What can a controller do that an SC cant?

[Former Member]

Question from a customer:

Rob, question....is there any function on the M2Pro controller that can't be done on the Smart Controller?

 

[Keule]

There is no dedicated screen with basic flight information on the SC.
With a M2P controller there is one. If the device is failing the MP2, the AC can be flow back with that screen on the RC.

SC does not have this feature - If the SC main screen / GO4 app crashed or stopped you have to wait to restart the SC ... You know: if seconds count - help is only minutes away ..

 

[ff22]

There is no dedicated screen with basic flight information on the SC.
With a M2P controller there is one. If the device is failing the MP2, the AC can be flow back with that screen on the RC.

SC does not have this feature - If the SC main screen / GO4 app crashed or stopped you have to wait to restart the SC ... You know: if seconds count - help is only minutes away ..

I thought I read that the SC can still control the aircraft even if the app crashes but you would be flying totally blind, well only with visual line of sight - you'd have no instrumentation. Now if it has to be powered down - you cannot control the aircraft.

Additionally, there is the issue of third party apps - some run, some don't on the SC. Of course, one needs a smartphone/tablet to do those things. Therefore, you can run those apps on your separate phone/tablet leaving the SC to be dedicated to flight.

 

[Former Member]

There is no dedicated screen with basic flight information on the SC.
With a M2P controller there is one. If the device is failing the MP2, the AC can be flow back with that screen on the RC.

SC does not have this feature - If the SC main screen / GO4 app crashed or stopped you have to wait to restart the SC ... You know: if seconds count - help is only minutes away ..

Thats a great point. For the ultimate in redundancy, a pilot could always pair an additional controller to the M2 along with the SC. Probably not necessary in 99% of the cases, but you can never have too much redundancy.

 

[Former Member]

I thought I read that the SC can still control the aircraft even if the app crashes but you would be flying totally blind, well only with visual line of sight - you'd have no instrumentation. Now if it has to be powered down - you cannot control the aircraft.

Additionally, there is the issue of third party apps - some run, some don't on the SC. Of course, one needs a smartphone/tablet to do those things. Therefore, you can run those apps on your separate phone/tablet leaving the SC to be dedicated to flight.

Thats another great reason to check RTH settings before venturing out.

 

[Keule]

you can never have too much redundancy.

Yep - you are right.
(That's why i always have a hot standby iPad ready on a tripod when flying with a CS ...)

 

[Former Member]

Yep - you are right. (That's why i always have a hot standby iPad ready on a tripod when flying with a CS ...)

To relieve your "hot" CS of duty? joking

 

[Former Member]

Folks, thats another good reason to not dump your old controller quite yet. I have sold a few SCs here, and I always tell people to make sure the SC is operating well, and that you are happy with it. So far, the poll numbers show that most people who have bought an SC are happy with it, but it makes sense to keep a spare stock controller around for a variety of reasons.

 

[CanadaDrone]

There is no dedicated screen with basic flight information on the SC.
With a M2P controller there is one. If the device is failing the MP2, the AC can be flow back with that screen on the RC.

SC does not have this feature - If the SC main screen / GO4 app crashed or stopped you have to wait to restart the SC ... You know: if seconds count - help is only minutes away ..

If the app crashes you can fly the AC no problem. Since it's illegal to fly out of VLOS in most countries anyway, this is a non-issue 99% of the time. If the app crashed you could hit RTH or simply fly back because you can see the drone.

DJI released the APK for the SC as well so you should be able to get whatever app you want on it (like Litchi) soon.

Just got back from 3 weeks in Iceland with the SC and it was absolutely flawless Not having to fiddle with phone/cables every time the GF was waiting for me to fly was worth it right there. The M2P compass on the other hand, would not calibrate under any circumstances, but it stayed accurate/true so that too was a non-issue thankfully.

 

[Former Member]

If the app crashes you can fly the AC no problem. Since it's illegal to fly out of VLOS in most countries anyway, this is a non-issue 99% of the time. If the app crashed you could hit RTH or simply fly back because you can see the drone.

DJI released the APK for the SC as well so you should be able to get whatever app you want on it (like Litchi) soon.

Just got back from 3 weeks in Iceland with the SC and it was absolutely flawless Not having to fiddle with phone/cables every time the GF was waiting for me to fly was worth it right there. The M2P compass on the other hand, would not calibrate under any circumstances, but it stayed accurate/true so that too was a non-issue thankfully.

If I went on a vacation for 3 weeks, I would absolutely positively 100% have a backup stock controller. Plus a backup drone.

Anyone who says that they have not had a single problem with the smart controller is probably not using it enough. I'm not saying I don't believe you, but you are definitely in the minority.

 

[CanadaDrone]

If I went on a vacation for 3 weeks, I would absolutely positively 100% have a backup stock controller. Plus a backup drone.

Anyone who says that they have not had a single problem with the smart controller is probably not using it enough. I'm not saying I don't believe you, but you are definitely in the minority.

Given that in general people only speak up or take to various enthusiast forums when they have problems (probably at least 10 to 1, but I'd guess much higher than that), I would think the overwhelming majority of people have no problems at all. Just like most things in life. It would be highly unusual for nearly any product that the norm be that the majority of people have issues that were 100% confirmed to be unrelated to user error (something that is also impossible to verify). I would think most SC users are enjoying their toys and not posting about issues because in most cases there are none. It's like anything - simply google (insert any item you want) followed by the word "issues" and it won't take you long to see that if that's all you read, there isn't a single item on this planet worth buying haha I'll check in with my local drone store again (services all of Canada) when I have time to see if they have had any customers return or complain about the SC yet. About a month ago the answer was no, but I'll get an update out of curiosity.

No need to travel with a backup drone/remote in Iceland - there is a well stocked DJI store in Reykjavik and I would much, much, rather just buy a new one there than haul around 2 drones and 2 remotes and 2 bags in addition to my FF DSLR & lenses in the unlikely event something goes wrong. Same for most major cities I would imagine. I did have 3 separate backups for footage/photos at the end of each day though

 

[Former Member]

Given that in general people only speak up or take to various enthusiast forums when they have problems (probably at least 10 to 1, but I'd guess much higher than that), I would think the overwhelming majority of people have no problems at all. Just like most things in life. It would be highly unusual for nearly any product that the norm be that the majority of people have issues that were 100% confirmed to be unrelated to user error (something that is also impossible to verify). I would think most SC users are enjoying their toys and not posting about issues because in most cases there are none. It's like anything - simply google (insert any item you want) followed by the word "issues" and it won't take you long to see that if that's all you read, there isn't a single item on this planet worth buying haha I'll check in with my local drone store again (services all of Canada) when I have time to see if they have had any customers return or complain about the SC yet. About a month ago the answer was no, but I'll get an update out of curiosity.

No need to travel with a backup drone/remote in Iceland - there is a well stocked DJI store in Reykjavik and I would much, much, rather just buy a new one there than haul around 2 drones and 2 remotes and 2 bags in addition to my FF DSLR & lenses in the unlikely event something goes wrong. Same for most major cities I would imagine. I did have 3 separate backups for footage/photos at the end of each day though

OK, if you look around the form a little bit you might find some people who are having some issues with it. I think you must live a charmed life. [emoji6]

For most professionals who shoot aerial video for for a living, they have no choice but to have a backup drone. If a drone crashes during filming, they go to their backup drone. If something happens to their 1st string drone, they go to the backup drone. It's really a no brainer.

If a professional aerial photographer is in the middle of a shoot and something goes wrong, the last thing hes going to want to do is try to find a DJI store, go by a drone, get it all set up, and then hope he can finish the shoot.

 

[paulatkin73]

i dunno what you all are pickering about. what SC is good for - so, i have got water going over the gutter now, and just took the drone, the SC, stepped outside, and it took 15 seconds to start it from my hand using SC and get it to see - gutter in indeed clogged. it is just convenient, that`s all. can all that be done with an old controller - sure. but, it would take a whole 75 sec, perhaps, instead of 15sec.

 

[Former Member]

i dunno what you all are pickering about. what SC is good for - so, i have got water going over the gutter now, and just took the drone, the SC, stepped outside, and it took 15 seconds to start it from my hand using SC and get it to see - gutter in indeed clogged. it is just convenient, that`s all. can all that be done with an old controller - sure. but, it would take a whole 75 sec, perhaps, instead of 15sec.

.is there any function on the M2Pro controller that can't be done on the Smart Controller?

 

[CanadaDrone]

OK, if you look around the form a little bit you might find some people who are having some issues with it. I think you must live a charmed life. [emoji6]

For most professionals who shoot aerial video for for a living, they have no choice but to have a backup drone. If a drone crashes during filming, they go to their backup drone. If something happens to their 1st string drone, they go to the backup drone. It's really a no brainer.

If a professional aerial photographer is in the middle of a shoot and something goes wrong, the last thing hes going to want to do is try to find a DJI store, go by a drone, get it all set up, and then hope he can finish the shoot.

I have never said people didn't have issues, nor did I ever say that it is 100% reliable - your reply suggests that is how you interpreted my post, so my apologies if it was unclear. What I said was that to say that the majority of users are having issues guaranteed to not be user error without a large amount of objective data (most of which we will probably never see since we'd probably need DJI's help) is a huge stretch, especially when that would go against the norm for virtually every other product out there. I would assume that most users probably aren't even forum members, and are probably having no major issues. There will absolutely be a certain percentage of users who have legitimate issues (self induced or otherwise) who seek replacement or take to enthusiast forums to discuss it. To come to the conclusion based on that and other extremely limited and mostly subjective data that having no issues somehow puts me in a minority is unlikely, not to mention virtually impossible.

Lets say DJI has sold 200,000 SC's so far, just for the sake of the discussion. Even if 10% of people had issues unrelated to user error (which would be unusually high in the electronics world), that is still a big number - more than enough to flood forums an repair shops with unhappy customers, but nowhere even remotely close to a majority. If more than 50% of SC's were plagued with issues, there would be much bigger problems and DJI would probably be doing mass recalls.

It's like camera equipment (or any other major electronic really). You will find guys who buy one camera and have nothing but problems with it, and they will be all over every forum they can find talking about it. Who you don't hear from as often is the guys making a living with 4 of those same cameras who haven't had an issue in years and years of daily professional usage. I am not saying this is necessarily the case with the SC, but you get what I am saying. For any product, for the majority of users to have issues is incredibly rare, and I wouldn't be telling people that having a trouble-free SC somehow puts you in a minority without the appropriate amount of objective data to back it up.

My vacation videos are certainly not how I make my living, and a backup drone would be less than 24 hours away at any time regardless I don't think many professional aerial photographers are using a M2P either - much more likely to be on the Inspire or Matrice platform for proper camera support, or something non-DJI. Obviously on a paid shoot you would want backups even if you had to rent them, especially if you did not have the option of a re-shoot, for example with a wedding (same with traditional photography). You can get sued if something like that causes you to botch a shoot. You'd have to be a fool to hire anyone who did not show up with backups to your once in a lifetime event, but unfortunately I think it happens a lot with all the 'professionals' who get an expensive camera (or drone) for Christmas and think that they can now do professional work.

 

[paulatkin73]

.is there any function on the M2Pro controller that can't be done on the Smart Controller?

to what i am aware - functions wise - it is all same. old controller has an additional small LCD display that shows some data - smart controller does not have it. it is not essential enough for me personally.

biggest issue now - and a lacking function if you call it so - with old controller connected to an external device you have an old SDK that allows running third party apps - like litchi. it is what SC cannot do yet, until new SDK is out and accommodated by litchi developers, then it will work on the SC.

 

[CanadaDrone]

biggest issue now - and a lacking function if you call it so - with old controller connected to an external device you have an old SDK that allows running third party apps - like litchi. it is what SC cannot do yet, until new SDK is out and accommodated by litchi developers, then it will work on the SC.

SDK was out last week, Litchi shouldn't be far behind I would think.

 

[ff22]

If the app crashes you can fly the AC no problem. Since it's illegal to fly out of VLOS in most countries anyway, this is a non-issue 99% of the time. If the app crashed you could hit RTH or simply fly back because you can see the drone.

DJI released the APK for the SC as well so you should be able to get whatever app you want on it (like Litchi) soon.

Just got back from 3 weeks in Iceland with the SC and it was absolutely flawless Not having to fiddle with phone/cables every time the GF was waiting for me to fly was worth it right there. The M2P compass on the other hand, would not calibrate under any circumstances, but it stayed accurate/true so that too was a non-issue thankfully.

Can you fly if the compass wants to be calibrated? Can the prompt be ignored.

And why does Thunder really think you have to have problems with the SC?!!!!???!?

Oh, did you cache maps in advance or did you have cellular service (with Verizon, I'd be bankrupt!!!)

 

[ff22]

It's like anything - simply google (insert any item you want) followed by the word "issues" and it won't take you long to see that if that's all you read, there isn't a single item on this planet worth buying haha

EXACTLY. Each time I read the reviews of ANY product on Amazon, I back off. "It is the worst xyz I've ever used" "If failed within 1/2 hour of opening" "It is totally wonderful" "Never again!" Indoor/outdoor thermometer. Car charger for anything. Almost every item has reviews that ran the gamut. Yelp and restaurant reviews are the same way.

 

[Former Member]

Just speaking from personal and professional experience. I have sold a good number of them and use them as well.

Firmware updates often fail which require a restart, sometimes several times.

For me, its better to let my customers know ahead of time, than to sell them something that I claim to work flawlessly, 100% of the time. Its just not the case, and people need to know that.

Also, the fact that it hasnt been able to run Litchi for what seems like an eternity, people need to know that too.

I always have my customers backs. Thats how you build a business.

Most of the time, I am my customers tech support. I have to know more than DJI tech support, because when I sell something, it has to work.