Smart Controller Getting Very Hot

[RussOnTheRoad]

I took my Mavic 2 Zoom and Smart Controller outside today but it wasn't long before I decided to shut them down and go back inside. It was pretty hot outside, somewhere in the low 80s, I expect, and I was in the sun. The screen on the Smart Controller got very hot, and I mean hot enough that I was concerned if it got much hotter I might burn myself on it. The Mavic was getting rather hot too. Naturally, I became concerend about the equipment, shut things down and went back inside.

Has anybody else been seeing worrisome levels of heat with their SCs?

 

[Paul2660]

I am flying in Arkansas. High 80s low 90s. 100 percent humidity. Mine gets warm but the fan comes on within a few minutes of flight. Is your fan coming on? Most flights in midday to late afternoon light.

Screen has not gotten warm to the touch.

Paul C

 

[RussOnTheRoad]

I am flying in Arkansas. High 80s low 90s. 100 percent humidity. Mine gets warm but the fan comes on within a few minutes of flight. Is your fan coming on? Most flights in midday to late afternoon light.

Screen has not gotten warm to the touch.

Paul C

I didn't notice the fan today which isn't to say it didn't come on. I have noticed it before. It seems to come on much of the time, even indoors.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

Fan normally kicks in after about 3 mins on mine ...
Now it's having about 32 °C here, but even with 22 °C the fan of the SC will start to operate soon. Outside with normal noise levels, I cannot distinguish its sound.
It gets warm, but not hot even in sun.

 

[charlas]

Not noticed mine getting warm at all, used it in direct sunlight, mid 20's Sunday (been raining Mon/Today) although funny, if you interrogate the system, mine thinks my battery is 300+degC

 

[PAW]

103 degrees here yesterday. Flew 4 batteries in about an hour and a half. SC in direct sun about a third of the time. Fan came on and the controller got warm, but nothing like you describe. Drone motors and batteries were much warmer than the SC.

 

[ChaseTheBlueLines]

Mine gets warm but nothing like you're describing.

I'll try and remember to hit it with an IR thermometer.

 

[RussOnTheRoad]

Mine gets warm but nothing like you're describing.

I'll try and remember to hit it with an IR thermometer.

When I bought my IR thermometer I learned a little about the emissivity of objects and how it was necessary to set the thermometer to the appropriate emissivity for the object being measured.
I've been wondering how to set the emissivity for an IR thermometer to measure the screen temp of the Smart Controller or similar but I am unclear how to do so or if it can even be done. The table referenced below gives some suggested settings for glass but I don't know if that would apply to a display. I haven't found any table that references electronic displays, nor am I certain it would be any different from glass. I don't know enough about it. The back side of the controller seems like it might be less of an issue. I'll write to DJI to see if they have any suggestions..

Infrared Emissivity Table

www.thermoworks.com

 

[RussOnTheRoad]

I heard from DJI support about screen temps. I had reached out to ask them if they knew the emissivity rating for the screen of the Smart Controller so that I could set my IR thermometer properly in order to measure it. The rep with whom I spoke didn't know what emissivity was so he said he would forward my question to the engineers. The answer that came back was helpful in that it provided a guide for normal operating temperatures of the Smart Controller (below) but there was no information about the emissivity of the display. (I'm not sure there can be an emissivity rating for a monitor or display but maybe there can.)

Here is what DJI said: "The highest temperature on the screen should be about 44℃ while the environment temperature is 25℃. If the temperature of the controller going higher than 44℃, it should be a hardware issue of the screen if the cooling fan works well."

My SC has been returned to DJI for replacement and my IR thermometer is at another location 25 miles away. When I get the new controller and my hands on the thermometer I will endeavor to measure the temps of the controller, front and back and report back here. Meanwhile if anybody cares to measure the temps of their SC and report them it might be useful for us to learn the range of temps across a sampling of them. Ambient temperature would also seem relevant and perhaps avoiding a measurement were the hot air is exhausted from the controller might be a good idea.

Based on this Emissivity Table I would guess an emissivity setting for the black plastic of the SC would be about .95 and the screen itself might be about the same.

 

[Paul2660]

Just wanted to update to this thread.

Flew this morning, flight duration about 15/20 minutes, with SC, during outdoor flight, heard fan come on for SC pretty quickly (outdoor temp 85, humidity around 90%).

Purchased 2 new batteries, both needed the firmware update, and ran the 2nd one in my house, then wanted to do a IMU calibration. After the firmware update which took about 5 minutes total on wifi screen felt a bit warm, but after the IMU calibration, the screen became noticeably warm to the touch, fan was on.

First time I have noticed this, really can't remember the screen getting that warm during flight as I only use the touch controls for shutter and AF/MF and Manual camera settings during flight, thus I am touching the screen a lot.

SC off, 10 minutes and screen still a bit warm to touch.

Paul C

 

[PAW]

Been flying most of the summer in mid to high 90's with 15-35% humidity. Fan always comes on quickly, but I have never felt anything other than a slight warmth to the body of the SC and never a noticeable warmth to the screen. I usually use my body to create shade on the SC, to improve screen visibility- not necessarily to keep it cool.

 

[Paul2660]

That’s the way mine has been until last few flights. Top of screen after being in for 30 minutes is warm to the touch. And top of controller above the screen. Lower half of screen is fine. I hear the fan after the unit has been on for about 10 minutes.

Seems to work fine still.

Paul C