Solex Missions, Tower, Mission Planner, or QGroundControl

Kelly, in Solex Missions can you create a ROI that is negative altitude?

Is there a “release ROI” like in Tower?
 
Excellent, I’ll try Set ROU/Clear.

Can a ROI have a negative altitude?
 
Excellent, I’ll try Set ROU/Clear.

Can a ROI have a negative altitude?

At this point, it can only have an altitude down to 0. The altitude of the ROI determines how far down the gimbal points to look at the ROI point. So at 0, it would be looking at the ground.
 
Negative ROI heights are important for getting the shot right

please add this to your feature request.

Thanks for the active development
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arny58
I've been using QGC, MP, and Tower for some time. Just purchased Solex + Missions last week (partially due to curiosity and the raves it seems to be receiving in these forums).

Since I've switched from a Windows tablet to Android (Dell Venue 10, 5.1) MP has fallen to disuse.

QGroundControl (QGC)
  • Free and open source
  • Multiplatform: Win, Mac, Linux, iOS (beta), Android
  • Currently maintained, 2-3 main contributors
  • Has surveys
    • no spline surveys
    • sometimes surveys load from saved missions as individual waypoints
  • Planned Home and RTL paths shown on map
  • Geofences are defined per mission
  • (Likely a user error on my part) Requires extra confirmation at mission start, causing false error

Tower
  • Free and open source
  • Android only
  • Not much project activity since Oct. 2017, 2-3 main contributorHas surveys and spline surveys
  • Pleasant interface and generally easy to use
  • Takeoff and RTL planned locations not shown graphically on map
    • (Some people prefer this, whereas I prefer the QGC approach)
  • Allows fully autonomous takeoff for missions
Solex
  • Proprietary, $30 for main program + $20 for missions + $10 for geotagging
    • draws heavily from 3DR Solo and Tower open sources
  • Android only
  • Currently maintained, 1 developer
  • Has surveys and spline surveys
  • Has lots of advanced waypoint actions that leverage Solo/OpenSolo advances
  • Beautiful interface and generally very easy to use
  • Takeoff and RTL planned locations not shown graphically on map
    • (Some people prefer this, whereas I prefer the QGC approach)
  • Has integrated firmware upgrade capability
  • IN MY VERY LIMITED EXPERIENCE WITH SOLEX seems to have lots of little quirks, usability challenges, and bugs. To be fair, I have not yet flown with Solex (not quite confident that I should).
    • Developer might be busy/vacationing... hasn't responded to my reported issues or offers to help
Just my 2 cents. I appreciate that each of us have different needs/experiences/opinions. What's great is that we actually have many different choices for ground control apps.
My skepticism for Solex are; it is only one guy that maintain the app. It could be nice if Kelly involved an another soul.
 
My skepticism for Solex are; it is only one guy that maintain the app. It could be nice if Kelly involved an another soul.
Can't find that a mission can be paused for changing battery while I power the cube through the USB in the belly contact.
 
Meaning what, exactly? I should hire someone to work on Solex?
Thinking on the continuity. Good forbid; but you can be sic. Du you have a plan for wath to do in such a case?
Like your work and using Solex regularly.
Starting up next week with a large survey and need battery chang during the job. I haven't seen any pause button yet. But I bet you know where it is.
I am changing batteries when the USB is powered.
Have a nice day.
 
Starting up next week with a large survey and need battery chang during the job. I haven't seen any pause button yet. But I bet you know where it is. I am changing batteries when the USB is powered.
Have a nice day.

Mission's are not really paused. You're either in auto mode, or you're not. If you want to interrupt a mission, you just change flight modes and do whatever it is you need to do (like come home and hot-swap batteries. Then when you switch back to auto mode, the mission will resume where it left off. This assuming parameter MIS_RESTART is still set for the default of 0. There is no separate pause function or resume function. It just does it. This is a function of ArduCopter, not a function of the Solex app.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wetstone and Arny58
Mission's are not really paused. You're either in auto mode, or you're not. If you want to interrupt a mission, you just change flight modes and do whatever it is you need to do (like come home and hot-swap batteries. Then when you switch back to auto mode, the mission will resume where it left off. This assuming parameter MIS_RESTART is still set for the default of 0. There is no separate pause function or resume function. It just does it. This is a function of ArduCopter, not a function of the Solex app.
Thank you for the information.
I has to make an instruction manual for our systems and that info was missing.
 
Hmmm, I could look into it. Missions in Solex aren't going to match up 1:1 with Mission Planner missions, FWIW. The way they're structured is different. There is already the ability to import a mission into Solex via QGC files.

I'd be interested to know: What's stopping you from using Solex's mission editor for making complex missions? I do it pretty often, but I'm kind of partial to using it for that. I'd like for the mission editing in Solex to be cool enough that people grativate toward using it instead of other editors. :) Is it just that it's more comfortable to plan a mission on a PC, or is there some other reason?
Hi!
I just started to study the functions of the survey in Solex ..
After watching the discussion here, I added my MAPIR Survey3 camera to the list of cameras in Solex. Tried to create a survey mission. Do I need to add more camera shutter settings? is it already included in these survey settings? In MP it is usually done automatically - the interval distance.
I already see that in the MP it is easier to do .. Immediately calculated parameters are very important - the minimum shutter speed depending on the set flight speed, the interval of the camera (which should not exceed the speed of writing a file to the memory card).
also the total distance and the time of the survey of this distance are important to assess the capabilities of the battery. All this is not available in Solex missions?
 
Hi!
I just started to study the functions of the survey in Solex ..
After watching the discussion here, I added my MAPIR Survey3 camera to the list of cameras in Solex. Tried to create a survey mission. Do I need to add more camera shutter settings? is it already included in these survey settings? In MP it is usually done automatically - the interval distance.
I already see that in the MP it is easier to do .. Immediately calculated parameters are very important - the minimum shutter speed depending on the set flight speed, the interval of the camera (which should not exceed the speed of writing a file to the memory card).
also the total distance and the time of the survey of this distance are important to assess the capabilities of the battery. All this is not available in Solex missions?

Hi,
Surveys might actually be easier to do in Mission Planner than they are in Solex. The good news is, I can update Solex and add whatever features are missing. With that in mind, let's talk immediately-calculated parameters. What parameters are those? I'm sure I can make Solex do the same thing. Total distance is displayed on the mission editor when you put a mission together, it's in the little black panel at the top.

Thanks,
Kelly
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJMc and DocBr
hello Kelly!

Here is a screenshot from MP. I marked important parameters with red dots. They are also useful for changing settings in a previously created mission. In MP, I save the mission as a "grid" file. Mission parameters can be edited according to the situation .. - lighting, scan details (altitude), when you need to periodically inspect the same area. But for sunny weather, for example, this can be done by some parameters (higher flight speed), and for cloudy weather, when the light is less, you need to reduce the speed, increase the altitude, so as not to reduce the minimum shutter speed.

Solex does not support "grid" files, so I can import WP files into Solex, but I can't customize these tasks to my needs in Sollex because not all options are available here.
 

Attachments

  • MP Grid.jpg
    MP Grid.jpg
    201.1 KB · Views: 27
Last edited:

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
13,093
Messages
147,741
Members
16,048
Latest member
ihatethatihavetomakeanacc