hallmark007 Posted at 2018-4-12 11:58
Spark is a great little aircraft , but for some grass will always be greener on the other side. Enjoy it it’s a great value piece of tech.

12 flights in, and I absolutely love my Spark.. Even the shortish battery life gives me a chance to take a break; as a newbie, it's still full on flying and trying to compose the shot I am looking for.
Chris

@hallmark007  "As a first time buyer of a drone you certainly seem to know exactly what you wanted from a drone, except one thing you should have purchased an aircraft that offers what you needed ."

I certainly expected DJI to provide support for the Spark. I didn't buy a $3,000.00 drone. This didn't make sense as a first time buyer and newbie pilot. I purchased this drone to fly waypoints and take video and pictures. I got scammed buying litchi before I realized there was no support, yet, there is in the works an android app that will allow the spark to fly waypoints and I assume orbits as well, but DJI is dragging it's feet in release of the SDK to 3rd party app makers, effectively blocking the progress of it. It will require a firmware update as well. When you factor in all the extra stuff it the drone needs. I'm in for over $2,000.00 Don't forget they removed OTG support, let's not forget that little nugget. I thought I did enough digging for information to make a good choice, but as it turns out I should have dug a lot deeper and perhaps I wouldn't bought the dam thing in hindsight, but that's too late. DJI is in bed with Apple and ""SO AM I"" to my disgust. Now that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth even after I picked all the peanuts out of it.. Thank you hallmark007 for your comments.

ORG POST #31

Paco572 Posted at 2018-4-12 13:52
@hallmark007  "As a first time buyer of a drone you certainly seem to know exactly what you wanted from a drone, except one thing you should have purchased an aircraft that offers what you needed ."

I certainly expected DJI to provide support for the Spark. I didn't buy a $3,000.00 drone. This didn't make sense as a first time buyer and newbie pilot. I purchased this drone to fly waypoints and take video and pictures. I got scammed buying litchi before I realized there was no support, yet, there is in the works an android app that will allow the spark to fly waypoints and I assume orbits as well, but DJI is dragging it's feet in release of the SDK to 3rd party app makers, effectively blocking the progress of it. It will require a firmware update as well. When you factor in all the extra stuff it the drone needs. I'm in for over $2,000.00 Don't forget they removed OTG support, let's not forget that little nugget. I thought I did enough digging for information to make a good choice, but as it turns out I should have dug a lot deeper and perhaps I wouldn't bought the dam thing in hindsight, but that's too late. DJI is in bed with Apple and ""SO AM I"" to my disgust. Now that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth even after I picked all the peanuts out of it.. Thank you hallmark007 for your comments.

There was never any waypoints mentioned for spark by dji or was OTG ever supported by dji, my point was if you were looking for this then spark was the aircraft to go for.
Orbit is something that can be worked around so I’m sure that’s not a big deal.

I think the Spark is one of the most important product offerings of DJI and for this reason no they will not stop servicing the Spark. I also own the Mavic Pro and they have done the exact same updates to the Mavic Pro as they have done with the Spark.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-4-12 15:57
I think the Spark is one of the most important product offerings of DJI and for this reason no they will not stop servicing the Spark. I also own the Mavic Pro and they have done the exact same updates to the Mavic Pro as they have done with the Spark.

I agree that Spark is one of the most important products from DJI but out of curiosity, what services for Spark are you talking about ? What did they actually implement from the countless requests and suggestions people have been giving them over the last year ?

The reality is that they have abandoned the comunity and never actually listened to any of us. Every single update from the 4.1.18 released last year was targetted for Mavic Air and brings nothing new for Spark. They didn't even bother to repair the OTG which is crucial for everybody with an android phone in Europe.

It's actually ironic that by not repairing the OTG they are actually forcing us not to spend more money as I have to stay on older version of DJI GO 4  that does not recongnize Mavic Air which would be the most probable upgrade path for lot of us.

Paco572 Posted at 2018-4-12 13:52
@hallmark007  "As a first time buyer of a drone you certainly seem to know exactly what you wanted from a drone, except one thing you should have purchased an aircraft that offers what you needed ."

I certainly expected DJI to provide support for the Spark. I didn't buy a $3,000.00 drone. This didn't make sense as a first time buyer and newbie pilot. I purchased this drone to fly waypoints and take video and pictures. I got scammed buying litchi before I realized there was no support, yet, there is in the works an android app that will allow the spark to fly waypoints and I assume orbits as well, but DJI is dragging it's feet in release of the SDK to 3rd party app makers, effectively blocking the progress of it. It will require a firmware update as well. When you factor in all the extra stuff it the drone needs. I'm in for over $2,000.00 Don't forget they removed OTG support, let's not forget that little nugget. I thought I did enough digging for information to make a good choice, but as it turns out I should have dug a lot deeper and perhaps I wouldn't bought the dam thing in hindsight, but that's too late. DJI is in bed with Apple and ""SO AM I"" to my disgust. Now that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth even after I picked all the peanuts out of it.. Thank you hallmark007 for your comments.

A word of advice, ignore Hallmark. It's a local troll that doesn't care and doesn't want to see the reality. Every single review about the Spark since it was released mentioned an OTG cable as a great way to improve the flight experience, yet he keeps repeating that it was never oficially supported ... it doesn't change a thing about the fact that DJI BROKE IT and without it, the Spark is useless in Europe.

It always makes me laugh when I see him recommending to spend even more money on much more expensive drone if we are not satisfied with what we have ... WTF ? Is your car running slower than it should ? Don't bother asking an authorised service to look at it ... buy a ferrari !

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-12 23:39
A word of advice, ignore Hallmark. It's a local troll that doesn't care and doesn't want to see the reality. Every single review about the Spark since it was released mentioned an OTG cable as a great way to improve the flight experience, yet he keeps repeating that it was never oficially supported ... it doesn't change a thing about the fact that DJI BROKE IT and without it, the Spark is useless in Europe.

It always makes me laugh when I see him recommending to spend even more money on much more expensive drone if we are not satisfied with what we have ... WTF ? Is your car running slower than it should ? Don't bother asking an authorised service to look at it ... buy a ferrari !

Unofficial reviews said the OTG worked. DJI never did as far as i know. It worked yes. It was never supported so ended up removed. you lost nothing DJI offered.

I have no problem using my spark in the EU.

If the OTG was never documented on the spark adverts from DJI or in the documents it was never offered with the spark.

apcyberax Posted at 2018-4-12 23:46
Unofficial reviews said the OTG worked. DJI never did as far as i know. It worked yes. It was never supported so ended up removed. you lost nothing DJI offered.

I have no problem using my spark in the EU.

FYI, OTG works on iOS again, though it is still not oficially supported. It's just android that DJI threw over board.

The biggest joke is that for over half a year now (maybe longer ...), they are selling an OTG cable for Spark in an official DJI store because of the DJI Goggles ... so .. yeah, never oficially supported but obviously they counted on it from the beginning ...

One more note. When DJI broke the OTG last year, immediatelly after that we have been assured by mods in here that they are working on getting it back. So, they actually broke it by accident and even after countless assurances about working on repairs it still does not work ...

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-12 23:27
I agree that Spark is one of the most important products from DJI but out of curiosity, what services for Spark are you talking about ? What did they actually implement from the countless requests and suggestions people have been giving them over the last year ?

The reality is that they have abandoned the comunity and never actually listened to any of us. Every single update from the 4.1.18 released last year was targetted for Mavic Air and brings nothing new for Spark. They didn't even bother to repair the OTG which is crucial for everybody with an android phone in Europe.

What a whiner you really are, you still haven’t said what safety measures are missing from Spark , because there are none.
You’ve spent your time around here whinging and crying every chance you get, continually wanting dji to turn your craft into something its not. You can only fly your craft 30/50 metres yet you never opted to return it as a defect, WHY, simply because you would have nothing to whinge about.
Your now saying it has safety problems, but not able to say what is wrong, more crying and whinging, you can clearly see by this thread that most are quite happy with their spark.
Firmware updates, well spark has had more FW updates since its release than either Mavic Pro or P4Pro, so have dji ditched their biggest selling crafts, I don’t think so.
All your posts are full of the same diatribe , nothing to help or offer other forum members, other than try to whip up ridiculous hysteria.
Your problem is if spark had everything you were looking for you still wouldn’t be happy , your just a whinger.

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-12 23:56
FYI, OTG works on iOS again, though it is still not oficially supported. It's just android that DJI threw over board.

The biggest joke is that for over half a year now (maybe longer ...), they are selling an OTG cable for Spark in an official DJI store because of the DJI Goggles ... so .. yeah, never oficially supported but obviously they counted on it from the beginning ...

“Over a year and a half they have been selling OTG cable for spark”

Spark is 9 months old, how did you figure that one out?

Otg cable was initially used to download FW to phantoms, it’s been around for 3 years.

Solestacz Posted at 2018-4-11 11:15
what other products have you purchased that do continue to "grow" over time?

How about the xbox 360?

Zbig Posted at 2018-4-11 23:44
Although you were "asking yourself", let me answer anyway. No, I don't. What I do though, is cringe every time I see your avatar on this forum. While others are sharing their photos and videos, asking legitimate questions and generally having a good time, when clicking on any of your threads I can be 100% sure there's more bitching and moanig about mostly the same things over and over again. Answering your question further, regarding the RAW image support... If I bought a thing with a known set of features and limitations (no RAW support and no mention of any plans to implement it from the manufacturer) and suddenly found myself obsessing over it not being something else, the lack of actual RAW support would be the least of my problems. I would seek professional help immediately as I'd consider this a sure sign of mental health issues. Just set your expectations reasonably and try to enjoy the thing. Yes, it's not perfect and won't ever be, just like anything else - deal with it and have fun anyway. And if you're unable to then, again, Spark just might not be your main problem.

Thats a great reply! I now feel i'm probably another avatar that makes you cringe..... I hope not that said but i've had a fair few minor issues and raising them on here is useful for me generally but i dont expect things that were never promised. My Spark is pretty much the coolest most fun purchase i have ever made i've just had some issues (most of which have been sorted now thanks to this awesome community) throughout the last 9 months that are all pretty minor and used to work fine, mainly GO4 issues as i'm an android user

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-4-13 00:48
“Over a year and a half they have been selling OTG cable for spark”

Spark is 9 months old, how did you figure that one out?

It is probably pointless to try to reason with you but still:

do you know the difference between the "half a year" and "year and a half" ? and how the hell did you manage to take 6 months, 18 months and create 9 months from it ?

do you know the difference between a feature that "threatens" flight security and that "improves" it in certain situations ?

Thanks for proving my point about being it pointless to try to argue with you and please, save the dignity you have left and don't react on me anymore.

Said this a while ago. The Spark has been on offer, seems as though they are clearing old stock. All Dji's social media refers to the Tello and Mavic Air recently.

Real shame as I love my Spark, shame a product that's not even a year old yet has been shelved.  

I have to say the reactions of those who don't want updates sound a little like cognitive dissonance to me.
Who the hell forces you to update? if you don't want updates, don't update. But a product that's effectively being deserted less than a year after being released is bad practice. You wouldn't have accepted that from any other company you buy from, but somehow DJI gets exemptions from some captive audience. If you claim updates cause issues and you don't want them, why did you update in the first place?
In fact, why don't you factory-reset your drone to remove all those big bad updates? that'll make it optimal, by your logic.

Yes, I know officially they haven't declared end of life or end of support. But in practice that's what they do. Updates have stopped coming out, features that worked and which they said they would bring back are not coming back, features that customers asked for and we know can work with current hardware (because they work in hacked versions) are not being added, stocks in the store dry out and are not replenished.

Spark is quietly being phased out into obsolescence when it's less than a year old.

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-13 02:23
It is probably pointless to try to reason with you but still:

do you know the difference between the "half a year" and "year and a half" ? and how the hell did you manage to take 6 months, 18 months and create 9 months from it ?

As I thought full of BS, go learn about drones and stop your crying about the one you have, if you can’t operate it safely go buy a kite, most people around are sick of listening to your same rhetoric from you.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-4-13 03:03
As I thought full of BS, go learn about drones and stop your crying about the one you have, if you can’t operate it safely go buy a kite, most people around are sick of listening to your same rhetoric from you.

You have right !!!!I hear all time in this forum people who  have fly there drone fo a 10 minutes max flight time an 100 meters total distance to have all problems fixed!!!!Yes its ok to fly max distance 100 meters you don't have problems!!!But i have problems i did not get what they advertised to me 500 meters eu i feel tricked....You cant argue with guys  like these noobs that they know everything!!!!!Let them buy a telo or a hubsan , don't waste your time with these guys....

djiuser_Kf4iPA3DtL3S Posted at 2018-4-13 02:58
I have to say the reactions of those who don't want updates sound a little like cognitive dissonance to me.
Who the hell forces you to update? if you don't want updates, don't update. But a product that's effectively being deserted less than a year after being released is bad practice. You wouldn't have accepted that from any other company you buy from, but somehow DJI gets exemptions from some captive audience. If you claim updates cause issues and you don't want them, why did you update in the first place?
In fact, why don't you factory-reset your drone to remove all those big bad updates? that'll make it optimal, by your logic.

Again more ridiculous rhetoric same old diatribe with nothing to go on more than some mod said engineers are working on .
Just because many users asked for improvements, like FPS, RAW, OTG, EXTRA BATTERY LIFE, you think everything suggested should be implemented, you left out FW updates that enhanced the use of spark but that’s easy to conveniently forget and many of these improvements were requested by users, but you choose to ignore when you write how dji is trying to forget about spark users.

The spark is a much better Aircraft now than on its first release, it has been improved and it will continue to be improved where possible.
It has had more FW updates than Mavic Pro , P4Pro and inspire, in the last 9 months, yet these are the flagships of dji, according to what you write this must mean they have also forgot about these Aircraft.

Would you expect Apple to have the same features on 1 phone 8 as on IPhone X, I expect from reading your diatribe that you would,

IMO it’s those who can’t either get the best out of their sparks or fly them correctly or safely, who continually suffer from buyers remorse come here expecting the spark to have all the features of a P4Pro fly like an inspire2 and be as compact as a MavAir, be under the impression that with continued FW updates that this will make them better pilots and photographers, but alas this is not how things work, they’re are many spark users flying very happily many more joining the ranks of using a spark, many producing excellent photography and video, and why would this be, most likely they can and have learned how to get the most out of their Spark, while the same few come here constantly complaining about why a spark does not work for them.

If the spark was or is not working for those still complaining, the question is why they never returned their spark for one that works, I suspect that they get much more satisfaction from constantly listening to themselves complaining , so they will never learn as others have to make the most from their spark.

Anuvis Posted at 2018-4-13 04:30
You have right !!!!I hear all time in this forum people who  have fly there drone fo a 10 minutes max flight time an 100 meters total distance to have all problems fixed!!!!Yes its ok to fly max distance 100 meters you don't have problems!!!But i have problems i did not get what they advertised to me 500 meters eu i feel tricked....You cant argue with guys  like these noobs that they know everything!!!!!Let them buy a telo or a hubsan , don't waste your time with these guys....

Relax, you just have to learn to ignore him as the others do. First time we had an argument with this troll was half a year ago when DJI broke the OTG. He kept insulting all of us and after two months he finally (and probably by accident) admitted he doesn't even know what we were talking about. We tried to explain it to him, guess it didn't work (probably some serious disorder and inability to understand written text) ... half a year later it's the same all over again. We are all bunch of whining kids, Spark is perfect and everything we say is a lie ... ;).

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-13 05:25
Relax, you just have to learn to ignore him as the others do. First time we had an argument with this troll was half a year ago when DJI broke the OTG. He kept insulting all of us and after two months he finally (and probably by accident) admitted he doesn't even know what we were talking about. We tried to explain it to him, guess it didn't work (probably some serious disorder and inability to understand written text) ... half a year later it's the same all over again. We are all bunch of whining kids, Spark is perfect and everything we say is a lie ... ;).

No that’s not right, your the whining kid who can’t fly his drone more than 30 metres but rather than return it you choose the road of whining and complaining, and try to create hysteria, but as we can see around this forum you are one of the very few walking around with his trousers around his ankles.
You have been complaining around here for so long most have forgotten you and your ridiculous rants.

“Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier.”

WilfredFireSteel 8 Posted at 2018-4-13 01:25
How about the xbox 360?

yours sprouted new controllers? games just show up on the hd, brand new and free?

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-12 23:27
I agree that Spark is one of the most important products from DJI but out of curiosity, what services for Spark are you talking about ? What did they actually implement from the countless requests and suggestions people have been giving them over the last year ?

The reality is that they have abandoned the comunity and never actually listened to any of us. Every single update from the 4.1.18 released last year was targetted for Mavic Air and brings nothing new for Spark. They didn't even bother to repair the OTG which is crucial for everybody with an android phone in Europe.

Why does the OTG cable matter so much to people in Europe? I'm in the United States and I actually just flew my Spark without an OTG cable, and always have achieving 10,000 feet in one of my Spark range tests, I also own a Mavic Pro that has OcuSync and is the premier OTG cable drone for DJI.

I barely could tell the difference in my three flights, two batteries with the Spark and one battery for the Mavic Pro using OTG cable, just a few minutes ago. The Spark strictly with WiFi achieved just as good of transmission feed back to my phone, and I enjoy that it was free not being tethered to the controller when like in flight with my Mavic Pro.

The Mavic Pro is the best drone that DJI makes, plain and simple. The Spark can go toe-to-toe with the Mavic Pro, and the only updates DJI has rolled out for any drone, since the 4.1.18, are product bug improvements to the Mavic Air, which was released with certain cold-weather shaking and other unforeseen new problems that are customary with past DJI's new drones.

Please don't view the Spark as getting "left out" because it doesn't have Asteroid or Boomerang, or even APAS, because those are not add-on's that have made way to the Phanom or Mavic Pro, as that seems to be your frustration at the moment? DJI has only introduced new features on the Mavic Air that no drone of its kind had. If, and when the new enhancements are introduced from the Mavic Air product launch to DJI's other drones, most certainly be rest assured, the Spark will be one of the drones benefiting from such an update.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-4-13 06:16
Why does the OTG cable matter so much to people in Europe? I'm in the United States and I actually just flew my Spark without an OTG cable, and always have achieving 10,000 feet in one of my Spark range tests, I also own a Mavic Pro that has OcuSync and is the premier OTG cable drone for DJI.

I barely could tell the difference in my three flights, two batteries with the Spark and one battery for the Mavic Pro using OTG cable, just a few minutes ago. The Spark strictly with WiFi achieved just as good of transmission feed back to my phone, and I enjoy that it was free not being tethered to the controller when like in flight with my Mavic Pro.

If I understood their plight correctly, it's because in Europe the 5.8GHz range is not available in phones in Europe like in the US. For many Europeans that means they have to connect to their RCs to their phones using the 2.4GHz band, and then they have to connect to their RCs to Spark in the 5.8GHz  band which allows much shorter range (due to faster propagation decay of the higher frequency).

Anuvis Posted at 2018-4-13 04:30
You have right !!!!I hear all time in this forum people who  have fly there drone fo a 10 minutes max flight time an 100 meters total distance to have all problems fixed!!!!Yes its ok to fly max distance 100 meters you don't have problems!!!But i have problems i did not get what they advertised to me 500 meters eu i feel tricked....You cant argue with guys  like these noobs that they know everything!!!!!Let them buy a telo or a hubsan , don't waste your time with these guys....

Same old rhetoric here as well, after almost every FW update your Aircraft was crippled but the vast majority of users having no problems, some people just love to whinge, others get on with making the most of what is a great little craft.
Again I think your always drinking from a glass that’s half empty.
If your craft was so bad over the last 9 months why not return after all you still have warranty, but I suspect because you can’t get your own way on everything you would rather stay on here and throw your toys out of the Pram.

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-4-13 06:16
Why does the OTG cable matter so much to people in Europe? I'm in the United States and I actually just flew my Spark without an OTG cable, and always have achieving 10,000 feet in one of my Spark range tests, I also own a Mavic Pro that has OcuSync and is the premier OTG cable drone for DJI.

I barely could tell the difference in my three flights, two batteries with the Spark and one battery for the Mavic Pro using OTG cable, just a few minutes ago. The Spark strictly with WiFi achieved just as good of transmission feed back to my phone, and I enjoy that it was free not being tethered to the controller when like in flight with my Mavic Pro.

Let's start with the official specs:

Max Transmission Distance      
2.412 - 2.462 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.3 mi (500 m)
SRRC: 0.3 mi (500 m); MIC: 0.3 mi (500 m)
5.745 - 5.825 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.18 mi (300 m)
SRRC: 0.7 mi (1.2 km); MIC: -

The main problem is that unlike the US, the Europe uses much more strict regulations concerning the maximal allowed output of the transmitter. For the 5,8GHz its 0.5mW in the US (FCC) vs 0.025mW for the EU (CE), for those who have problems with math, it's 20x less.

But that's not all. Most of European android phones can't use the 5,8GHz band. Even dualband phones end at 5,7GHz. It's because the 5,8GHz band is not allowed in Europe with the exception of a Short Range Devices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels . And even those devices are limited by those 0,025mW of maximal power. The problem is that when you take a look at the definition of Short Range Devices, you do not even see Smartphone or Remote controller category http://www.etsi.org/technologies-clusters/technologies/radio/short-range-devices. That's why android phones do not use the 5,8GHz band.

Now comes the good part, due to the inability to use the 5,8GHz for the Phone-RC connection, you are stuck with this ridiculously weak connection for Spark-RC. I really do not know how DJI got those 300m in official specs but there are literally hundreds of people that have trouble reaching 100m with this. Quite often some serious disconnects begin even sooner (50m, give or take). Essentially, the official specs are a fraud if you are planning to use the Spark the DJI recommended way.

And this is where the OTG comes in. If you use it to connect the Phone to the RC, you can use the 2,4GHz band for the Spark-RC connection and since this band has much more allowed power, you get significantly better results. In my case around 400m without disconnect which is much closer to official 500m for this band (still about 4x less what you get in the US though...)

For a large number of European users this is the only way how they can fly their Sparks safely. That's why we immediatelly after DJI broke it asked for this feature to be reenabled. DJI Mods here told us it was a mistake and that it will be restored ... but half a year (and 5 or 6 updates ? I have lost tracks) later, it still does not work.

That's why there are hundreds of threads here where people complain about the ridiculously low range and why some of us keep copying/pasting how to downgrade to an older versions so that the owners can actually use the drone they bought under the advertised specs. Btw, thanks for nothing DJI for NOT PINNING any of these advices for all those who keep coming with the complains about the range ... really helpful.

If you take a look at the changelogs of the last few newest versions of DJI GO 4, you will notice that all the updates are for Mavic Air, there are no updates for the Spark, not a single one from all the suggestions made since the last summer. That's why people feel that DJI has abandoned them and the Spark as well.

The other problem is that larger drones like Mavic pro and others are too large/heavy/expensive for some of us. Seriously, I am an amateur outdoor photographer, everything I carry I carry in a backpack and every gram counts. No to mention the fact that I could probably survive if I loose the Spark due to some crash, but the other drones are significantly more expensive and since I am interrested in panoramatic pictures alone, 4k camera and other features simply do not justify the higher cost of other drones. The only possible upgrade for me could be Mavic Air ... but ... since I am stuck on DJI GO 4.1.14 because I need the OTG, I can't even buy it since this version would not recognize it ...

I wonder if somebody actually reads it all .

Solestacz Posted at 2018-4-13 06:12
yours sprouted new controllers? games just show up on the hd, brand new and free?

haha yeah!!! Well yeah the free games kept going long after they ceased production on 360 games as did the updates to a point. Its of course totally dead now but the servers still live!!! They are Microsoft though!!!

ChrisJG Posted at 2018-4-12 09:08
Thanks for the reply. I'm flying with the remote controller, and pretty sure that I get way way more than 50 metres distance. I'll make a note to check the next time I fly, that said, the weather here in the U.K. looks rough for a while.
Attached is a screengrab from my DJI Go 4 app, am assuming that the distances shown are the max distance flown during a flight? At the further distances, it becomes tougher (for my eyes) to keep the Spark in sight. [view_image]
Chris

Nice, not far from me in suffolk. Been meaning to go to Norfolk for a fly for a while....

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-4-13 06:16
Why does the OTG cable matter so much to people in Europe? I'm in the United States and I actually just flew my Spark without an OTG cable, and always have achieving 10,000 feet in one of my Spark range tests, I also own a Mavic Pro that has OcuSync and is the premier OTG cable drone for DJI.

I barely could tell the difference in my three flights, two batteries with the Spark and one battery for the Mavic Pro using OTG cable, just a few minutes ago. The Spark strictly with WiFi achieved just as good of transmission feed back to my phone, and I enjoy that it was free not being tethered to the controller when like in flight with my Mavic Pro.

Most of what Vyborny83 said is total BS, I’m a member of a small spark flying group many using android phones and getting optimum distance, this figure of 30/50 metres he has time and time again failed to show here with any proof, also if this was the case then he would have almost certainly returned his spark to dji as defective but he still persists, it’s not true that hundreds or all using android in Europe have this problem, if it were true then we would have seen unprecedented returns throughout Europe and this is not the case, and I’m sure if there was a similar problem in the states we would see those effected return their drones.
You will only see Vyborny on threads that are trying to create some hysteria, but the problem with android in Europe is not in anyway as he says it is.
We all know that otg was never intended as a connection from device to controller, so dji never fixed or broke it , in earlier FW it worked somewhat but still with many complaints with android phones in later FW updates it stopped working with some android devices in Europe but was never intended to work in the first place, so although Vyborny would lead you to believe dji broke it, the truth is it was never intended to be there in the first place.
And as of today I haven’t seen 1 returned drone because it won’t work with OTG cable, and this should tell you the real story, not the BS that this guy keeps popping up with.

OTG was never intended to be part of spark and it most likely never will, the vast majority have no problems with how spark works , but there will always be a few who will never be happy no matter what.

How about the fundamental things I mentioned above? Like really fundamental.

The distance the Spark can fly from its remote is dependent on the environment it is flown in.  That is why DJI says "up to" two kilometers.  People have flown it that far without issue in their particular environment.  People flying it in a city, around apartments, or in rural areas with large microwave antennas pointed at the open field, get different ranges.  Normally shorter because they live in an area where the spectrum is full of radio noise.

How much memory does the Spark's microcontroller have left over for extra features?  Speculation is that there is tons left for developers to stuff all kinds of brain stormed up features and their supporting software objects.  4k, waypoint programming, RAW, etc.  No hard numbers on how much memory is free to use by modders?  We assume it is infinite?

I complain time and time again that waypoint programming isn't implemented along with payload release buttons.  I want to drop some poop on people and not be anywhere around when it happens.  DJI doesn't support their products

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-4-13 08:20
Most of what Vyborny83 said is total BS, I’m a member of a small spark flying group many using android phones and getting optimum distance, this figure of 30/50 metres he has time and time again failed to show here with any proof, also if this was the case then he would have almost certainly returned his spark to dji as defective but he still persists, it’s not true that hundreds or all using android in Europe have this problem, if it were true then we would have seen unprecedented returns throughout Europe and this is not the case, and I’m sure if there was a similar problem in the states we would see those effected return their drones.
You will only see Vyborny on threads that are trying to create some hysteria, but the problem with android in Europe is not in anyway as he says it is.
We all know that otg was never intended as a connection from device to controller, so dji never fixed or broke it , in earlier FW it worked somewhat but still with many complaints with android phones in later FW updates it stopped working with some android devices in Europe but was never intended to work in the first place, so although Vyborny would lead you to believe dji broke it, the truth is it was never intended to be there in the first place.

Todays thread about an OTG : https://forum.dji.com/thread-144049-1-1.html

A screenshot from it with an official confirmation that DJI is working on the official support:



On this forum for the Spark, there are at least 5 different threads on the first page alone with many people confirming the range problems (the thread above even mentions iPhone 8, so it's not even an android only problem...) and that the OTG solves this range issue .. are we all making it up ? are we all starting a hysteria (including DJI Electra) ? I wonder if you realize how stupid you now look ...

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-4-13 09:22
The distance the Spark can fly from its remote is dependent on the environment it is flown in.  That is why DJI says "up to" two kilometers.  People have flown it that far without issue in their particular environment.  People flying it in a city, around apartments, or in rural areas with large microwave antennas pointed at the open field, get different ranges.  Normally shorter because they live in an area where the spectrum is full of radio noise.

How much memory does the Spark's microcontroller have left over for extra features?  Speculation is that there is tons left for developers to stuff all kinds of brain stormed up features and their supporting software objects.  4k, waypoint programming, RAW, etc.  No hard numbers on how much memory is free to use by modders?  We assume it is infinite?

Agreed, the distance is affected by many different factors, no argument here. But if your real range is 10x less that what's advertised and even on an empty field in the middle of nowhere ... something is wrong ;).

True, I am sure there are limitations to what Sparks hardware can handle ... how can we know that Spark is capable much more that DJI is letting it right now ? .... because the FCC hacked App works with all the advanced features normally reserved for much more expenisive drones ... this is the proof and it even includes the waypoints you mentioned.

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-13 09:29
Agreed, the distance is affected by many different factors, no argument here. But if your real range is 10x less that what's advertised and even on an empty field in the middle of nowhere ... something is wrong ;).

True, I am sure there are limitations to what Sparks hardware can handle ... how can we know that Spark is capable much more that DJI is letting it right now ? .... because the FCC hacked App works with all the advanced features normally reserved for much more expenisive drones ... this is the proof and it even includes the waypoints you mentioned.

So use the hacked app and move on...

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-4-13 09:22
The distance the Spark can fly from its remote is dependent on the environment it is flown in.  That is why DJI says "up to" two kilometers.  People have flown it that far without issue in their particular environment.  People flying it in a city, around apartments, or in rural areas with large microwave antennas pointed at the open field, get different ranges.  Normally shorter because they live in an area where the spectrum is full of radio noise.

How much memory does the Spark's microcontroller have left over for extra features?  Speculation is that there is tons left for developers to stuff all kinds of brain stormed up features and their supporting software objects.  4k, waypoint programming, RAW, etc.  No hard numbers on how much memory is free to use by modders?  We assume it is infinite?

4K I believe is a hardware limitation and cannot be fixed by software.
But OTG has worked before with Spark's hardware. Still does, even with Android if you use Go4 v.4.1.15 So what do you say, is it possible or not? is there enough memory for it or not?
Waypoints and other Mavic-like flight modes - they work with the current Spark hardware and a hacked version of Go4. That's a fact. So that is proof the Spark hardware can support them. Do you deny that?

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-13 09:24
Todays thread about an OTG : https://forum.dji.com/thread-144049-1-1.html

A screenshot from it with an official confirmation that DJI is working on the official support:

There are at least 5 threads on the MavAir forum complaining about distance and MavAir uses a cable to connect. What is your point on one hand your saying dji don’t care about spark and on the other hand you show me a screenshot that they are working on it.
Can’t you see how ridiculous you are sounding.

djiuser_Kf4iPA3DtL3S Posted at 2018-4-13 09:37
4K I believe is a hardware limitation and cannot be fixed by software.
But OTG has worked before with Spark's hardware. Still does, even with Android if you use Go4 v.4.1.15 So what do you say, is it possible or not? is there enough memory for it or not?
Waypoints and other Mavic-like flight modes - they work with the current Spark hardware and a hacked version of Go4. That's a fact. So that is proof the Spark hardware can support them. Do you deny that?

Yep, the 4k is probably beyond the Sparks capabilities due to its hardware and a fact that because it has a 2 axis gimbal (the other drones have a 3 axis gimbals) the final output is cropped a little for better stabilization but hey, even the FHD vid the Spark makes looks excellent. A 25FPS option would be nice though .

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-4-13 09:40
There are at least 5 threads on the MavAir forum complaining about distance and MavAir uses a cable to connect. What is your point on one hand your saying dji don’t care about spark and on the other hand you show me a screenshot that they are working on it.
Can’t you see how ridiculous you are sounding.

Do you know the difference between the DJI Mod on the forum and DJI developer ? We have heard the same "we hope the OTG will be supported soon" 6 months ago and you were there with us. And it still does not work ... so, they really don't care ;).

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-4-13 09:36
So use the hacked app and move on...

Using a FCC hacked app in a CE restricted airspace ... c'mon people, you are supposed to be the role models for us younger pilots and not a bunch of trolls and a bad influence ;).

WilfredFireSteel 8 Posted at 2018-4-13 08:00
Nice, not far from me in suffolk. Been meaning to go to Norfolk for a fly for a while....

Hi, yes, the Broads have an "enlightened" approach to drone flyers compared to some. I'm very fortunate that I am a member of the Norwich Astro Society and can fly (within reason) at Seething, and at the huge space behind Wym Abbey. Be good to compare flying locations and notes? Thetford Forest interesting, but likely to get into trouble if you fly there!
Chris

Vyborny83 Posted at 2018-4-13 10:22
Do you know the difference between the DJI Mod on the forum and DJI developer ? We have heard the same "we hope the OTG will be supported soon" 6 months ago and you were there with us. And it still does not work ... so, they really don't care ;).

It does work and many are using it happily including people in Europe on Android contrary to what your saying.

How many times have you seen anything from any dji engineer, I’d say never, so maybe as someone who is by far the worse case on this forum maybe it would be worth your while contacting a dji engineer, you might get the answer your looking for, but I expect either way you still won’t be happy. As someone said above why not just get hacked app and be done with it.