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Do you plug in the drone to transfer files to the computer or pull the micro SD card?

SoCal2S

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I generally pull out the SD card, because I don't want the drone electronics to go through a heat cycle, even though it would have a negligible impact on the drone's overall life, and because the cable I have is so short, it puts the drone in a very awkward position. On the other hand, micro SD slots definitely have a limited life span as well, I don't have the greatest confidence in the little spring mechanism. Since OcuSync seems to have decent bandwidth, it would be really nice if they can use that to allow wireless transfer. I know, definitely a first world "problem" that's not even a real problem, just wondering if there's a better way out there.
 
I generally pull out the SD card, because I don't want the drone electronics to go through a heat cycle, even though it would have a negligible impact on the drone's overall life, and because the cable I have is so short, it puts the drone in a very awkward position. On the other hand, micro SD slots definitely have a limited life span as well, I don't have the greatest confidence in the little spring mechanism. Since OcuSync seems to have decent bandwidth, it would be really nice if they can use that to allow wireless transfer. I know, definitely a first world "problem" that's not even a real problem, just wondering if there's a better way out there.

I remove the card to transfer files. Like you, I prefer not to power the drone up and leave it hot just to move files.

I'm not too concerned about wearing out the SD card slot. I've had dozens of them in all sorts of devices - computers, cameras, trail cameras, drones, audio recorders, e-readers, tablets, ... - and have never had one fail.
 
I always pull the card on all my devices. I'm more concerned about damage to the USB connector from repeated use than damage to the card slot. The card slots are mechanically much simpler than the USB connectors and get much less stress from repeated inserts.
A few years ago, it wasn't uncommon for USB connectors to be damaged by repeated use, given how they were attached to boards, especially on phones. Don't know about now, but why take the chance? I use wireless charging on my phone too...
 
Pull! That's why I keep (2) cards. I take one out to edit photos, and pop the second in for the next flight. Then reverse it next time. Prior to that I had a few flights where I had forgotten to put it back in, so now I stick with (2) and sync all the photos to a cloud drive so there's never anything left on the cards. Pull, Sync, Repeat.
 
I pull the card every time, I’ve only once had a carrier fail and that was in a locator beacon. I’m always careful now removing the card.
Regards
 
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I generally pull out the SD card, because I don't want the drone electronics to go through a heat cycle, even though it would have a negligible impact on the drone's overall life, and because the cable I have is so short, it puts the drone in a very awkward position. On the other hand, micro SD slots definitely have a limited life span as well, I don't have the greatest confidence in the little spring mechanism. Since OcuSync seems to have decent bandwidth, it would be really nice if they can use that to allow wireless transfer. I know, definitely a first world "problem" that's not even a real problem, just wondering if there's a better way out there.
no better way Thumbswayup
 
I pull, especially on the Mini 3. No fans mean it gets hotter just sitting on the desk powered up. I've got a small fan that I put in front of the drone if I need to leave it on to blow air on it if I need to leave it on for say updates, etc. I do find the slot on the Mini 3 to be little trickier then others in terms of getting the card in and out.
 
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Pull! That's why I keep (2) cards. I take one out to edit photos, and pop the second in for the next flight. Then reverse it next time. Prior to that I had a few flights where I had forgotten to put it back in, so now I stick with (2) and sync all the photos to a cloud drive so there's never anything left on the cards. Pull, Sync, Repeat.
This option is the best advice as it will cause only 50% wear compared to using 1 card!
 
I generally pull out the SD card, because I don't want the drone electronics to go through a heat cycle, even though it would have a negligible impact on the drone's overall life, and because the cable I have is so short, it puts the drone in a very awkward position. On the other hand, micro SD slots definitely have a limited life span as well, I don't have the greatest confidence in the little spring mechanism. Since OcuSync seems to have decent bandwidth, it would be really nice if they can use that to allow wireless transfer. I know, definitely a first world "problem" that's not even a real problem, just wondering if there's a better way out there.
I used the SD card just in case something happens w/ the internal storage later on. I pull it out and immediately after a mission I backup on my laptop and a c 260 GB jump drive . Back up backup backup !
 
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I generally pull out the SD card, because I don't want the drone electronics to go through a heat cycle, even though it would have a negligible impact on the drone's overall life, and because the cable I have is so short, it puts the drone in a very awkward position. On the other hand, micro SD slots definitely have a limited life span as well, I don't have the greatest confidence in the little spring mechanism. Since OcuSync seems to have decent bandwidth, it would be really nice if they can use that to allow wireless transfer. I know, definitely a first world "problem" that's not even a real problem, just wondering if there's a better way out there.

Not only do I pull the card to transfer files I'll also swap the card out sometimes. If I have a lot of good footage on the card that I absolutely don't want to lose, I'll swap the card before the next flight just in case a "worst case" scenario develops. At least I'll still have the video. I carry 3-4 cards at all times for this reason.
 
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I pull, especially on the Mini 3. No fans mean it gets hotter just sitting on the desk powered up. I've got a small fan that I put in front of the drone if I need to leave it on to blow air on it if I need to leave it on for say updates, etc. I do find the slot on the Mini 3 to be little trickier then others in terms of getting the card in and out.
For the mini 3, I think that's almost a necessity.

The Air 2S does have an internal fan but the heat sink at the bottom of the drone still feels hot to the touch after just a couple minutes. I'm sure it's well within the safe limits, but still.
 
Pull the card, move the files to my computer for editing. Now card is empty, I put a clean card back in the drone. Ready for more hours.
 
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