Focus, Follow, and Orbit modes coming to Dronelink

RogerDH · Nov 19, 2020

There's a beta version of Dronelink available now with Focus, Follow, and Orbit modes. I just downloaded it, but it's a little late to test today and tomorrow the weather looks bad. If anyone else can test, please post your results.

parkgt · Nov 22, 2020

I did, look for the post.

maelstrom · Nov 22, 2020

parkgt said:
I did, look for the post.

But not for the Mini (the subject of this forum).

DLahr · Nov 22, 2020

maelstrom said:
But not for the Mini (the subject of this forum).

Can confirm that they are available for the Mini.

maelstrom · Nov 22, 2020

DLahr said:
Can confirm that they are available for the Mini.

I understand that they are available for the Mini My post was in response to @parkgt saying that he’d tried it, but not apparently with the Mini.

RogerDH · Nov 22, 2020

Yes, the Follow mode on the M2P looked great and I expect it to work on the Mini, but there is some question about the speed of the command cycle on the Mini being too slow for smooth tracking. Dronelink's point-of-interest tracking and Litchi's Follow and Orbit modes seem to have the same problem with controlling the Mini smoothly.

maelstrom · Nov 22, 2020

RogerDH said:
Yes, the Follow mode on the M2P looked great and I expect it to work on the Mini, but there is some question about the speed of the command cycle on the Mini being too slow for smooth tracking.

Thanks. Hopefully someone will try it with the Mini (using a fast phone/tablet) and give us a definitive answer on performance.

Mike Etian · Nov 23, 2020

RogerDH said:
Litchi's Follow and Orbit modes seem to have the same problem with controlling the Mini smoothly.

Litchi released a new Follow mode (not beta) and it is pretty smooth. Found this video showing the new mode:

I tried it on my iphone this weekend and it works great.

Emanáku · Nov 25, 2020

Mike Etian said:
Litchi released a new Follow mode (not beta) and it is pretty smooth. Found this video showing the new mode:
...
I tried it on my iphone this weekend and it works great.

What model of iphone was this? Thank you!

rscheff · Nov 25, 2020

I have been using the Beta Dronelink since the day it came out. I have the mini with a Samsung S9. I have had some issues with all 3 Betas. The orbit and focus programs I cannot seem to get them to focus on a particular object and I was advised they were not completed and just placed in the package for people to play with. I have played with the follow one quite a bit. It uses the GPS of your phone so you can't assign it to track someone or something, it will just follow your phone, which can be good in instances where there are a lot of things, like trees, in the way. There are 4 or 5 options that you can choose, like altitude tracking, stick control, RTH, and video or pictures. When I chose all options the drone just sat at 140 feet and would not follow. When attempting to land drone I had no stick control at all. When activating the drones RTH it did nothing. I had to shut down Dronelink and turn on DJI Fly in order to regain control. This inability to control the AC happened once before but I was not sure which mode I was in because I was testing all 3 modes and I was not taking notes, this time I did. Drone was in no danger because it was just hovering at 140 feet and had plenty of battery. I then chose no options (choosing options is kind of quirky, the wording seems contrary to what you are trying to do, maybe it was my interpretation). The drone followed perfectly, I reviewed the video and for the most part it was pretty stable, there might have been a few jerky moments but it may have been wind gusts. I had it follow me through the woods and it always kept the sun to it's back. The next time I drove in my truck and went a couple blocks. I am quite satisfied with the performance when I do not pick options. I will continue to experiment with the options.