Mavic RC height display not going past 1000' feet

[JMF]

When I fly higher than 1000 feet the RC never displays anything higher then 1000, the DJI Go app shows the correct height though ?

Is this normal or is there a setting ?

 

[HVYMTL]

No..Flying at 1000 feet high in the air is not normal, and is considered very dangerous.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

When I fly higher than 1000 feet the RC never displays anything higher then 1000, the DJI Go app shows the correct height though ?

Is this normal or is there a setting ?

Yes, noticed the same thing yesterday, flew 2000ft up but 1000ft tops on RC. Will try with metric units.

 

[mmtphoto]

Just wow. Hope you guys don’t ruin this for us. Geez...

 

[Randyp1234]

Fly for Fun under the Special Rule for Model Aircraft

 

[Mr. Salty]

Maybe you guys could also try flying right next to an airport, then go over and ask air traffic control if they could give you an accurate reading of your altitude from their radar.

 

[CCTjohn]

As a very new quad owner I am very tempted with height... That is why I am glad there is a setting for height, because I like to follow the rules.

I certainly don't want to be that guy that ruins for the crowd.

That said I hope it is a minor equipment issue because whether one should fly that high or not the machine is built to be able to do it and it would be nice to know that things are working correctly at all extremes of the unit.

 

[Hollow Dog]

[QUOTE="

Is this normal or is there a setting ?[/QUOTE]

The parameter settings for that number space must only be 0 and 1.
Most likely could only be changed if you could change the code.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

I bought my Mavic to be my companion, a versatile tool in the mountains - finding way up through cliff bands, finding Wingsuit BASE exit points, looking from above treetops when trees obstruct the view. I can be flying 5000 feet above the takeoff point examining a big wall, yet only 100 feet above the terrain the whole flight. As a winguit BASE jumper, I actually like the visuals of flying Mavic low and fast, brings me similar rush as my wingsuit jumps. Flying high above the ground is boring, it's like looking at Google sat map. Never even flown in a populated/urban area, never any closer than 5mi from even tiny desert airports (let alone big airports!), always in the middle of nowhere - desert or mountains. My flights are 100% legit. Not to mention that there's no altitude AGL limit for hobby fliers, and that DJI's arbitrary 500m limit does not correspond to anything in aviation.

 

[mmtphoto]

My 96 Mark VIII, STOCK, will supposedly do 140, and a slightly modified (stock engine, body lowered) did 183 at Bonneville in 1999. By your logic, I should ,see if that’s accurate. On an interstate, near your daily commute, perhaps?
Nah, I’ll trust what has been done based on what I’ve read, and you’ll be safe. You’re welcome.

 

[Hollow Dog]

I bought my Mavic to be my companion, a versatile tool in the mountains - finding way up through cliff bands, finding Wingsuit BASE exit points, looking from above treetops when trees obstruct the view. I can be flying 5000 feet above the takeoff point examining a big wall, yet only 100 feet above the terrain the whole flight. As a winguit BASE jumper, I actually like the visuals of flying Mavic low and fast, brings me similar rush as my wingsuit jumps. Flying high above the ground is boring, it's like looking at Google sat map. Never even flown in a populated/urban area, never any closer than 5mi from even tiny desert airports (let alone big airports!), always in the middle of nowhere - desert or mountains. My flights are 100% legit. Not to mention that there's no altitude AGL limit for hobby fliers, and that DJI's arbitrary 500m limit does not correspond to anything in aviation.

Shows 5000 but really only 100?
Say It Isn't So.

 

[Anthony]

I bought my Mavic to be my companion, a versatile tool in the mountains - finding way up through cliff bands, finding Wingsuit BASE exit points, looking from above treetops when trees obstruct the view. I can be flying 5000 feet above the takeoff point examining a big wall, yet only 100 feet above the terrain the whole flight. As a winguit BASE jumper, I actually like the visuals of flying Mavic low and fast, brings me similar rush as my wingsuit jumps. Flying high above the ground is boring, it's like looking at Google sat map. Never even flown in a populated/urban area, never any closer than 5mi from even tiny desert airports (let alone big airports!), always in the middle of nowhere - desert or mountains. My flights are 100% legit. Not to mention that there's no altitude AGL limit for hobby fliers, and that DJI's arbitrary 500m limit does not correspond to anything in aviation.

When I saw this topic I thought OMG can he really be that crazy .... but then I did ask my self "I wounder if he is at the Base of a mountain and flying up the face

It's all about context. .... I imagine the low decent looks fantastic.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Shows 5000 but really only 100?
Say It Isn't So.

Yes. Mavic only measures altitude above your takeoff point, using a barometer. It can't tell the altitude above ground (only below 40 feet, where it can reach it with ultrasound).

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

When I saw this topic I thought OMG can he really be that crazy .... but then I did ask my self "I wounder if he is at the Base of a mountain and flying up the face

It's all about context. .... I imagine the low decent looks fantastic.

Don't even need to be at the base of a cliff. Just a few weeks ago, I flew in the Eastern Sierra in California where Hwy 395 is at about 4000ft AMSL, while the Sierra foothills start at ~7000ft. I flew almost 3 miles towards the foothills, flying at ~100ft AGL all the time and gained more than 2000ft of altitude above my home point. If I had the 500m limit, I'd find myself in this ridiculous situation, where I am only 10' above the ground but can't fly any further uphill because I'm at 500m (1640ft) above the takeoff point. This limit is totally idiotic, and that's why I don't have it on my Mavic.

 

[Hollow Dog]

Yes. Mavic only measures altitude above your takeoff point, using a barometer. It can't tell the altitude above ground (only below 40 feet, where it can reach it with ultrasound).

Yes I know I'm always running out of altitude on the stupid 1500 ft limit even though I'm only between 1 and 200 feet high.

 

[CCTjohn]

My 96 Mark VIII, STOCK, will supposedly do 140, and a slightly modified (stock engine, body lowered) did 183 at Bonneville in 1999. By your logic, I should ,see if that’s accurate. On an interstate, near your daily commute, perhaps?
Nah, I’ll trust what has been done based on what I’ve read, and you’ll be safe. You’re welcome.

Allow me to explain my logic,

I am a generator technician. I have been for 8 years, the 7 years prior than that I was a heavy equipment mechanic.

In heavy equipment when doing maintenance we would take all controls to their extreme to test them. They are built to do so. Doesn't mean every operator needs full use of it. But if I attempt, lets say to take a 100 foot manlift to it's max but it quits at say 75 feet I may be low on Hydraulic or a limit may be out of adjustment. If I only ever take that lift to the 50 or 60 feet point I may not catch that failure until it has become a bigger problem.

In the generator field most generators are grossly over sized and typically are only used to about 40% of their capacity. At least once a year it is strongly suggested to perform a load bank where we max out the unit to make sure there aren't any problems.

Now, I don't believe in my comment I suggested anything about him testing the limits in any unsafe manner, I merely intended that since he had taken it to it's limit and found a problem he may wish to look deeper to find a cause before what seems to be something minor turns into a risk at lower altitude.

And if you have a performance vehicle and it is built to perform I WOULD suggest you put it to the test but I would suggest doing so at a shop on a dyno.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

he had taken it to it's limit and found a problem he may wish to look deeper to find a cause before what seems to be something minor turns into a risk at lower altitude

The problem in the OP is not physical, it's a software bug. Even DJI lets users fly up to 1640ft up, why wouldn't the RC show this number? (it is shown correctly in the app) It's a bug, plain and simple. Forgot to test this in metric units today.

And if you have a performance vehicle and it is built to perform I WOULD suggest you put it to the test but I would suggest doing so at a shop on a dyno.

Or go to a place where it's perfectly legal and safe to do (for example, there's a dry saltlake somewhere near I-80 in Utah close to border with Nevada, where enthusiasts test high speed vehicles and even set world records... there's no speed limit or safety concern there). This is exactly analogous to flying drone thousands of feet above the takeoff point, yet not high above the terrain.

And re: 100ft hydrolic lift example, the stupid 500m limit is analogous to you driving the lift a small hill 90ft above where you powered it on, and it refuses to extend more than 10ft because it's now 100ft above your "takeoff point". How stupid would be that if this was the case in real life?!

 

[CCTjohn]

And re: 100ft hydrolic lift example, the stupid 500m limit is analogous to you driving the lift a small hill 90ft above where you powered it on, and it refuses to extend more than 10ft because it's now 100ft above your "takeoff point". How stupid would be that if this was the case in real life?!

Agreed! Admittedly I didn’t realize when I made my first reply, the full details of the failure. But my thought at the time was be safe and follow rules but there is now useful data to work with.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

My 96 Mark VIII, STOCK, will supposedly do 140, and a slightly modified (stock engine, body lowered) did 183 at Bonneville in 1999. By your logic, I should ,see if that’s accurate. On an interstate, near your daily commute, perhaps?
Nah, I’ll trust what has been done based on what I’ve read, and you’ll be safe. You’re welcome.

You can drive at 183 here and be 100% legit:

Bonneville Salt Flats - Wikipedia

In the drone world, this is analogous to flying thousands of feet higher than the takeoff point, yet staying within sane/legal limits above the ground, as well as obeying all other rules and regulations. Unless DJI's moronic 500m limit stops you.

 

[superdave5050]

Same here, have hills all around me and the 1600 ft limit was used up right away.
Do get Dji trying to stop the idiots. I just wish there was a way to get the higher altitudes when flying up mountains without the software tweaks that we speak not of.