Wifi Mod complete

[SteveReno]

Didn't need any setting changes. Nothing new to add... Except "Just do it!" [emoji14]

Thanks for the "just do it".
Planing to. Just haven't seen anyone posting about the mod anymore, got me second guessing, but told my self that's it not that hard. Video's, community help if I run do have any problems.

Next will be the GPS mod. I am, seems to have a video out also?

With the WiFi mod, looking for better feed video & just consistent range around the Los distance. Around 3k to 4k.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Lamda]

Thanks for the "just do it".
Planing to. Just haven't seen anyone posting about the mod anymore, got me second guessing, but told my self that's it not that hard. Video's, community help if I run do have any problems.

Next will be the GPS mod. I am, seems to have a video out also?

With the WiFi mod, looking for better feed video & just consistent range around the Los distance. Around 3k to 4k.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

If going by the number of views on the wifi mod threads vs. how many people have reported back with low range issues, I think most people have just modded and are happy it just works. I think I even saw a pic sometime back of a clear bag filled with the oem wifi cards after all their swaps?

I haven't needed to do the GPS mod but was ready to do it. I'm not waiting very long for lock usually. I've got my eye out on the M8T's tho.

 

[SteveReno]

If going by the number of views on the wifi mod threads vs. how many people have reported back with low range issues, I think most people have just modded and are happy it just works. I think I even saw a pic sometime back of a clear bag filled with the oem wifi cards after all their swaps?

I haven't needed to do the GPS mod but was ready to do it. I'm not waiting very long for lock usually. I've got my eye out on the M8T's tho.

Yes, the m8t seems to be the one. Looking to increase SATs. Time wise not too much of a problem, about 5min to lock, but never more then 9 SATs locked.
First time, last week, flew under a tree, Solo stopped, & started to rise, lucky I was close enough to judge how to guide Solo out from the trees.

Can't wait for WiFi cards to come in.
Should I mod both "Solo & controller" at the same time?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Lamda]

Yes, the m8t seems to be the one. Looking to increase SATs. Time wise not too much of a problem, about 5min to lock, but never more then 9 SATs locked.
First time, last week, flew under a tree, Solo stopped, & started to rise, lucky I was close enough to judge how to guide Solo out from the trees.

Can't wait for WiFi cards to come in.
Should I mod both "Solo & controller" at the same time?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I would suggest modding both and get it over with. For troubleshooting purposes, it's easy to just upgrade the controller and boot it up to make sure everything is working right. Then swap Solo after you've tried connecting with the new card in the controller. I used wifi analyzer on my tablet to verify controller signal strength as well.

Swapping Solo's card should force you to pair again.

That being said, I still haven't swapped out my card in Solo. I was waiting for everything to pan out with the gimbal first, then my pigtails to put an SMA connector into Solo. Just been too busy to now do it all at once.

If 4K ft is your goal, the cards should be more than enough. I get that with just the one card and a single ALFA antenna.

 

[RolandS888]

I have changed the wifi cards in both the controller and Solo to the MikroTik R11Es. Measured the output at the SMA connector on the controller, the controller card is only putting out 22 dbm (125mW) which is disappointing.
The wifi card in solo transmits around 19.5dbm (~90mW) :-(
I cant find a decent datasheet on the mikrotiks apart from a brochure which doesnt say a lot.
I was hoping to find a manual way to switch them to a higher power setting, looks like thats not possible.
During some investigation I have re-installed the original wifi cards, the output powers are the same, so I am going to leave them in. I guess its the Mikrotiks sensitivity making the difference.
In a not too heavily congested wifi area the originals should still be fine.
I look forward to the day someone can bump these cards to a higher output power, because at the moment they are only idling, although I expect to see compass, GPS and possibly gimbal issues arise if the 2 antennas on the solo are pumping out 800mW

 

[Lamda]

I have changed the wifi cards in both the controller and Solo to the MikroTik R11Es. Measured the output at the SMA connector on the controller, the controller card is only putting out 22 dbm (125mW) which is disappointing.
The wifi card in solo transmits around 19.5dbm (~90mW) :-(
I cant find a decent datasheet on the mikrotiks apart from a brochure which doesnt say a lot.
I was hoping to find a manual way to switch them to a higher power setting, looks like thats not possible.
During some investigation I have re-installed the original wifi cards, the output powers are the same, so I am going to leave them in. I guess its the Mikrotiks sensitivity making the difference.
In a not too heavily congested wifi area the originals should still be fine.
I look forward to the day someone can bump these cards to a higher output power, because at the moment they are only idling, although I expect to see compass, GPS and possibly gimbal issues arise if the 2 antennas on the solo are pumping out 800mW

Interesting. Since you have a metre, have you considered modifying the country code and changing the transmit power limits? I don't know where you are located; your Solo configuration could be different than ours and it may not be legal in your area so do this with caution.

 

[RolandS888]

Is that using the same method to get to the hostapd file?
If so where do I go to alter the settings? Is it possible to change the output power there, or just the country code?

 

[Lamda]

Is that using the same method to get to the hostapd file?
If so where do I go to alter the settings? Is it possible to change the output power there, or just the country code?

Not the hostapd file. You'd either run a command (look up @NYG 's posts prior in this thread) or you could try to alter the sololink config file to change it to 30dB.

I think the country code is probably easiest. You can use TW to enable extra channels.

This was from NYG's post:
"sololink_config --set-wifi-country US (this would change country code to the US without manually changing hostapd.conf)"

Finally swapped the card in my Solo and swapped one antenna to an SMA connector so that I could attach a skew planar on the Solo. Mixed results pairing a clover on the controller along with the Alfa antenna - 2500ft. I'll have to test some more another time.

However, with the Immersonrc 2.4Ghz RH patch and a stock whip antenna on the controller, I made the mistake of starting the test without using a full battery. Battery is definitely an issue now, not range. Even in a densly populated area with lots of wifi interference.

Video stayed relatively clean, even when turning.

Was a little stressed with just barely getting Solo back over to my side of the shore at 10% battery left and having to stop the auto RTH at 10% while landing.

 

[RolandS888]

Oh thats cutting it close @ < 10% battery.
So youre using a RHCP patch with a linear on the Solo?
And the skew planar/alpha combination is mixed linear/CP as well, as the Alphas are linear.
You will be losing 3dbi from your link in each case, so there is still room for improvement.

My solo was purchased in the USA, so I gather it has a USA country code.
Im not fussed about opening up extra channels, I have been keeping an eye on the channels it is selecting and it is making good decisions, no problem there.
What I would like is to bump the transmitted power somewhat.

Im just now learning to SSH into Solo to have a look around at command files.

 

[Lamda]

Oh thats cutting it close @ < 10% battery.
So youre using a RHCP patch with a linear on the Solo?
And the skew planar/alpha combination is mixed linear/CP as well, as the Alphas are linear.
You will be losing 3dbi from your link in each case, so there is still room for improvement.

My solo was purchased in the USA, so I gather it has a USA country code.
Im not fussed about opening up extra channels, I have been keeping an eye on the channels it is selecting and it is making good decisions, no problem there.
What I would like is to bump the transmitted power somewhat.

Im just coming to terms with SSHing into Solo to have a look around.

The skew planar is rhcp so my Solo is one CP one stock linear. Hence why I'm still ok mixing on the controller. With MIMO, Solo should be picking the correct chain to use based on signal strength. I didn't want to change both of Solo's antennas to CP. Sometimes I want the smaller linear antennas. As it stands, even mixed, the range is crazy. Now that I know, I won't be doing that again haha

 

[RolandS888]

Can someone tell me, with the two antennas and the MIMO configuration of the Wifi, are both channels Tx/Rx-ing both telemetry AND video, or are they split and one channel is doing vid and one data?

 

[RolandS888]

The skew planar is rhcp so my Solo is one CP one stock linear. Hence why I'm still ok mixing on the controller. With MIMO, Solo should be picking the correct chain to use based on signal strength. I didn't want to change both of Solo's antennas to CP. Sometimes I want the smaller linear antennas. As it stands, even mixed, the range is crazy. Now that I know, I won't be doing that again haha

Half your luck Lamda. Im off to do some range testing now as I have been having some issues, thus the wifi cards have been in and out several times.

 

[Timmytimetravel]

Keep note of the cable routing of the antenna cables. I think some of my video issues may be to do with ignoring the specific cable routing. Just take photos before changing cards. Having said that it's way better when not flying with high voltage power lines los between controller and solo.

I noticed very definite increases with 1st and 2nd card mods. I find it odd it's still being measured at 20db. Roland, what are you using to measure?

 

[RolandS888]

Keep note of the cable routing of the antenna cables. I think some of my video issues may be to do with ignoring the specific cable routing. Just take photos before changing cards. Having said that it's way better when not flying with high voltage power lines los between controller and solo.

I noticed very definite increases with 1st and 2nd card mods. I find it odd it's still being measured at 20db. Roland, what are you using to measure?

Oh terrific, I'm having a few minor intermittant video issues, might have to get back in and have another look around. Thanks for the tip Tim.
Did you find anywhere specific that causes problems, and what sort of symptoms did you see.

For measuring the rf output I use a convenient little device that covers rc freqs.

RF Power Meter - ImmersionRC Limited

 

[Timmytimetravel]

Covered in some previous posts somewhat, think in this thread, no pics though. Someone else having video issues described routing around a chip and over or under a board. I recall when pulling it apart (can't recall if solo or controller) that the stock routing of one antenna cable went back alongside the wifi card board to the point it was glued there. I assumed it was just strain relief, but could easily be routing to avoid interference. Think that was controller. Also if the routing to one antenna point was over or under the wifi board.

Also in solo I think I did not pay attention to if one of the wifi antenna cables going to the front leg was over or under the main board.

Maybe the next person to try this should take some photo of the stock routing as they go.

Nice instrument! Funny it says the attenuators required to bring the signal into range of instrument at 30db, but then specs say 50 have you measured anything above 30 anywhere for this sort of thing?

The attenuators they supply look cool and small. Maybe I'll get some and put my modded card back in controller end as well. I can then put my fpvlr amped setup back on with attenuators when required. This means when not on, I should get max range with unamped panels.

You have got me thinking now about the 30db vs 20 though.

There is a setting in the solo app for eu power restrictions. Presuming this is not on?

You might have to try nyg's ssh command to check your output and see if it thinks it's 20 or 30.

 

[SteveReno]

Didn't need any setting changes. Nothing new to add... Except "Just do it!"

Installed both Cards, everything is working.
Solo & controller connected after re-pairing.
Didn't need to remove main board from Solo, just Tilted it & had access to change card.
Tested all other components, Gimbal, GP, Feed, GPS all working correctly.
Will test flight soon.

 

[Lamda]

Installed both Cards, everything is working.
Solo & controller connected after re-pairing.
Didn't need to remove main board from Solo, just Tilted it & had access to change card.
Tested all other components, Gimbal, GP, Feed, GPS all working correctly.
Will test flight soon.

Nice. Keep us posted

 

[Troiano27]

Anyone have a link to the best cards for this mod?

 

[PdxSteve]

Anyone have a link to the best cards for this mod?

It was in post 10 of this thread Wifi Mod complete

 

[Troiano27]

1. R11e-2HnD 800mw(AR9580 chipset) this is the card you want to use, it runs 3x3:3 MIMO theoretical speed 450Mbps real speed 360Mbps....from my research on the forums this card have more success rate(UNCENSORED)

This description was listed in one of the posts for the AR9580 chipset, but the description of the wifi card at the link (from post 10) sayS

• 2192-2732MHz miniPCI-e IEEE 802.11b/g/n standard
• Output Power of up to 29dBm
• Support for up to 2x2 MIMO with spatial multiplexing
• Atheros AR9580, chipset
• High Performance (up to 300Mbps physical data rates and 200Mbps of actual user throughput) with Low Power Consumption
• Two UFL Antenna Connectors

So are these indeed the same cards as the description above?