Easy Question for Everyone Here I'm Sure...

[Cajundude]

From elsewhere, I have an interested buyer but he wants me to do a screenshot of the battery(s) health for him. I don't have a problem with that, but I have not even activated it yet so II am assuming the Fly app will force that after I download it. I did FAA register it. So my question is, would that be a bad idea to activate it if that is required to get the screen shot for battery health? I did buy it a little over a year ago so I assume there is no warranty if that makes a diff. I had the intention of extending that on activation, but never got around to actually activating it.

I still keep flip-flopping on keeping it and probably would if I were not in Montana. Isn't there something about flying in the cold weather? It about to get cold. Thought I remember reading that somewhere. If it were summer, I'd quit wasting time, keep it, and become a regular here. Lol. Thanks!

 

[Cajundude]

Think I may have found my answer and from what I can tell, at minimum, Refresh + can be purchased so if I am correct, it would not be wise to activate.

 

[Peshoa]

Why you not use AirData?

 

[Kilrah]

Why you not use AirData?

How would he have logs if the aircraft hasn't even been flown?

Just tell the buyer it's new and unactivated.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

The drone not being activated is a selling point.
If nothing else it may allow a buyer the opportunity to get care refresh etc. without the hassle of submitting a "verification video".
I have bought unactivated replacement Mini 2 and was offered that opportunity to get care refresh during the activation process but did not want it so I do not know if proof of purchase etc. was also needed. Nor do I remember if proof of purchase was required when I got care refresh for my then new Mavic Mini.
EDIT
"I do not remember what could be seen when an unactivated drone was powered up, it may be that the activation is necessary in order for the drone to fly but access to menus was given without activation"

Either way I WOULD NOT activate the drone under any circumstances.

EDIT
In addition an unused IN ANY WAY battery i.e. not given its necessary 'first' charge and or NEVER inserted into the drone, is likely to be in hibernation mode (the shipping state)...another possible selling point (top of page 7 of the manual) and may not power up the drone.
In truth, I have asked that used batteries that have sat for a considerable period be tested to see if they take a charge etc. but I do not remember encountering a new battery that had been sat for a year.
So, I do understand the buyer's thinking.
It's a bit of an awkward situation.
With out activating the drone you would be unable to provide a log for Airdata to analyse and if the Air 2 menus are the same as those of the Mini 2 then, from memory, all that can be seen in the menus is the battery's serial number, charge count (which is 0 for a new battery), and the production date. If that is correct you and the buyer would be none the wiser regarding the battery's health other than knowing it took a charge.
If no one here knows how long a battery can sit in the hibernation mode perhaps you could ask the question "How long a NEW battery can sit in the hibernation mode?" over on the DJI Forum.

 

[Peshoa]

How would he have logs if the aircraft hasn't even been flown?

Just tell the buyer it's new and unactivated.

Oh, you are right...if this guy is so suspicious, maybe it is better to ignore him. Tha battery may be is in hibernation mode and he want to be sure it is fine ?!?!..ignore him Cajundude

 

[maintenanceguy]

There will be other buyers. First rule of negotiating: be willing to walk away.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Oh, you are right...if this guy is so suspicious, maybe it is better to ignore him. Tha battery may be is in hibernation mode and he want to be sure it is fine ?!?!..ignore him Cajundude

Agreed! Anybody who is more concerned about the condition of the battery(s) than the drone itself in this case is a fool! If the drone has never been activated, the batteries must be new, unused, and still in hibernation mode. Anyone seriously interested in buying the drone would understand that, and may even already own several other batteries, having lost their MA2 drone!

If you are going to activate it, you might as well keep it and fly it. Winter drone shots are some of the best. The cold will only mildly shorten flight time. Just keep your batteries warm inside a pocket before use.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

There might be more than 1 battery, the OP does say "battery(s)" as well as "battery".

 

[GadgetGuy]

There might be more than 1 battery, the OP does say "battery(s)" as well as "battery".

Good point.i edited my reply to reflect that.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I would suggest that the health of batteries does enter into a buyer's consideration, if they are knackered their replacement is an additional cost.

As yet no one has given the shelf life of a new MA2 battery.

Playing Devil's Advocate, one other consideration, if this is being sold on the likes of eBay then it may be necessary that the battery/ies are fully functional. In the UK anything sold in the New or Used category should be fully functional otherwise there is a possibility of the buyer opening a "not as described" case. If push comes to shove eBay UK go by their definition of the condition class.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I would suggest that the health of batteries does enter into a buyer's consideration, if they are knackered their replacement is an additional cost.

As yet no one has given the shelf life of a new MA2 battery.

Indeed, but never used, still in hibernation mode, when the MA2 is barely a year old, shouldn't be a problem. A 3 year old, never used Mavic 2 would be another matter. In answer to the question about shelf life of a brand new MA2 battery in hibernation, 2 years would be my reasonable expectation, making one year no problem.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

making one year no problem

That would be great.

 

[tlswift58]

From elsewhere, I have an interested buyer but he wants me to do a screenshot of the battery(s) health for him. I don't have a problem with that, but I have not even activated it yet so II am assuming the Fly app will force that after I download it. I did FAA register it. So my question is, would that be a bad idea to activate it if that is required to get the screen shot for battery health? I did buy it a little over a year ago so I assume there is no warranty if that makes a diff. I had the intention of extending that on activation, but never got around to actually activating it.

I still keep flip-flopping on keeping it and probably would if I were not in Montana. Isn't there something about flying in the cold weather? It about to get cold. Thought I remember reading that somewhere. If it were summer, I'd quit wasting time, keep it, and become a regular here. Lol. Thanks!

While cold weather "can" be an issue - many factors are involved in making a decision to fly or not fly. The weather does get cold here in Western NC (nowhere near MT - having lived in Minot, ND), but I've not encountered any major issues even around freezing. Wind and such are bigger factors I worry about, which will affect you in MT as well. Have seen many posts with pics / vids of people flying in cold - snow scenes / etc. Word of caution is to keep the drone and batteries warm as possible when flying in MT kind of cold. The Canadian and northern states pilots can tell you more about the in's and out's of that.

I personally think if you took the drone out and flew it - you'd get the bug like all of us have and you'd not sell the MA2. It's a nice drone and does many things most hobbyists need in drone. Not quite what an Air2S is, but they are newer and more expensive. Even waiting for the Mavic 3 and what early price reports show - it will be out of budget for many hobbyists; esp if they already own an Air2 / Air2S or even a Mini2.

 

[Cajundude]

I personally think if you took the drone out and flew it - you'd get the bug like all of us have and you'd not sell the MA2.

EXACTLY AND GUARANTEED!

Thanks for all the answers!

One of the above posts is correct, I have 3 batteries since I purchased the Fly More Combo. I did charge at least one, if not all the batteries when I first received it.

Also mentioned a few times above, I am NOT going to check with the app for those reasons of Refresh. I also read through the DJI site and came to to the conclusion that either me, or a buyer if I sell, could get the Refresh at minimum upon activation. The protective film and stickers are still on each place of the MA2, so while it is technically used, it is also new, so if required to go through the "prove it good" method, should not be an issue with DJI. I'm not in a hurry and am even more siding with keeping it anyway. Since this post, I've done quite a few searches here and also read into the cold air flying which should not be an issue. I live in the Western portion of MT so it is nowhere as brutal as other parts with super frigid temps. Growing up in New Orleans and moving here from Texas, I think of cold as below 50. LOL. Different ball game here, but being surrounded by mountains in the Western part of the state, we seem to have more moderate temps being closer to the Pacific. The good news is, 40 in the South actually feels like 15 or so here and I don't have to deal with the heat in the, well, all year! LOL

So yes, MA2 has not been activated, 1 charge on 1 battery, or 1 charge on all 3, can't remember. I have not charged again because I remember reading to charge before you fly, which I have not.

Not activated with DJI.

I did get the FAA registration number but I did that before I received the drone, I think, so the serial number is not tied with FAA either, I checked that to. Only took it out the DJI box to put in a hard case with all accessories, except bag, that still has the new tags on it.

Yea, think I may keep it. LOL

BTW, at the time of purchase I remember that you could not fly at night. I was on the FAA site last night re-reading but did not see that rule. Has that changed for recreational? I would love to do a low altitude flight around the house to capture Christmas lights. Like less than 100' or even 50', is that allowed?

FWIW, should I keep it, my main flight area would absolutely be at my house until I learn it, and learn. it well. With that said, I am on the edge of Class D with a 400' ceiling. Anyone have problems in Class D? I'm surrounded by mountains at my house and no plane comes anywhere near that ceiling, if they did they would have a problem for sure, but I'm guessing authorization should not be any issue at all but figured I'd ask.

Thanks!

 

[tlswift58]

EXACTLY AND GUARANTEED!

Thanks for all the answers!

One of the above posts is correct, I have 3 batteries since I purchased the Fly More Combo. I did charge at least one, if not all the batteries when I first received it.

Also mentioned a few times above, I am NOT going to check with the app for those reasons of Refresh. I also read through the DJI site and came to to the conclusion that either me, or a buyer if I sell, could get the Refresh at minimum upon activation. The protective film and stickers are still on each place of the MA2, so while it is technically used, it is also new, so if required to go through the "prove it good" method, should not be an issue with DJI. I'm not in a hurry and am even more siding with keeping it anyway. Since this post, I've done quite a few searches here and also read into the cold air flying which should not be an issue. I live in the Western portion of MT so it is nowhere as brutal as other parts with super frigid temps. Growing up in New Orleans and moving here from Texas, I think of cold as below 50. LOL. Different ball game here, but being surrounded by mountains in the Western part of the state, we seem to have more moderate temps being closer to the Pacific. The good news is, 40 in the South actually feels like 15 or so here and I don't have to deal with the heat in the, well, all year! LOL

So yes, MA2 has not been activated, 1 charge on 1 battery, or 1 charge on all 3, can't remember. I have not charged again because I remember reading to charge before you fly, which I have not.

Not activated with DJI.

I did get the FAA registration number but I did that before I received the drone, I think, so the serial number is not tied with FAA either, I checked that to. Only took it out the DJI box to put in a hard case with all accessories, except bag, that still has the new tags on it.

Yea, think I may keep it. LOL

BTW, at the time of purchase I remember that you could not fly at night. I was on the FAA site last night re-reading but did not see that rule. Has that changed for recreational? I would love to do a low altitude flight around the house to capture Christmas lights. Like less than 100' or even 50', is that allowed?

FWIW, should I keep it, my main flight area would absolutely be at my house until I learn it, and learn. it well. With that said, I am on the edge of Class D with a 400' ceiling. Anyone have problems in Class D? I'm surrounded by mountains at my house and no plane comes anywhere near that ceiling, if they did they would have a problem for sure, but I'm guessing authorization should not be any issue at all but figured I'd ask.

Thanks!

Night flying is okay. Esp if you stay close - no real issues other than the camera and getting grainy pics / videos. I fly at night / sunset / dusk as we have some awesome sunsets at times and the best time is after the sun sets over the mountains to the west of us. Then the sky can light up for a short couple of minutes with a really nice show. Takes practice and many people go into manual mode to try and get best shots without picture grain - as auto does a best guess - and it can run a real high ISO - camera speak for fast film (old days) speed needed to capture enough light without it being a big black blob - which can happen too. I did a sunset a few days ago and it ran a 3200 ISO - extremely fast for the very small camera sensor and it had massive gain - almost unusable. Would suggest if you do keep it and want to fly more at night look at some strobes so you can truly see the drone - as the leg lights on the drone are not very bright and easily lost in the dark. The strobes - good one - come in white, red, or green - and some are very bright. Properly placed, they should not affect the camera much. Those that have / use strobes can say more about that, as I don't have them yet - but DO need to get a couple. The better ones at like $50-$75 each is pricey compared to the cheap ones which are not as bright.

As for Class D, you can download Aloft / B4UFLY / UAVForecast onto your phone - no drone needed to check flight clearances needed for a specific area you want to fly. B4YFLY has a web version which I like versus a phone as I have bigger monitors to view from. 400 ft is max ceiling for drones anyway - so should be no real issue - yet those apps will tell you if you need LAANC clearance, which is typically easy to get and you'd enter the code into FlyApp (be logged into your DJI account or won't take it). If there are restrictions, you may have to set a date to fly and they give clearance for that day and will also tell you if you can only go up to say 200 ft max altitude. I flew around Jackson Hole Airport in WY near the Tetons and had no issues since I was a couple miles away and 400 ft is max anyway. DJI does have it's own little sentry called "geofencing" which can show up at the oddest times, when the apps tell you everything is clear. Many post / comments on this issue. I got a couple of messages - "warnings" - that I simply acknowledged I was aware of my flying location, no higher than 400 ft or whatever the limit was; hit okay (logged into my DJI account or otherwise it won't work and drone is a huge paperweight) and was off flying.

Western MT has some awesome scenery and from a drone - pics you'd never ever get from the ground. Learning to fly is a bit scary for the first few times, but then the BUG kicks in and it's FUN. Take your time if you keep it - HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to keep it and FLY BABY FLY -your skills will get better and you're off to the races. The pictures from up high can be less great, but with zoom on video - you can fly higher - above trees and other obstacles and get close in video of locations. You just have to figure out YOUR safe spot and go from there. I do waterfalls here in Western NC and most have a lot of trees and bushes that make flying close to some very challenging. I can get right above treetop level if need be, click on maybe 2x zoom in video and it's like I'm 20 feet above the falls or area I'm shooting. Camera - not so much, but learning the skills to fly in and around obstacles takes some time, unless your a video game junky. Then your skills should be pretty good. A friend of mine who flies is one of those and a cowboy type - who flies 5-10 feet above the ground, thru obstacles at 20 mph or faster (with his cinewhoop drones), and has some fantastic videos. That is not me or another older guy that flies with us. We typically fly safe, higher up, and go for cinematic shots versus the balls to the wall scraping the ground kind of shots.

I lived in Texas (DFW - Arlington) for 10 years - so know the vast differences in temp / humidity. Was in Air Force for 20 years and did live in North Dakota where it got brutally cold and windy to places like Vegas where it hits 110 in summer - then everything in between - working outside. For cold - just keep everything warm till right before take-off and should be good. Thick ski gloves are not good for the controller, so a pair of fleece or thin kind for the short time flying work awesome. Some folks also sit in their vehicle to avoid the cold / heat / etc - yet that is harder to do and keep sight of the drone; but doable. I use the hatch on my 4Runner for a sunblock / seat area / etc and I have a good field of view from there.

If you decide to keep it and again - DO KEEP IT - and need answers - this forum is great or you can DM people like me and other very more knowledgeable pilots too and not have to post what you may think is a stupid question for everyone to see. BTW - there is no real stupid question. All we ask is to search the forums first (search feature is great) to see if that has been asked (typically yes and many times) and or watch YouTube videos to learn more along the way. If you do all that and still don't have an answer - then ask away - that is how we all learn in the process.

KEEP THE DRONE AND GET OUT THERE FLYING!

 

[Cajundude]

Thanks for the long and informative post, I appreciate that! If you count the stand up machines from the 80s, I'd be a video game junkie, I have some of those.

 

[tlswift58]

Thanks for the long and informative post, I appreciate that! If you count the stand up machines from the 80s, I'd be a video game junkie, I have some of those.

I loved the stand alone games, but as I got older - my dexterity took a hit with the mini controllers and more fast paced games that come with XBOX, PlayStation, etc. I'm of the generation that did not have video games growing, cell phones, and much technology at all. We had fun by the seat of our pants - literally. Developing that hand to eye coordination is extremely helpful in droning. With my limited amount - I play it far safer / slower than my buddy who is the cowboy and been thru "many" drones / crashes.