DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Mavic Mini 2 and prop guards

spsphotos

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
645
Reactions
1,008
Age
65
Location
Schenectady, NY
So, I decided to take the Mini 2 out for a quick spin in my yard after the snowstorm. I had left the prop guards on it from when I was playing in the house...figured, no biggie. I sent it up and when it got to about 90ft it suddenly said max height reached and something about payload mode. There was a bit of a wind warning anyway so I bought it down a bit. I've never heard of the Mini balking at having the guards on outdoors. But then again, I just got the guards and never actually use them on any of my drones outdoors. On another note, I was trying to fly low (about 6') between my house and neighbors when it started to drift and I couldn't correct it without overcorrecting for some reason...not sure why it was drifting other then maybe it lost GPS signals...but more likely it was because the sensors couldn't properly detect the ground due to the snow. :). Anyway, ended up crashing into the house...good thing for prop guards. :). Had it pancaked right up against the house before it finally shut down. Had to dive through the snow to get it but the snow didn't seem to hurt it...thankfully. Did get a good pano shot though...pretty impressed with the way it handled the snow and contrast.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bill_H
Aha...I was right...was the guards and wind....


Same issue with the Mini 1.
 
I feel ya. When it senses a load I think it automatically restricts altitude to 98' I believe.

And I've also experienced what you have, which appears to be pure atti mode where (as another member described it) as driving on an icy road with no brakes. I tend to experience that too in one of my bedroooms for some reason where total stability is lost. The crazy thing is that in the rest of the house I don't have any GPS sats locked on either, but it just goes crazy, experiencing the same thing that you have. That's one of the reasons I bought (minimalist) prop guards for inside. But I don't think I'd think of using them outside except under special circumstances.

The other thing I've experienced, like you, is when between two close structures (walls), the drone seems to be disrupted to some extent by it's own airflow. I think you got the double-whammy, having the airflow disruption and getting kicked into pure atti mode together.

Which prop guards did you end up getting?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lastrexking
With payload mode, automatically activated based off of the added weight of the guards, you are limited to about 90 feet height and I believe 150 feet distance. Something really light, such as a skin or small beacon won't trigger it though.
 
With payload mode, automatically activated based off of the added weight of the guards, you are limited to about 90 feet height and I believe 150 feet distance. Something really light, such as a skin or small beacon won't trigger it though.
In most cases you probably shouldn't need prop guards above 90 ft AGL or more than 150 feet away. They are most helpful when in tight situations where you're more likely to bump into things either damaging the drone or what you've bumped into.
 
In most cases you probably shouldn't need prop guards above 90 ft AGL or more than 150 feet away. They are most helpful when in tight situations where you're more likely to bump into things either damaging the drone or what you've bumped into.
I never said anything about flying that far with the propguards. I just said that with the propguards on you activate payload mode and are now limited to 90/ 150.
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,584
Messages
1,554,108
Members
159,588
Latest member
gfusato