davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-7 23:17
Did you locate your Spark?

I never lost it!

Wow .... amazingly impressive. And I like the way you added the song into the video when the Spark is flying back, it sure provides the feel and emotion that your Spark has hit 10,000 feet. Literally it's so far away from you. Hahaha .... Good job.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-5-27 19:39
I usually fly in Auto mode and find 5.8GHz starts the initial connection and then depending on the range it will switch to 2.4GHz the longer you go.

For me 5.8GHz seems more reliable with better image transmission than 2.4GHz, but it all depends on your flying environment.

Btw does the auto mode switching from 5.8GHz to 2.4Ghz works on Spark as well?

Ronnie.Choy Posted at 2018-6-10 21:48
Wow .... amazingly impressive. And I like the way you added the song into the video when the Spark is flying back, it sure provides the feel and emotion that your Spark has hit 10,000 feet. Literally it's so far away from you. Hahaha .... Good job.

Thank you for the compliment and I'm glad you liked the music.

dudez7 Posted at 2018-6-10 21:53
Btw does the auto mode switching from 5.8GHz to 2.4Ghz works on Spark as well?

I think the Spark switches band from 5.8 GHz to 2.4 GHz although I'm not sure if it switched on that flight?

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-10 22:00
I think the Spark switches band from 5.8 GHz to 2.4 GHz although I'm not sure if it switched on that flight?

Thx, i will try out if i got the chance for another long range feat.

Saw this Mavic tips from https://forum.dji.com/thread-150815-1-1.html :

""First turn wifi to manual, select a 5.8gz channel, once connected.. While drone is still on, switch to auto and you will start auto connection at 5.8gz. As a result Auto will continue to give optimum signal on different 5.8gz channels, and (IF) neccessary will go back down to 2.4.""

dudez7 Posted at 2018-6-10 22:18
Thx, i will try out if i got the chance for another long range feat.

Saw this Mavic tips from https://forum.dji.com/thread-150815-1-1.html :

Yes you can manually change from auto on the WiFi settings, but I found no need to go into 2.4 GHz - got better range in 5.8 GHz.

Wow. Congratz. Even using RTH it still had plenty of juice. Amazing!
I usually cancel the RTH and return manually on sport mode.
Thanks for sharing!!!

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-11 08:08
Wow. Congratz. Even using RTH it still had plenty of juice. Amazing!
I usually cancel the RTH and return manually on sport mode.
Thanks for sharing!!!

I did a flight before off-video and the Spark had good battery power. There's really no difference in RTH versus manually coming back in Sport Mode. You'll see in the video in RTH, I was full-pitch forward and the Spark was travelling at 29-30 MPH - the same maximum speed when you're in Sport Mode.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-11 16:00
I did a flight before off-video and the Spark had good battery power. There's really no difference in RTH versus manually coming back in Sport Mode. You'll see in the video in RTH, I was full-pitch forward and the Spark was travelling at 29-30 MPH - the same maximum speed when you're in Sport Mode.

True! I didnt look at the speed.
I've never let it RTH b/c people say its slower. So I've never tested it.
Interesting!
Thanks for the video!!!!!!

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-11 16:28
True! I didnt look at the speed.
I've never let it RTH b/c people say its slower. So I've never tested it.
Interesting!

Yes try it out one of these days. I'm just curious you fly your Spark it seems with good distance and you've never disconnected temporarily from the RC where it went into RTH?

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-11 19:14
Yes try it out one of these days. I'm just curious you fly your Spark it seems with good distance and you've never disconnected temporarily from the RC where it went into RTH?

My record is a bit more than 4 km/2.4 mile.
It usually disconnects around the 2 or 3 km mark. But sometimes there is no disconnection at all.
The first RTH I usually cancel and keep going, if it disconnects again I get it back manually.
At the beggining I had no guts to go further, as it hit the home point I'd come back immediately but I realised it still had a lot of juice to keep flying. So I decided to push it further and further.
It was during night so I didnt film the flight nor the screen but I have it in the flight record. Will post it as soon as possible.
  

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-12 07:01
My record is a bit more than 4 km/2.4 mile.
It usually disconnects around the 2 or 3 km mark. But sometimes there is no disconnection at all.
The first RTH I usually cancel and keep going, if it disconnects again I get it back manually.

Most Impressive. You got the Spark out 2.4 miles? WOW! I'm guessing you forced landed the Spark because it reached critically low battery level as it likely had entered into auto landing?

I don't think my Spark can do more than 10,500 feet or 2 miles?

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-12 11:51
Most Impressive. You got the Spark out 2.4 miles? WOW! I'm guessing you forced landed the Spark because it reached critically low battery level as it likely had entered into auto landing?

I don't think my Spark can do more than 10,500 feet or 2 miles?

No,
It didnt trigger the auto landing, it still had 14% of battery left with 8.1 km of total travelled distance.
Once I took my spark to the 3.5 km (2.17 mile) mark, brought it back then traveled 1 more kilometer and back, totalling 9.2 km (5.7 mile) with one battery, without triggering the auto landing. The battery still had 15% left.
I dont think I would risk more than that but I'm quite sure the spark can hit the 4.5 km (2.8 mile) without risking to auto land. Depending on the enviroment, of course! At least thats what my distance tests have shown so far.
Yesterday I found a video on youtube that shows how to hack the auto landing so it wouldnt engage at the 10% mark. Actually it would never engage. Have you seen that? What your thoughts about it?


   

  

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-13 07:05
No,
It didnt trigger the auto landing, it still had 14% of battery left with 8.1 km of total travelled distance.
Once I took my spark to the 3.5 km (2.17 mile) mark, brought it back then traveled 1 more kilometer and back, totalling 9.2 km (5.7 mile) with one battery, without triggering the auto landing. The battery still had 15% left.

No I haven't seen that YouTube video of removing the 10% auto landing feature. It could be a bit dangerous disabling it because then the Spark would fall from the sky?

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-13 07:05
No,
It didnt trigger the auto landing, it still had 14% of battery left with 8.1 km of total travelled distance.
Once I took my spark to the 3.5 km (2.17 mile) mark, brought it back then traveled 1 more kilometer and back, totalling 9.2 km (5.7 mile) with one battery, without triggering the auto landing. The battery still had 15% left.

Its probably illegal to modify such safety feature.
If i remember correctly, in my country, its a feature by law for commersial drones.
Spark is a "selfie" drone, sure. Maybe semi-commersial..

I would not tamper with safety features, but hey...thats me.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-13 07:36
No I haven't seen that YouTube video of removing the 10% auto landing feature. It could be a bit dangerous disabling it because then the Spark would fall from the sky?

It removes not just the 10% auto landing but the RC beep (RTH) as well. This same guy teaches a hack that enhances the sport mode.
I've triggered the auto landing once. The drone was close to me so I took the timing for granted and over drained it.
The drone starts the landing procedure but you are still able to control the drone and fight against the land. Fortunately I was able to bring it safely to the take off point.
I watched a video where the battery (without the hack) was completely empty (0%) and the drone still was able to fly for almost 2 minutes until the pilot find a safe spot to land. The guy fought the drone since the 10% battery. Which tells me that the spark wont fall from the sky unless the battery is completely drained to its absolute max.
  


     

  

Haggi Posted at 2018-6-13 07:50
Its probably illegal to modify such safety feature.
If i remember correctly, in my country, its a feature by law for commersial drones.
Spark is a "selfie" drone, sure. Maybe semi-commersial..

I cant say if its legal or not as each country has its own regulation. What I can say for sure is that DJI wont aprove it.
I dont know if the auto landing can be called a SAFETY feature as it will land anywhere. If you think, the drone still has 10% of juice left so we should have full control over it. I'm not saying I will hack it, I'm just opening a discution about it so I know people's thoughts about this matter.

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-13 08:39
I cant say if its legal or not as each country has its own regulation. What I can say for sure is that DJI wont aprove it.
I dont know if the auto landing can be called a SAFETY feature as it will land anywhere. If you think, the drone still has 10% of juice left so we should have full control over it. I'm not saying I will hack it, I'm just opening a discution about it so I know people's thoughts about this matter.

I wouldn't want DJI to void my warranty therefore my Spark will stay the way that it came. It sounds like an interesting idea except that I imagine not allowing the Spark to land with its reserve battery power will enable it to shut its motors off and fall from the sky? I wouldn't want to see such complication, as the old saying I wouldn't try this at home, I wouldn't advise others try it.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-13 14:13
I wouldn't want DJI to void my warranty therefore my Spark will stay the way that it came. It sounds like an interesting idea except that I imagine not allowing the Spark to land with its reserve battery power will enable it to shut its motors off and fall from the sky? I wouldn't want to see such complication, as the old saying I wouldn't try this at home, I wouldn't advise others try it.

Gotcha!
If my drone was off warranty I'd try such hack. Not to increase the flight time but to have a little peace of mind just in case I overfly it.
If it's around 100 meters away and only 13% battery left I'd feel a lot better to get it back without worrying with the forced auto land.
Anyways, the spark is an amazing piece of tech already. I love it!
Thanks for your feedback!
   

BrilhasMuito Posted at 2018-6-13 19:39
Gotcha!
If my drone was off warranty I'd try such hack. Not to increase the flight time but to have a little peace of mind just in case I overfly it.
If it's around 100 meters away and only 13% battery left I'd feel a lot better to get it back without worrying with the forced auto land.

Yes indeed the Spark is an amazing piece of technology - as Time Magazine awarded Spark - The Best Invention of 2017.

Very impressive and well done, now I need to have a word with my Spark,,

Flighty Posted at 2018-6-14 01:06
Very impressive and well done,  now I need to have a word with my Spark,,

Thank you. Yes - talk to your Spark.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-6-14 02:34
Thank you. Yes - talk to your Spark.

Now that the summer is well underway, I'm guessing many have gotten the Spark and may be conducted their own Spark range test?