Today I decided to give some hard earned opinions of DJI products. Specifically the Mavic Pro Platinum, and DJI Goggles. While I'm here I might as well throw in a few words about the Titan antenna mods; being all inclusive in my rant/review.
First I have to say without question DJI has an incredibly complex device that, were it not for the inferior manufacturing,, they would be worth ever cent. Unfortunately, they are simply too fragile to stand up to the demands placed on their capabilities, let alone the drones limits.
I've experienced a lot of pilot error, and thanks to DJI Refresh,I kept flying, at least until today. For no reason the gimbal servos began slamming into their respective stroke limits like some possessed demon had overtaken my drone. After several attempts at fixing the issue through some YouTube videos, I noticed that one part of the gimbal was too hot to the touch.
I decided to extract the gimbal and have a look. I found a flat ribbon cable along with a length of single stranded wires leading to the camera. The ribbon cable seemed to be in tact but the individual strands had rubbed the gimbal housing during operation; causing several to short circuit. Evidently the short transferred into the servos causing the erratic behavior.
I bought two drones, two sets of goggles, two custom hard cases, two extra controllers, and two long range antenna mods. IMHO I feel I have a right, considering the expense, to offer a rating on each product.
Let say 5 stars is excellent:
DJI Goggles; without reservation I give these 5 stars. Aside from being a little bulky, they provide an immersed experience like none other. The video quality is super fine. And the HUD allows you the convenience of being able to monitor all flight data. The only data I would add is the power level of the device running the GO4 app.
The Titan Antenna mods; They get zero stars from me. Heavy bricks that did absolutely nothing even remotely close to what was told to me by the manufacturer. Some people claim great results but obviously these are people who are either flying LOS such as high altitudes or over flat terrain. I get exactly the same RC signal with or without the brick attached to my modified remote, or just the stock remote.
The Mavic Pro Platinum:
I'm sort of torn here so I'll have to break this down in sub categorizes.
Technology: 5 stars.for sure. Perhaps the most advanced drone on the market. Especially the logic programmed into such a small footprint. Never once did I have an issue with the system failing to deliver. Always responded as it should, and even outwitted me a few time on RTH.
Mechanical design: 5 stars. The size and style is certainly an eye catcher. The fold out arms, battery size, and overall shape of the drone make it one of the nicest looking drones on the market in its class.
Operating system hardware: zero stars. Here is the big negative with DJI. I've been all through the controller and drone, and these are simply poorly constructed devices that are prone to fail. If your one of the lucky ones, you are getting more than the 100+ hours I got..
Having multiple devices, I discovered that there are more than one supplier, using differing components inside the units. For example, one controller fan plug may be white while another is red. Not a big issue but I found the solder joints by some suppliers to be defective. For example the antenna connector and fan power connector simply detached from the board when attempting to unplug.
My experience in manufacturing tells me that quality control is all but non existent. If DJI is ISO compliant at any level, I would Like to see the audits.
In summary, I'm stuck with a pile of parts that will only fly if I continue to pour money in. Its too bad because I absolutely love flying.the Mavic. Its as close to being in the cockpit as can be. An American, German, or Japanese unit would be superior in quality, but probably too expensive to the average hobbyist. So my suggestion is DJI stop production. and put a lot of focus on improving a product with great potential.
Final word, probably wont be buying anything else from DJI
First I have to say without question DJI has an incredibly complex device that, were it not for the inferior manufacturing,, they would be worth ever cent. Unfortunately, they are simply too fragile to stand up to the demands placed on their capabilities, let alone the drones limits.
I've experienced a lot of pilot error, and thanks to DJI Refresh,I kept flying, at least until today. For no reason the gimbal servos began slamming into their respective stroke limits like some possessed demon had overtaken my drone. After several attempts at fixing the issue through some YouTube videos, I noticed that one part of the gimbal was too hot to the touch.
I decided to extract the gimbal and have a look. I found a flat ribbon cable along with a length of single stranded wires leading to the camera. The ribbon cable seemed to be in tact but the individual strands had rubbed the gimbal housing during operation; causing several to short circuit. Evidently the short transferred into the servos causing the erratic behavior.
I bought two drones, two sets of goggles, two custom hard cases, two extra controllers, and two long range antenna mods. IMHO I feel I have a right, considering the expense, to offer a rating on each product.
Let say 5 stars is excellent:
DJI Goggles; without reservation I give these 5 stars. Aside from being a little bulky, they provide an immersed experience like none other. The video quality is super fine. And the HUD allows you the convenience of being able to monitor all flight data. The only data I would add is the power level of the device running the GO4 app.
The Titan Antenna mods; They get zero stars from me. Heavy bricks that did absolutely nothing even remotely close to what was told to me by the manufacturer. Some people claim great results but obviously these are people who are either flying LOS such as high altitudes or over flat terrain. I get exactly the same RC signal with or without the brick attached to my modified remote, or just the stock remote.
The Mavic Pro Platinum:
I'm sort of torn here so I'll have to break this down in sub categorizes.
Technology: 5 stars.for sure. Perhaps the most advanced drone on the market. Especially the logic programmed into such a small footprint. Never once did I have an issue with the system failing to deliver. Always responded as it should, and even outwitted me a few time on RTH.
Mechanical design: 5 stars. The size and style is certainly an eye catcher. The fold out arms, battery size, and overall shape of the drone make it one of the nicest looking drones on the market in its class.
Operating system hardware: zero stars. Here is the big negative with DJI. I've been all through the controller and drone, and these are simply poorly constructed devices that are prone to fail. If your one of the lucky ones, you are getting more than the 100+ hours I got..
Having multiple devices, I discovered that there are more than one supplier, using differing components inside the units. For example, one controller fan plug may be white while another is red. Not a big issue but I found the solder joints by some suppliers to be defective. For example the antenna connector and fan power connector simply detached from the board when attempting to unplug.
My experience in manufacturing tells me that quality control is all but non existent. If DJI is ISO compliant at any level, I would Like to see the audits.
In summary, I'm stuck with a pile of parts that will only fly if I continue to pour money in. Its too bad because I absolutely love flying.the Mavic. Its as close to being in the cockpit as can be. An American, German, or Japanese unit would be superior in quality, but probably too expensive to the average hobbyist. So my suggestion is DJI stop production. and put a lot of focus on improving a product with great potential.
Final word, probably wont be buying anything else from DJI
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