Solo Volume vs. Mavic

[MtnXfreeride]

There are a lot of places I would like to fly but the 3dr solo is just too loud to do it without feeling like I am annoying people trying to enjoy the outdoors. I want to be as respectful as possible. I was flying over a frozen lake yesterday and I could hear the thing making its screechy noise from 1200 feet away and I'm sure it was annoying to people on the ice XC skiing, walking, ice fishing etc.. I cut that flight down to just a few minutes.

Has anyone seen a dji mavic flying in person and know if it is more quiet than a solo? Is the sound overall less annoying?

It sounds more like a high pitched screechy/squeeky dry bearing noise to me on mine, but its my second 3dr solo and both made the same noise out of the box. What are the chances both come messed up?

 

[Pál Szabolcs]

Why do You ask that here?! [emoji16]

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

You're not going to find any drone of this general size to be quiet. It's the nature of high speed propellers. You would need a much larger aircraft with much larger propellers (like 15-20"). Look at @Jubalr's Solo Grande thread. You'll see his giant ass quad with giant ass props that is super quiet.

 

[MtnXfreeride]

Why do You ask that here?! [emoji16]

Because I have a solo? If I get a mavic I'm keeping my solo.. they are both good for different things.. the Hero4 black is a better camera than a mavic.

 

[MtnXfreeride]

You're not going to find any drone of this general size to be quiet. It's the nature of high speed propellers. You would need a much larger aircraft with much larger propellers (like 15-20"). Look at @Jubalr's Solo Grande thread. You'll see his giant ass quad with giant ass props that is super quiet.

The Mavic propellers look even smaller - but it is lighter. I guess I am still looking to hear from someone who has heard both to know. If a Mavic is just as obnoxious I might just pass on the Mavic for now.

 

[Acroduster]

Have you oiled your Solo motors? Might cut down on the screech - it did for me...

 

[twitchyzero]

I know exacly where OP is coming from. Every time I take off with the Solo...the undenying concern is annoying the hell out of others with its weedwacking amplifier.

i have both
Mavic is way, way quieter.

i dislike how noisy the Solo is, I got called out for it flying at 7am at camp that took a day to hike to...(i wanted to get decent sunrise colors)

Mavic Pro's camera is also much better than Hero4Black...I don't know where you're reading that as I have two H4Bs (one modified with rectilinear lens too)

Only keeping my Solo because of smart shots...if Mavic got the same smart shots I would HAPPILY drop the Solo. I couldn't believe how stable the Mavic flies when I first took it out of the box compared to the Solo. Crazy how much tech has changed in 18 months and when you have gazillions of dollars to throw at R&D instead of bleeding millions.

 

[SPP]

I could hear the thing making its screechy noise from 1200 feet away

I think you best change your motors, maybe bad bearings ? My Solo with T Motor is not as noisy as how your described and I can't hear it if at 1,200 feet. However if it is a valley ( sound reflection ) and at 4AM where only crickets make noise, maybe I can hear very minor buzzing , but I doubt from as far as 1,200 feet away.

Compared to Phantom 4 ( me dont have a Mavic ) my Solo is just a bit louder , but with T Motor

I think the logic is simple , if given the same RPM of the motors being +- 900Kv motors, any drone with more weight need to generate more uplift and hence more propeller noise. Mavic is like 800 grams or 1/2 of Solo's weight. My Phantom 4 I think 1.6kg or 350 grams lighter than Solo with Black4 on it.
.

 

[117AJ]

Mine would occasionally make a screechy sound. Not continuously. Once I balanced my propellers I stopped hearing that noise and only have normal prop noise now. May or may not be related but it is something I noticed after balancing my props.

 

[SPP]

Well all spinning stuff has what we call a critical speed.
Critical speed - Wikipedia
Where natural vibration will occur.

This is not including props being unbalanced.

Spinning props do not make screechy sound, that kind of sound is mechanical, hence motor's bearing is the suspect.
By balancing your props you would surely load the bearing better than an out of balance props.
Also certain wear and tear on the motor being used, may reduce certain screechy-friction noise, but that does not mean in the long run if
indeed there is a bearing issue, that the motor won't seized.

Rule of thumb is simple when it comes to spinning object like a motor ( assumed without propellers ), less noise is better ..better as in mechanically better.

The only thing we want to produce loud sound while spinning is a whistling top
Whistling Top, Humming Top, Spinning Top, Spintop, Pump Top - Garrett Wade

I just don't want to see your next post being " I crashed my Solo".

 

[banjopad]

I have 2 Solos and just purchased a Mavic because of the portability. Have flown the Mavic only once and was extremely impressed. Yes the Mavic is much quiter. Both are incredible machines and have their own specific advantages.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

The Master Airscrew props are a little quieter than the stock ones. As was already said if your motors are screeching you might want to lube the bearings.
The Mavic is quieter because it is lighter, and thus has lower disk loading than the Solo. That being said, the Solo isn't any louder than other copters of similar size and weight.

 

[dirtyvu]

so many YouTube videos that you have available to watch and listen to.

All drones are loud in my opinion. And most people's "problem" with drone noise is more due to the fact that they know it's a drone and don't want to be anywhere near a drone rather than the actual noise.

If you do a lot of low flying, people are either going to be "cool!" and watch it or they're going to be "don't fly that thing near me". If you do high flying, the Solo and other drones are nowhere near as loud as the helicopters or planes that fly by.

 

[unashamed]

Have you oiled your Solo motors? Might cut down on the screech - it did for me...

Are there instructions on doing such?
I've put my solo trough about 30 flights since owning it. It may be time to do some maintenance beyond dusting it off.

 

[EmailGuy]

I have two Solos and I do oil the bearings. If I go straight up 400 feet I can barely hear my Solo. I'm using stock propellers and motors. At 1200 feet away, you cannot hear it at all.

I have other drones that are actually larger with no cameras and smaller batteries that are quieter than the Solo. The main reason is they don't have to push as much air because they are lighter. Once you add a gimbal and GoPro, you need a bigger battery to handle the extra weight. Then you're into a heavier drone like the Solo and it has to push a lot more air to lift it.

If you want a quiet drone, get the DJI Spark. Because of it's weight, it doesn't have to push as much air to fly. Don't expect it to be as good as a Solo, but it's not far behind. I also have a Spark and I like it a lot. It's great for closer shots. If I want 4K, longer flight times, greater range, or better wind resistance, the Solo is the best choice.

 

[rcflyingaddict]

I have two Solos and I do oil the bearings. If I go straight up 400 feet I can barely hear my Solo. I'm using stock propellers and motors. At 1200 feet away, you cannot hear it at all.

I have other drones that are actually larger with no cameras and smaller batteries that are quieter than the Solo. The main reason is they don't have to push as much air because they are lighter. Once you add a gimbal and GoPro, you need a bigger battery to handle the extra weight. Then you're into a heavier drone like the Solo and it has to push a lot more air to lift it.

If you want a quiet drone, get the DJI Spark. Because of it's weight, it doesn't have to push as much air to fly. Don't expect it to be as good as a Solo, but it's not far behind. I also have a Spark and I like it a lot. It's great for closer shots. If I want 4K, longer flight times, greater range, or better wind resistance, the Solo is the best choice.

I had to laugh a bit at this as I put my spark in the air for the first time today expecting it to be very quiet and to my ears it's considerably more quiet than my p4p but louder than my MP.

 

[Saijin_Naib]

I have two Solos and I do oil the bearings.

May I trouble you for the process/parts you use to do the bearing oiling? My two work ones likely could benefit from it, and I know my personal one wouldn't mind

 

[twitchyzero]

At 1200 feet away, you cannot hear it at all.

I have other drones that are actually larger with no cameras and smaller batteries that are quieter than the Solo. The main reason is they don't have to push as much air because they are lighter. Once you add a gimbal and GoPro, you need a bigger battery to handle the extra weight. Then you're into a heavier drone like the Solo and it has to push a lot more air to lift it.

If you want a quiet drone, get the DJI Spark. Because of it's weight, it doesn't have to push as much air to fly. Don't expect it to be as good as a Solo, but it's not far behind. I also have a Spark and I like it a lot. It's great for closer shots. If I want 4K, longer flight times, greater range, or better wind resistance, the Solo is the best choice.

I logged in on a Friday night just to correct your post

Solos out of the box are borderline cringeworthy noisy now that I fly Mavic more frequently.

Sparks are actually noisier than Mavic. Some guy with both tested it...simple physics as the main contributor for noise are that the props are smaller = faster RPM. Other owners also subjectively noted Spark is higher-pitched.

Solo might be a better choice than Spark in most scenarios (ie: if you need MPCC)...but hardly the best choice.

 

[Lon Denard]

Howdy! Well as someone that owns the Solo and Mavic, it's absolutely true that the Mavic is much quieter. In fact, they've come out with new props that make it 60% quieter yet! The camera thing is subjective, I like the footage from my Karma- Hero 5 the best, then the Solo Hero 4 and the Mavic last. However, there are tons of adjustments that I can make with the Mavic, so we'll see. You can adjust the exposure using a wheel on the remote in flight that I need to play with more. There's even a "portrait mode" that I haven't tried. Everyone can argue to their hearts content which drone is "better" but as far as noise goes, the Mavic is much quieter. It's not even close.