Arcicorsa Posted at 2017-12-21 14:25
I'm not saying that I'm flying this way but this option here is .. By the way, I do not know what you would like to see on the video.

Yes you do not have problems because this problem concerns people in the EU where more than 50% of people can not connect with Spark RC to 5.8Ghz and therefore we are limited to 150m.

Interested to see what you mean by spotter following the drone. I will do some research.

I am not sure where the more than 50% figure comes from, because from reading through the posts over the last few months, I would say less than 50% that are reported on this website. And the fact that the people without issue, much like my self, don't post about it.

I believe that any person that is unhappy with the unit should return it and be done with it, given that it has been stated as an option.

Best of luck with your struggles, I hope you get your refund and find the right drone for you! Have a good Christmas

lannes Posted at 2017-12-21 14:29
I understand your comments, but I think the issue is that they have targeted the Spark for a certain part of the market, they won't make it anywhere near as capable as the Mavic and other more expensive models so that everyone buys Sparks instead of Mavics.

One thing I noted in the marketing around the 2km range, they made this comment "Unobstructed, free of interference, with remote controller when FCC compliant." they didn't mention anything around CE areas and it's capabilities unfortunately.

Yes, I totally agree with you. If Dji says the Spark will fly 500m in the EU in the optimal environment, then it means that the normal range will be about 300m, I will have a stable picture and perfect driving. OK I agree. I will be completely satisfied. However, this is not true and Spark does not work like that. Only with OTG which Dji also banned..

Lyons90 Posted at 2017-12-21 14:33
Interested to see what you mean by spotter following the drone. I will do some research.

I am not sure where the more than 50% figure comes from, because from reading through the posts over the last few months, I would say less than 50% that are reported on this website. And the fact that the people without issue, much like my self, don't post about it.

Here I was doing a survey https://forum.dji.com/thread-121396-1-3.html .

I will add to the spotter that he is even required in CZ at Copter Racing because the pilot use FPV headset and does not have a VLOS. This is stated in the SMCR Statutes.

I also wish you a nice and peaceful Christmas .

Arcicorsa Posted at 2017-12-21 14:03
No, the spotter is following a drone and is connected (phone etc) with a pilot .. This procedure is absolutely legal with us .. It does not change that if it is so as lannes claims it's a scam on Dji customers!!

I don’t know what the rules are in your country but in mine and many other European countries the use of spotters is only allowed with permission and it’s not legal to use a phone to communicate you must be in direct communication by voice, think what would happen if you lost signal whether by radio or phone, avaition doesn’t leave itself open to such things going wrong.

lannes Posted at 2017-12-21 14:29
I understand your comments, but I think the issue is that they have targeted the Spark for a certain part of the market, they won't make it anywhere near as capable as the Mavic and other more expensive models so that everyone buys Sparks instead of Mavics.

One thing I noted in the marketing around the 2km range, they made this comment "Unobstructed, free of interference, with remote controller when FCC compliant." they didn't mention anything around CE areas and it's capabilities unfortunately.

They always did mention in the specs and we all know that these are always meant to be perfect conditions:

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 14:55
I don’t know what the rules are in your country but in mine and many other European countries the use of spotters is only allowed with permission and it’s not legal to use a phone to communicate you must be in direct communication by voice, think what would happen if you lost signal whether by radio or phone, avaition doesn’t leave itself open to such things going wrong.

What you say is not mentioned anywhere in our country .. Btv. if it would apply what you say so we can forbid all RC because it is dangerous to communicate with the model with the radio, the connection can be interrupted at any time and the model flies away, which is normally the case with RC gliders.

Arcicorsa Posted at 2017-12-21 15:05
What you say is not mentioned anywhere in our country .. Btv. if it would apply what you say so we can forbid all RC because it is dangerous to communicate with the model with the radio, the connection can be interrupted at any time and the model flies away, which is normally the case with RC gliders.

As I said in most European countries you need permission in fact you need to hold a commercial license to use a spotter when flying that’s a fact if it is different in your country show me where it says you can use spotters communicating by phone if you can’t then don’t make it up .

Yes it is always dangerous flying by radio this is why we have rules about VLOS limited height etc, and it would be also dangerous to drive a car but we do under rules.

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-21 15:00
They always did mention in the specs and we all know that these are always meant to be perfect conditions:

Can you tell me what the regulation says in Germany about distance and height of drones weighing no more than 5 kg?
It seems to me that it is not allowed to fly more than 300 meters from the pilot, and in some areas the limit drops between 30 and 100 meters.
It's correct?
Are Phantom and Mavic for sale in Germany inhibited from exceeding these heights and distances?

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 15:12
As I said in most European countries you need permission in fact you need to hold a commercial license to use a spotter when flying that’s a fact if it is different in your country show me where it says you can use spotters communicating by phone if you can’t then don’t make it up .

Yes it is always dangerous flying by radio this is why we have rules about VLOS limited height etc, and it would be also dangerous to drive a car but we do under rules.

Just search, unfortunately everything is in the Czech language and I will not really translate large documents. It is not prohibited in any regulations. In our country, you only need a license if you fly and shoot commercially.

Read the document here: https://lis.rlp.cz/predpisy/pred ... effective/doplX.pdf

Arcicorsa Posted at 2017-12-21 15:25
Just search, unfortunately everything is in the Czech language and I will not really translate large documents. It is not prohibited in any regulations. In our country, you only need a license if you fly and shoot commercially.

Read the document here: https://lis.rlp.cz/predpisy/predpisy/dokumenty/L/L-2/data/effective/doplX.pdf

Rules tell you what you can do,, if it’s says in your rules you can fly a drone using a spotter with only phone then show me this, I don’t need to read or translate large documents either. But I would find it very strange to see it mentioned in your rules.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 15:30
Rules tell you what you can do,, if it’s says in your rules you can fly a drone using a spotter with only phone then show me this, I don’t need to read or translate large documents either. But I would find it very strange to see it mentioned in your rules.

If you read the document (google translate) you will find that in our country any autonomous UAV flight is forbidden (Active track etc.). So what ? How is it possible that Spark and others are on sale at all in CZ? Then VLOS is totally irrelevant..

Do you understand that this is the principle? Dji deceives customers in the EU and sells a toy for 800USD !! If I knew Spark would fly 150m in perfect video connection and control I would never buy it ..

I do not know how it works in your country, but what is not specifically forbidden in our country is allowed.. Read the Constitution of the Czech Republic before you begin to declare nonsense here!

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 15:30
Rules tell you what you can do,, if it’s says in your rules you can fly a drone using a spotter with only phone then show me this, I don’t need to read or translate large documents either. But I would find it very strange to see it mentioned in your rules.

Can you tell me what the regulation says in Ireland about distance and height allowed for  drones
It seems to me that it is not allowed to fly more than 300 meters from the pilot, and in some areas the limit drops between 30 and 120 meters.
It's correct?
Are Phantom and Mavic for sale in Germany inhibited from exceeding these heights and distances?

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 15:30
Rules tell you what you can do,, if it’s says in your rules you can fly a drone using a spotter with only phone then show me this, I don’t need to read or translate large documents either. But I would find it very strange to see it mentioned in your rules.

sorry i type wrong
Are Phantom and Mavic for sale in Ireland inhibited from exceeding these heights and distances?

Raz Taz Posted at 2017-12-21 15:43
sorry i type wrong
Are Phantom and Mavic for sale in Ireland inhibited from exceeding these heights and distances?

120 metres height 400 metres distance you must always be in vision line of sight of your drone.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 15:46
120 metres height 400 metres distance you must always be in vision line of sight of your drone.

This document say 300 meters.
https://www.iaa.ie/docs/default- ... tutory-instruments-(orders)/small-unmanned-aircraft-(drones)-and-rockets-order-s-i-563-of-2015.pdf?sfvrsn=26f50bf3_6

What about Phantom and Mavic?  They are inhibited to overcome this height and this distance?

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 15:46
120 metres height 400 metres distance you must always be in vision line of sight of your drone.

Is an autonomous UAV (Active track, RTH, Waypoints, etc.) allowed in your country? Show me the law in which this is allowed, please.

In germany you are not allowed above 100 meters above ground without a permit from aviation agency of the country you fly in (bavaria, saxony etc.).
you also have to maintain visual line of sight at all times, you may fly fpv with a spotter maintaining line of sight.
also you have to keep at least 100m distance from federal highways, canals, railroadtracks, villages/settlements (areas people live), hospitals, prisons, military areas,, additionally no fly zones around air-/heliports (1,5 km) and no flying above national parks.
most of these restrictions may be loosened by getting a permit from the party in charge (property owners, agencies, companies, you name it).

spookster Posted at 2017-12-21 15:55
In germany you are not allowed above 100 meters above ground without a permit from aviation agency of the country you fly in (bavaria, saxony etc.).
you also have to maintain visual line of sight at all times, you may fly fpv with a spotter maintaining line of sight.
also you have to keep at least 100m distance from federal highways, canals, railroadtracks, villages/settlements (areas people live), hospitals, prisons, military areas,, additionally no fly zones around air-/heliports (1,5 km) and no flying above national parks.

Phantoms and Mavic they are inhibited by firmware to overcome this height and this distance?

Arcicorsa Posted at 2017-12-21 15:35
If you read the document (google translate) you will find that in our country any autonomous UAV flight is forbidden (Active track etc.). So what ? How is it possible that Spark and others are on sale at all in CZ? Then VLOS is totally irrelevant..

Do you understand that this is the principle? Dji deceives customers in the EU and sells a toy for 800USD !! If I knew Spark would fly 150m in perfect video connection and control I would never buy it ..

So many contradictions, you have already said if spark reached distance of 500 metres and 300 metres, you would be happy, but then you say you shouldn’t be able to buy because of active track.

Active track is not autonomous neither are waypoint missions, they are in fact automatic these are in the avaition world very different.
I will try to explain in autonomous mode there is no pilot needed, in automatic mode you need a pilot he must always start the mission and end it he must under rules always be in VLOS of Aircraft , this is automatic.

Regarding your plight I have every sympathy I have problems myself, but I believe there are better ways to get what you want. It has been said that dji are working on the problem and hope to sort out soon, I don’t believe they will say anymore about otg than that and I don’t think it’s a lie to keep people at bay, but all this is doing here is frightening others not to use their drones particularly new users all this talk about illegality and how dji got to sell their drones in your country, the truth is nothing will be done about this and if next FW or SW the otg is working then we will never hear anything about it again.
I don’t really have much more to say about it, so good night I will give the last word to you.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 16:06
So many contradictions, you have already said if spark reached distance of 500 metres and 300 metres, you would be happy, but then you say you shouldn’t be able to buy because of active track.

Active track is not autonomous neither are waypoint missions, they are in fact automatic these are in the avaition world very different.

employee of Dji?

Does the new firmware work properly with Android version 4.1.15? has anyone tried it?

I ask because I need the OTG cable working, otherwise I can't fly. I will not upgrade if OTG stops working.
That's why 4.1.18 is a non-starter for me, 4.1.22 is not available yet.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 16:06
So many contradictions, you have already said if spark reached distance of 500 metres and 300 metres, you would be happy, but then you say you shouldn’t be able to buy because of active track.

Active track is not autonomous neither are waypoint missions, they are in fact automatic these are in the avaition world very different.

Strange that an expert like you do not know exactly the maximum height allowed in your country.
I'm also waiting to know if in your country even the Phantoms and the Mavic are inhibited via firmware to overcome these limits.

Raz Taz Posted at 2017-12-21 16:05
Phantoms and Mavic they are inhibited by firmware to overcome this height and this distance?

No, they are not limited in height and distance is very dependent on the size of the aircraft you are using, also not limited.
I would only exceed the height with a permit or in case of emergencies (suddenly a very low flying manned aircraft moving in the general direction of the drone).
But the DJI App warns you about regulations and you have to select "I know what I am doing".

Raz Taz Posted at 2017-12-21 16:24
Strange that an expert like you do not know exactly the maximum height allowed in your country.
I'm also waiting to know if in your country even the Phantoms and the Mavic are inhibited via firmware to overcome these limits.

Look at post 94 I already answered your question, no Mavic and phantom are not inhibited in my country only the rules of my country inhibit me from flying outside rules set down by IAA.
I am a commercially licensed drone pilot.

Here is document EASA https://www.easa.europa.eu/syste ... -05%20%28A%29_0.pdf  according to him, most EU Member States are governed.

EDIT: I recommend it to all UAV pilots in the EU for thorough study..

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-21 16:29
Look at post 94 I already answered your question, no Mavic and phantom are not inhibited in my country only the rules of my country inhibit me from flying outside rules set down by IAA.
I am a commercially licensed drone pilot.

A commercial licensed drone pilot that say 400 meters also if the rule is 300 meters?
Can you explain me why  all the drones is not inhibited but the Sapark is it?

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-21 13:32
Connect your Spark with each single battery to DJI Assistant and check. It will tell you immediately if further update is required. You are not safe to fly if you haven't checked each single battery. Also see the screenshot posted further above. If each of your batteries shows .85 firmware, you should be ok.

Thanks I was able to do it thru the app.

To get back to the FW update:  Update went well.  iPhone is on 11.2, DJI GO 4 is still on 4.1.20 (no 22 on Apple store).  Tried flying this afternoon and Spark was stable again.  Seems like a lot of wasted time doing frequent updates. Glad to see a stable Spark again though.

Greetings from So. Florida. Interesting thread. Got my new Spark (with Flymore pack) two weeks ago. As a Noob struggled through the spin up process (firmware update(4.1.1.18) ..firmware conflict update....etc.). Viewed some YouTube quick flight info that suggested the dastardly OTG for better RC connectivity. Seemed reasonable since the RC/Wifi connection during my first flights was cheesy. Won't bore you with details that everyone with Android is having but have an OTG now and backpeddeled to the .15 app version. After first flight attempt that gave me an overheated gimble motor warning. I shut it all down and restarted everything and it seems to be working now (with the new FW battery update) but its dark outside. Stay tuned!   

Updated my AC firmware and batteries no problem....just needed to pour a glass of sake while updating my 5 batteries!  ;-)

In a stroke of luck, I have tomorrow off, so I will try to go fly.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

djiuser_Kf4iPA3 Posted at 2017-12-21 16:17
Does the new firmware work properly with Android version 4.1.15? has anyone tried it?

I ask because I need the OTG cable working, otherwise I can't fly. I will not upgrade if OTG stops working.

Yes it does work with 4.1.15.

I am having a problem where when I connect my spark to my one plus 5t or any android device it doesn't shows any battery or distance this error comes to my Drone since when I first bought it please DJI support staff end my problem

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-21 23:25
Yes it does work with 4.1.15.

Thanks a lot!
I'll try the firmware upgrade over the weekend if weather allows.

Virgil Quick Posted at 2017-12-21 14:17
Yes, you update all batteries.

Thanks for the reply, I'm done with the update, no issues with that.

web_parrot Posted at 2017-12-21 13:16
Mine showed as 4.1.22 on iOS

Really? 4.1.22 downloaded from Apple Store? where is it?

Thank you! It’s always nice to have improvements.

mtnlandpix Posted at 2017-12-21 18:03
To get back to the FW update:  Update went well.  iPhone is on 11.2, DJI GO 4 is still on 4.1.20 (no 22 on Apple store).  Tried flying this afternoon and Spark was stable again.  Seems like a lot of wasted time doing frequent updates. Glad to see a stable Spark again though.

Apologies to all for side tracking this thread do realize it’s important.

Good luck to everyone and happy Christmas.

Viking-Pilot Posted at 2017-12-21 08:35
So is this a battery FW? do we have to update all the batteries? I'm asking because I'm still at work and have not had the chance to check it out.

It needs to update all batteries.

UPDATE : Latest FW v.900 with all batteries~OTG Connection~djiGo4 4.1.15
After firmware update , i go for a test flight , short distance....maybe i m wrong , GPS satelite log in took a long time 10-15 minutes to log in before can fly and after satelite log in, hover a little and crashed to ground , maybe GPS satelite not above 6 satelite ( sorry for my english )I will try again tomorrow. But i managed for fly later for a short distance 100 meters.

djiuser_Kf4iPA3 Posted at 2017-12-21 16:17
Does the new firmware work properly with Android version 4.1.15? has anyone tried it?

I ask because I need the OTG cable working, otherwise I can't fly. I will not upgrade if OTG stops working.

I'm waiting for this answer.