I have a question,
I am going to the Antarctic for six months with a new Mavic and goggles, There is GPS coverage but no internet unless by sat phone. will I still be able to fly the Mavic to 500m and 7km distance without connecting to the internet? I will have the latest updates before I go
thanks

Ricci

You may need to be prepared for compass problems flying near the poles.

Page 50 of the V1.6 manual:
6. The Mavic Pro cannot use P-mode within the polar areas.

Watch out for the polar bears....they might try to snatch it !   

Use ocusync.  

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-9-14 18:04
Australia applies CE certification. The remote controller will enable FCC or CE mode based on your location in accordance with local laws and regulations even if there is no internet access at that time. So the maximum flight distance for CE Compliant is 2.5 mi (4 km), unobstructed, free of interference. It has no limitation for the height in the normal situation, so you are able to fly to 500 meters' height.

Thor, I believe his question is related to the distance limitations that were recently imposed for flying when not able to log in / authenticate through the Go app.

And are you saying that Antarctica is treated as part of Australia where the CE / FCC location determination is made or did you perhaps misunderstand the OP?

Hi All,
Some good comments there thanks especially about the compass, I am hoping when I do a compass setup it will compensate. I am also taking a M600 and osmo pro for extreme testing.
I hope the cold is not going to cause many issues, it's the humidity I am concerned with as it is very low around 0.3%, its a desert but cold..
I did ask DJI if they wanted to have a roll in the drone testing, very unique opportunity,  I will be doing many test and write-ups and mods; however  the enterprise department forgot how to communicate, even to say no thank you, I guess they have opportunities like this every day.    There loss, the data will be given to other who do answer emails and respond. No disrespect to the forum as this is a place where we chat and bitch for a good cause.
Thank you chaps for chipping in. I am doing prep work until the ship out date 1st nov.
ricci

That sounds like it will be an interesting experience.  

Just make sure you keep those batteries warm prior to flying the drone.  Late last fall, another grad student and I were trying to use my Phantom 4 and our university's Inspire on a below freezing day.  While I managed to get my Phantom going, we couldn't warm up the Inspire batteries enough to allow it to take flight.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-9-15 04:38
Thor, I believe his question is related to the distance limitations that were recently imposed for flying when not able to log in / authenticate through the Go app.

And are you saying that Antarctica is treated as part of Australia where the CE / FCC location determination is made or did you perhaps misunderstand the OP?

Oh, that's my bad because I had a blind eye at the very beginning. Thank you for your prompt. I'll delete my post for the misunderstanding and misleading. For the login question, the app will not ask to sign in again unless the users log it out in most cases. So no need to worry about this.

Hi Ricci, it is said the drone could not be used in P mode in polar regions, you can only fly the drone with VPS system. So the height will be limited. Please refer to the manual.

Sportbike_Pilot Posted at 2017-9-15 03:46
Watch out for the polar bears....they might try to snatch it !

Wow, polar bears in Antarctica?      
If you do see a polar bear in Antarctica, you'd better start running south, until you reach the other pole...

ricci2 Posted at 2017-9-15 16:40
Hi All,
Some good comments there thanks especially about the compass, I am hoping when I do a compass setup it will compensate. I am also taking a M600 and osmo pro for extreme testing.
I hope the cold is not going to cause many issues, it's the humidity I am concerned with as it is very low around 0.3%, its a desert but cold..

The cold might indeed pose a problem.
DJI specifies the Operating Temperature Range for the Mavic of 0°C to +40°C.
Just be careful that your Mavic won't turn into a flying icicle.

I was in the Arctic for 3 months and wish the Mavic had been around back then!  You'll be in Antarctica over summer, so might want to find out about glare.  Assuming glare is an issue, you'd want to pack some ND filters.  And given that you'll be in Antarctica, POLAR Pro filters would be the obvious choice (sorry - couldn't help it).
Disappointed that MARSAN beat me to pointing out that polar bears are at the top, rather than bottom end of the planet.

GMG Posted at 2017-9-16 03:19
I was in the Arctic for 3 months and wish the Mavic had been around back then!  You'll be in Antarctica over summer, so might want to find out about glare.  Assuming glare is an issue, you'd want to pack some ND filters.  And given that you'll be in Antarctica, POLAR Pro filters would be the obvious choice (sorry - couldn't help it).
Disappointed that MARSAN beat me to pointing out that polar bears are at the top, rather than bottom end of the planet.

Thanks for the input, the nd filters you can buy only go up to nd32 so I think I shall make some, needs to be 64 and above to get a good exposure. what station were you at?

GMG Posted at 2017-9-16 03:19
I was in the Arctic for 3 months and wish the Mavic had been around back then!  You'll be in Antarctica over summer, so might want to find out about glare.  Assuming glare is an issue, you'd want to pack some ND filters.  And given that you'll be in Antarctica, POLAR Pro filters would be the obvious choice (sorry - couldn't help it).
Disappointed that MARSAN beat me to pointing out that polar bears are at the top, rather than bottom end of the planet.

"Disappointed that MARSAN beat me to pointing out that polar bears are at the top, rather than bottom end of the planet."

Sorry, but that was too easy.
What will we see next?
Penguins on the North Pole?

FLYING penguins at the North Pole...

Soon we won't see Polar Bears or Penguins except in zoos...

ricci2 Posted at 2017-9-16 06:57
Thanks for the input, the nd filters you can buy only go up to nd32 so I think I shall make some, needs to be 64 and above to get a good exposure. what station were you at?

I was based in Iqaluit, but travelled all around, above and below the Circle.

make a battery hat for ur drone..  LOL  no seriously though something to cover the batter up to keep the heat it makes inside the battery so it doesn't get to cold..  such a good idea that i am actually considering that idea right now myself.

or.. get an inspire 2 ...those have battery heaters built in...but thats prob too expensive or something..

as for filters, can't say for the arctic what to use, but i would recommend using ND filters that have polarization built in.. Polar Pro makes a set called vivid series.... i always use polarization filters, but i have found out that are actually hugely important in the snow when i was on a trip with my sony camera and snow blanketing everything up there.   so much light reflecting back hard to distinguish details..using polarizer and ND filter together helps hugely!

ImHereToCrash Posted at 2017-9-16 13:38
make a battery hat for ur drone..  LOL  no seriously though something to cover the batter up to keep the heat it makes inside the battery so it doesn't get to cold..  such a good idea that i am actually considering that idea right now myself.

or.. get an inspire 2 ...those have battery heaters built in...but thats prob too expensive or something..

Thanks for suggestion, I was also concerned with the UV there, as the ozone hole is directly above there is 100% uv unfiltered, I wonder if the plastic is or has protection, plenty to study thats for sure. I am considering painting the upper body black so it will absorb as much inferred as poss to keep the battery warm might put some data logging to see what the internal and xoframe temps are.

ricci2 Posted at 2017-9-16 14:05
Thanks for suggestion, I was also concerned with the UV there, as the ozone hole is directly above there is 100% uv unfiltered, I wonder if the plastic is or has protection, plenty to study thats for sure. I am considering painting the upper body black so it will absorb as much inferred as poss to keep the battery warm might put some data logging to see what the internal and xoframe temps are.

i think most cameras filter out UV just fine now.. was a huge issue in the early days..  but i think most have a UV and IR filter on the sensor itself..

ricci2 Posted at 2017-9-15 16:40
Hi All,
Some good comments there thanks especially about the compass, I am hoping when I do a compass setup it will compensate. I am also taking a M600 and osmo pro for extreme testing.
I hope the cold is not going to cause many issues, it's the humidity I am concerned with as it is very low around 0.3%, its a desert but cold..

Make sure you post your experiences here when you get the chance!

Sportbike_Pilot Posted at 2017-9-15 03:46
Watch out for the polar bears....they might try to snatch it !

Ummm. No polar bears at the south pole.. the penguins ate them all!

ImHereToCrash Posted at 2017-9-16 13:38
make a battery hat for ur drone..  LOL  no seriously though something to cover the batter up to keep the heat it makes inside the battery so it doesn't get to cold..  such a good idea that i am actually considering that idea right now myself.

or.. get an inspire 2 ...those have battery heaters built in...but thats prob too expensive or something..

In terms of batteries, that will be an issue. Maybe hot pockets would work? 3D printing some kind of clip to hold it on?

GMG Posted at 2017-9-17 00:18
In terms of batteries, that will be an issue. Maybe hot pockets would work? 3D printing some kind of clip to hold it on?

ya, well battery itself will generate heat in use assuming the batteries are kept some what warm before use, a hat/glove warmer and strap it on.. i was thinking even a legit hat where have lining inside and 3D printed hardshell outside to break the wind, lash it down with a straps or something..   may have to turn off VPS if you putting straps that wrap around the bottom..  which shouldn't be a big deal, you can practice flying without VPS now. and landing without it.. its actually sort of easy once you get feel for it. maybe 3D print some landing legs also so if you do come do hard you have a some room for error and be more forgiving when you come down slightly too rough.  .. like a leaf spring type of leg.. where shape of a extended C or something

djiuser_j7Dd3NL Posted at 2017-9-16 19:45
Ummm. No polar bears at the south pole.. the penguins ate them all!

I bet.

MARSAN Posted at 2017-9-16 02:57
Wow, polar bears in Antarctica?      
If you do see a polar bear in Antarctica, you'd better start running south, until you reach the other pole...

I bet.

Last winter, I flew on my Hubsan at a temperature of minus 16 C. No problem I found. The only time - I did not keep a quadrocopter long in the cold. That the battery does not have time to freeze. I do not think Mavik can have any fatal problems. In addition to the indicated problem with the compass. Good luck and look forward to your impressions!

thanks chaps,
Issue with band width, 2.5 meg sat link and the majority is for sending back science data alas, ozone stuff and space weather, I should be able to do forum reports but limited on vid. The temps go as low as -68 and can rise to -30  so I hope the exothermic capabilities of the battery shoud keep it warm enough to have at least 20 mins. A post from Thor said I would only be able to fly in VPS mode, I didn’t follow.
Any clues as apparently there is not enough satellite to fly in gps mode. To be clear I don’t have the Mavic yet, arrives Thursday so my flight experience is with commercial drones , M600 and alike, any things I should know. I have studied many youtube stuff and the main roll is a safety thing, using the goggles and drone as a scout for holes, fishers and other hazards.

Thanks Chaps.

Ricci

i wanna see your adventure when you come back ...dont forget to post here

Sportbike_Pilot Posted at 2017-9-17 06:42
I bet.

To my sweetheart, my wife, my polar bears and my penguins:
May they never meet...

ricci2 Posted at 2017-9-17 07:20
thanks chaps,
Issue with band width, 2.5 meg sat link and the majority is for sending back science data alas, ozone stuff and space weather, I should be able to do forum reports but limited on vid. The temps go as low as -68 and can rise to -30  so I hope the exothermic capabilities of the battery shoud keep it warm enough to have at least 20 mins. A post from Thor said I would only be able to fly in VPS mode, I didn’t follow.
Any clues as apparently there is not enough satellite to fly in gps mode. To be clear I don’t have the Mavic yet, arrives Thursday so my flight experience is with commercial drones , M600 and alike, any things I should know. I have studied many youtube stuff and the main roll is a safety thing, using the goggles and drone as a scout for holes, fishers and other hazards.

tough one.. !  because i would want to protect the battery the most in those extremely harsh conditions..  because Lithium batteries hate super cold, all batteries do, but lithium has a really steep drop off.. that would suck..because my experience with frozen lithium batteries has been its operating as expected then suddenly nothing or get 1 warnings then nothing....  but if you're in an area with a lot of wind and weather changes.. you will want some help maintain position.. so VPS maybe vital with no position lock via GPS.. (i imagine you will have a few but not enough)...  so you will want to find a way to use VPS and strap a "jacket" or something you will have to custom make over the battery and drone to keep the heat it generates inside..

still probably will want to 3D print some landing gears/legs..  i been trying to 3D print some myself for this winter.. so i can land my drone on soft unpacked snow without resting my drone on the snow itself or having the feet dig in..

HereForTheBeer Posted at 2017-9-17 08:48
tough one.. !  because i would want to protect the battery the most in those extremely harsh conditions..  because Lithium batteries hate super cold, all batteries do, but lithium has a really steep drop off.. that would suck..because my experience with frozen lithium batteries has been its operating as expected then suddenly nothing or get 1 warnings then nothing....  but if you're in an area with a lot of wind and weather changes.. you will want some help maintain position.. so VPS maybe vital with no position lock via GPS.. (i imagine you will have a few but not enough)...  so you will want to find a way to use VPS and strap a "jacket" or something you will have to custom make over the battery and drone to keep the heat it generates inside..

still probably will want to 3D print some landing gears/legs..  i been trying to 3D print some myself for this winter.. so i can land my drone on soft unpacked snow without resting my drone on the snow itself or having the feet dig in..

if you make some before the 1st  nov, I will have a set too…

ricci

MARSAN Posted at 2017-9-17 08:27
To my sweetheart, my wife, my polar bears and my penguins:
May they never meet...

only the snow meet for a get-together out there {:-)))

ricci2 Posted at 2017-9-17 16:00
only the snow meet for a get-together out there {:-)))

After a few lonely weeks in the antarctic snow, you will be seeing and hearing naked singing women.
Quickly snap out of it, they are in reality only penguins in their mating season.  

@ricci2 we flew our m100 in a -25 deg C cold storage freezer for an hour with no problems, you actually get 10 % longer battery life because it doesnt' heat up as much and provides more power.

heres some tips dealing with the cold (mostly already mentioned above)

We used a coolbox  as an insulated "hot box"with an electric hot water bottle inside to keep the batteries warm, at those temps the battery cools down within a few minutes and the drone won't take off because of its  15 deg C software limit. Quickly take a battery out the cool box,  Fit the battery quickly and take off , once the drone is flying , enough heat is generated to keep the battery above 15 deg. C, it mostly stays around 30deg.

We tried putting batteries in our pockets but they quickly got to the 15deg c limit of the M100, Im not sure if the mavic has that limit.


Be very cautious when coming back into a warm moist environment, put the drone back in an insulated bag or something and wait 2 hours for it to warm up otherwise the rush of warm moist air causes fogging. The fogging doesnt damage it but it just means you shouldnt go fly again till its cleared up .

I think the mavic 7km range is theoretical, the most we have got is 3km before signal loss but maybe you will be lucky !

fansc9f507c3 Posted at 2017-9-30 02:43
@ricci2 we flew our m100 in a -25 deg C cold storage freezer for an hour with no problems, you actually get 10 % longer battery life because it doesnt' heat up as much and provides more power.

heres some tips dealing with the cold (mostly already mentioned above)

Hi,
thanks for the info, we will be anywhere between -3- and -60c so all tips excepted. I was going to take the M600 but size may prohibit this alas. The humidity is going to be odd at 0.03%, and the water is so pure its no conductive…..

ricci

Hi Ricci,

the number of GPS+GLONASS satellites shouldn't be an issue at the poles. There won't be any GPS nor GLONASS satellites above about 45° elevation, but that shouldn't be an issue for the GNSS receiver (at least, when I wen't to Svalbard, the GNSS receiver of my smartphone worked normally). The only issue that may affect the reception of GNSS signal is an effect called "ionospheric scintillation", but it shouldn't prevent the reception of signals during a long period of time.

I am suprised that the Mavic manual indicates that P-mode cannot work at the poles, because this cannot be because of a lack of GNSS satellites in view.

Yoan

Yoan Posted at 2017-9-30 12:02
Hi Ricci,

the number of GPS+GLONASS satellites shouldn't be an issue at the poles. There won't be any GPS nor GLONASS satellites above about 45° elevation, but that shouldn't be an issue for the GNSS receiver (at least, when I wen't to Svalbard, the GNSS receiver of my smartphone worked normally). The only issue that may affect the reception of GNSS signal is an effect called "ionospheric scintillation", but it shouldn't prevent the reception of signals during a long period of time.

Greetings Yoan,
DJI maybe covering themselves in a political blanket. thanks for the info too. I will do some more research and see why they think it won’t fly in the poles.

ricci

Forget flying for a min, visiting Antartica? now that's an adventure period. Not too many folks get that opportunity to visit such a place so well wishes on your journey.
I'm sure when you fly the Mavic, you'll record some great vids/pics.