Newb, To litchi or not...?

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

Hello all, so Ive had my Mav for about a month and a half and disgracefully Ive only logged in about a little less than 2 hours and most of it has been really short distances. And other than a couple of minutes with each intelligent flight modes I don't have the time invested to feel fully comfortable. I leave for vacation in a few days 06-12-17 to be exact, So I have 5 days to get acclimated to litchi if I get it. My question is being a newb to drones, would 5 days be enough to feel comfortable with the app or should I wait till I come back? One of the main draws to getting the app is the flight planner, and Im hoping its a little more stable than the dji go app. I currently get logged off about 2 or 3 times a session.

 

[jimapp]

My recommendation would be AutoPilot if you had more time; however I can say if you take a look at FPV Camera for DJI, watch some of their videos I am quite sure you would not only find it very user friendly but zero with "glitches"

 

[jimapp]

Oh and the flight planning can be done right on your ipad with no connection required

 

[dbyantis]

I would be more concerned with just getting air time regardless of the app, practise flying figure eights in an open field, etc. There are several threads around here that discuss stabilizing GO4 on Android, assuming that is what you are using. Might want to try that here at home.

Anyone have any idea when DJI will update DJI Go 4 and fix the app crash issue for Android users?

 

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

My recommendation would be AutoPilot if you had more time; however I can say if you take a look at FPV Camera for DJI, watch some of their videos I am quite sure you would not only find it very user friendly but zero with "glitches"

I guess for $25 cant hurt to get it, and especially if its not glitchy. Thank you

 

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

Oh and the flight planning can be done right on your ipad with no connection required

Using my cell, LG v20. Was thinking of getting a Ipad mini.

 

[Logger]

... I have 5 days to get acclimated to litchi if I get it. My question is being a newb to drones, would 5 days be enough to feel comfortable with the app or should I wait till I come back? One of the main draws to getting the app is the flight planner, and Im hoping its a little more stable than the dji go app. I currently get logged off about 2 or 3 times a session.

Should be long enough to get a basic understanding of Litchi waypoints. Start with simple flight plans and make sure you set your heights above all likely obstacles.

Are you using android or IOS to fly. Keep in mind the other apps mentioned above only work on fruit whereas Litchi works beautifully on both platforms while also allowing you build plans on their web based mission hub as well.
There may even be existing flight plans on the mission hub for wherever you are headed made by others that you can use to ease the learning curve.

 

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

I would be more concerned with just getting air time regardless of the app, practise flying figure eights in an open field, etc. There are several threads around here that discuss stabilizing GO4 on Android, assuming that is what you are using. Might want to try that here at home.

Anyone have any idea when DJI will update DJI Go 4 and fix the app crash issue for Android users?

Will do, thank you.

 

[Dronin]

Using my cell, LG v20. Was thinking of getting a Ipad mini.

I flew with a V20 when I first got my Mavic. It's my daily driver phone, DJI App would just close, not crash, at least 2x per battery's worth of flying. I thought the phone may have had too much going on to be stable. I went back to a LG G4 dedicated to the Mavic, it was more stable, but the screen wasn't bright enough.

I finally gave in and bought an iPad Mini 3 on eBay. It has yet to crash for me, although I haven't tested it with the new firmware & latest version of the App since the updates. I need more time in the air to know if it's still good, but it was the best decision I made so far regarding my MP. The consensus seems to be that the iPad Mini 2 is all you really need, version 3 doesn't add anything, but in my case the price was the same and I wanted the newer one.

Just my 2 cents. I highly recommend getting an iPad Mini as a dedicated device.

 

[jimapp]

You made the better choice going with the three over the two; better processor! This will come into play with setting up a complex waypoint mission. For some reason there are many who just simply do not like Apple but fruit really is good for your Mavic lol. I am running an ipad pro and yet to experience any issues with the either of the dji go apps, FPV camera or the feature full AutoPilot. Just my experience, mind you I have only been flying since April so prob should add "touch wood"

 

[Big Fil]

I may be old school, but the way i see it just getting stick time in will serve you far better than trying to digest a whole new app and figuring out how to program waypoints and what not. Do you even know why you want Litchi over the GoApp?

 

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

I may be old school, but the way i see it just getting stick time in will serve you far better than trying to digest a whole new app and figuring out how to program waypoints and what not. Do you even know why you want Litchi over the GoApp?

Well the main thing is the constant disconnect on the dji app, It happens at least 2 to 3 times per flight. The first time it happened I freaked out because I didn't know what it was going to do, I had my return to home parameters set up but had never used them so I panicked for a bit. Now i'm more comfortable but its still a pain to have to reconnect. And I like some of the way point features as drawing the waypoints, setting up missions preflight, different elevation changes....just seems a little more in depth. Im taking it on vacation and just want the easiest route to some decent footage. It will be me and my girl going so I doubt she's just going to let me play with my drone while she just watches, not fond of the drone that one.

 

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

I flew with a V20 when I first got my Mavic. It's my daily driver phone, DJI App would just close, not crash, at least 2x per battery's worth of flying. I thought the phone may have had too much going on to be stable. I went back to a LG G4 dedicated to the Mavic, it was more stable, but the screen wasn't bright enough.

I finally gave in and bought an iPad Mini 3 on eBay. It has yet to crash for me, although I haven't tested it with the new firmware & latest version of the App since the updates. I need more time in the air to know if it's still good, but it was the best decision I made so far regarding my MP. The consensus seems to be that the iPad Mini 2 is all you really need, version 3 doesn't add anything, but in my case the price was the same and I wanted the newer one.

Just my 2 cents. I highly recommend getting an iPad Mini as a dedicated device.

Yea, I have hesitated getting one because I want to keep it super portable. Not that the ipad is that much bigger but it is another item. I did purchase the spark so I might just pull the trigger on the ipad and use the spark for my days I want to travel light.

 

[Owen Manderfield]

With disconnects many people have had problems with the DJI cables. Buy a good quality micro usb and try using the bottom usb port on the remote (remove the side cable first!) Cheap and easy to try.

I can only echo the iPad mini advice - no issues since switching and small enough to still fit in a small camera bag.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Why all this obsession with Litchi?
AP and FPV Camera are both miles ahead of the Litchi app.
End of story.

 

[BrooklynFlyer]

Why all this obsession with Litchi?
AP and FPV Camera are both miles ahead of the Litchi app.
End of story.

If Autopilot had a web interface like Litchi, it would be a lot easier to program.
Plotting your points on a Desktop vs mobile still matters a little bit for some people, but I still love Autopilot.

 

[jimapp]

Autopilot does not need a web interface; I preprogrammed my waypoints on my iPad (not connected to bird) the night before and save it. When I arrive on site I will be sure to calibrate gps and when I load my flight it will do so flawlessly; at least thus far. FPV Camera can also save flights prior on the iPad both work well

 

[BrooklynFlyer]

Autopilot does not need a web interface; I preprogrammed my waypoints on my iPad (not connected to bird) the night before and save it. When I arrive on site I will be sure to calibrate gps and when I load my flight it will do so flawlessly; at least thus far. FPV Camera can also save flights prior on the iPad both work well

I understand AP doesn't NEED a web interface and I understand that you might not want it, but for many users it would be nice to have the option.

Using a mapping program on a desktop rather than an ipad has some benefits. I hope you can acknowledge this without feeling that you have to defend the other programs.

GreyWolf asked why some prefer Litchi, this is one reason. I'm sure there are others, just as there are many options that are better in Autopilot.
I like them both. I have no experience with FPV camera or the FPV in Litchi.

 

[N3M3SIS2ALL]

Why all this obsession with Litchi?
AP and FPV Camera are both miles ahead of the Litchi app.
End of story.

Never heard of them, but I'll look them up. I went to the play store and searched dji mavic and just the dji app, litchi and a whole bunch of check list apps popped up.

 

[Logger]

Never heard of them, but I'll look them up. I went to the play store and searched dji mavic and just the dji app, litchi and a whole bunch of check list apps popped up.

That will be because AP and FPV are miles behind Litchi. They do not even run on Android.
End of Story