Can someone explain to one who has never touched a drone before, let alone fly one, what function the left joystick latching in the down position has?
No one at DJI has a clue and 1/2 of them told me to send it in for diagnostics.
Someone finally verified their controller does the same thing, but there is no info in the manual as to why and why I would use it.
thanks

The left stick latches down as a 'lazy-mans' way to have AC descend to land at max speed ... and then once landed - motors shut off after 2 - 3 sec's.

Its basically a manual way to start auto-land.

Personally I use it to descend quickly but once I get near to ground - I unlatch and do the landing myself.

Nigel

thanks Nigel
So if left latched it will land without crashing, but you unlatch it to cause a more accurate landing?
Or will a "latched" landing potentially cause problems?

Basically I prefer to choose spot to land .... if you leave it latched ... it will land where it ends up.

Its nicer to choose the spot and also it avoids Tip-Overs which you see on Youtube a lot where people just let it land itself ...
You can remove the 'latch' if you want ... its only a catch on the gimbal inside the controller.

But I have both Standard and Pro .. and I miss the latch as Pro doesn't have it.

Nigel

What latch are yall referring to? You got a picture? Im not familiar with a latch.

The latch is only on the P3S controller. Never use it myself, more of an appendix for me.

I use it on my P3S after touch down to shut motors off, if locked no chance of idle or accidental take off

Dirty Bird Posted at 2017-7-27 17:14
Only P3 Standards have the latching descent stick.  The "latch" is a spring mounted internally that locks the left stick in the full down position.  It can be disabled by opening the controller & removing or relocating the spring.

Thats crazy. Why would you ever want that? That seems like an accident waiting to happen.

Duchunter Posted at 2017-7-27 17:16
Thats crazy. Why would you ever want that? That seems like an accident waiting to happen.

Actually no .... it does not stop motors like CSC does in the air. It only allows you to let go of the stick and still descend ... without it - the stick will automatically centre and you hover.
The landing does not just carry on till it 'hits' ground .... barometer and ground effect slow it over the last few feet. But it will land where it ends up. That is why i unlatch and land manually.

I have actually wondered if i could modify my Pro controller to have the left stick latch.

Nigel

ruggb Posted at 2017-7-27 10:35
thanks Nigel
So if left latched it will land without crashing, but you unlatch it to cause a more accurate landing?
Or will a "latched" landing potentially cause problems?

Aloha ruggb,

     The "latched" left stick was introduced in the P2 v.3 and carried over to the P3 Std.  If left latched during landing it will land harder than a free-hand landing.   So it is best to hand land the bird, like many are suggesting here, for a softer effect and less wear and tear on the landing gear and the camera / gimbal.

     Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

Personally i land the bird manually and pull the stick to the latched position when i want to switch off the bird and then the RC. I think in that position the motors are not starting again.

I dont think thats something I would ever use. Im really amazed that DJI thought that was a good idea. If something happens on the way down then thats another step you have to take to stop the decent. Maybe there is a good reason for it but I dont see it.

Duchunter Posted at 2017-7-28 10:49
I dont think thats something I would ever use. Im really amazed that DJI thought that was a good idea. If something happens on the way down then thats another step you have to take to stop the decent. Maybe there is a good reason for it but I dont see it.

Have you ever held or used the Standard Controller with it ?

It's purely a simple click only ... if you just touch the stick - it springs back to centre immediately.
There's nothing dangerous or bad about it ...

Nigel

solentlife Posted at 2017-7-28 11:37
Have you ever held or used the Standard Controller with it ?

It's purely a simple click only ... if you just touch the stick - it springs back to centre immediately.

I guess i would just have to try it. It just doesnt sound like something I would like but ive never used a p3s controller so maybe if I tried it I would like it.

Sorry for the confusion first. Yes, it is a feature of Phantom 3 Standard RC. Please refer the reply of 2# and 4#. Also, please keep an eye of landing spot when you use this feature.

I latch it just after I hand catch it, always felt like the motors shut off immediately thought

When I put my left toggle down in the latched position it immediately shuts the motors off!!  NOT GOOD.... how can i change this..

I'm new too... just unboxed mine and noticed that when I pull the left toggle all the way down in the latched position it immediately shuts the motors off!!!!  NOT GOOD..Thats crazy.. how can i change that

Hello... trying to get this thing to let me post

vipersrt10 Posted at 2017-7-29 20:26
When I put my left toggle down in the latched position it immediately shuts the motors off!!  NOT GOOD.... how can i change this..

It won't shut the motors off mid air, however it will whenever the aircraft detects it has stopped losing altitude even thought the motors are dropping rpm to descend. For example stopping the drone mid-air with a hand catch will require you to hold the left stick down and keep the drone at the same altitude until the motors shut-off

I also wondered about the locking down of the left stick it concerned me for the same reasons, would it shut the motors off mid flight, so I disabled the spring. Now that I know it won't puts my mind at ease, but I am going to leave the RC as it is.
Thanks for posting the question
Regards
Eric

The only command that shuts of motors in the air is the full TWO STICK CSC.

The Left Stick Down latch does not stop the motors until the Flight Controller detects that the AC is not moving in any sense ... ie caught and held in hand or on ground.

If the AC is in the air ... it may look stationary but it is not. Its being buffeted by air movement, barometer is varying ... so its moving in all 3 dimensions and Flight Controller detects this. Left stick latched down then only slows motors for descent.
Once you catch AND HOLD STILL or it lands on ground ... and Left Stick latched down - Flight Controller senses lack of movement and shuts off motors ...

Simple.

Recently a guy was in the News in UK for catching a pals' AC and NOT holding it still ... he near lost his fingers ... admittedly - both he and his pal flying the Drone were dimwits who had no clue about flying safely ... but it illustrates the need for no movement to get it to stop the motors.

Nigel

vipersrt10 Posted at 2017-7-29 20:26
When I put my left toggle down in the latched position it immediately shuts the motors off!!  NOT GOOD.... how can i change this..

ONLY if AC is on ground or absolutely still.

Nigel

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-7-29 18:55
Sorry for the confusion first. Yes, it is a feature of Phantom 3 Standard RC. Please refer the reply of 2# and 4#. Also, please keep an eye of landing spot when you use this feature.

Thank you Susie !

Cheers
Nigel

Duchunter Posted at 2017-7-27 17:16
Thats crazy. Why would you ever want that? That seems like an accident waiting to happen.

It's not crazy. If you are flying down from max height 500m as I often do it gives the drone a controlled descent.  It allows you to not worry about the descent speed and concentrate on flying your drone.  Sometimes I initiate an RTH with the left switch down so I can be hands free to do other things, like pick my nose or scratch my bum.  

vipersrt10 Posted at 2017-7-29 20:26
When I put my left toggle down in the latched position it immediately shuts the motors off!!  NOT GOOD.... how can i change this..

Not possible unless the drone has stopped descending.  Left stick down does not turn the motors off. To do that you have to move both sticks to the inwards and down position in flight.  In this video after around 2:40 I have RTH and left stick down on my P3S to bring my drone back to home point. Nice smooth flight. Then where near enough I took control of the drone for some more flying.  

the thing that is MOST interesting is all the people in the forum who know about this "feature" and what to do with it BUT when I chatted and called DJI --- NO ONE knew anything about it and they recommended I send it in for diagnosis. I guess I won't be talking to them any more. Now to figure out how to get back into the demo mode. I did it once but can't find it now. Maybe it is only available on my phone not the nexus 7.
Maybe I will get my first air without a monitor. Thanks all.

Read the manual - if you don't have it - download from DJI site.

Learn about S1 and S2 switches ................... they are your Saviours.

Go find a clear area ... take a deep breath and steady the nerves.

Make sure no cats, dogs, people etc. around within 50ft .....

Hit the auto take-off ... let her hover ....

Touch the sticks and learn what each does by move .. back to centre ... etc.
Land .... wipe your brow.

Now Go fly !! - Keep an eye on battery level - make sure you are landing at or before 30%

Nigel

deleted comments after I read pg 2

solentlife Posted at 2017-7-30 05:30
The only command that shuts of motors in the air is the full TWO STICK CSC.

The Left Stick Down latch does not stop the motors until the Flight Controller detects that the AC is not moving in any sense ... ie caught and held in hand or on ground.

Thanks for the clarification Nigel.... Just didn't want to splatter my new toy by being ignorant of how it operated lol... I have been an RC airplane pilot for over 30 years.... this drone stuff is all new to me lol