Wondering about the RC Pro remote for my new Classic (Review)

[3rdof5]

Greetings fellow Pilots,
I have been reading alot about the RC Pro controller. And I still have unanswered questions.
I'll admit I haven't tested the Dji Rc (not the N1) that I have at any distance yet so I don't know if I can complain about the range yet. I fly recreationally only but I have had my P3P at max height of 500M with no transmission issues, video or control. And about 2km away with some trees in VLOS with intermittent video but always full aircraft control with the 300C remote. What can I expect with the DJI RC with no external antennas? Is the insanely expensive RC Pro worth it for range?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Greetings fellow Pilots,
I have been reading alot about the RC Pro controller. And I still have unanswered questions.
I'll admit I haven't tested the Dji Rc (not the N1) that I have at any distance yet so I don't know if I can complain about the range yet. I fly recreationally only but I have had my P3P at max height of 500M with no transmission issues, video or control. And about 2km away with some trees in VLOS with intermittent video but always full aircraft control with the 300C remote. What can I expect with the DJI RC with no external antennas? Is the insanely expensive RC Pro worth it for range?

Depends. Only you can answer that question. If you find that the DJI RC meets all your range needs, and you have no need for any of the many other features of the RC Pro, then you can save the additional $900 cost. I have both controllers. For close range, the DJI RC is fine. It gets the job done. For long range or areas of heavy interference, or use of a larger external monitor, or Moverio BT-40 glasses, I'd use the RC Pro.

 

[Anthony Ivory]

I’m thinking about buying Moverio BT-40 glasses. How do you like them?
Do they work with the RC Pro

 

[GadgetGuy]

I’m thinking about buying Moverio BT-40 glasses. How do you like them?
Do they work with the RC Pro

They work great. Just have to get used to holding your head horizontal! Only legal way to fly with goggles without a spotter. Just plug them into the RC Pro USB-C port. They are fully powered by the RC Pro. No additional battery packs needed to keep charged, or wear!

 

[evtide]

I haven't done any detailed range testing, but I often fly over open areas over water with an RC Pro controller / Air 2s, and in my experience the RC Pro gets noticeably more range than the conventional N1 controller.

Whether the potential for added range is worth the hefty price tag is up to you of course, but I've also found that once set up and dialed in, the RC Pro makes for a much much smoother and all-around better experience than screwing around with tablets, phones, wires, etc. This was a no regrets purchase for me.

 

[3rdof5]

I haven't done any detailed range testing, but I often fly over open areas over water with an RC Pro controller / Air 2s, and in my experience the RC Pro gets noticeably more range than the conventional N1 controller.

Whether the potential for added range is worth the hefty price tag is up to you of course, but I've also found that once set up and dialed in, the RC Pro makes for a much much smoother and all-around better experience than screwing around with tablets, phones, wires, etc. This was a no regrets purchase for me.

Thanks, I would imagine the Dji Rc and the N1 would have similar range. I have noticed this Rc is laggy when switching screens. Annoying but not a huge deal.
I have read alot about the RC Pro being very buggy with FW updates previously, has the latest FW fixed all those issues? I'd hate make that kind of investment only to have new problems. I guess it will come down to the stability of the range with my particular setup and flying, which I haven't fully tested yet (minus 18C and snowing here for next week or so) but when I can get her up on a real maiden voyage I will have more info to make a decision with.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Thanks, I would imagine the Dji Rc and the N1 would have similar range. I have noticed this Rc is laggy when switching screens. Annoying but not a huge deal.
I have read alot about the RC Pro being very buggy with FW updates previously, has the latest FW fixed all those issues? I'd hate make that kind of investment only to have new problems. I guess it will come down to the stability of the range with my particular setup and flying, which I haven't fully tested yet (minus 18C and snowing here for next week or so) but when I can get her up on a real maiden voyage I will have more info to make a decision with.

RC Pro has never been buggy. It's been a solid piece of equipment, ever since it was released with the Mavic 3 over 15 months ago. The DJI RC, on the other hand, is a new, stripped down version, missing most of the guts of the RC Pro, but offering two gimbals, a C1 and C2 button, and a very low nit built in screen. $309 vs. $1200. If you are happy with the DJI RC, great. If not, a major upgrade is available to a 1000 nit screen, miniHDMI out, a C3 button, and a 5 way joy stick, and ability to install other Android apps.

 

[psybear]

Came here looking for advice on this very issue, having just purchased the Mavic Classic.

Current drone is the Air 2s which I bought with the Smart Controller package - the range (coming from previous M2P) was shockingly bad. So much so that I sold the Smart Controller and bought the basic RC-N1. It improved it significantly, although still not close to the old M2P.

I've decided to wait and see how the RC-N1 works with the Classic before spending any more.

I will watch this thread for further inputs with interest.

 

[Chrislaf]

I love my RC Pro and although I found the price a bit hard to swallow, I don't regret buying it. When I purchased it the DJI RC was not available yet. If I was buying today I would still probably go with the RC Pro. I have been out in bright sunny conditions and I can still see the screen without a sunshade. It is fast and I love all the customizable buttons. I have not had a single problem with it since I bought it last May.

One other advantage of the RC Pro is that you can install third party apps on it, but any third party apps that rely on the Google Play store for security checks (most paid apps) will not install unless you install the Play Store via hacks - something I am not willing to do to my expensive controller.

I use my RC Pro for both my Mavic 3 and my Mini 3 Pro and the signal stability has been solid. I have never had any problems with signal quality even in heavily WiFi congested areas. @3rdof5 as far as range is concerned, I cannot tell you if the signal would be stable at a distance of 2km or a height of 500m since those distances are illegal in Canada unless you have an Advanced Certificate and some sort of SFOC, but there are lots of posts on this forum of people flying even beyond those distances even with the DJI RC controller so I imagine it is possible.



As @GadgetGuy said you have to decide whether the difference in price and features are worth it to you. The RC Pro controller was really designed for the Mavic 3 as it comes bundled with the Cine version.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

I'm still eyeing the RC PRO even though I haven't really tested range on the RC yet. I really haven't flown my Classic other than small test flights in my yard checking various functions but, in doing thatand constantly checking various screens, I'm really beginning to hate the lag with this RC. When I tap the screen I'm used to seeing an immediate response, instead of wondering if the screen even recognized I touched it and then tapping a 2nd time. It's very annoying and disappointing that DJI allowed this on their latest RC. The Pro is insanely expensive, which annoys me further that DJI is forcing me to pay alot more for satisfactory performance. It is what it is though. The extra controls and brightness help make it hurt less to get the proper performance with the screen. So, I ordered it. A spare RC won't be a bad thing and if I ever decided on a mini, I won't need a remote.

 

[3rdof5]

@GadgetGuy Hey I read in another thread you use your Mavic3 65w charger with your RC PRO. What exact cord do you usually use and what is your opinion of best charging practice for the PRO?

 

[Chrislaf]

I use 65W charging block that came with my charging hub. I use the hardwired cable with the orange USB-C connector (fast charging) to charge batteries in the charging hub. I use the USB-C to USB3 cable that came with the RC-Pro (doesn’t come with a charger) and plug it into the USB3 port on the 65W charging block to charge the RC-Pro. It is not fast charging and takes a long time to charge but if I want to fast charge my controller I could always use the fast charging cord.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

I use 65W charging block that came with my charging hub. I use the hardwired cable with the orange USB-C connector (fast charging) to charge batteries in the charging hub. I use the USB-C to USB3 cable that came with the RC-Pro (doesn’t come with a charger) and plug it into the USB3 port on the 65W charging block to charge the RC-Pro. It is not fast charging and takes a long time to charge but if I want to fast charge my controller I could always use the fast charging cord.

Chris

I'm thinking of doing the same, a slower charge is better and I always need to charge my batteries faster than my RC so really, the setup is the same as with the RC, just using the included cord with the PRO for the remote charging. Makes sense.

 

[Chrislaf]

I'm still eyeing the RC PRO even though I haven't really tested range on the RC yet. I really haven't flown my Classic other than small test flights in my yard checking various functions but, in doing thatand constantly checking various screens, I'm really beginning to hate the lag with this RC. When I tap the screen I'm used to seeing an immediate response, instead of wondering if the screen even recognized I touched it and then tapping a 2nd time. It's very annoying and disappointing that DJI allowed this on their latest RC. The Pro is insanely expensive, which annoys me further that DJI is forcing me to pay alot more for satisfactory performance. It is what it is though. The extra controls and brightness help make it hurt less to get the proper performance with the screen. So, I ordered it. A spare RC won't be a bad thing and if I ever decided on a mini, I won't need a remote.

Have you tried customizing the C1 and C2 buttons to avoid some of the screen taps? I have my C1 and C2 buttons on my RC Pro controller customized so that I don't need to tap the screen very often. One thing about the RC Pro is that there are more customization options and you shouldn't have any screen lag. The RC Pro has a much faster processor than the DJI RC. I have never experienced any screen lag even in cold weather flying.

Chris

 

[Chrislaf]

I'm thinking of doing the same, a slower charge is better and I always need to charge my batteries faster than my RC so really, the setup is the same as with the RC, just using the included cord with the PRO for the remote charging. Makes sense.

I agree, I have a fast charger that I use with my Mini 3 Pro battery hub and I tried it on the RC Pro just recently. To me it seemed to be charging too fast so I went back to the original slow charging of the USB3 on the 65W M3 charging hub.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

Have you tried customizing the C1 and C2 buttons to avoid some of the screen taps? I have my C1 and C2 buttons on my RC Pro controller customized so that I don't need to tap the screen very often. One thing about the RC Pro is that there are more customization options and you shouldn't have any screen lag. The RC Pro has a much faster processor than the DJI RC. I have never experienced any screen lag even in cold weather flying.

Chris

I have C1 set to cruise and C2 set to toggle aux light, so I can turn it on manually.
One complaint about DJI Fly compared to the DJI GO before P4 that i use with my P3P is I cannot assign a C button to view battery info instantly. Yes once you select that screen on the RC Safety menu, you can toggle back and forth on the screen, which lags.

 

[Chrislaf]

You can also program the C1 and C2 buttons to work with the right dial. For my M3 my C1 Button + Right Dial = Adjust Shutter Speed. My C2 Button + Right Dial = Adjust aperture.

Chris

 

[3rdof5]

You can also program the C1 and C2 buttons to work with the right dial. For my M3 my C1 Button + Right Dial = Adjust Shutter Speed. My C2 Button + Right Dial = Adjust aperture.

Chris

Mine are Adjust ISO and Shutter speed.

 

[GadgetGuy]

@GadgetGuy Hey I read in another thread you use your Mavic3 65w charger with your RC PRO. What exact cord do you usually use and what is your opinion of best charging practice for the PRO?

The removable, thicker cord is designed to be used with the RC Pro. That's the one I use. The thinner, hardwired cord, with the orange inner tip, is for charging the batteries in the hub or in the drone. Haven't had success trying to use the orange tipped cord to charge the RC Pro, but the other, thicker cord works just fine!

 

[Chrislaf]

Hey @3rdof5, just realized on re-reading some of this thread that you ordered the RC-Pro. I think you will love it. With regard to keeping the spare RC, I originally was going to sell my RC-N1 controller that came with my M3 but when I bought my Mini 3 Pro (drone only) I had trouble binding it to the RC-Pro since the firmware didn't match. I couldn't use Assistant 2 because my laptop only has USB2 ports and although I could plug the USB3 cable from the Mini 3 into the computer the transfer speed was too slow for the Mini 3 so the firmware updates kept failing. The only way I was able to solve the problem was to bind my Mini 3 to my RC-N1 controller and use Fly on my iPhone to update the firmware on the Mini 3. Once I did that, then my RC-Pro was able to be bound to my Mini 3 Pro. I only use my RC Pro to fly both drones, but have decided to keep the RC-N1 controller just in case something should ever happen to the RC-Pro controller. At least then I will have a backup controller to fly my M3 and Mini 3 Pro.

Chris