Flying with an iPad mini is great!

ScottJD · Mar 13, 2017

So I'll add my 2 cents also since I picked up an new 32GB iPad mini 2 with cellular also from Craigslist for $200. I couldn't pass up an unopened one and when I checked the serial number in apples website for warranty it showed it was bought 7 days before I bought it from this guy. So I still have almost a full manufacture warranty with it.
I wanted the GPS mainly so i could return to home were I stand, so it didn't matter what Cellular company it was made for.
Since I have an iPad Air 2 the 32GB was a perfect size. I set the DJI Go 4 app to cache 16GB and only have the apps I need for flying installed. This way if I loose the mavic I still have all the flight video and log warnings for DJI to review.

I was concerned about any lag since I've only flown the mavic with the iPhone 6, but no lag and works great even while enabling encoding in the DJI Go 4 app.
For those shopping,the iPad mini 2 and 3 are identical except the 3 has the Touch ID. Save the money and get the mini 2. The Mini 2 still has a strong enough processor and GPU for caching videos and encoding. Still support the latest iOS since it's a 64 Bit processor and Apple still sells the iPad mini 2.

I put a link down below showing a good comparison between the iPad mini 2 and mini 4. The key differences with the 4 are slightly faster CPU, GPU, it adds wifi AC, and extra GB of memory for 2GB vs 1GB in the mini 2 and 3. The screens are the same, battery is slightly bigger but you won't get better runtime since it needs the extra battery for the faster CPU and GPU. The biggest difference is in the cellular channels if you decide to use it with a separate SIM card, I just tether mine to my phone.

My set up is:
I use the PGY-Tech 7-11 inch pad holder $30. Be carful of the amazon one that say PGY, most of them were pulled when people complained it was another model.
I put my in the controller upside down so I can see the controller and the iPad mini at the same time.
The PGY also fits my iPad Air 2 for those wanting to use a full size iPad. I'm using it now for typing this post with my iPad Air 2, it has a dual use. See the pictures to understand more.

Found a cheap right angle cable about 6 inches long for $8, remove 4 screws and the cable comes out easy. The lighting port part of the cable fits in the bracket whole, or just run it on the outside like I did.

Cheap sunshade $8, easy set up to unfold and folds up for easy storage. Fits with the PGY clamp good, cable fits well in the whole on the side.

Together makes me a happy pilot.

A good comparison between the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini 4
Apple iPad mini 4 vs Apple iPad mini 2 - Phone specs comparison

PGY-Tech 7-11 inch pad holder. NOTE at the time of this post only this ebay seller and the PGY AliExpress French store was selling the authentic PGY Pad holder.
PGYTECH Accessoriess 7-10 Inch Pad Mobile Phone Holder Pad for DJI Mavic Pro 3M | eBay

7.9 inch sunshade
Amazon.com: 7.9" Tablet FPV Monitor Sunshade Sun Hood for DJI Phantom 2 3 Inspire 1 Transmitter Remote Controller Quick Release iPad Holder Clip Mount (White) (physical mount not included): Toys & Games

6 inch cable with right angle plugs
Amazon.com: WOPOW Portable Metal Keychain USB Data Charge Sync Cable Support Bottle Opener for iPhone 5/6/7: Computers & Accessories

Jaysjob · Mar 14, 2017

ScottJD said:
So I'll add my 2 cents also since I picked up an new 32GB iPad mini 2 with cellular also from Craigslist for $200. I couldn't pass up an unopened one and when I checked the serial number in apples website for warranty it showed it was bought 7 days before I bought it from this guy. So I still have almost a full manufacture warranty with it.
I wanted the GPS mainly so i could return to home were I stand, so it didn't matter what Cellular company it was made for.
Since I have an iPad Air 2 the 32GB was a perfect size. I set the DJI Go 4 app to cache 16GB and only have the apps I need for flying installed. This way if I loose the mavic I still have all the flight video and log warnings for DJI to review.

I was concerned about any lag since I've only flown the mavic with the iPhone 6, but no lag and works great even while enabling encoding in the DJI Go 4 app.
For those shopping,the iPad mini 2 and 3 are identical except the 3 has the Touch ID. Save the money and get the mini 2. The Mini 2 still has a strong enough processor and GPU for caching videos and encoding. Still support the latest iOS since it's a 64 Bit processor and Apple still sells the iPad mini 2.

I put a link down below showing a good comparison between the iPad mini 2 and mini 4. The key differences with the 4 are slightly faster CPU, GPU, it adds wifi AC, and extra GB of memory for 2GB vs 1GB in the mini 2 and 3. The screens are the same, battery is slightly bigger but you won't get better runtime since it needs the extra battery for the faster CPU and GPU. The biggest difference is in the cellular channels if you decide to use it with a separate SIM card, I just tether mine to my phone.

My set up is:
I use the PGY-Tech 7-11 inch pad holder $30. Be carful of the amazon one that say PGY, most of them were pulled when people complained it was another model.
I put my in the controller upside down so I can see the controller and the iPad mini at the same time.
The PGY also fits my iPad Air 2 for those wanting to use a full size iPad. I'm using it now for typing this post with my iPad Air 2, it has a dual use. See the pictures to understand more.

Found a cheap right angle cable about 6 inches long for $8, remove 4 screws and the cable comes out easy. The lighting port part of the cable fits in the bracket whole, or just run it on the outside like I did.

Cheap sunshade $8, easy set up to unfold and folds up for easy storage. Fits with the PGY clamp good, cable fits well in the whole on the side.

Together makes me a happy pilot.

A good comparison between the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini 4
Apple iPad mini 4 vs Apple iPad mini 2 - Phone specs comparison

PGY-Tech 7-11 inch pad holder. NOTE at the time of this post only this ebay seller and the PGY AliExpress French store was selling the authentic PGY Pad holder.
PGYTECH Accessoriess 7-10 Inch Pad Mobile Phone Holder Pad for DJI Mavic Pro 3M | eBay

7.9 inch sunshade
Amazon.com: 7.9" Tablet FPV Monitor Sunshade Sun Hood for DJI Phantom 2 3 Inspire 1 Transmitter Remote Controller Quick Release iPad Holder Clip Mount (White) (physical mount not included): Toys & Games

6 inch cable with right angle plugs
Amazon.com: WOPOW Portable Metal Keychain USB Data Charge Sync Cable Support Bottle Opener for iPhone 5/6/7: Computers & Accessories

Nicely done sir. [emoji106]

Shep · Mar 14, 2017

frankiez said:
Thanks but i would like to do it on the fly when I am out and flying and using my ipad mini4, i would like to dl and then edit using Imovie and upload them to YouTube right away.

There is a solution to this: Lexar MicroSD to Lightning Reader by Office Depot & OfficeMax

You take the microSd from your Mavic, put it in this device, plug it in and you can either download or just watch them.

ScottJD · Mar 14, 2017

Jaysjob said:
Nicely done sir. [emoji106]

Thank you. I already was working on a review for this stuff on my channel and had some video footage. So when I saw your thread I figured I would add to it and just take some screen shots from my video footage.
Glad you liked it. I hope it helps others also.

ScottJD · Mar 14, 2017

Shep said:
There is a solution to this: Lexar MicroSD to Lightning Reader by Office Depot & OfficeMax

You take the microSd from your Mavic, put it in this device, plug it in and you can either download or just watch them.

If this is anything like the apple SD card reader from the Lightning camera kit then you can only import videos from the SD card to the iPad. I guess if you don't want to use the cached videos with aidio and take them from the mavic Sd card then it might work.
I have the apple version, the problem I found is if your shooting 4K and importing to an iPad that doesn't support 4K then you can play the video, but you can't edit it.
I guess it depends on what ipad he has that he is editing with. Maybe someone else with the same iPad can test it.
I might be able to if I know what software he's using to edit with in the iPad also.
Scott

SteveNunez · Mar 14, 2017

I agree, I had massive problems with the Mavic Pro and iPhone6S......switched to a new iPad Mini4 and no more issues at all......no more dropouts or disconnects and no video transmission issues- well worth the $500+ I paid for it (128GB version.) I bought it exclusively for the Mavic and wholeheartedly recommend it for the Mavic Pro.

frankiez · Mar 14, 2017

Shep said:
There is a solution to this: Lexar MicroSD to Lightning Reader by Office Depot & OfficeMax

You take the microSd from your Mavic, put it in this device, plug it in and you can either download or just watch them.

That's awesome! Thanks Shep!

frankiez · Mar 14, 2017

ScottJD said:
If this is anything like the apple SD card reader from the Lightning camera kit then you can only import videos from the SD card to the iPad. I guess if you don't want to use the cached videos with aidio and take them from the mavic Sd card then it might work.
I have the apple version, the problem I found is if your shooting 4K and importing to an iPad that doesn't support 4K then you can play the video, but you can't edit it.
I guess it depends on what ipad he has that he is editing with. Maybe someone else with the same iPad can test it.
I might be able to if I know what software he's using to edit with in the iPad also.
Scott

Scott,

When my rc with my mini4 was connected and I went into the DJI go4 app, it wouldn't let me DL the 4k vid to the iPad but the ones I shot at 1080 it had no problem with.

The only app I have been using on the iPad was the stock IMovie that came with it.

ScottJD · Mar 14, 2017

frankiez said:
Scott,

When my rc with my mini4 was connected and I went into the DJI go4 app, it wouldn't let me DL the 4k vid to the iPad but the ones I shot at 1080 it had no problem with.

The only app I have been using on the iPad was the stock IMovie that came with it.

Ok, that's what I thought. Since the iPad mini is not able to play back 4K it didn't let me airdrop 4K video either or download from the external SD card to iPad lightning adapter on the mini. But I'm able to play back 4K on the iPad Air 2, not sure about editing since I didn't try it. If I want to post something fast like you then I use the cached video stored on the iPad in the DJI go 4 app. I have mine set at 720P, but I think if you change the app to show 1080 when flying it will also record cache at 1080 as long as your not to far out of range.

I choose 720 since I also cut my bandwidth from 20Mhz to 10Mhz in the DJI go 4 app. For 1080 video FPv you need the larger 20Mhz bandwidth. But the advantage is less possibility of picking up interference in 10Mhz.

ScottJD · Mar 14, 2017

frankiez said:
Scott,

When my rc with my mini4 was connected and I went into the DJI go4 app, it wouldn't let me DL the 4k vid to the iPad but the ones I shot at 1080 it had no problem with.

The only app I have been using on the iPad was the stock IMovie that came with it.

I almost forgot to mention one thing I did discover.
Airdrop is great, but apple also like to make things simple.
Sometimes in among things simple they so stuff I don't agree with. I was shuffling pictures to the iPad mini when I ran out of space in my iPad Air 2.
I found out that airdrop changed the size of the picture that was a full 12mp mavic picture to a smaller picture when I airdropped to the iPad min. It knew the mini had a smaller screen with a lower resolution. So it didn't make a good backup if you want to keep full size pictures.

I don't know if it tried to encode the video smaller also?
I know they do this because they think your just sharing the picture with a friend and it saves space and looks just as good on the mini with the smaller picture, but not what I expected and surprised me.
So if you go to transfer pics with airdrop you may want to see if it changes the size first or not. If the picture is for Facebook then it won't matter anyway since Facebook also crops and compresses photos.
But if you go from the mini to a newer iPad with a larger display then it won't change it. Just do some testing fist.

A good app to use to see how big a picturee is and change picture sizes is BatchResizer2.

dholy1 · Mar 22, 2017

Looking to get an iPad mini 4. Since most of the flying is done in the sun, does the color of the iPad make any difference (a white face vs a black face? Would the white one stay any cooler in the sun than a black one?

debric france · Mar 22, 2017

iPad mini 4 wifi or cell wifi
(As I fly On no wifi area )

Jaysjob · Mar 22, 2017

dholy1 said:
Looking to get an iPad mini 4. Since most of the flying is done in the sun, does the color of the iPad make any difference (a white face vs a black face? Would the white one stay any cooler in the sun than a black one?

Personally I don't think it matters. Mine is black and it get too hot. The reflection is the bad thing. I messed around with hoods but the solution I use for now is a glare protector on the screen. It's slightly darker but the glare is cut WAY down. Hope this helps.

ScottJD · Mar 22, 2017

debric france said:
iPad mini 4 wifi or cell wifi
(As I fly On no wifi area )

Wifi will work, I tested with an iPod touch 6th gen.
The problem is you can't return to home using your controller as the return point, you also won't be notified of air space restrictions or no fly zones.

You can tether is to your phone for internet when it asks for an update, or just for maps. I recommend a 32GB model minimum since I set mine to cache the maps in areas I fly often. Also I set the video cache to 16GB incase I loose the mavic so I still have video and logs to show DJI.
The only thing I install for apps are one that have to do with flying like AT. Traffic, healthy drone, panes live, and a few others about the weather.

Some cell version used are more in demand because of the area you live in if your buying from someone local. Example, T-Mobile doesn't work good in my area so people prefer a cell iPad with att. But for what we use it for is just the GPS and don't care so you can get one cheaper if you don't care if it's a cell network that doesn't work good in your area. So don't look at the carrier, they all still have active gps no matter what carrier it's for.
I think gps also still works if it's in airplane mode, so I put mine in airplane mode so it stops complaining about not having a SIM card, then turn on wifi so I can tether to my phone and use my home wifi internet. If you have other apple devices then also turn on Bluetooth for airdrop, you can turn both these on and still keep it in airplain mode.
Airplane mode turns off transmitters, but it doesn't care about GPS sicne it's a receiver only.

dholy1 · Mar 23, 2017

Jaysjob said:
Personally I don't think it matters. Mine is black and it get too hot. The reflection is the bad thing. I messed around with hoods but the solution I use for now is a glare protector on the screen. It's slightly darker but the glare is cut WAY down. Hope this helps.

Which glare protector? Did you look st amorglass? A little pricey but has good reviews

Doodle · Mar 23, 2017

TomD6807 said:
I love my iPad Mini 4 since in fits nicely into the RC without an adapter. I just needed to locate a right angle lighting connector for a more natural grip. My iPhone 6Plus is there for size comparison.

How did you get it all the way in there? I have an iPad mini 3 and it can't get it all the way to the controller. Is the iPad mini 4 a tad bit smaller?
Also, what is this 'right angle lightning connector' you speak about?

EDIT: After a search on the forums here, I know what a right angle lightning connector is now.
And a search on youtube, shows me how to put the iPad mini in there.
Here is the video I watched.

Jaysjob · Mar 23, 2017

dholy1 said:
Which glare protector? Did you look st amorglass? A little pricey but has good reviews

I got an anti-glare screen protector from Walmart. $5.31 not tax as they shipped it to my local store in two days.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/36977600

It's just slightly darker than no protector but the glare is cut WAY down. It's been working well and didn't add any weight or weirdness to the controller. It's a good solution for me at the moment.

Earthdog · Mar 24, 2017

Thanks for this thread, as a result I just got my iPad Mini 4 Cellular off CL and I love it. I do have a few questions.

1. Evertime I launch the DJI app it asks me to roll a little ball in a circle. Is this something just related to the iPad?

2. I want an iPad holder I have some requirements and need some ideas from my feature list:
A. CNC base
B. Lanyard holder/Clip
C. Cable management/ routing so it keeps is out of the way
D. Adjustable angels and heights
E. Very sturdy. I want a factory look
F. Able to take a hood/sunshade a big plus.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Jeff