The Solo Ebay Bargains....

[JRW]

After looking at a few posts "solo won't connect to controller"
and " solid orange led" a few members found the issue to be the controller sd card was not seated properly in the card holder.
You may want to consider the controller also.

 

[ykamenet]

No it's definitely not the controller, I have two other controllers that I know are fine since I used them with other solos I have, and same issue. I can't get the solo body into pairing mode so the issue is definitely with the drone.

 

[JRW]

I would read this post before you condemn solo's sd card and or image.
New solo DOA??? Help Please :)

 

[JRW]

This is the file.
Solo SD Card Image

I found it on a few different sites.

 

[ykamenet]

@JRW Thanks, those are the same links I found, they all point to mega.nz hosting site which limits connection. Oh well, I will wait till tomorrow I guess. maybe it will download after 3 more hours of waiting. I disabled my Solo (pretty easy actually using youtube videos as a guide) and the new challenge - I can't get the damn SD card to come out! Removed the white glue and cleaned it up but it is not going in or out... can't pull the damn thing and don't want to break it.

 

[JRW]

Be careful. It's a "push in " style card lock mechanism. Remove all of the white compound from the metal holder. I used a kabob skewer (hardwood) to scrape the card and holder. (Keeping static to a minimum)
Then push in the card to unlock.
You could remove a known working sd card from your other solo and load the image.

I see post number 9968 at RCG that discusses the partition on the card "partition full " could be the issue.
Looking for my old Linux box to investigate the image I saved.

Official 3DR Solo ***Owner's Thread*** - Page 665 - RC Groups

 

[ykamenet]

@JRW Thanks again. Just got it out. Had to grab it from both sides, and apply a bit more pressure - it came out. Now just need to wait for the image to download... pain. I don't want to take my other solo apart for this procedure if possible. Would rather download it... eventually. Thanks.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

Another update: So having 1 fully functioning solo with Gimbal and 2 spare (fully functioning) solo's. I decided it was best to also nab a spare Gimbal. So got one off amazon for $55 about a month back. Decided to bite the bullet and nab another one this week. $89! Wow, that's one heck of a price raise. Managed to get one for $70 off B&H, but it looks like cheap solo's and spare parts are on their way out. Maybe all the excess stock was sold off?

Next purchase, saving up for some green cubes!

 

[Freebird32]

Maybe all the excess stock was sold off?

Yes things were very cheap for a while, BB had some great prices and also B&H. I wish I had gotten a few more parts too. I've wondered if most of the stock is depleted, save for the bundle/complete birds and refurbs/returns.
I got a bad gimbal from Amazon but didn't test it until too late to return. If the firmware can be open-sourced, the third party stuff will take advantage and should be some interesting mods out there. Solo will take a life of its own.

 

[JRW]

B&H Photo shows "open box " solo gimbals @ $39.95 with full manufacturer warranty.

 

[Freebird32]

B&H Photo shows "open box " solo gimbals

Thanks for the tip, I didn't notice the open box note when I got one a couple weeks ago for 59. I just ordered another for the last eBay bird I got. It is ready to be tested with a gimbal.

 

[JRW]

Because the gimbal at the moment has proprietary sw its value is limited.
Who knows when or if the code to control the gimbal will be available.

@ $39.95 with free shipping I see that as good insurance for those who continue to fly solo.

 

[jbrunel]

Because the gimbal at the moment has proprietary sw its value is limited.
Who knows when or if the code to control the gimbal will be available.

@ $39.95 with free shipping I see that as good insurance for those who continue to fly solo.

I think there are sold out

 

[veloster84]

Sold out. Wish I had purchased one earlier today when I had planned to. Full price is only option now.

 

[Freebird32]

Full price is only option now

Not all bad, after all the original full price I paid for the first release I bought from 3DR was several hundred dollars. Now you can get new ones easily for 69-89, which is still a bargain. I started with a Blade 350QX in 2014 and added a chinese gimbal from eBay that was about a 100, and it couldn't transmit video or be controlled. The gimbals out now are pretty amazing for their function/price. Give up 2 wks of Starbucks Lattes and you can buy a gimbal.

 

[KDan]

Yea, I was going to order another spare about a week ago, I had it in my cart at $49.95, but the next morning when I went to compete my order it had jumped to $59.95. I ordered it anyway and when the box arrived it had TWO gimbals in it. I thought briefly about selling one, but decided to keep it for now since the B&H price is now $69.95 and the eBay price seems to be going through the roof.

 

[Freebird32]

I just installed and tested my last ebay $60 parts drone with the open box gimbal i got from B&H. Booted fine, connected, app ok, flies rock solid. I got 14 sats @ 0.7 HDOP and it was overcast here. Rev A board. Video stabil, solo stabil in wind, all is good. Open box gimbal didnt come with any accessories or gimbal lock foam...and i was so looking forward to another double ended screwdriver.

 

[just_bruce]

You got DOUBLE ENDED!???!

Now I am sad....

 

[FlyGuy80]

Hey, long time lurker here. I bought 3 "parts" Solo's from E-bay. 2 from seller "titan.deals" and 1 from seller "xxtremelion". Out of the 2 from "titan.deals", one had a busted motor (motor would "click" when Solo was powered on) and the other has a solid red status light (bricked?) on the quad itself. I was able to pull one of the motors out of the bricked Solo and use it to replace the faulty motor on the Solo with the "clicking" motor and that Solo is now flying like a champ. The 3rd "parts" Solo (purchased from xxtremelion) had a faulty motor as well (quad would power up and arm, all motors spin up except motor #2), so I replaced faulty motor #2 on the 3rd "parts" Solo and that Solo is now also flying like a champ. As luck would have it, all 3 parts Solo's came with REV B GPS modules, so I took the REV B GPS module out of the bricked parts Solo and installed it in my new Solo that was purchased from BandH and came with REV A GPS.

So, long story short ...I purchased 1 new Solo w/gimbal and extra batteries from BandH, that Solo came with REV A GPS and now has REV B GPS installed and is flying like a champ. I purchased 3 parts Solo's from Ebay and was able to rebuild/repair 2 of them and they are now both flying like a champ. and I have the bricked/parts unit that I will use parts from to repair the other 3 units as needed.

I have also insured by new Solo unit that was purchased from BandH. Feel's good to have a couple of backup/testing units, and my primary bird insured.

Just wanted to share my experiences with buying "parts" Solo's from E-Bay, and also wanted to say thanks to everyone for the heads up on the Ebay "parts" Solo deals

 

[IrishmanPDX]

I think it's fair to say the following:
1: Buying a "parts" solo for parts from Ebay is a great deal.
2: Buying a "parts" solo with the intention of making it a full time flyer is a good deal, but only if you have most of the parts you need lying around (spare batteries, props, etc).
3: Buying a "parts" solo from Ebay with the intention of repairing it making it your primary flyer when you have no spare parts lying around is not a good deal at all. Even if you come in under the price of a new solo (and I doubt you can), you're not going to have a warranty to back that purchase up plus there are still some great "bundles" out there to purchase. I'm not just talking a 3DR warranty (not sure how good they are), but don't forget protection from the place you buy it from, not to mention protection offered on your credit card for all purchases (depending on what card and terms you have of course).

If anyone has other thoughts re: the above please post them, would love to know what your conclusions are from your experiences.