTube even has an image stabilization feature.

Some Action Cameras may even work with the mHDMI port, but you just can't control it. You could always start with something like this before you go all in for a GoPro 4B or 4S:

Amazon.com : Activeon CX Action Camera (Onyx Black) : Camera & Photo
@Amazon.com
Hope you enjoy your Solo!

 

[3drHighMileFlyer]

Cheap Action Cams do work with the Static Mount. Just turn it on before you fly and off when you land. YouTube even has an image stabilization feature.

Some Action Cameras may even work with the mHDMI port, but you just can't control it. You could always start with something like this before you go all in for a GoPro 4B or 4S:

4K Ultra HD Wifi 16MP Car Bike Helmet Cam Sports Action Waterproof Camera SJ4000 - Walmart.com

That's similar to what I havefrom amazon,i use my action cam for multiple purposes. Dash cam ( caught a accident where someone forced me into side barrier on highway without looking), motorcycle helmet cAm, and now my solo live feed. I have two gimbles bcuz of the packages, I never got my back pack, my first solo they claimed it was in the box which it had a description of a carrying case that the service people thought it was that.

 

[jcar]

Sale is off back to $799.00 today

 

[andrew.baker.142]

I agree with the OP. Lots of videos on YouTube where clearly the Solo operator really doesn't have a clue, and probably too lazy to RFM. Not sure why folks expect to pull one of these out of the box, charge the battery and fly without understanding what their responsibilities are as the operator. Yes, Solo is smart, but it can't make up for a "uninformed" operator.
I guess I'm considered an "experienced" multi-rotor owner/pilot (3 DIY MR's plus a Phantom 1 before my first Solo), and am still fascinated by all the capability built into the Pixhawk. Of the 5 Solos I have, only one is set up with the gimbal and GoPro. One is equipped with lights (fun/challenging to chase one Solo on an auto mission with a second Solo with camera). The third Solo has a belly mount for my Canon S100 I use for mapping. The remaining 2 Solos are still in the box, but I'll have to conduct "Acceptance Test Flights" on them soon to ensure all is OK for possible Warranty issues.

 

[BigTulsa]

As far as 400 feet in the USA being illegal...that is patently false. The 400 foot limiit is a suggestion by the FAA and most AMA members abide by this guideline. Unless local statutes provide otherwise (and they shouldn't supersede the FAA) you can go over 400 feet but just because it's not against the law doesn't mean you should be doing it. You have to remember sharing the skies with larger manned aircraft comes into play here. Personally I wouldn't fly over 400 feet unless I had a waiver from local control and was well away from people/property. That's almost the limit of line of sight with a smaller quad like the Solo.

That's where my real-world flight training comes into play.

 

[pyrate]

for hobbyist it is a guideline
for sUAV 107 400 feet is not a guideline it is the regulation with only a few ways around it. one if flying within 400 feet of a structure, the other is with a waver, and the last is if you are in an emergency, with which you would need to provide a report if requested as to why you did it

 

[jayinsc]

I'll second the 400' for 107