Mavic Air 2 Controller

[MarcoPolo]

I've noticed that the Mavic Air 2, as well as some other DJI drones, removed the LCD display from the controller. Without this, is there still any form of telemetry if the video is lost? There have been times with my Mavic Pro 1, where I have lost video even
when in LOS, just at a distance, where the telemetry on the LCD helped me get oriented back, or if I pressed RTH, the decreasing distance gave me the reassurance it was working. So if you lose video on one of these drones, with no LCD, is there any telemetry anywhere?

 

[old man mavic]

unfortunately only whats displayed on the app screen,

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

A big negative with the Spark, Mini, and now Air 2 controllers.
You only have RTH to rely on if you lose connection / display . . . usually in conjunction with signal loss, common earlier with wifi.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Yeah, a small LCD screen would have been really useful and the MA2 remote certainly seems to have the room for it. Not exactly on topic but not entirely off topic either - how does the Smart Controller fare in this regard? I imagine it is basically the same as a phone plugged in to a regular controller. Or am I mistaken?

 

[old man mavic]

what ever device is used makes no difference if the screen goes blank then there is no telemetry on display

 

[Deleted member 94047]

what ever device is used makes no difference if the screen goes blank then there is no telemetry on display

I understand that; perhaps I should have been more specific so let me have a second go at this. One of the advantages of a built in LCD in the remote controller is you still have some telemetry readings if/when there is a connection issue between the remote controller and the mobile device - such as when there is an issue with the connecting cable. Another is when you experience an app crash. Now as far as I understand, the Smart Controller does not have a connecting cable - it is basically a remote controller with a giant screen built in to it. So does that mean the first scenario (a cable disconnect) cannot happen with the SC? And the second (an app crash) is far less likely since the SC is a custom built android device entirely dedicated to running GO4? I hope this clarifies my query.

EDIT: if the connection between the remote controller and the AC is lost, an inbuilt LCD is of little use until the connection is re-established. So my question assumes there is a connection between the RC and the AC in both scenarios.

 

[old man mavic]

i get what you are saying,a lot of times you can get a loss of camera signal between the AC and RC but still have a signal between RC and AC for the telemetry on the remotes screen,it could be because the app has crashed or a fault in the cable between RC and device and its those instances that the OP is on about i believe

 

[KiloMeater]

I never had an app crash so far though

 

[Martysticks]

The original MA has no such display

I did not even know it was an option until I got my Mavic Pro Platinum

 

[MarcoPolo]

I understand that; perhaps I should have been more specific so let me have a second go at this. One of the advantages of a built in LCD in the remote controller is you still have some telemetry readings if/when there is a connection issue between the remote controller and the mobile device - such as when there is an issue with the connecting cable. Another is when you experience an app crash. Now as far as I understand, the Smart Controller does not have a connecting cable - it is basically a remote controller with a giant screen built in to it. So does that mean the first scenario (a cable disconnect) cannot happen with the SC? And the second (an app crash) is far less likely since the SC is a custom built android device entirely dedicated to running GO4? I hope this clarifies my query.

EDIT: if the connection between the remote controller and the AC is lost, an inbuilt LCD is of little use until the connection is re-established. So my question assumes there is a connection between the RC and the AC in both scenarios.

Yes, but there are times where you will lose video but still have telemetry display. App crashes, video loss. I have had time on my MP1, where I have lost video, then used the telemetry on the controller to reorient myself, or, if I hit RTH, the decreasing distance on the LCD reassures me the drone is on the way. Seems to me you would lose video prior to telemetry, do to telemetry being simple to receive at the controller end as opposed to receiving video and piping it to your phone.

 

[Hiflyer808]

Good news! People have been talking about the controller having no pause button, but actually the rth button is also a pause button. Quick press for pause, hold down longer for rth.

 

[Butterfly Copper]

Good news! People have been talking about the controller having no pause button, but actually the rth button is also a pause button. Quick press for pause, hold down longer for rth.

Would be great! How did you get to know this?

 

[Hiflyer808]

 

[swooshdave]

Well, I guess all the bleating about the Pause button can stop now.

 

[ChipDjipro]

A cheaper remote keeps the cost down. That thing does not even hold a iPad.

 

[swooshdave]

A cheaper remote keeps the cost down. That thing does not even hold a iPad.

None of them do without a tablet mount. Price isn't really an issue. The markup on the DJI stuff is all significant. We are going to pay what they charge.

 

[ChipDjipro]

True but there’s not even a place to mount that.

 

[dawgpilot]

True but there’s not even a place to mount that.

Not sure what you mean by that. The tablet mounts I've used have a "phone-sized" insert that goes into the phone slot on the controller, and then a tablet grip that fits your iPad. This solution should work just fine on the Air 2 controller as well.

Example tablet mount.

 

[Seachief]

This has been my source for mounts in the past for my Mavic Pro...have ordered their Gen 3 that works with MA2 and a couple of mounts for phone, tablet, etc. Very high quality and nice, lightweight mount brackets/

Front Page - Mavmount brand DJI Mavic |Mini |Air iPad Tablet Adapter

MAVMOUNT adapters work with every iPad and every major android tablet device that exists. Whether you’re using the folding or newer top mount DJI controllers, Mavmount has a rock solid professional solution for you. All Mavmount adapters use precision engineering for top fit and finish, supports...

www.mavmount.com

 

[ChipDjipro]

Not sure what you mean by that. The tablet mounts I've used have a "phone-sized" insert that goes into the phone slot on the controller, and then a tablet grip that fits your iPad. This solution should work just fine on the Air 2 controller as well.

Example tablet mount.

I
I know how the tablet holder works for all the other controllers but it would not work the same for the air 2 controller. And if you did use that that thing would be top-heavy.