No I didn't use the cardboard mod. I never really used it, as I didn't have too many problems with my gps, and with cardboard being prone to moisture problems, I just didn't use it. You won't need it with the 3DR shield, anyway. You also want to learn to use the search function on the forum. It is the magnifying glass in the upper right of the page. A ton of past posts can be brought up to answer a lot of your questions. It is great. As for the manual link, here you go 3DR Solo User Manual I recommend you download it and keep it handy. Good luck.