LuvMyTJ & I thought it would be a good idea for a Sticky For Solex.
Guides, Updates & Questions about using Solex
I receive no commission from sales, Don't need anything from the author except his friendship & his Kick ASS APP Solex!
Ta-da... Another Solex update. 1.1.6
Yes, I know it's Sunday evening, and I cannot possibly have put out another batch of features since Friday. I didn't. Here's the list of things in the new release:
. Settings-write prompt for Android 6.0
This is for Android 6.0 devices that require special permissions in order to run. If you're running any other Android version, you won't notice this one. If you're on Android 6.0, you'll see a prompt to open the super-secret special permissions page to grant Solex permissions it has on every other Android version.
. Fix reset bug in HDR Shot
This is an obscure issue: Suppose you have your camera set to Video mode and you do an HDR Shot. When it's done, it will set your camera back to Video mode, in an effort to be convenient and helpful. This issue fixes the case where it will do that when you're running a *different* shot. This fixes something none of you have probably noticed, so another not-a-big-deal fix.
. Vehicle Settings sliders updates
A couple of people mentioned that the sliders in the Vehicle Settings screen were hard to move. They were, but I hadn't done anything about it until now. They're smoother now.
. Fixed performance issue with video on Samsung
This one is the impetus for a Sunday evening release.
A couple of people mentioned that their Samsung devices had video troubles with Solex, and mentioned really slow frame rates and the app acting like it was locked up.
If you're interested in the details (which are kind of interesting if you're into how the Solo works), read on. Otherwise, skip to the bottom and read up from there until it gets boring.
Looking into the problem, I discovered that on startup, Solo occasionally sends a HUGE torrent of "parameter received" messages without being asked for them. It doesn't always happen, but does about half the time with my Solo. The rate of incoming messages at that time is up to 300 messages per second, or one every 3ms. I wasn't measuring traffic volume before (didn't realize there was a need), but now that I am, 300 messages/second is 10 times higher than normal.
(For reference: "parameter received" messages are for flight-controller parameters, the kind of data dealt with by the Vehicle Settings screen.)
An Nvidia or Nexus device is fast enough it can apparently handle this kind of traffic without any (or much) issue, so I never noticed it. But my S7 Edge was fairly close to locked up in that case. In addition to hogging the connection for needless messages, the message traffic also overwhelms these devices so they're too busy to display the video frames that come in. I had no idea it was doing all this, until I started logging the messages.
There's really no way to tell Solo to stop sending those messages, but what works fairly reliably is to request a full set of parameters from it. That starts the "parameter refresh" process which runs through the entire parameter list and then ends in about 3-5 seconds. Then it calms down, and traffic levels drop to normal.
I've seen Solo do the same thing when connected to Tower as well, where the Parameters screen would never finish loading. It's the same issue, and appears to be on the Solo side.
So, the fix is kind of interesting. The main message processor in Solex now watches to see how fast messages are coming in. If the rate is too high, it starts filtering out the parameter-related messages so the high traffic doesn't affect other parts of the app. Their message rates are thus normal. Then the main processor starts a watchdog to periodically check message rate, and ask Solo for a parameter list if it detects the problem. Then it waits to see if it was successful, trying again if it wasn't. While it's working on getting Solo to calm down, you'll see that little warning shown in the picture at the bottom of this post. Once it succeeds, the message disappears.
With this logic in place, I've tested this a LOT this afternoon and evening, and Solex always manages to get it to act normal after 10-15 seconds at most. Usually within 3-5 seconds.
If you've managed to stick with this long post, this seems like good news. If you've been using a device where Solex's video feed seemed kind of slow and jerky, it could have been because of the high message traffic. So, theoretically, your video feed should be smoother now.
Well, that's it.
BTW, there won't be a Friday update this week, I'll be in Dallas at a conference.
==============================================================
- Here's the latest version of Solex, 1.1.5. Here's a list of new features:
. HDR Photo Shot
. New Spot Mode/ROI
. Full Screen/immersive flight screen
. Gimbal angle display on flight screen
. Restore heading/gimbal angle on "Fly to point"
. Fix Max Distance setting
. Fix a crash in the Geofence screen
. Fix missing Hero3+Black frame rates
. Fix for Moto X Pure/6.0 (fingers crossed)
Thanks,
Kelly
Looks like some new features & a few
- Forgot who, but someone was asking about add ons, updates, fixes & New Features that Kelly has included in Solex as to date:
- Note: "Ver. 1.1.5 updates & Fixes not included in list below"
Smart Shots:
- Follow/Manual: Touch an object on the screen to follow
- Follow/Record: Record a flight path and follow it later
- Follow/Remote: Follow users who are broadcasting their locations via companion app
- Follow/Me: Normal Follow like Solo app
- Orbit: Like 3DR Solo app, except easier to position the start point
- Cable Cam: Like 3DR Solo app
- Selfie: Like the 3DR Solo app (improved version coming in an update)
- Zipline: Like the 3DR Solo app
- Pano: Like the 3DR Solo app
- HDR Photo: Take EV-bracketed shots
Spot Mode: Point at an object and lock the gimbal to follow it during manual flight
Tap to save location:
Tap the GPS location shown on screen, and name it and save a snapshot of it. It's saved in a flight log.
- You can open flight logs later and fly to the saved locations by tapping them on a map.
- Tap the GPS location shown on screen, and name it and save a snapshot of it. It's saved in a flight log
- You can open flight logs later and fly to the saved locations by tapping them on a map.
Sharing:
- You can share all of the files created by Solex including fences, cable cams, flight logs, Follow/Record flight.
- sessions, etc. Useful for sharing with others, or for backups and import on new devices.
UI User Interface"
HUD view: Clear all decorations off the screen and display flight status in a HUD view.
uncategorised
- Full GoPro support for Hero3+ Black, Hero 4 Silver and Hero 4 Black.
- Periodically speak flight status as you fly (like Tower does).
- Basic flight stats: Track total distance and total flight time
- Show on-screen GPS location as UTM coordinates
- Record TLOG files
- Change LED colors
- Kill switch: Instantly stop motors (disabled/hidden by default for obvious reasons)
- Geofences: Create and store geofences in multiple locations
- Support for connecting to multiple Solos (one at a time of course)
- Calculates/displays remaining flight time based on battery draw during a flight
- Calculates distance from home when warning about low battery
- On-screen EV comp adjustment
Kelly, Please slow down! Your going for a Blowout!
1.1.4
WHAT'S NEW
- New in this version:
- . Tap to save location
- . Fly to location on map
- . Basic flight log
- . Basic flight stats
- . Now a bit smarter about network state
- . Correct the "Aviation" LED label
- . HUD units update
- . Spoken flight status
- . Fix vehicle settings param loading
- . PAL camera settings fixes
