This is not the Cube
you are looking for.
If a link sent you here looking for a Green Cube for a 3DR Solo, you probably found an outdated hardware workaround. The modern answer is software first: install OpenSolo, verify the Solo-safe configuration, and only then decide whether you actually need to go farther.
Important: do not skip the OpenSolo step.
If your Solo is still on old stock 3DR firmware, do not treat current ArduCopter as the first step. Install OpenSolo first. OpenSolo is the Solo-aware bridge from the abandoned 3DR software world into the maintained ArduPilot world.
After OpenSolo is installed and working, then decide whether you actually need newer ArduCopter features. For ordinary Solo use, OpenSolo may already be the right stopping point.
Why old links pointed here.
Jester’s Drones was once a convenient place to buy the Green Cube in the United States. Old forum posts, repair discussions, and upgrade guides linked here because the Green Cube was a practical hardware workaround for a real Solo problem.
This page exists so those old links no longer end in confusion. The product is no longer the main answer most visitors need.
What the Green Cube was trying to solve.
The classic concern involved the Solo ESCs and motor-output behavior. Under the wrong conditions, aggressive output changes could contribute to ESC brown-out, loss of sync, or unreliable behavior. The Green Cube hardware workaround helped by changing the signaling situation that old Solo owners were fighting with at the time.
That old advice was not foolish. It was advice from an earlier stage of the Solo’s history.
What changed?
OpenSolo and later ArduPilot work made the software path much better. The key idea is motor-output slew limiting: instead of allowing the flight controller to demand abrupt motor-output changes, the software can limit how quickly output rises.
In ArduPilot, the relevant parameter is:
MOT_SLEW_UP_TIME
This setting did not exist in ArduPilot until January 2019. Prior to that, it was not safe to run ArduPilot on Solo without a hardware correction.
The practical point is simple: for the old Green Cube problem that brought most people here, the usual answer is not “find old hardware.” The answer is “make sure the Solo is on the correct software path and parameter set.”
The recommended path.
If you are on stock 3DR Solo firmware, install OpenSolo first.
Do not jump directly from an untouched stock Solo to newer ArduCopter. OpenSolo is the bridge step.
After OpenSolo is working, decide whether to stop there.
OpenSolo still supports Solo features such as Cable Cam. Many users do not actually need to go beyond OpenSolo.
Upgrade to newer ArduCopter only if you need its features.
Newer ArduCopter may be useful for advanced users, but it is not automatically the best next step for every Solo owner.
After upgrading beyond OpenSolo, review required settings before flying.
Some compass-related settings may need updating after moving to newer ArduCopter. Do not assume old parameters are automatically correct.
Which path are you on?
I just want my Solo working.
Install OpenSolo, confirm everything works, and strongly consider stopping there.
I want Cable Cam and normal Solo behavior.
OpenSolo is likely the place you want to be. You do not need to chase newer ArduCopter just because it exists.
I need newer ArduCopter features.
Use OpenSolo first, then follow the current Solo-to-ArduCopter upgrade instructions carefully, including compass-related checks.
Solo gimbal warning.
If your Solo gimbal was never installed and updated on a working Solo, be careful. You may need to update through the original Solo software process first, install the gimbal and let it update, then move to OpenSolo, and only after that consider newer ArduCopter.
Original Solo software update → install gimbal and allow gimbal update → install OpenSolo → optional newer ArduCopter
What not to do.
Do not blindly flash firmware, copy random parameters from old posts, or assume that a Green Cube is the only solution. Do not fly until the aircraft passes normal preflight checks and the compass configuration has been reviewed after any major upgrade.
When hardware may still matter.
This page does not diagnose damaged ESCs, bad wiring, unstable power, modified hardware, bad connectors, or unrelated flight-control problems. If the aircraft has hardware faults, software settings are not a substitute for repair.