3DR Solo Mini M8N / BN-800 GPS Mount by KDan

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Overview:
This is a bracket for the 3DR Solo to allow mounting a Banggood M8N which can be purchased for under $18, or a ReadytoFlyQuads M8N Mini8 which is currently on sale for $17.
This bracket keeps the GPS closer to the top (same as stock GPS position) in an effort to keep the antenna a little more in the clear. The GPS is mounted to the top side of the bracket with three very short screws or double stick tape. The GPS - with bracket attached - is then flipped over and mounted in the Solo with the original screws (use only three). The original copper shield should then be re-installed. One screw can be inserted through the copper shield - use tape if you need to secure the shield on the other side.
Wiring:
The two GPS's linked above will work out of the box with the 3DR Solo. The baud rate is already correct. The only thing you need to do is splice the harness that comes with the new GPS into the stock Solo GPS harness. The wiring colors on the harness that comes with the new M8N GPS will probably vary, so you will have to verify the connections. These GPS's come with 6 wires, but you only need 4. You need Vcc (5V) - typically RED, Ground - Typically BLACK, Transmit - typically YELLOW, and Receive, typically gray or brown.
If you did everything right, you should get much faster satellite acquisition times with the new GPS. 16 satellites on the ground and 20+ in the air is common. I have seen as many as 23. You should be getting HDOP's of 0.5 to 0.7.
Be aware that although aquisition times are faster and HDOP values are improved, the robustness of the GPS lock with the above GPS's may or not be better than stock. As with any GPS, be prepared for loss of GPS lock if you enter a location where a large portion of the sky is suddenly blocked by trees or buildings. You can have over a dozen satellites showing and loose GPS lock due to multipath interference. Always have Manual mode programmed onto your A or B button and know how to fly manually without GPS.