Does DJI Mini 3 Pro support GLONASS? The specification only mentions GPS, Galileo and BeiDou.

Hi,

do you think DJI made a typo ?

cheers
JJB

Glonass is Russian......... Need I say more

Either Russia has closed the usage for puplic or DJI doesn't support the russian GPS anymore due to the current situataion, but this is just guess.

MySky Posted at 5-21 02:36
Either Russia has closed the usage for puplic or DJI doesn't support the russian GPS anymore due to the current situataion, but this is just guess.

GPS is just a series of time transmitts........... I don't actually think you can discriminate who receives it if you are transmitting.

You have all the Rest so who needs Glonass.

JJB* Posted at 5-21 02:34
Hi,

do you think DJI made a typo ?

That is possible, but would like to hear from DJI themselves if that is indeed the case.

You wont get a reply from them on their forum, you will have to email support

MySky Posted at 5-21 02:36
Either Russia has closed the usage for puplic or DJI doesn't support the russian GPS anymore due to the current situataion, but this is just guess.

GLONASS is operational and available to public and millions of devices (including other DJI drones) still use it.

Well, this is all speculation until someone gets a reply from DJI, but some GNSS receivers cannot actually receive all of the constellations at the same time.
For example, I'm using uBlox Neo-M8N, and when I configure it to receive GPS+SBAS and Galileo, then I need to choose between GLONASS or BeiDou.

They might have been forced to pick a module which doesn't do GLONASS due to things such as availability, or price, or volume of the receiver or mass and so on.

Bigplumbs Posted at 5-21 02:42
GPS is just a series of time transmitts........... I don't actually think you can discriminate who receives it if you are transmitting.

You have all the Rest so who needs Glonass.

Not for already selled devices, but for new ones, as it is only since around 2010 permited to implement GLONASS into public commercial use and it can be revoked as well.

I think we will never get an answer from DJI.

As we see from Mini 2 specs, it has GPS+GLONASS+GALILEO, no BeiDou. Since August 2020, GLONASS has total 27 satellites in orbit, 23 of which are operational. BeiDou-3 completed its deployment after the 35th satellite was launched in June 2020. That means now it gives better accuracy, probably that was the reason to change module

Andreja Posted at 5-21 03:13
Well, this is all speculation until someone gets a reply from DJI, but some GNSS receivers cannot actually receive all of the constellations at the same time.
For example, I'm using uBlox Neo-M8N, and when I configure it to receive GPS+SBAS and Galileo, then I need to choose between GLONASS or BeiDou.

Pretty much all the previous DJI consumer drones used M8N, but they were configured for GPS-GLONASS or GPS-GLONASS-GALILEO combo. Mavic 3 and  Mini 3 Pro replaced GLONASS with BeiDou, I'm wondering if that is indeed the case or just a typo.

My guess is that they did it because BeiDou has now reached global coverage and in theory has better accuracy than GLONASS but that is just my guess.

Pawelsky Posted at 5-21 04:02
Pretty much all the previous DJI consumer drones used M8N, but they were configured for GPS-GLONASS or GPS-GLONASS-GALILEO combo. Mavic 3 and  Mini 3 Pro replaced GLONASS with BeiDou, I'm wondering if that is indeed the case or just a typo.

My guess is that they did it because BeiDou has now reached global coverage and in theory has better accuracy than GLONASS but that is just my guess.

Mini 3 Pro replaced GLONASS with BeiDou, I'm wondering if that is indeed the case or just a typo.
It's not a typo.
The Ublox chip that DJI use can receive signal from all 4 GNSS constellations, but only 3 at the same time.
DJI have decided ti use Beidou in recent models, so one of the others had to be dropped.

Labroides Posted at 5-21 05:53
Mini 3 Pro replaced GLONASS with BeiDou, I'm wondering if that is indeed the case or just a typo.
It's not a typo.
The Ublox chip that DJI use can receive signal from all 4 GNSS constellations, but only 3 at the same time.

Any reliable source for the "DJI has decided to use BeiDou" claim?

Pawelsky Posted at 5-21 13:41
Any reliable source for the "DJI has decided to use BeiDou" claim?

Page 65 of the M3 Pro manual. At the bottom.

Pawelsky Posted at 5-21 13:41
Any reliable source for the "DJI has decided to use BeiDou" claim?

You already quoted the specs in your first post.
What more do you need?

Labroides Posted at 5-21 15:20
You already quoted the specs in your first post.
What more do you need?

Recorded GPS module init sequence would be the best proof.

Pawelsky Posted at 5-22 06:40
Recorded GPS module init sequence would be the best proof.

Why wouldn't you trust the published specs?

Labroides Posted at 5-22 06:42
Why wouldn't you trust the published specs?

Because I've learnt over the years to not trust everything DJI publishes ;)

Pawelsky Posted at 5-22 06:52
Because I've learnt over the years to not trust everything DJI publishes ;)

Welll…maybe not everything but still a lot. And you are participating here, so you must in some kind of way like the brand

Pawelsky Posted at 5-22 06:52
Because I've learnt over the years to not trust everything DJI publishes ;)

There's no need to distrust DJI stating which GNSS constellations they use.
Their manuals might have some mistakes, but their specs are usually accurate.
But I can't imagine why you are so skeptical about GNSS.
There's no reason they would get that wrong.

Labroides Posted at 5-22 07:18
There's no need to distrust DJI stating which GNSS constellations they use.
Their manuals might have some mistakes, but their specs are usually accurate.
But I can't imagine why you are so skeptical about GNSS.

Seeing Mavic 3 issues with GPS and bugfix releases which were supposed to fix it but fail to do so, I think a fair amount of skepticism about their GNSS configuration is justified. Especially when this configuration now seems to be inherited by Mini 3 Pro as well...

So if you have any more details about it - please share, otherwise I see no point in further discussing whether DJI's statements can be trusted or not

Pawelsky Posted at 5-22 07:38
Seeing Mavic 3 issues with GPS and bugfix releases which were supposed to fix it but fail to do so, I think a fair amount of skepticism about their GNSS configuration is justified. Especially when this configuration now seems to be inherited by Mini 3 Pro as well...

So if you have any more details about it - please share, otherwise I see no point in further discussing whether DJI's statements can be trusted or not

I see no point in discussing anything with someone so skeptical of things where such skepticism is not justified.

But to fill you in further, there was a teardown of the GPS board of the Mavic 3, posted in this forum about 6 weeks ago and it was shown that the GPS constellations used were exactly those shown in DJI's specs for the Mavic 3.

Of course someone might say that isn't proof that the Mini 3 uses the same.
But that person would be an idiot.

Save your skepticism for situations where it is justified.

Labroides Posted at 5-22 15:13
I see no point in discussing anything with someone so skeptical of things where such skepticism is not justified.

But to fill you in further, there was a teardown of the GPS board of the Mavic 3, posted in this forum about 6 weeks ago and it was shown that the GPS constellations used were exactly those shown in DJI's specs for the Mavic 3.

Rather than calling people idiots share a link to the post you are referring to. That would be much more useful than this pointless discussion...

Pawelsky Posted at 5-22 15:53
Rather than calling people idiots share a link to the post you are referring to. That would be much more useful than this pointless discussion...

Find it yourself.
I've already gone out of my way and put in too much time trying to explain basics to an idiot who doesn't believe anything.
If you choose to be so unreasonably skeptical, that's your issue, not mine.

Labroides Posted at 5-22 15:55
Find it yourself.
I've already gone out of my way and put in too much time trying to explain basics to an idiot who doesn't believe anything.
If you choose to be so unreasonably skeptical, that's your issue, not mine.

I agree some people seem unable to listen and hear

Bunch of stupid racists here

Bigplumbs Posted at 5-21 02:35
Glonass is Russian......... Need I say more

Negative.  Anything Russian built is garbage.  I was U.S. Air Force.  While I only loaded munitions, our pilots were chomping at the bit hoping to engage a MiG, Tu or Su.  

I know this may be not relevant but.... I was a LORAN tech in the 70's. LORAN was the predecessor to GPS. It had optional coding to prevent some unauthorized users from receiving the signals. Those were primitive of course at the time. But it may be that more sophisticated methods are used now. Just saying.
And by the way. A politically sympathetic ally would not ignore the specs would they? Think.

Yikes.. I did not realize this was an old topic. Ignore me.

Btw, in Mini 3 GLONASS is back again: GPS + GLONASS + Galileo, same as Mini 2 GNSS module specs.

Indeed, they went back to the good old combo. Looks like the BeiDou experiment didn't work too well ;)

Pawelsky Posted at 1-29 03:53
Indeed, they went back to the good old combo. Looks like the BeiDou experiment didn't work too well ;)

What can it affect or where and what will be the problem?

Drone.Hunter Posted at 1-29 04:41
What can it affect or where and what will be the problem?

I can only speak for myself - in Europe I was usually able to see and lock to more GLONASS than Bei-Dou satellites. Your mileage may vary.

Drone.Hunter Posted at 1-29 04:41
What can it affect or where and what will be the problem?

Nothing.
No matter where you go or which satellite systems your drone uses, it will always have many more sats available than you need.

Pawelsky Posted at 1-29 03:53
Indeed, they went back to the good old combo. Looks like the BeiDou experiment didn't work too well ;)

On my Mavic 3, the Bei Dou, GPS, and Galileo chip works really well.  I always get the callout for Home Point Updated around 35 seconds.   (I've timed it).   I'm pretty happy  with the GNSS chip on Mavic 3.  Fast acquisition and lots of satellites...it consistently works really well.  No problems.

Keep in mind that Apple has been using Bei Dou since the iPhone 11.  

DroneApe Posted at 1-29 07:56
On my Mavic 3, the Bei Dou, GPS, and Galileo chip works really well.  I always get the callout for Home Point Updated around 35 seconds.   (I've timed it).   I'm pretty happy  with the GNSS chip on Mavic 3.  Fast acquisition and lots of satellites...it consistently works really well.  No problems.

Keep in mind that Apple has been using Bei Dou since the iPhone 11.

There is nothing really special about the Mavic 3 GPS chip. It is pretty much the same Ublox M8030-Kx as in other models. The difference is in constellation configuration. DJI experimented with Bei-Dou, now it is coming back to Glonass.

Recent iPhones are capable of using both Bei-Dou and Glonass, but that is not really relevant to DJIs case.

Glonass is more useful as you get nearer the poles due to coverage.

Pawelsky Posted at 1-29 08:38
There is nothing really special about the Mavic 3 GPS chip. It is pretty much the same Ublox M8030-Kx as in other models. The difference is in constellation configuration. DJI experimented with Bei-Dou, now it is coming back to Glonass.

Recent iPhones are capable of using both Bei-Dou and Glonass, but that is not really relevant to DJIs case.

Ok, now I understand what you're asking.  You're asking if DJI released a firmware update that quietly dropped Bei Dou and now uses GLONASS instead on Mini 3 Pro--due to the problems from a year ago with Mavic 3's TTFF.  It's possible they did drop Bei Dou due to slow TTFF.  It's possible they made a last minute change and didn't publish the change when they released the Mini 3 Pro.   It's also possible they fixed/improved Bei Dou TTFF.  I don't think anyone really knows what the problem was and how they fixed it.   Also possible that it worked fine in China but not other parts of world.

The problem with getting an answer from DJI is this:  Bei Dou is a source of national pride in China.  DJI is a Chinese drone manufacturer and also a source of national pride in China.  I don't think you're going to get an answer.  The fine print probably says they can make changes to specs at any time.

Like I said, my Mavic 3 is amazing with it's GNSS (whatever is enabled).  I'm very happy with it and 35 second TTFF.  That's 35 seconds from the moment I hit the power button.  The Mini 3 Pro and Mini 3 is as fast or faster.  It's all water under the bridge now.
Galileo actually has the slowest TTFF on M8 due to EU security measures.  Maybe they need to get rid of Galileo instead.  ;)

https://www.embedded.com/gnss-pl ... -time-to-first-fix/

TTFF is just one factor. There are more to consider when selecting the best GNSS combo.

Pawelsky Posted at 1-30 04:25
TTFF is just one factor. There are more to consider when selecting the best GNSS combo.

Yes, I understand that.

For example, if I lived in a Russian city where American GPS is currently being jammed and my GNSS module supported GPS-Galileo-Bei Dou and I only got 5 satellites from Galileo and 5 Satellites from Bei Dou, for a total of 10 satellites, it would be problematic…at least on a Mini 3 Pro or Mavic 3.

I guess you will have to wait for u-blox M10 in a future model which will support GPS, GLONASS, Bei Dou, and Galileo (simultaneously---concurrent reception).  The u blox M10 module sounds pretty good. Lower battery consumption.

https://gpsjam.org/?lat=40.84181 ... 2.8&date=2023-01-30


https://www.u-blox.com/en/best-in-class-low-power-multi-GNSS-module-with-built-in-antenna
Edit:  It looks like Bei Dou has good world wide coverage. According to the map, I can get around 10 Bei Dou satellites at my location (greater than 5 degrees).  

https://www.gpsworld.com/directions-2022-bds-enters-new-era-of-global-services/