Why would I use Litchi with my DJI Mini 2?

[jlynde]

What are the features that Litchi has to offer that would make it worth buying?

 

[FLDave]

Pretty much same end result as DroneLink: Pre-planned autonomous flights.

 

[teccer]

Pretty much same end result as DroneLink: Pre-planned autonomous flights.

plus voice flight info, battery/distance/altitude/speed, you don't have to look at the screen, auto recording on takeoff and stop recording when landed, plus more, well worth the cost

 

[msinger]

What are the features that Litchi has to offer that would make it worth buying?

It depends on the person using it. You can see what the application offers here:

Help - Litchi

Litchi's manual. Find information on how to use Litchi.

flylitchi.com

 

[Skybuyer]

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned what I think is the most powerful feature.... The ability to program missions from your computer at home and fly them virtually on Google Earth Pro before you get out in the field. From your computer you have the ability to modify the missions after you preview them on your computer so there is no monkeying around once you get out there to fly. Just load the mission and tell your drone to fly it.

Below find a couple of snapshots from one of my missions.. The first shot is from Litchi Mission Hub and how I programmed the mission. After exporting via VLM (Virtual Litchi Mission) the app/extensions needs to be downloaded and can be found on this forum, it takes you to Google Earth Pro. The second shots shows the overview of the waypoints in 3D on Google Earth Pro. The third shot is a snap of how one moment of the preview might look as you're virtually flying the mission. The last shot is a screen shot from the actual mission that was flown.

Very powerful stuff. Dronelink has a similar thing, but I found it much more difficult to program, though Dronelink provides more nuance. But again, you almost have to be a programmer to use it.

 

[teccer]

It depends on the person using it. You can see what the application offers here:

Help - Litchi

Litchi's manual. Find information on how to use Litchi.

flylitchi.com

one thing to remember with using a mini 2 is that the controller has to be in contact with the drone at all times when on a waypoint mission unlike when I used it with my P3P where the mission would complete even when contact was lost, I found out the hard way on my first waypoint mission with my mini 2

 

[rexster1505]

The fact that DJI hobbled all the drones that use the Fly app from real autonomous flight, Litchi or not, has cut down Litchi's value. VSC is not autonomous, and when, not if, connection is lost between controller and aircraft, it will RTH. It will not pick up where it left off

 

[Glenh]

Someone once said to me 'it depends on what you want to do'. I suspect that Litchi is more intuitive and good for organic scenic video flights. Dronelink is more robust and good for mapping missions. The prices are similar.

 

[OldGuy]

What are the features that Litchi has to offer that would make it worth buying?

Litchi works with 34 bit technology so I am able to use my Crystalsky monitor which will not work with the Fly app (64 bit) so it's a winner for me.

 

[Skybuyer]

one thing to remember with using a mini 2 is that the controller has to be in contact with the drone at all times when on a waypoint mission unlike when I used it with my P3P where the mission would complete even when contact was lost, I found out the hard way on my first waypoint mission with my mini 2

Your Mini 2 didn't RTH when the signal was lost?

 

[Skybuyer]

Someone once said to me 'it depends on what you want to do'. I suspect that Litchi is more intuitive and good for organic scenic video flights. Dronelink is more robust and good for mapping missions. The prices are similar.

Dronelink is really sophisticated. But the sophistication comes at a price of understanding how to program every detail in specific sequences. I own Dronelink but have not been able to successfully program a single basic mission, even after watching many of the tutorials. I truly wish I could get a grasp of it as I know it would provide much smoother footage that Litchi.

 

[drhitch54]

Litchi's "orbit" mode let's me fly a much smaller radius than DJI Fly app

But for full flight planning and preflight testing, DroneLink is powerful but a bit of a learning curve.

 

[teccer]

Your Mini 2 didn't RTH when the signal was lost?

I had just done an update and forgot to check all the settings so it was set to hover by default but after about 3 minutes I realised this and pressed RTH, all ended well

 

[houldsworth1]

Dronelink is really sophisticated. But the sophistication comes at a price of understanding how to program every detail in specific sequences. I own Dronelink but have not been able to successfully program a single basic mission, even after watching many of the tutorials. I truly wish I could get a grasp of it as I know it would provide much smoother footage that Litchi.

I'm not sure how long ago you tried it but dronelink has improved quite a bit over the years, and especially recently.

They have added all the usual things like altitude and actions to the waypoints instead of making you add those to the paths separately, which makes it much more intuitive. And their help forums (like this one) are very helpful.

And @drhitch54 will be happy to know it doesn't put that restriction on the obit size!

You can also import Litchi missions that you have exported.

Since you already own it I'd recommend giving it another shot. It's a nice addition/alternative to Litchi.

Check out a summary of their last two updates:

https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en...June-2022-Product-Updates-Mission-Planner-2-0

https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en...ern-Flight-Dashboard-and-Autel-EVO-II-Support

I use both of them all the time so feel free to reach out to me if you need help converting something.

 

[Rich Sugden M.D.]

Pretty much same end result as DroneLink: Pre-planned autonomous flights.

They’re not “autonomous”!! For all but earliest DJI drones Litchi just records the flight plan in the RC Controller, and sends commands sequentially during the flight. The RC is in constant communication w. the drone. If lost then RTH is executed.

 

[Skybuyer]

I'm not sure how long ago you tried it but dronelink has improved quite a bit over the years, and especially recently.

They have added all the usual things like altitude and actions to the waypoints instead of making you add those to the paths separately, which makes it much more intuitive. And their help forums (like this one) are very helpful.

And @drhitch54 will be happy to know it doesn't put that restriction on the obit size!

You can also import Litchi missions that you have exported.

Since you already own it I'd recommend giving it another shot. It's a nice addition/alternative to Litchi.

Check out a summary of their last two updates:

https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en...June-2022-Product-Updates-Mission-Planner-2-0

https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en...ern-Flight-Dashboard-and-Autel-EVO-II-Support

I use both of them all the time so feel free to reach out to me if you need help converting something.

Thanks for that. I'll check it out once more.
I did see on my last venture into their website that they changed their plans, but I think my drones are grandfathered in. Perhaps I'll do a programming test today and if successful take do a test flight later if time permits.

 

[houldsworth1]

Thanks for that. I'll check it out once more.
I did see on my last venture into their website that they changed their plans, but I think my drones are grandfathered in. Perhaps I'll do a programming test today and if successful take do a test flight later if time permits.

Let me know what drone you have and I can check it out for you to make sure it would work

 

[houldsworth1]

They’re not “autonomous”!! For all but earliest DJI drones Litchi just records the flight plan in the RC Controller, and sends commands sequentially during the flight. The RC is in constant communication w. the drone. If lost then RTH is executed.

Actually...for the drones up to the Mavic 2 the mission is uploaded to the drone and will continue even if communication is lost. For drones after that including the Mini's and Air series, then constant communication is needed.

 

[Skybuyer]

Let me know what drone you have and I can check it out for you to make sure it would work

Mavic 2 Pro and Mini 2 (Mini 3, as well, but SDK isn't released yet).

 

[houldsworth1]

Mavic 2 Pro and Mini 2 (Mini 3, as well, but SDK isn't released yet).

Mavic 2 Pro and Mini 2 are both supported but...you need to check your plan. In some cases, the Mavic Pro needs a higher-level plan. But you can always upgrade by just paying the difference if you need it. But maybe try it with the Mini first and then decide if you need that later.