Amazon Fire HD6: Success!

thebigbaddan · Apr 18, 2018

I just setup DJI Go on my Amazon Fire HD6, and flew it around successfully. I think this may be my new dedicated screen for the Mavic Air! (The HD6 has higher DPI than the 7s... but that may not matter for flying). I also have a Fire 7 that I got for $20 on a black friday, will test that out as well.

Here's the instructions I followed:
DJI Go App on Amazon Kindle Fire! – Video-Drone!

Here's another thread on this forum on how to set this up: DJI Go 4 / Mavic Pro on Amazon Fire Devices...

thebigbaddan · Apr 18, 2018

Go on Fire:

thebigbaddan · Apr 18, 2018

...after looking at the 7" Fire, it's screen is too dim to fly in daylight. The HD6 will do nicely, but the 7 won't cut it. I've seen posts about the Fire HD8 but never the 6. I got the HD6 for $40 from Woot.com a while back, my kids have them too and they have really great screens.

thebigbaddan · Apr 18, 2018

HD8 is $29 on Woot today: Amazon Fire HD 8" (2016) Wi-Fi Tablets - $29.99 + $5 standard shipping

Ok, I bought one of those. For $30 it's a bigger screen and a bit brighter.

Just_nick · Apr 18, 2018

Performance looks to be about the same as a MediaPad T3, so it might have a bit of lag, but it won't be terrible. Brightness isn't bad, either.

Kbviper · Apr 18, 2018

I've got a Fire 7 that I have flown my Mavic Pro and P4 on without any problems. I find that the screen is as bright as my iPad Air 2 - I have the brightness turned up all the way. No glitches, good screen resolution, and syncs no problem with AirData.

thebigbaddan · Apr 18, 2018

Kbviper said:
I've got a Fire 7 that I have flown my Mavic Pro and P4 on without any problems. I find that the screen is as bright as my iPad Air 2 - I have the brightness turned up all the way. No glitches, good screen resolution, and syncs no problem with AirData.

Well shoot, get yourself an upgrade for $30, son! https://computers.woot.com/offers/amazon-fire-hd-8-2016-wi-fi-tablets

Kbviper · Apr 18, 2018

thebigbaddan said:
Well shoot, get yourself an upgrade for $30, son! Amazon Fire HD 8" (2016) Wi-Fi Tablets - $29.99 + $5 standard shipping

I will have a look, the price is certainly right.

RKX · Apr 18, 2018

I've run DJI go 4 on the 8 without issue. It's actually a pretty nice tablet

Kbviper · Apr 20, 2018

Kbviper said:
I will have a look, the price is certainly right.

The Fire 8 has the same processor as the Fire 7, so no real advantage. I like the weight and screen size of the Fire 7, so will continue to use both it and my iPad Air 2 for now. I am amazed at how well the Fire 7 has worked with DJI Go and DJI Go 4.

RKX · Apr 20, 2018

Ya I'm debating on getting a Fire 7 for a strictly dedicated drone tablet. Good to know how well it is working for you

Kbviper · Apr 20, 2018

RKX said:
Ya I'm debating on getting a Fire 7 for a strictly dedicated drone tablet. Good to know how well it is working for you

The Fire 7 was on sale for $49.99 Cdn on the Amazon Canada site so for that price I thought I would order one. I followed the instructions I found online for setting it up to download apps from Google Play - it wasn't very hard to do. I then downloaded DJI go and DJI Go 4 as I fly a P4, P4P, Mavic Pro, and an Inspire 1. I use Airdata (Formerly Healthy Drones) and downloaded their app from Google Play and it works fine on the Fire 7 as well.

The screen is bright and resolution is good - I like the size and weight - it is just slightly larger than my wife's iPad mini 2. I have had no issues flying with the Fire 7 - no glitches, no green bars, no effect on range, RTH, and all other on screen buttons and controls work fine. Given the price I was nervous flying with it starting off but gradually pushed it more and more and would now use it to fly anywhere I would use the Ipad. I have been very impressed by the battery life, which is better than the iPad, which is now a couple of years old.

Taylor1430 · Apr 21, 2018

Those of you using the Fire’s, any issues with GPS or Maps, etc. I’m looking for a decent tablet to use as dedicated for my MP. I own several already but would be purchasing a new one for the MP. I’m a bit confused as to what you get when a device is Wi-Fi only.

thebigbaddan · Apr 21, 2018

Still experimenting. The Fire HD6 screen is MUCH better than my welfare phone (LG K20) although I've ordered an LG G6 that is on the way. I just got the Fire HD 8 in the mail today, which I haven't tested and will need a tablet mount as it's a little too big for the holder. My welfare phone is pretty much unusable as a flight screen except after dusk, as the screen is just too dim.

I don't think the device you fly with needs GPS since it's built into the drone... is it built into the remote too? Maybe not, and that's where you'd need it if you want to update the home point. So for that, I'll use my phone... but having a larger screen to see on is pretty freaking cool too. The Fire HD6 screen seemed to lag just a bit, I'm hoping the Fire HD8 will work better. Still, the Fire HD6 has worked WAY better than my cell phone. That may change with a "premium" cell phone, but for a $30 device it's tough to beat.

thebigbaddan · Apr 21, 2018

Just went through installing the Google play store, DJI go, all that... and came across a brightness setting that I must have missed before. This tablet has a super bright screen! (The HD8).... so I just ordered a tablet mount and will be trying this out.

@Taylor1430 Unless you need to update the home point when moving around while flying, there's no need for GPS on your controller attached device. The Mavic supplies its own GPS. The maps in DJI Go work fine. I'd much rather have a big-*** screen when flying, and not get mobile notifications, than cram a small cell phone in there. Using a cell phone when packing light makes sense, but otherwise an 8" screen sure beats a small cellular screen.

sfessen · Apr 22, 2018

thebigbaddan said:
Just went through installing the Google play store, DJI go, all that... and came across a brightness setting that I must have missed before. This tablet has a super bright screen! (The HD8).... so I just ordered a tablet mount and will be trying this out.

@Taylor1430 Unless you need to update the home point when moving around while flying, there's no need for GPS on your controller attached device. The Mavic supplies its own GPS. The maps in DJI Go work fine. I'd much rather have a big-*** screen when flying, and not get mobile notifications, than cram a small cell phone in there. Using a cell phone when packing light makes sense, but otherwise an 8" screen sure beats a small cellular screen.

I had good luck flying with the fire 8 hd but the glare on the screen outside makes it hard to see. Ordered an anti glare screen to see if that helps. Have you had any glare issues?

thebigbaddan · Apr 22, 2018

sfessen said:
Have you had any glare issues?

Just got the 8 so verdict is still out on that! I did order a tablet holder (f5) so waiting on that and a sunny day.

thebigbaddan · Apr 23, 2018

Update: Today my Fire HD6 decided it's going to stop displaying the FPV video. Swapping to other devices, I can see that it's just the Fire HD6. I'm not sure what killed it, but it seems to be pretty repeatable. Luckily this crapped out on me on a front yard test (was screwing around with camera settings). It also was an issue when first turned on... so I knew it before I took off. The FPV just shows as green. So... going to have to switch to the Fire HD8. The HD8 screen does have significant glare, and appears that it will be an issue in full daylight, but very workable in the shade.

So... my setup will be the LG G6 as a reliable device when it arrives, and the Fire HD8 for twilight flights.

Taylor1430 · Apr 23, 2018

So I gave in and bought a refurbished HD 8. Following the instructions in the original post, i was able to install Google Play and download the app. It was actually a lot easier than i expected. App loads fine, etc. I havent, however, flown with it it as the new Fire arrived this evening.

The refurbished was about 50 bucks which was reasonable and will be dedicated to my MP. Hopefully everything runs strong and solid when I get to fly.

JDawg · Apr 28, 2018

sfessen said:
I had good luck flying with the fire 8 hd but the glare on the screen outside makes it hard to see. Ordered an anti glare screen to see if that helps. Have you had any glare issues?

Did it work?