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Rookie Questions.... and tons of them!

LarryL

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Nov 8, 2020
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Age
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Location
Rochester, New Hampshire
My name is Larry and I live in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. I've been interested in drone flight for YEARS and have watched (who knows!) how many hours of beautiful footage on YouTube. With the latest Mini 2 hitting the market, I think it's time to pull the trigger and "get with the program". I downloaded the Mini 2 manual yesterday, but still didn't see anything that would answer my questions, so here goes.
1- I do NOT own a cell phone. I know this is such a "given" in todays world, but right off the bat this seems like a death blow to the whole idea of me even considering buying a drone. My question: can I simply go to a pawn shop, buy a used cell phone (biggest screen as possible) and still fly? I don't want to pay $50, $60, $70 / month just to fly a drone. I'm sorry. My wife and I are still land-line people. If I can fly, then how would this impact me? Could I still download the latest apps or upgrades (I'm guessing hooked up to my computer via USB or whatever)? I know this is a biggie.
2- Pretty much all the flying I have in mind would need this Lichti / Wayfair app. Flying through tight spots going forward, then simply flying backwards along the same exact flight plan for those totally "WOW"! shots is what I'm dreaming of taking. I see that Lichti is still months away from getting squared away with the Mini series, so I can wait I guess.
3- And lastly, I was wondering about the Goggles. I'm guessing they work with the Mini series. They look pretty amazing.... except for the $349! Any other knock-offs you might suggest?

Any help would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance. Larry
 
Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

1. any DJI approved phone/device will work. Check the list on the DJI site. Others MAY work per posts by users.
2. You don’t need any third party app for the shots you describe.
3. Some like the goggles, some don’t. If you use goggle you will need a spotter to watch your drone and advise you. They must be close to you as communication must be verbal directly (just talking to you with no device needed) to fly legally.
 
As long as the phone you get is able to run dji fly you would be fine using it but you might want to look in to getting a tablet with all the Black Friday like deals going on now or in the next few weeks. Again you may have to do some research because older phones and tablets won't run, or run effectively, the new dji fly app. Some newer ones won't either so its not a given that buying a 2020 phone has you covered. You can try here: Best Tablets and Phones for DJI GO & DJI Fly (Updated Daily) | Phantom Help for compatability I have no experience with litchi or wayfair but from what I understand you need to run Fly at least once to register and set up the drone before using a third party app. I could be wrong though. So far the goggles are not compatible with the MM, Mini 2 or the Mavic Air 2 but there are whispers about the Mini 2 and MA2 getting support because they use occusync 2.
 
My name is Larry and I live in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. I've been interested in drone flight for YEARS and have watched (who knows!) how many hours of beautiful footage on YouTube. With the latest Mini 2 hitting the market, I think it's time to pull the trigger and "get with the program". I downloaded the Mini 2 manual yesterday, but still didn't see anything that would answer my questions, so here goes.
1- I do NOT own a cell phone. I know this is such a "given" in todays world, but right off the bat this seems like a death blow to the whole idea of me even considering buying a drone. My question: can I simply go to a pawn shop, buy a used cell phone (biggest screen as possible) and still fly? I don't want to pay $50, $60, $70 / month just to fly a drone. I'm sorry. My wife and I are still land-line people. If I can fly, then how would this impact me? Could I still download the latest apps or upgrades (I'm guessing hooked up to my computer via USB or whatever)? I know this is a biggie.
2- Pretty much all the flying I have in mind would need this Lichti / Wayfair app. Flying through tight spots going forward, then simply flying backwards along the same exact flight plan for those totally "WOW"! shots is what I'm dreaming of taking. I see that Lichti is still months away from getting squared away with the Mini series, so I can wait I guess.
3- And lastly, I was wondering about the Goggles. I'm guessing they work with the Mini series. They look pretty amazing.... except for the $349! Any other knock-offs you might suggest?

Any help would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance. Larry
You don’t need to have a service plan to fly with it. You do need to make sure the phone is powerful enough to do the job.
 
Check the spec's on phone requirements. You'll find plenty on Ebay. I advise Iphone.
Skill is the requirement for tight spots not special apps. Skill and judgement...maybe it would be better to use a handheld..or handhold the drone..I'll never tell ;)
Sorry.. don't have a clue about goggles.. the need for an observer is a game killer for me.
 
Welcome to the from from Chicago the Windy City.
Check out Mavic Help and Mavic tips, that will answer a lot of your questions.
 
You don’t need to have a service plan to fly with it. You do need to make sure the phone is powerful enough to do the job.
Done is right. Your phone Must be 64bit in order to run DJI Fly app. Just learned that my cell don’t so my iPad will have to do. For now
 
There is a hack to get the googles to work with the mini 2 (just saw it today 12/2) I'm interested since I also have the mini 2. Hi by the way, from Salem MA... the mini 2 has no terrain avoidance so it can be tough to do those backing out through trees... So far, I get left and right confused and have bumped into a bush once but I have done it successfully a few times as well.

I wonder about downloading the app and updates to the phone. Also, you have to be able to check your airspace which I guess can be done from home and you plan ahead for (if needed) any LAANC requests.
If I'm too rule-oriented, folks will let me know... I tend to overthink things...Moon rise at Winter Island Lighthouse.jpg You can see this last full moon rising in the lantern glass... 11/29
 
I live and fly in NH and you don't need Litchi or goggles to get those shots Just skill in maneuvering your drone around.
 
Learned my phone didn’t support DJI Fly app AFTER I bought the mini 2. Then learned about Best But 15% restocking fee on all drones. Sbit the bullet and bought an iPad mini. Works better for me than a phone, as I appreciate the larger screeen.
 
Learned my phone didn’t support DJI Fly app AFTER I bought the mini 2. Then learned about Best But 15% restocking fee on all drones. Sbit the bullet and bought an iPad mini. Works better for me than a phone, as I appreciate the larger screeen.
You’ll NEVER regret that iPad mini......
 
My name is Larry and I live in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. I've been interested in drone flight for YEARS and have watched (who knows!) how many hours of beautiful footage on YouTube. With the latest Mini 2 hitting the market, I think it's time to pull the trigger and "get with the program". I downloaded the Mini 2 manual yesterday, but still didn't see anything that would answer my questions, so here goes.
1- I do NOT own a cell phone. I know this is such a "given" in todays world, but right off the bat this seems like a death blow to the whole idea of me even considering buying a drone. My question: can I simply go to a pawn shop, buy a used cell phone (biggest screen as possible) and still fly? I don't want to pay $50, $60, $70 / month just to fly a drone. I'm sorry. My wife and I are still land-line people. If I can fly, then how would this impact me? Could I still download the latest apps or upgrades (I'm guessing hooked up to my computer via USB or whatever)? I know this is a biggie.
2- Pretty much all the flying I have in mind would need this Lichti / Wayfair app. Flying through tight spots going forward, then simply flying backwards along the same exact flight plan for those totally "WOW"! shots is what I'm dreaming of taking. I see that Lichti is still months away from getting squared away with the Mini series, so I can wait I guess.
3- And lastly, I was wondering about the Goggles. I'm guessing they work with the Mini series. They look pretty amazing.... except for the $349! Any other knock-offs you might suggest?

Any help would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance. Larry
Hi Larry, this is Larry from MA. Welcome. I don't use my phone at all. I bought an Android tablet and use it. The tablet/phone needs to be 64bit. I bought a Tripltek tablet because it has the brightest screen of anything out there but it is VERY expensive. If you do have a tablet see if it's 64bit and Android and you can use it. Good luck. BTW, I have a brother who lives in Dover, NH.
 
You might find that an inexpensive deal on an iphone is about the same price as you'd be paying for your landline.

It's crazy, but my internet provider gives me a discount on my internet if I use them for my landline. And the discount is more than the cost of the landline. So I pay a small monthly amount for a landline I tore out of the wall a few years ago.
 

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