Mavic Mini Range Tests - FCC : 2380/3854 meters (5.8Ghz) - CE : 610/517 meters (2.4 GHz)

[old man mavic]

Yep wondering if any mods can be made with DJI assistant too. Looks like we need to wait a little longer Can’t wait to get mine.

Stop with all the nonsense. This drone may not be for the professional. Take it for what it’s worth. I’m a hobbyist recreational flyer. I sold my zoom bought the mini mavic, bought an Rc truck, took my wife and kids out for a couple of nice dinners. Mmmmm sushi ?......

Who cares about the distance. You are supposed to keep it within line of sight anyway? Right? So really old man mavic is right. You will loose sight of the drone before its out of range. Looks like he is a Rec. Guy too.

this might work for a pro. But in very limited close quarters situation. If you do this work for a living, this probably isn’t the one for you. But if you like to fly for fun and want a cool bad arse toy, this is probably better than a lot of the junk out there in this weight category.

it’s not going to replace the M1, M2 , air, inspire, or any new DJI Drone.

their target group is first time Buyers. Who are Not sure ifthey want to drop a bunch of money Into this hobby.

thanks @SkyDogII yes i am a hobby flier,it is something i can do to enjoy my retirement, i already said in another post that i have been surprised at the amount of negativity there has been for the MM, it is an entry level drone that is trying to fill a gap in the market and as i said before we should be amazed that the little drone does as much as it does,in such a light package,

 

[Brian_MavicPro]

I noticed TWO controller models in the specification sheet. I wrote to DJI because I knew that I was going to end up getting the lame CE version with poor signal transmission. When I return to the US, too bad, the CE will not auto-detect/geolocate and switch to FCC mode:

Dear Brian,

Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

In regards to your inquiry,

1. Both USA and Canada use FCC mode.
2. You can identify the aircraft version with the first three SN positions of the fuselage : 1SZ -- FCC；1WG -- CE.
3. The wireless signal RF hardware of the Mavic Mini is either the CE/MIC dual-frequency version (2.4 GHz/5.8 GHz) or the FCC (5.8 GHz) version. The FCC mode will not switch to CE mode depending on geolocation. Please follow the local regulations when using the aircraft. When using an FCC aircraft in a country or area that does not support 5.8GHz, DJI Fly will pop up a warning. Different versions of remote controllers and aircraft cannot link to each other.
3. The version of FCC or CE is not only the transmitting power of the remote controller, but the version of the aircraft.
Thank you for choosing DJI product.
Best Regards
Stella
DJI Customer Support

 

[webvan]

Thanks for sharing. I'm still surprised the won't de defaulting to CE power requirements when an FCC MM owner travels outside of "FCC power" areas...which is pretty much everywhere outside of the US, right ? How can they have the cheek to write "Please follow the local regulations when using the aircraft " ? That just means you cannot fly with an FCC version when you're in Europe.

 

[Brian_MavicPro]

Thanks for sharing. I'm still surprised the won't de defaulting to CE power requirements when an FCC MM owner travels outside of "FCC power" areas...which is pretty much everywhere outside of the US, right ? How can they have the cheek to write "Please follow the local regulations when using the aircraft " ? That just means you cannot fly with an FCC version when you're in Europe.

Quite honestly, I can't think of a single instance where anyone is flying legally, lol. Ever look at your display when flying and not have a "crew" with you watching your drone. Congrats, you just lost VLOS as you took your eye off of the drone and therefore broke the law.
Speaking to the FCC issue with the Mavic Mini outside the US, your right. You have to ask, who is the signals enforcement team that's going to target you for inspection abroad? Policies appear to be knee-jerk based on public perception, not facts and statistics. Unfortunately, the hobbyist is the least likely to leverage the ear of the policymaker. The industrial/commercial market has $$$ and they say...money talks and B.S. walks. Meanwhile, we all face an impossible set of rules, policies, and legislation no matter how safe and experienced you may be...I guarantee you have already broken the law more than once and most likely did not even know it.

 

[SkyDogII]

I’m looking forward to my mini showing up in 12 days.

 

[emilford]

Quite honestly, I can't think of a single instance where anyone is flying legally, lol. Ever look at your display when flying and not have a "crew" with you watching your drone. Congrats, you just lost VLOS as you took your eye off of the drone and therefore broke the law.
Speaking to the FCC issue with the Mavic Mini outside the US, your right. You have to ask, who is the signals enforcement team that's going to target you for inspection abroad? Policies appear to be knee-jerk based on public perception, not facts and statistics. Unfortunately, the hobbyist is the least likely to leverage the ear of the policymaker. The industrial/commercial market has $$$ and they say...money talks and B.S. walks. Meanwhile, we all face an impossible set of rules, policies, and legislation no matter how safe and experienced you may be...I guarantee you have already broken the law more than once and most likely did not even know it.

The Pilot In Command can take eyes off the drone and look at display for brief periods of time as long as situational awareness is maintained as to drone location and visual scanning of environment vs drone position is maintained. Eyes do not have to be glued to the drone.

 

[SkyDogII]

yeah Tell me how far you can see your drone emiford? Your 74. I’m 52. I’ve had Laser eye surgery. I can see 20-40. I had trouble seeing my m2z past 3000 feet. And that’s on a good day with nice blue sky.
The mini is half the size. Half the distance Is expected.

 

[SkyDogII]

Thanks for sharing. I'm still surprised the won't de defaulting to CE power requirements when an FCC MM owner travels outside of "FCC power" areas...which is pretty much everywhere outside of the US, right ? How can they have the cheek to write "Please follow the local regulations when using the aircraft " ? That just means you cannot fly with an FCC version when you're in Europe.

who is going to check to see which version you have when I am in Europe flying an fcc mini? You guys got the drone police now? I know the dream police are out there ??

 

[dronerdave]

yeah Tell me how far you can see your drone emiford? Your 74. I’m 52. I’ve had Laser eye surgery. I can see 20-40. I had trouble seeing my m2z past 3000 feet. And that’s on a good day with nice blue sky.
The mini is half the size. Half the distance Is expected.

Actually I think emiford is simply responding to the statement:

"Quite honestly, I can't think of a single instance where anyone is flying legally, lol. Ever look at your display when flying and not have a "crew" with you watching your drone. Congrats, you just lost VLOS as you took your eye off of the drone and therefore broke the law".

So emiford is correctly saying that you can look away and be totally legal. I mean I can lose sight of my MP at 500' out after looking down or scanning the sky for manned aircraft. It does not mean I'm in violation of the VLOS rule. IMO it's more about being able to find it visually after you've looked down and a reason I use strobes. But yeah SkyDogII I agree; with a smaller footprint, VLOS will shorten. So will bad eyesight or a gray drone against a gray sky background. The problem is going to be when uneducated people, or those with an entitlement attitude feel they can just do as they please with respect to the FAA rules.

The reason I like Occusync isn't to gain distance, rather it helps keep a good solid connection w/i a reasonable range. I feel like there are gonna be a bunch people trying to do long range flights with the Mini because of the stated flight statistics plus not knowing or caring about the rules.

 

[webvan]

New range test : 3854 meters for the FCC model :

 

[Xblog]

Quick question : if I buy a FCC version (on aliexpress) to benefit long range, can it fly in Europe ? Thx.

 

[Hawkins2000]

You can but it's illegal?

 

[Lastrexking]

Quick question : if I buy a FCC version (on aliexpress) to benefit long range, can it fly in Europe ? Thx.

It can. But, if anything goes wrong you’ll have to send it to the US for repair rather than the European service center - and all of the consumer protection you get as an EU citizen (considerably more than a US citizen) won’t apply. Furthermore, if DJI accept it for repair at their US facility you’ll have to pay shipping to Europe as well as import duty which is going to cost you a lot of money.

 

[Xblog]

Thx guys !

 

[WithTheBirds]

It can. But, if anything goes wrong you’ll have to send it to the US for repair rather than the European service center - and all of the consumer protection you get as an EU citizen (considerably more than a US citizen) won’t apply. Furthermore, if DJI accept it for repair at their US facility you’ll have to pay shipping to Europe as well as import duty which is going to cost you a lot of money.

Isn’t Aliexpress China based? Why might you expect any success in having a warranty repair honoured by DJI USA?

 

[Lastrexking]

Isn’t Aliexpress China based? Why might you expect any success in having a warranty repair honoured by DJI USA?

Dunno. Never used them or even been on their web site. The guy asked about an FCC version which stands for Federal Communications Commission, a US body.
Regardless, the same applies. If he bought a model from Asia he’d have to send it back to Asia for repair - that’s if DJI honour the warranty. As most manufacturers don’t with grey imports.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Dunno. Never used them or even been on their web site. The guy asked about an FCC version which stands for Federal Communications Commission, a US body.
Regardless, the same applies. If he bought a model from Asia he’d have to send it back to Asia for repair - that’s if DJI honour the warranty. As most manufacturers don’t with grey imports.

Aliexpress is a Chinese operation. Is your claim that Devices with FCC type approval could only be repaired by DJI USA? Are you just assuming this? I have a genuine interest in knowing if this is true as I am considering picking one up while in the US. As to your claim with respect to EU vat issues if you can demonstrate the item was sent out for repair you won’t be charged VAT on the re-import of the repaired item.

 

[Lastrexking]

Aliexpress is a Chinese operation. Is your claim that Devices with FCC type approval could only be repaired by DJI USA? Are you just assuming this? I have a genuine interest in knowing if this is true as I am considering picking one up while in the US. As to your claim with respect to EU vat issues if you can demonstrate the item was sent out for repair you won’t be charged VAT on the re-import of the repaired item.

Firstly, it's not a claim - it's a fact. DJI knows which units they have sent for sale in which region and it's recorded with the serial number.

So, units shipped for sale in the US will have to go back to the US repair center, units sent for sale in Asia will have to go back to the Asian repair center and so on. There are many threads on this forum by people that have bought units in other territories whilst traveling and been annoyed that they can't get it repaired in their home region.

Similarly, people have been charged with import duty. You just need to do a search of the forum.

Don't believe me? Read this:

Don’t Buy DJI On The Grey Market - DJI Guides

Every new DJI drone sells out faster than greased lightning. Before you try other ways to buy one, learn why you should avoid sellers on the grey market.

store.dji.com

Or, this:

Risks of Cheap DJI Drones from Grey Market Retailers

Risks of Cheap DJI Drones from the Grey Market With the huge expansion of the technology industry as a consumer market, ways to find cheaper versions of branded products was almost inevitable. It’s been ingrained in us to find the best deals on the products we buy and avoid wasting our money...

www.heliguy.com

Or, this:

Buying Grey: Perils of buying grey imported products| Park Cameras Online

www.parkcameras.com

As for tax - you have to be able to prove you paid an import tax when you bought it in order to benefit from not pay tax in the first place. A lot of international dealers are unauthorized so will usually send the packaged marked as a gift to get around it. So, no VAT will have been paid.

I know this from painful experience. I bought a Canon 60D as a grey import and when it failed after two months it would have cost me the same as a new camera to get it repaired as the warranty wasn't valid.

 

[dronebandit]

Does new FLY app allow "do not store my track history" option? To prevent someone using it as evidence of breaking VLOS rule.
or something similar to keep reasonable level of privacy ...

 

[OldGuy]

If you need to use Litchi I would NOT buy it now when there is zero guarantee that DJI will ever release the SDK that would let Litchi apply their goodness to the drone !

I’m optimistic. DJI and Litchi seem to have a good relationship so I think there will be waypoints for the Mini in due course. Anyway come what may I have gone ahead and ordered one.