With temps out here in az getting in the 110 range I have a temp question. Flew over the weekend in the later afternoon. When I got down after the flight my P4A was extremely hot. Almost too hot to touch. A little hotter than my tripod and DSLR that had also been in the sun during that time.

Metal in the sun out here gets hot fast...

P4A have any thermal overload protection? Any warning system?

I know from my other FPV gear that some can handle the heat fine out here as I have not had any issues with hour long flights in high temps.

Thx
B

In the 2 years I've been lurking around this forum I have never herd any accounts of drones overheating and being damaged.
In the manual...DJI does list optimum operating tempura ranges. This information is also stored in done flight records...

I'm sure if you did have probs DJI could use these extreme to void warranty.
It's best to knw these things before you fly.
Hope that helps a little.

What part was too hot to touch?

ALABAMA Posted at 2018-7-10 16:40
What part was too hot to touch?

Underneath was a bit hotter than the rest... I usually pick it up from the side with fingers underneath.  This being az the entire drone was pretty hot. I played hot potato with my black tripod lol.

I did fly it today under overcast conditions and heat seemed fine... So don't think there is anything wrong with the drone...

I do storm chase during monsoon season out here and do not want to cook my drone.

As long as fan is working, I don't think you need to worry.

Looks like operating temps are no more than 104 F. Its not the temp that causes the heating its the sun beating on it out here that will raise temps ultra fast.

The P2 series transmitters would overheat and the FPV would permanently stop working and the module would need to be repaired or replaced.  Black screen.  There also have been issues with the P3P due to heat.  I don't know anything about the P4 - I don't read P4 threads.  But I think common sense is helpful here.  I would not fly during the hottest part of the day in the summer.  Mornings and evenings are great times to fly for tons of reasons - it's cooler, you might get a nice sunset/sunrise, you can see your screen easier, etc.  MHO

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-7-11 02:38
The P2 series transmitters would overheat and the FPV would permanently stop working and the module would need to be repaired or replaced.  Black screen.  There also have been issues with the P3P due to heat.  I don't know anything about the P4 - I don't read P4 threads.  But I think common sense is helpful here.  I would not fly during the hottest part of the day in the summer.  Mornings and evenings are great times to fly for tons of reasons - it's cooler, you might get a nice sunset/sunrise, you can see your screen easier, etc.  MHO

Thanks Mark

Hottest part of the day here in AZ is late afternoon. It can get pretty hot. I'm storm/monsoon chasing again this year. For drones that means I often keep them on for periods while I wait for conditions to change or something I want to photograph to happen. Nothing worse than watching a perfect shot evaporate while initializing a drone.

Yesterday I waited most of the day for some cloud cover breakup for lighting. Finally happens. Race to a close by fly area. Launch and get one shot off before the weather went south and my lighting with it.

I do have other drones and equipment so not too much of a big deal. In 6 years I have never had an issue with my 800mw 1.3 vtx over heating and thats with no heat sink and the unit exposed to the air. Same for my 5.8 gear.

The P4a looks like it uses a fan to vent air out of the bottom. That may be why it has the 104 f limit. A small heat sink exposed to air may have been a better option.

As for screens... worthless out here in the sun. I HDMI out to my googles.