Searching for GPS... forever

Ben Jannasch · Jul 14, 2015

For the first 3 times I've taken Solo out for a test flight its flown amazingly. Been taking it to a very open park with no trees or buildings near. Been getting 6-8 satellites on average. However the 4th time I brought it out it sat there "Searching for GPS" for about 45 minutes, resetting both controller, solo, and app every 10 minutes or so. (Yes the app and everything is up to date.) Eventually it gave me the "Hold FLY to start motors" and it worked. Today I took it out again and for an hour it just stayed searching until I eventually gave up. Tried restarting everything (in different orders) every 10 minutes or so but still nothing. tried again for another hour at a different location and same protocol. I've been reading online about some GPS bugs but haven't noticed many people with the same issue. Just wondering if anybody else is experiencing the same thing. Thanks, and safe flying!

Ian [P13] · Jul 14, 2015

Only time I've heard of this is people flying on firmware before 1.05. Once upgrading to 1.05 it's also necessary to power cycle a few times for the uBlox to pick up a configuration fix.

Ben Jannasch · Jul 14, 2015

Ian [P13] said:
Only time I've heard of this is people flying on firmware before 1.05. Once upgrading to 1.05 it's also necessary to power cycle a few times for the uBlox to pick up a configuration fix.

Hi Ian,
I should be up to date since I got it a few days ago.

Also tried power cycling every 10 minutes or so which the first time worked after 45 minutes but today received no results after a few hours.

Ian [P13] · Jul 14, 2015

Try removing the battery for a few hours as there's an internal battery that keeps the uBlox powered, so briefly removing the battery likely won't work.

Ben Jannasch · Jul 14, 2015

Ian [P13] said:
Try removing the battery for a few hours as there's an internal battery that keeps the uBlox powered, so briefly removing the battery likely won't work.

Ok good to know. What I'll do then is take the battery out for the night and try again tomorrow.

Rich · Jul 14, 2015

I quickly looked to see if there could be an issue with GPS but saw nothing:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?Do=constellationStatus

I think there was a site that could show things like Solar flares and other things that could interfere with GPS, but I couldn't find it, but maybe there is some useful data on this site:
http://www.spaceweather.com/

Remember, if you really want to fly and there is no GPS lock, you can fly in 'Fly Manual' mode. Just remember you will not have a HOME lock (so it can't really RTH, just land wherever it is, or it can get a false home lock if GPS lock happens while flying).

Also, it will not hold position very well, it will drift with the wind. It's not that hard to fly, you should try it, just be careful.

I wouldn't try to fly in 'Fly Stabilize' mode without a lot of practice as the throttle works a lot differently than 'Fly manual' mode.

ChrisM101 · Jul 14, 2015

Please check to make sure that GoPro wifi is off, mine came back on after a goPro battery change.
Also Power up the GoPro after GPS lock.
Controller then Solo then GoPro then App

nacjr · Jul 14, 2015

Rich said:
I wouldn't try to fly in 'Fly Stabilize' mode without a lot of practice as the throttle works a lot differently than 'Fly manual' mode.

How does the throttle act differently between fly:stabilize and fly:manual?

marena · Jul 14, 2015

Rich said:
I quickly looked to see if there could be an issue with GPS but saw nothing:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?Do=constellationStatus

I think there was a site that could show things like Solar flares and other things that could interfere with GPS, but I couldn't find it, but maybe there is some useful data on this site:
http://www.spaceweather.com/

Remember, if you really want to fly and there is no GPS lock, you can fly in 'Fly Manual' mode. Just remember you will not have a HOME lock (so it can't really RTH, just land wherever it is, or it can get a false home lock if GPS lock happens while flying).

Also, it will not hold position very well, it will drift with the wind. It's not that hard to fly, you should try it, just be careful.

I wouldn't try to fly in 'Fly Stabilize' mode without a lot of practice as the throttle works a lot differently than 'Fly manual' mode.

You can also check out the solar activity and see if it is causing any geomagnetic storms in your area. There are apps that can check this for you. The app I use is called "k-index monitor". It may or may not help but it's worth a try.

Sent via Tapatalk.

Rich · Jul 14, 2015

nacjr said:
How does the throttle act differently between fly:stabilize and fly:manual?

In Fly:Manual, the throttle works similar to how it does in the normal Fly mode, where the throttle stick sort of says go up (and how fast) or go down (and how fast). If you leave the stick in the middle, the Solo will try to hold the altitude. The Solo will use its internal barometer and/or accelerometers to try to keep the Solo from raising or falling, but it won't be able to do as good a job as when the GPS is also working.

In Stabilize, the throttle stick works like a real throttle stick. Up is more power/RPMs, down is less power/RPMs. If you leave it at the center point, the solo may fall or climb, depending on conditions, and what you are doing at the moment. Basically it will need much more attention to fly the Solo. Since the spring holds the stick at a center point, you may have to hold a constant point against the spring pressure to keep the Solo holding a certain altitude. You may also have to make constant corrections.

Ben Jannasch · Jul 14, 2015

Rich said:
I quickly looked to see if there could be an issue with GPS but saw nothing:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?Do=constellationStatus

I think there was a site that could show things like Solar flares and other things that could interfere with GPS, but I couldn't find it, but maybe there is some useful data on this site:
http://www.spaceweather.com/

Remember, if you really want to fly and there is no GPS lock, you can fly in 'Fly Manual' mode. Just remember you will not have a HOME lock (so it can't really RTH, just land wherever it is, or it can get a false home lock if GPS lock happens while flying).

Also, it will not hold position very well, it will drift with the wind. It's not that hard to fly, you should try it, just be careful.

I wouldn't try to fly in 'Fly Stabilize' mode without a lot of practice as the throttle works a lot differently than 'Fly manual' mode.

Hi Rich

Very interesting. I will keep this in mind. I tried again this morning down at the park and got her to connect to GPS after one restart! Wether it was because I took the battery out when not in use for an extended period of time (advice from Ian), or that it was slightly clearer today than it was yesterday; I wouldn't know. During the flight I lost GPS signal for about 10 seconds but eventually came back. My thoughts are then that this might actually be a connectivity issue and not a malfunction with the unit. I do live on a hill and it has been quite foggy lately. Will try again in a few hours after all's charged up.

Raybro · Jul 14, 2015

Do you always leave your battery installed? Owning the P2 I got in the habit of leaving the battery out when not flying. I use a small foam block between the battery and the connections on the Solo when I put it away to prevent it from making contact. Just a habit I picked up. I don't connect the battery until I'm ready to fly.

Raybro · Jul 14, 2015

Also, unless the area your flying in has something to do with it, you should be getting a better GPS lock and more satellites. You may want to remove the cover under the battery and check your connection. The GPS is in the nose.

Ben Jannasch · Jul 14, 2015

Raybro said:
Do you always leave your battery installed? Owning the P2 I got in the habit of leaving the battery out when not flying. I use a small foam block between the battery and the connections on the Solo when I put it away to prevent it from making contact. Just a habit I picked up. I don't connect the battery until I'm ready to fly.

Since I recently received the solo a few days ago I haven't had it for more than a week. There was one night that I had left the battery in but aside from that if its not in use, the battery has not been installed.

Dontcha · Jul 15, 2015

Check the cable that was the issue with mine right out of the box. They must have skipped step 439 during assembly. "plug in the GPS cable"

brian matsumoto · Jul 15, 2015

Ben Jannasch said:
For the first 3 times I've taken Solo out for a test flight its flown amazingly. Been taking it to a very open park with no trees or buildings near. Been getting 6-8 satellites on average. However the 4th time I brought it out it sat there "Searching for GPS" for about 45 minutes, resetting both controller, solo, and app every 10 minutes or so. (Yes the app and everything is up to date.) Eventually it gave me the "Hold FLY to start motors" and it worked. Today I took it out again and for an hour it just stayed searching until I eventually gave up. Tried restarting everything (in different orders) every 10 minutes or so but still nothing. tried again for another hour at a different location and same protocol. I've been reading online about some GPS bugs but haven't noticed many people with the same issue. Just wondering if anybody else is experiencing the same thing. Thanks, and safe flying!

brian matsumoto · Jul 15, 2015

Hey Ben, I got my Solo about 3weeks ago, never had that problem until 3 days ago, no matter what I did it would not get connected to Solo, but when it did connect, there was no gps lock, I'll try to take battery out before each flight and see if that will work, getting frustrated....

Raybro · Jul 15, 2015

brian matsumoto said:
Hey Ben, I got my Solo about 3weeks ago, never had that problem until 3 days ago, no matter what I did it would not get connected to Solo, but when it did connect, there was no gps lock, I'll try to take battery out before each flight and see if that will work, getting frustrated....

When you open the Solo app does it say disconnected? If so, open the Tower app as well and try to connect. I got an odd message saying it could not connect because (and i forget exactly what it said) something was already in use. The next time I get that message I am going to submit a support ticket.
Eventually I got it connected by shutting down the tablet and booting it back up.

brian matsumoto · Jul 15, 2015

Raybro said:
When you open the Solo app does it say disconnected? If so, open the Tower app as well and try to connect. I got an odd message saying it could not connect because (and i forget exactly what it said) something was already in use. The next time I get that message I am going to submit a support ticket.
Eventually I got it connected by shutting down the tablet and booting it back up.

Thanks Raybro, will try the tower app, I also reboot everything before each flight, hope it works...

Pogo · Jul 21, 2015

Ben Jannasch said:
For the first 3 times I've taken Solo out for a test flight its flown amazingly. Been taking it to a very open park with no trees or buildings near. Been getting 6-8 satellites on average. However the 4th time I brought it out it sat there "Searching for GPS" for about 45 minutes, resetting both controller, solo, and app every 10 minutes or so. (Yes the app and everything is up to date.) Eventually it gave me the "Hold FLY to start motors" and it worked. Today I took it out again and for an hour it just stayed searching until I eventually gave up. Tried restarting everything (in different orders) every 10 minutes or so but still nothing. tried again for another hour at a different location and same protocol. I've been reading online about some GPS bugs but haven't noticed many people with the same issue. Just wondering if anybody else is experiencing the same thing. Thanks, and safe flying!

Ben,

I have been having the exact same problem. Have done maybe two dozen flights but lately it has been very difficult to get GPS lock when flying it from my boat even though I have cached the maps. No issues with GPS lock from my usual launching sites. I missed an amazing sunset the other night when after 1 hour I could not get the GPS lock. I have latest firmware, turned off gopro wifi and power cycled EVERYTHING. Let me know if you find out anything.