What are "smart shot" failsafes? How do you avoid them?

[KenMc]

Quote from Pedals2Paddles -- "As designed, the Solo uses a smart shot called Return Home or Rewind for failsafes and for when you push the home button. When in these "smart shots", the A & B buttons are disabled and the so are sticks."

I'm new to the Solo - but I can fly a drone manually reasonably well (it's like a 3D ice puck, you have to be on top of it all the time).

I've flown my Solo one time - I was impressed with it's stability (as opposed to my ELEV-8). GPS seemed to work OK - but I'm going to upgrade the GPS and add the new shield anyway - since issues in that system seem to result in unpredictable behavior.

What are the conditions that put it in the 'smart shot' mode? Is it just when you press 'Return Home'? Or is there some other combination of states where the system does it automagically?

I'm planning on upgrading to a Green Cube - but it will be a while - I'd like to fly the Solo in the meantime - but not if there's a significant risk of losing control.

Thank you.

 

[just_bruce]

Please read the manual. It answers both of your questions.

 

[KenMc]

Well, not to make too fine a point - but there were 3 questions.

Quoting further from Pedals2Paddles comments:

"The only thing you are allowed to do is push FLY or Pause. And I think you can use the left stick for camera pointing. You can't change modes or do anything else. This is like 4 different layers of unnecessary complication and unnecessary points of failure for something that is supposed to be a failsafe. If anything goes wrong in any of that complication, you're screwed. On numerous occasions I've had the solo get basically stuck in the air because damn sticks and buttons were disabled. I had to watch it just sit there hovering until the battery died and it crashed. And I'm not the only one. Oh, and there is also a line of code in there that locks out the buttons when the EKF goes bad, which is likely what happened to the OP."

I don't see anything in the manual that refers to these kinds of problems - how to avoid them or what their cause may be.

Section 3.6 "Emergency Procedures" says that you can return to manual control anytime by pressing the "Fly" button - but that didn't seem to work for Pedals2Paddles or for "Well she's gone..."

https://3drpilots.com/threads/well-shes-gone.11414/

I like the Solo - but I can wait to fly it if the factory Solo has these kinds of issues. I only bought the Solo for 2 reasons - the Green Cube - and this Forum.

 

[jimloss]

Just prepare yourself and your Solo for flight and you should be OK with stock GPS modules - no significant risk. A current poll and discussion in another thread on this forum indicates about 2/3 of Solo users are using stock GPS modules.

Lower your risk for problems related to GPS by flying in a large open field and confirming that there will be enough satellites and signal from your flying location. There are many resources available to help with this - my preference is an Android app called UAV Forecast.

The "Smart Shot" that @Pedals2Paddles is talking about is just the way that 3DR programmed RTL. You can initiate RTL using the Home button on your controller. Your Solo will automatically RTL if connection with your controller is lost or when you run your battery too low. Make sure that your RTL Altitude in your application's Vehicle Setting section is set high enough to clear any nearby obstacles, but not excessively high as it will deplete your battery before it can safely land. You can use the Fly button on your controller when you are connected to Solo to take it out of RTL and take back control if/when you want before it lands.

If you are going to fly near trees or structures, it's best to use Fly:Manual mode. In this mode your Solo won't use GPS for guidance so you don't need to worry about loss of GPS signal or reflected signals causing a problem. GPS would still be used if RTL kicks in, so ensure that you don't use the Home button, lose connection between Solo and Controller, or run the battery too low while around trees or structures.

Program the A button on your remote for Fly:Manual so that you can take back control if the GPS ever does take your Solo off course.

 

[rcflyingaddict]

Just prepare yourself and your Solo for flight and you should be OK with stock GPS modules - no significant risk. A current poll and discussion in another thread on this forum indicates about 2/3 of Solo users are using stock GPS modules.

Lower your risk for problems related to GPS by flying in a large open field and confirming that there will be enough satellites and signal from your flying location. There are many resources available to help with this - my preference is an Android app called UAV Forecast.

The "Smart Shot" that @Pedals2Paddles is talking about is just the way that 3DR programmed RTL. You can initiate RTL using the Home button on your controller. Your Solo will automatically RTL if connection with your controller is lost or when you run your battery too low. Make sure that your RTL Altitude in your application's Vehicle Setting section is set high enough to clear any nearby obstacles, but not excessively high as it will deplete your battery before it can safely land. You can use the Fly button on your controller when you are connected to Solo to take it out of RTL and take back control if/when you want before it lands.

If you are going to fly near trees or structures, it's best to use Fly:Manual mode. In this mode your Solo won't use GPS for guidance so you don't need to worry about loss of GPS signal or reflected signals causing a problem. GPS would still be used if RTL kicks in, so ensure that you don't use the Home button, lose connection between Solo and Controller, or run the battery too low while around trees or structures.

Program the A button on your remote for Fly:Manual so that you can take back control if the GPS ever does take your Solo off course.

Jim - I had forgotten about the A button set to Fly:Manual - Have added that to my setup when my Solo arrives next week. The GPS poll surprised/surprises me after reading nearly every thread in this forum and other sources I thought for sure the stock gps would be closer to 20/30 percent. The fact that many are still using the stock gps or were using it w/out issue is a testament to the quality of this kit out of the box. I think the key to flying any new drone/rc for it's Maiden is, as you stated pick a large open area free of any 'noise'. Get a feel for the RC and baseline what normal behavior for that RC so that as you try different things, fly in different venue's etc...you have an idea of what to expect.

 

[KenMc]

Jim -
Thanks for the detailed answer - for starters I'll sick to Fly:Manual and program A to Fly:Manual for when I'm more comfortable flying with GPS. If GPS still works in Manual mode - perhaps I can check the logs and see how solid it is - that might give me documentation on the stock GPS before I switch it out..
I have a lot to learn about drones and flying them - so for the moment I keep my drones on a short leash - line of sight and less than 60' altitude. RTL might happen, but I won't initiate it. Losing connection with the controller is a possibility - even in my uncrowded WIFI environment. So I'll be sure to set the altitude.
I've already experienced flying beyond where I could be certain of the orientation - thankfully I zigged the right way and got it back.
Thanks again for the detailed discussion.
KenMc