DJI Goggles and Mavic 2 - What is your experience?

[Camino Ken]

Hi All,

I am seriously considering buying the DJI goggles, probably the white ones and would like to hear from others of their experience. I am specifically interesting in hearing from folks that are using them with the Mavic 2 series since I fly a M2P. Do you like them? Have you had any problems?

All feedback is appreciated.

Ken

 

[MacCool]

I got the black RE version. They're really a fun way to fly these things. I got the black ones because of the lower latency. I want to use them with race quads too, not just my Mavic 2, and therefore need the 5.8 analog video. I also have the Occync Air Unit for an FPV wing I want to build down the road. I haven't used them on the computer for Call of Duty yet, but it's on my list of potential applications. I've not had any problems, although there have been reported range issues with the RE goggles on some Mavic 2 drones. There seems to be a great deal of confusion about the nature of the problem, let alone the source. DJI, as is their custom, has not been particularly helpful in addressing the issue. The white ones apparently work just fine.

 

[Camino Ken]

I got the black RE version. They're really a fun way to fly these things. I got the black ones because of the lower latency. I want to use them with race quads too, not just my Mavic 2, and therefore need the 5.8 analog video. I also have the Occync Air Unit for an FPV wing I want to build down the road. I haven't used them on the computer for Call of Duty yet, but it's on my list of potential applications. I've not had any problems, although there have been reported range issues with the RE goggles on some Mavic 2 drones. There seems to be a great deal of confusion about the nature of the problem, let alone the source. DJI, as is their custom, has not been particularly helpful in addressing the issue. The white ones apparently work just fine.

Thanks for your input. I am leaning heavily toward the white ones since I have no interest in racing. Actually I doubt I would be any good at it because of poor reactions due to ..... uh uh ... experience.

 

[Bill combs]

Thanks for your input. I am leaning heavily toward the white ones since I have no interest in racing. Actually I doubt I would be any good at it because of poor reactions due to ..... uh uh ... experience.

i have the mpp,m2p and the phantom 4p2.0 i also have the white goggles the black re and epson glasses,you will have distance issues with the white goggles while paired with the m2p because the white only operates on one frequency, i would recommend the black re or the glasses if you want to avoid problems.

 

[Gindra]

I have the black RE goggles and use them with a M2 Zoom. Goggles really aren't supposed to be used without a Visual Observer at your side, someone who can keep their eyes on the bird while you are immersed in the FPV world. It is impossible to maintain situational awareness when wearing the goggles.

That said, the experience of being "in the cockpit" is awesome.

My favorite use of the goggles is actually letting family or friends don them while I fly the bird. We live in Oregon wine country and the scenery can be breathtaking. Listening to the oohs and aahs and WOWs is worth the price of the goggles!

 

[Camino Ken]

i have the mpp,m2p and the phantom 4p2.0 i also have the white goggles the black re and epson glasses,you will have distance issues with the white goggles while paired with the m2p because the white only operates on one frequency, i would recommend the black re or the glasses if you want to avoid problems.

Hi Bill,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am a little confused about your comment about less range due to one frequency. The white goggles have only the lower frequency (2.4) and my recollection from my engineering days is that lower frequencies actually achieve longer distance. Of course this is only the case with no interference. The higher frequency (5.8) is useful because it is a bit less cluttered. Can I assume this is what you were implying?

 

[Camino Ken]

I have the black RE goggles and use them with a M2 Zoom. Goggles really aren't supposed to be used without a Visual Observer at your side, someone who can keep their eyes on the bird while you are immersed in the FPV world. It is impossible to maintain situational awareness when wearing the goggles.

That said, the experience of being "in the cockpit" is awesome.

My favorite use of the goggles is actually letting family or friends don them while I fly the bird. We live in Oregon wine country and the scenery can be breathtaking. Listening to the oohs and aahs and WOWs is worth the price of the goggles!

Thanks Gindra,
I am very aware of the need for an observer, no worries on that front. It is actually the “being in the cockpit“ experience I am after since I miss my days of real flying. Thanks again.

 

[Bill combs]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am a little confused about your comment about less range due to one frequency. The white goggles have only the lower frequency (2.4) and my recollection from my engineering days is that lower frequencies actually achieve longer distance. Of course this is only the case with no interference. The higher frequency (5.8) is useful because it is a bit less cluttered. Can I assume this is what you were implying?

thats my point you will never know when that next shot presents itself either the flat desert or an urban area

 

[Bill combs]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am a little confused about your comment about less range due to one frequency. The white goggles have only the lower frequency (2.4) and my recollection from my engineering days is that lower frequencies actually achieve longer distance. Of course this is only the case with no interference. The higher frequency (5.8) is useful because it is a bit less cluttered. Can I assume this is what you were implying?

yes that is correct

 

[Rattydude77]

I love mine worth every penny in my option if you like to FPV its a blast

 

[doublesixes]

I have a pair of the white goggles which I fly with the M2Z. I fly it with my brother as a caller, with no cellphone, just the goggles and took it past the 1.8Km mark with no problems. I could have easily went past 2 km. It's a particularly interesting experience but requires getting used to.

I felt a bit disoriented after a while but I suppose it could get better with more time, experience.

What one can undeniably say is that the set is quite heavy and it took me quite a few tries to get them in the right position. By the way, in my case, I decided that they feel more comfy when I use a baseball cap flipped backward. YMMV.

 

[Camino Ken]

I have a pair of the white goggles which I fly with the M2Z. I fly it with my brother as a caller, with no cellphone, just the goggles and took it past the 1.8Km mark with no problems. I could have easily went past 2 km. It's a particularly interesting experience but requires getting used to.

I felt a bit disoriented after a while but I suppose it could get better with more time, experience.

What one can undeniably say is that the set is quite heavy and it took me quite a few tries to get them in the right position. By the way, in my case, I decided that they feel more comfy when I use a baseball cap flipped backward. YMMV.

Thanks for your feedback. I have seen people complain about the size and weight a few times, and that they don’t fit right. It seems to depend on the size and shape of your head or as you discovered, how you wear them.

Thanks again.

 

[Bob1956]

I bought the MP2/RE combo last year. I very rarely use the goggles. The range is crap and the view is always fuzzy. My glasses Rx only makes it worse. The goggles need a real diopter adjustment.

Mounting the antenna definitely helped, gained about 15-20% more distance but that doesn't mean much.

I bought the goggles mainly for friends and family to "ride along" while I fly the drone. But just as we fly to our back 40 (where it gets interesting), the goggles freeze anyway. I never wanted flight control from the goggles in the first place just a simple ride along ability. If they could be cabled to the RC or a view screen with a diopter adjustment and nothing else I'd be somewhat happier.

And the fact that I fly usually alone and can't maintain VLOS with them on means they stay at home most flights.

 

[MacCool]

I bought the MP2/RE combo last year. I very rarely use the goggles. The range is crap and the view is always fuzzy. My glasses Rx only makes it worse. The goggles need a real diopter adjustment.

Mounting the antenna definitely helped, gained about 15-20% more distance but that doesn't mean much.

I bought the goggles mainly for friends and family to "ride along" while I fly the drone. But just as we fly to our back 40 (where it gets interesting), the goggles freeze anyway. I never wanted flight control from the goggles in the first place just a simple ride along ability. If they could be cabled to the RC or a view screen with a diopter adjustment and nothing else I'd be somewhat happier.

And the fact that I fly usually alone and can't maintain VLOS with them on means they stay at home most flights.

I have no range issues with my RE goggles, although I've only had them out to about 1.9 miles. As to the eye-focus issue, I bought 3 pairs of 4-diopter reading glasses for $12.99. Crystal clear.

I enjoy the goggles a lot and the DJI goggles are impressive. It's the main way I fly the thing other than Litchi waypoint missions. I have a litthe 3 inch race drone that I'll use the goggles on 5.8 with, but I'm pretty sure I need more Liftoff simulator time. I also have the Air Unit and will ultimately put it in an FPV plane.

Goggles aren't for everyone.

 

[Camino Ken]

I bought the MP2/RE combo last year. I very rarely use the goggles. The range is crap and the view is always fuzzy. My glasses Rx only makes it worse. The goggles need a real diopter adjustment.

Mounting the antenna definitely helped, gained about 15-20% more distance but that doesn't mean much.

I bought the goggles mainly for friends and family to "ride along" while I fly the drone. But just as we fly to our back 40 (where it gets interesting), the goggles freeze anyway. I never wanted flight control from the goggles in the first place just a simple ride along ability. If they could be cabled to the RC or a view screen with a diopter adjustment and nothing else I'd be somewhat happier.

And the fact that I fly usually alone and can't maintain VLOS with them on means they stay at home most flights.

I am very curious about your situation. What I have read that the RE goggles HAD a range problem but it was solved with a firmware update a while ago. I also read about some cases where the user had to get replacement goggles to fix the issue. Maybe you have defective goggles? I hear you about the fuzzy view. I think that will be a potential challenge for me since I currently wear progressive bifocals.

 

[Bob1956]

When I first got them was no range. The house is surrounded by trees. As soon the drone went past the treetops the googles froze. My range at that time was less my altitude . DJI refused to help.

An update soon followed and it got better out to about 1000 feet. Reading posts here I put the supplied antenna on and now it goes out about 2000 feet some days. I'm thinking humidity has something to do with it. The grand kids like wearing them so I'm stuck with them now.

From what I see, the view is fuzzy. I enjoy the footage more when it we put on the big TV. If I had to it all over again, I'd pass on them.

As to the eye glasses, experiment. I haven't tried readers as I have to take my specs off to read and write. Their power is too much up close and more power from readers would make it worse I think, but readers are cheap enough to try.

 

[MacCool]

When I first got them was no range. The house is surrounded by trees. As soon the drone went past the treetops the googles froze. My range at that time was less my altitude . DJI refused to help.

An update soon followed and it got better out to about 1000 feet. Reading posts here I put the supplied antenna on and now it goes out about 2000 feet some days. I'm thinking humidity has something to do with it. The grand kids like wearing them so I'm stuck with them now.

From what I see, the view is fuzzy. I enjoy the footage more when it we put on the big TV. If I had to it all over again, I'd pass on them.

As to the eye glasses, experiment. I haven't tried readers as I have to take my specs off to read and write. Their power is too much up close and more power from readers would make it worse I think, but readers are cheap enough to try.

I just came in from the back yard. I wanted to check things out a little before this winter storm hits tonight. With the RE goggles (with pagoda installed) I flew the Mavic 2 Pro over to a buddy's house down and across the lake from me, about 2.5 miles...the goggles read 4 kilometers. I probably could have gone farther, but I kept getting high wind warnings down the lake so I brought it back. No range issues, certainly, and no signal loss. I normally wear bifocals, but with 4 diopter reading glasses the image is crystal clear. My one criticism of the reading glasses concept is that the corner-cutting that allows these readers to be so cheap is that the lens grinding is primarily in the center part of the lens. Works great for the flying, but some of the menu options on the OSD off to either side are fuzzy. Readable, but a little fuzzy. My daughter is an ophthalmology tech and assures me that if I spend more than $4 per pair I'll get a better-ground lens.

It appears to me that the nominal focal length of the screens in the goggles is such that the eye needs to be able to focus at about 18 inches. For me, that works out to 4 diopters. Obviously it has to be a non-progressive lens...the whole eyeglass lens needs to be the same grind. I was kind of guessing at the focal length but guessed right. If I had known that the focal length for the goggles was 18 inches, I could have just gone to Walgreens and tried on readers until I found the pair that let me read small lettering at 18 inches.

These RE goggles I have are about a month old. Maybe there was a hardware change since that goggles range thread in the DJI forums was started (October 2018), but I just haven't had any range issues.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

With the RE goggles (with pagoda installed) I flew the Mavic 2 Pro over to a buddy's house down and across the lake from me, about 2.5 miles.

Was this one of the two antennas you get with the RE goggles ?
I have only just got mine (Xmas) and yet to get out, too windy or too hot so far !

I read the manual stuff, and it mentioned these are for other FPV drones, you don't need them for (my) M1P or the M2P ?

I'm also keen to use a cable and try these with my Spark.

 

[MacCool]

Was this one of the two antennas you get with the RE goggles ?
I have only just got mine (Xmas) and yet to get out, too windy or too hot so far !

I read the manual stuff, and it mentioned these are for other FPV drones, you don't need them for (my) M1P or the M2P ?

I'm also keen to use a cable and try these with my Spark.

Yeah, they supply two antennae, both are the same. I installed one of them, even though supposedly it's not needed for 2.4 ghz, because several people in the range thread on DJI forums have indicated that it's necessary to get reasonable range, even though it contravenes the manual and theoretcially shouldn't make any difference for flying an Occusync drone. I'll probably leave it on, might experiment with it a little later when it's less windy and there isn't a snowstorm barreling down on us.

 

[Camino Ken]

I just came in from the back yard. I wanted to check things out a little before this winter storm hits tonight. With the RE goggles (with pagoda installed) I flew the Mavic 2 Pro over to a buddy's house down and across the lake from me, about 2.5 miles...the goggles read 4 kilometers. I probably could have gone farther, but I kept getting high wind warnings down the lake so I brought it back. No range issues, certainly, and no signal loss. I normally wear bifocals, but with 4 diopter reading glasses the image is crystal clear. My one criticism of the reading glasses concept is that the corner-cutting that allows these readers to be so cheap is that the lens grinding is primarily in the center part of the lens. Works great for the flying, but some of the menu options on the OSD off to either side are fuzzy. Readable, but a little fuzzy. My daughter is an ophthalmology tech and assures me that if I spend more than $4 per pair I'll get a better-ground lens.

It appears to me that the nominal focal length of the screens in the goggles is such that the eye needs to be able to focus at about 18 inches. For me, that works out to 4 diopters. Obviously it has to be a non-progressive lens...the whole eyeglass lens needs to be the same grind. I was kind of guessing at the focal length but guessed right. If I had known that the focal length for the goggles was 18 inches, I could have just gone to Walgreens and tried on readers until I found the pair that let me read small lettering at 18 inches.

These RE goggles I have are about a month old. Maybe there was a hardware change since that goggles range thread in the DJI forums was started (October 2018), but I just haven't had any range issues.

Since I am about to pull the trigger on the white goggles I am curious about the focal length. Where did you get the 18 inch number? I saw where someone measured the distance to the internal screens and I pretty sure it was a whole lot less than that. I assume that it would be the same for both the RE and the original white ones as well.

A small side note and you don’t need to answer If you don’t want to. You mentioned having an adult (I assume) daughter but your profile lists your age at 19. How does that work?