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DJI Cellular Adapter 2 Part 2

OldGuy

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As soon as the adapter arrived I went to my local internet provider for a SIM card. As luck would have it I got a 17 GB SIM free for one year. After this I would be charged €8/per month so plenty of time to see if I like this set up or not.
The adapter arrived with a mounting kit which is necessary for the Mini 4 Pro. The Air 3 does not need this. I inserted the SIM card into the adapter and mounted the kit on the Mini 4 Pro and plugged the cable into the adapter and the drone.
When I fired up the RC 2 and Mini 4 Pro the 4G Sign appeared at the top of the screen next to the usual O4 signal strength icon but it was red not white signifying no connection. Clicking on the symbol indicated that SIM was not readable. I removed the SIM and inserted it into my mobile phone and registered it on the mobile network. Also while in the phone I removed the SIM’s PIN.
This time when the SIM was mounted on the Mini 4 Pro the 4G symbol was still red but after a short period it changed to white. Tapping the white 4G symbol produced a drop down list with “Enhanced Transmission” on it. Selecting this activated the 4G system. However the drone will not operated directly with 4G and must take off in the usual O4 mode switching automatically when the O4 signal is lost.
First flight from my garden was bit of a failure as try as I may I could not get the O4 system to drop out and activate the 4G dongle. I had the RC 2 antenna folded, I flew behind trees, behind the house etc. I went inside the house and to all the rooms to try to lose the O4 signal but could not. This is a testament to DJI’s O4 transmission system which is excellent on the Mini 4 Pro thanks to the RC 2 controller. This made me wonder if the purchase of this 4G dongle was worth it and do I really need it!?
The next flight test will be from one of my favourite flying sites where I will be able to lose the O4 signal and see if the 4G takes over. At the moment all I can say is that the dongle is up to the usual DJI standard with regard to quality etc and it does look like the system will work if O4 fails.
I will make a further post on my findings sometime next week after flying the Min 4 Pro again for anyone who is interested.
Notes: The Mini 4 Pro must be C1 classified to use the dongle as the weight is is increased by 43 grams which is the weight of the dongle plus cable.
The RC 2 has to have Wi-Fi switched on and connected to the house Wi-Fi or the Hot Spot on a mobile phone to function.
Due to the extra weight at the rear of the drone it tilts slightly backwards which is especially noticeable as it lifts off. Not sure yet if the overall flight characteristics are affected or not.
I do not know how much battery power the dongle uses.
The price of the dongle + kit was €169 or around $185.
 
Thanks for being one of the first to properly report on this. I too have a great deal of trouble trying to make Occ4 lose even 1 bar at the sort of distances I fly, so fairly sure it's not for me, but very interesting to read about nonetheless. Meanwhile, I remain blown away by just how good Occ4 is, even in high interference areas and within our pathetically weak UK radio transmission level limits !
 
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As soon as the adapter arrived I went to my local internet provider for a SIM card. As luck would have it I got a 17 GB SIM free for one year. After this I would be charged €8/per month so plenty of time to see if I like this set up or not.
The adapter arrived with a mounting kit which is necessary for the Mini 4 Pro. The Air 3 does not need this. I inserted the SIM card into the adapter and mounted the kit on the Mini 4 Pro and plugged the cable into the adapter and the drone.
When I fired up the RC 2 and Mini 4 Pro the 4G Sign appeared at the top of the screen next to the usual O4 signal strength icon but it was red not white signifying no connection. Clicking on the symbol indicated that SIM was not readable. I removed the SIM and inserted it into my mobile phone and registered it on the mobile network. Also while in the phone I removed the SIM’s PIN.
This time when the SIM was mounted on the Mini 4 Pro the 4G symbol was still red but after a short period it changed to white. Tapping the white 4G symbol produced a drop down list with “Enhanced Transmission” on it. Selecting this activated the 4G system. However the drone will not operated directly with 4G and must take off in the usual O4 mode switching automatically when the O4 signal is lost.
First flight from my garden was bit of a failure as try as I may I could not get the O4 system to drop out and activate the 4G dongle. I had the RC 2 antenna folded, I flew behind trees, behind the house etc. I went inside the house and to all the rooms to try to lose the O4 signal but could not. This is a testament to DJI’s O4 transmission system which is excellent on the Mini 4 Pro thanks to the RC 2 controller. This made me wonder if the purchase of this 4G dongle was worth it and do I really need it!?
The next flight test will be from one of my favourite flying sites where I will be able to lose the O4 signal and see if the 4G takes over. At the moment all I can say is that the dongle is up to the usual DJI standard with regard to quality etc and it does look like the system will work if O4 fails.
I will make a further post on my findings sometime next week after flying the Min 4 Pro again for anyone who is interested.
Notes: The Mini 4 Pro must be C1 classified to use the dongle as the weight is is increased by 43 grams which is the weight of the dongle plus cable.
The RC 2 has to have Wi-Fi switched on and connected to the house Wi-Fi or the Hot Spot on a mobile phone to function.
Due to the extra weight at the rear of the drone it tilts slightly backwards which is especially noticeable as it lifts off. Not sure yet if the overall flight characteristics are affected or not.
I do not know how much battery power the dongle uses.
The price of the dongle + kit was €169 or around $185.
Interesting read. Will be watching this thread for updates. Especially interested in whether the 4G dongle is backwards compatible with the models DJI initially claimed they were developing it for.
 
As soon as the adapter arrived I went to my local internet provider for a SIM card. As luck would have it I got a 17 GB SIM free for one year. After this I would be charged €8/per month so plenty of time to see if I like this set up or not.
The adapter arrived with a mounting kit which is necessary for the Mini 4 Pro. The Air 3 does not need this. I inserted the SIM card into the adapter and mounted the kit on the Mini 4 Pro and plugged the cable into the adapter and the drone.
When I fired up the RC 2 and Mini 4 Pro the 4G Sign appeared at the top of the screen next to the usual O4 signal strength icon but it was red not white signifying no connection. Clicking on the symbol indicated that SIM was not readable. I removed the SIM and inserted it into my mobile phone and registered it on the mobile network. Also while in the phone I removed the SIM’s PIN.
This time when the SIM was mounted on the Mini 4 Pro the 4G symbol was still red but after a short period it changed to white. Tapping the white 4G symbol produced a drop down list with “Enhanced Transmission” on it. Selecting this activated the 4G system. However the drone will not operated directly with 4G and must take off in the usual O4 mode switching automatically when the O4 signal is lost.
First flight from my garden was bit of a failure as try as I may I could not get the O4 system to drop out and activate the 4G dongle. I had the RC 2 antenna folded, I flew behind trees, behind the house etc. I went inside the house and to all the rooms to try to lose the O4 signal but could not. This is a testament to DJI’s O4 transmission system which is excellent on the Mini 4 Pro thanks to the RC 2 controller. This made me wonder if the purchase of this 4G dongle was worth it and do I really need it!?
The next flight test will be from one of my favourite flying sites where I will be able to lose the O4 signal and see if the 4G takes over. At the moment all I can say is that the dongle is up to the usual DJI standard with regard to quality etc and it does look like the system will work if O4 fails.
I will make a further post on my findings sometime next week after flying the Min 4 Pro again for anyone who is interested.
Notes: The Mini 4 Pro must be C1 classified to use the dongle as the weight is is increased by 43 grams which is the weight of the dongle plus cable.
The RC 2 has to have Wi-Fi switched on and connected to the house Wi-Fi or the Hot Spot on a mobile phone to function.
Due to the extra weight at the rear of the drone it tilts slightly backwards which is especially noticeable as it lifts off. Not sure yet if the overall flight characteristics are affected or not.
I do not know how much battery power the dongle uses.
The price of the dongle + kit was €169 or around $185.
Hello @OldGuy ,

I understand that you are the one with the longest experience on DJI Cellular Dongle II, and I do not know if there are anybody else.

I want to know how much data traffic is created on the cellular dongle? Of course I understand that, the dongle will be active (i.e creating a traffic) only when the O4 is blind and perhaps you can not measure on the flight time basis, but perhaps you had the time to analyze the logs of the SIMM activity or the invoce that your operator sends you monthly.

Any information will help me to make plans for an investment on the product or a considerable time investment for creating new flight plans for my new area at a suburb location where there are plenty of hills, cliffs, valleys. That means I will probably have many O4 to Cellular shifting. And I want to know my probable extra cost for the GSM overhead.

Thank you.
 
Hello @OldGuy ,

I understand that you are the one with the longest experience on DJI Cellular Dongle II, and I do not know if there are anybody else.

I want to know how much data traffic is created on the cellular dongle? Of course I understand that, the dongle will be active (i.e creating a traffic) only when the O4 is blind and perhaps you can not measure on the flight time basis, but perhaps you had the time to analyze the logs of the SIMM activity or the invoce that your operator sends you monthly.

Any information will help me to make plans for an investment on the product or a considerable time investment for creating new flight plans for my new area at a suburb location where there are plenty of hills, cliffs, valleys. That means I will probably have many O4 to Cellular shifting. And I want to know my probable extra cost for the GSM overhead.

Thank you.
I am not sure that I can help you. I have been flying my Mini 4 Pro just over 3 months with the DJI Cellular Dongle II. We have a deal with our provider and I got a SIM card for the Mini 4 free for one year as we already have 2 phones on contract. Looking at the invoices it’s hard to tell what I am being charged for the time that the Mini 4 spends in 4G mode. A typical flight lasts 30 minutes and approx. half that time the Mini 4 will be in 4G mode. According to the invoices during the past 3 months the fee has increased by one Euro which is nothing really. My contract states the I have 16,646 MB available on the SIM of which 355 MB has been used in over 30 flights.
 
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I am not sure that I can help you. I have been flying my Mini 4 Pro just over 3 months with the DJI Cellular Dongle II. We have a deal with our provider and I got a SIM card for the Mini 4 free for one year as we already have 2 phones on contract. Looking at the invoices it’s hard to tell what I am being charged for the time that the Mini 4 spends in 4G mode. A typical flight lasts 30 minutes and approx. half that time the Mini 4 will be in 4G mode. According to the invoices during the past 3 months the fee has increased by one Euro which is nothing really. My contract states the I have 16,646 MB available on the SIM of which 355 MB has been used in over 30 flights.
That info is good enough. Thank you..
 

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