Twirlip
lvl.4
Flight distance : 2461545 ft
United States
Offline
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So, I currently have a Mavic Pro, which I've been flying with a 5.5" CrystalSky for well over a year. I'm considering upgrading to the Mavic 2 Pro, so the question becomes whether to get a regular controller and use it with CrystalSky, or else go to the new Smart Controller.
For me, price isn't so much the concern-- it's more about reliability and usability. Just looking at how the controller is designed, it seems to me that it would be more usable (which would be good) but I'm concerned about it being less reliable (which would be bad).
More usable: No two ways about it, using a regular Mavic controller plus the CrystalSky is just... kinda awkward. It's doable-- I use a DIY "mount" consisting of some fuzzy Velcro strips stuck onto the controller's "phone arms", with corresponding Velcro strips on the back of the CS, and it works well enough-- but it means I have to juggle two different items when setting up, *and* have to futz around with a cable connecting them. The idea of a single brick with detachable control sticks is appealing. Also, the absolutely asinine fact that the CrystalSky can't work with any of the Mavic charging equipment means that I have to lug around an Inspire charger with its massive brick, which is less portable than I'd like.
However... I really am concerned about reliability. My experience has been that the basic controller is ironclad reliable (it's pretty simple, there's less to go wrong with it)-- whereas the DJI Go software running on the CrystalSky has been known to crash, on occasion. There have been a few times when the CS crashed while in mid-flight, which was a bit nerve-wracking... but I still had a functioning *controller* (even without the video feed), with full info on drone health, battery level, distance from me, bearing, the "fly home" button, etc. So, as long as I kept my wits about me and didn't panic, I had that rock-solid-reliable controller to get the drone back to me with, even if the CS was having a tummy-ache.
From looking at the Smart Controller, though... it looks as though the Android app is the *only* information display on that thing. I'm really worried about "what happens if it crashes while I'm in mid-flight". Do I have any recourse? Does the "fly home now" button still work? Do the control sticks still work? Will I be flying completely blind, or is there still some status indicator on the device somewhere that isn't dependent on the correct functioning of the Android OS and app?
*That's* what makes me nervous-- that a software glitch on the (presumed not super reliable) Android controller could end up making me lose my drone.
So... what sort of experience have folks had with that?
(Also, just to confirm-- CrystalSky now works with Mavic 2? When it first came out it didn't, they said "coming soon"; so they've gotten that working now?) |
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