I am having trouble with my DJI Go app, and connection to the phantom 3 standard. I have used my android phone, and tablet. Both of them have lost camera view, and I get a message that the connection was lost. Any ideas here in this forum? The screen goes black.

99% of my flying is away from cellular services, so I was hoping to cache the maps before leaving for the site.
My flight records therefore shows "map loading" for ever and a day... upon my return.

I still have the same issues with the maps on my iPAD Mini 2 Wi-Fi only seemingly not caching even after the updates.
The iPAD Mini was specifically purchased as the flight monitor of choice for my Inspire 1 because of the simulator App.

On my Nokia device (non Windows) I used the off-line maps by Nokia for many many years, which has since become a standalone product called Here Maps.
Since changing to an Android device about 2 years ago, I used Here Maps extensively as it works perfect in off-line mode - even with address searches and voice guidance routing!
I know you can cache Google Maps for about a 50km radius from your location, but the off-line cached maps only stays valid for 30 days or something.

I downloaded Here Maps from the iOS App Store and installed the off-line maps for my location onto the iPAD Mini 2 - some 350MB.
Now if only I can figure out how to tell the DJI Go App to use Nokia Maps?
Hopefully this will solve all my mapping problems and I will be able to see my waypoints on the off-line maps too.

Tim, I tried out the follow me function on the bike today. I hoovered the P3P at about 70 meter to avoid high rises and the camera pointed stright down. As it moves, the P3P tends to yaw left and right and making the video turning all the time. When I am on the normal mode, this does not happen. Any fix for this please?

Adamastor Posted at 2015-9-13 12:29
99% of my flying is away from cellular services, so I was hoping to cache the maps before leaving fo ...

Unfortunately, like you, I've discovered that the iPad mini 3 WiFi does not have a proper GPS receiver built-in, nor will it be able to use the GPS signal from your smartphone even if you tether them. As such, only the 3G/LTE models will work with IOC.

It's a bummer, and there's not much DJI can do about that since the hardware doesn't exist on the iPad Mini WiFi models. On hindsight, I should have bought the LTE version instead.

I've had little to no luck with map caching - I do it before heading out for a flight, but when I get to the location, the data just isn't there, on my Xperia Z3, my iPhone 6+, and my iPad Mini 3

chiupolini Posted at 2015-9-13 12:41
Tim, I tried out the follow me function on the bike today. I hoovered the P3P at about 70 meter to a ...

I asked the DJI support team if they could share the logic used for Follow Me, and am still waiting for a reply.

There are several relevant parameters in play that require clarification before I use the DJI Go app for Follow Me in the near future

- is dynamic altitude supported?
- does Follow Me instruct the aircraft/camera to focus on the RC? i.e. the app updates the home point at a specific refresh rate and transmits that to the aircraft, with calculations to yaw the aircraft and tilt the camera to keep the RC in focus
- if so, what is the refresh rate, and is there a way for end users to change that rate? The refresh rate should correspond to the speed of travel of the subject, and what is the max speed the subject/focus can travel at before the aircraft/app is no longer able to keep up?

Until these questions can be addressed, I've switched to the Autoflight Logic app that's available on the Apple App Store, which gives me a bit more control, and according to the folks at Autoflight, the aircraft will keep up at speeds of up to 60 km/h

chiupolini Posted at 2015-9-13 10:41
Tim, I tried out the follow me function on the bike today. I hoovered the P3P at about 70 meter to a ...

Have you switched the Gimbal Mode to "Follow" or to "FPV"?
It needs to be in Follow-Mode!

Also: Flying over a busy street is quite irresponsible. There's always a chance of something going wrong and if your Phantom crashes on the windshield of a car, this might change your whole life. And not for the better!

ghoonk Posted at 2015-9-13 12:13
Unfortunately, like you, I've discovered that the iPad mini 3 WiFi does not have a proper GPS rece ...

What a pity that this type of information is not really available before a person goes out and spend good money on what you think is the correct equipment - especially if you use a phone as phone and a tablet for its specific purpose like just being a tablet and not a A4 sized phone ;-)

I hope that the GPS functionality comes from the controller and not the built-in GPS of your monitor.
Have done some experimenting... but I cannot find any conclusive outcomes.

Just noticed the IOC setting is greyed out after the 1.4 upgrade, but the reset IOC is still functional...
Changing between flight modes on the controller changes nothing...
Disabling Multiple Flight Modes changes nothing either... what gives?

DreamingWatchma Posted at 2015-9-13 19:36
Have you switched the Gimbal Mode to "Follow" or to "FPV"?
It needs to be in Follow-Mode!

First, I used the follow mode all the time. The FPV mode is a relic which is of no use to me. Secondly it was not a street. It was a cycling lane. In any event I do not see why flying over highways is any problem if the P3P is half as good as it claims. I am very familiar with the route and have the foresight to set the height limit surpassing the tallest object en route with a further margin. I also watched the battery very carefully as I rode and would stop whenever the 30% mark was reached. If the P3P suddenly fails and crashs, it crashs and it is an accident. I am fully insured for liability for over US$1 million. I disagree with you that I was being in anyway irresponsible. Do you think an aeroplane flying over a city is also irresponsible? In the case of a crash, would an aeroplane cause more damage or would a Phantome 3 cause more damage? Your logic is beyond me.

ghoonk Posted at 2015-9-13 18:20
I asked the DJI support team if they could share the logic used for Follow Me, and am still waitin ...

Thanks for the response. I have seen other video trying it out with cars and it seems the yaw rate was acceptable. May be you are right, it has something to do with the refresh rate so that the faster the object moves, the more the P3P keeps still in one direction.

Just tried the follow me mode (walking) and the route planning. I had to do it with my iPhone 6, as my iPad is Wifi only. A pity, because I need glasses to read, and for photography, I like the big screen ... But it is what it is.
All 3 new modes worked well.
Regards,
Miquel

miquelvernet Posted at 2015-9-13 09:31
Just tried the follow me mode (walking) and the route planning. I had to do it with my iPhone 6, as  ...

Did you try to use your iPhone share connection with your iPad ?
That is what I do and it works.

Did you try to use your iPhone share connection with your iPad ?
That is what I do and it works.

robkuijpers Posted at 2015-9-8 20:29
Did enable multi flight mode
Take off, switch from P to F mode also confirmed on the screen P to  ...

robkuijpers,
   I am having the same problem, had it once for a few seconds, even made a screen shot to prove I wasn't going nuts, and have not been able to get it back since. Don't know what to do next, tried to duplicate the flight and settings, but still nothing, very frustrating...

GQ. Posted at 2015-9-13 16:42
Did you try to use your iPhone share connection with your iPad ?
That is what I do and it works.

No, I did not try, but I will do it; thanks for the tip!
Regards,
Miquel

chiupolini Posted at 2015-9-13 15:18
First, I used the follow mode all the time. The FPV mode is a relic which is of no use to me. Secon ...

First, right beside the cycling lane there is a street. A lot of the time (e.g. 1:09) your Copter was right above the street.

Secondly, if you follow the posts here in the forum you know that a lot of people had and have problems with their Phantom. A Phantom falling from the sky is not that uncommon.

Thirdly, I don’t know about the rules in Hong Kong but in most countries you are not allowed to fly over crowds or streets. If your flight was against regulations in Hong Kong (which I don’t know) the insurance company might not pay.

Fourthly, do you really want to compare your toy to an airplane? Do you really think a toy has (or should have) the same rights?
Airplanes are built so that people can trust them with their lives.
Would you trust your Phantom with your life?
An airplane can fly with only one engine and can land with no engine. Every important part exists twice. The Phantom is built to be cheap.
It will crash like a stone if only one of the four motors fails.
Or if a propeller gets lose.
Or if it loses power.
Or if it’s attacked by a bird.
Or …

Don’t get me wrong: I think you made a really interesting video. However we have to balance interesting and secure.
In my opinion what you did was dangerous. I would not do it.
But of course it’s your Phantom and your life.

DreamingWatchma Posted at 2015-9-14 00:21
First, right beside the cycling lane there is a street. A lot of the time (e.g. 1:09) your Copter  ...

OK, I thank you for your concern which I think is well intended. But I can assure that I was not doing anything which was illegal, nor do I think I am being rash. While you are very cautious, you may prefer to keep your hobby in no man's land. That is your own choice. But please do not call people irresponsible just because you disagree. Everything you mentioned can happen to an aeroplane. And of the hishaps with Phantom, most of them was not due to the "toy', but to human mishandling. Unlike an aeroplane, Phantom could be bought by anyone these days and you do not need a licence to fly, hence... But I am no newbie and Phantom 3 is not my first drone. And before I recorded this video, I had tried the function in the vicinty for several rounds and ensure that I knew how the drone would behave before I satarted. What I could not see was the yawing which only showed up in the recorded video.

DreamingWatchma Posted at 2015-9-13 21:36
Have you switched the Gimbal Mode to "Follow" or to "FPV"?
It needs to be in Follow-Mode!

I guess. It only takes two people travelling in the same area with "follow me" or "waypoints" to be become a major hazard.

I've seen a 350 quad fall from over 100m.., and it was deadly. Like dropping a brick from a skyscraper.

Having said that. I also see the contradicting rules with VERY LARGE aircraft flying over HIGHLY populated areas. Perhaps having a licence shows you understand your aircraft, which limits risk of pilot error.
But, most pilot errors have been overcome by the Phantoms technology. (Intelligent battery, ROH)
And I know they have mechanics, but accidents do happen with airplanes and choppers.
I dunno, if a bit of education can justify allowing a 747 to fly over 100,000 homes and infrastructure numerous times a day.., then maybe a solution can be found. I think a New Zealand guy is trying to invent a drone awareness system to detect other small aircraft in the area.

Adamastor Posted at 2015-9-13 08:31
What a pity that this type of information is not really available before a person goes out and spe ...

What I understand is that the GPS is in the P3 bird, not inside the remote control. The P3 transmit the video and all the position data to the remote control using radio frequency and the remote control send the image and GPS data on maps to the phone or tablet screen using the connecting cable.

There is no GPS included into a iPad or iPhone or any phone or tablet. They use instant transmission telemetric calculation from the cellular service provider ground antennas towers. It's a fake GPS. The more cell antenna your phone or tablet is connected to the more accurate the geographic position is.
For a proof of concept, just try to get GPS from your favourite phone or tablet and set it on ''Air Plane Mode'' or just remove the sim card from it. You will no longer have any real time GPS position available.

GQ. Posted at 2015-9-13 20:42
What I understand is that the GPS is in the P3 bird, not inside the remote control. The P3 transmit ...

Sorry, but that is complete nonsense!

Of course an iPhone has real GPS. And so do most Android phones.

With tablets it is different. There are tablets with GPS and there are tablets without GPS.

If you don't trust the Apple specifications which clearly state "Assisted GPS and GLONASS" try it yourself:
·       If you are hiking in the mountains without cellular connection the GPS will still work.
·       If you are on a ship in the open sea with no cell connection GPS will still work.
·       If you are in a plane, 10 km above ground with no cell connection GPS might work (depending on the damping of the window).

I have used GPS in all three situations without problem.

Since the RC does not have GPS, “Follow me” only works if your tablet or phone has GPS.
Triangulation with cellular towers only has a precision of a few hundred meters. For “Follow me” the precision has to be not more than a few meters.

DreamingWatchma Posted at 2015-9-13 15:29
Sorry, but that is complete nonsense!

Of course an iPhone has real GPS. And so do most Android ph ...

So I am wrong. I have try to use my iPhone 6 far away in the bush without cellular connection and it never work for me.
You will have a clear understanding here.

http://www.macworld.com/article/ ... location_works.html

Okay...
So I downloaded Google Maps and Here Maps

I save the map regions I require to "Your places" on Google Maps.

I download the off-line maps for my region from Here Maps, therefore I do not need to cache anything - without GPS (3G or WiFi) it still functions like paper map.  I regularly use outo routing with voice guidance when off-line on my Sony Xperia Z1 Compact phone with perfect results from Here Maps.

I make sure "Airplane mode" is selected.

I open DJI Go and change my view to the area I will visit.
No maps - still looks like iOS maps loaded.
I exit DJI Go
I open Google Maps - I can see the cached maps.
I open Here Maps and can even search for an address off-line.

I see no option in DJI Go App to select a default or preferred map set.

Am I just stupid or what???

mrapl1 Posted at 2015-9-13 16:52
robkuijpers,
   I am having the same problem, had it once for a few seconds, even made a screen sho ...

Yesterday I did some real world experimenting with unsatisfying results.
I tried using the flight simulator today as the weather is bad outside.

I could get POI to work sort of nicely.
Waypoints refused to work.

GQ. Posted at 2015-9-13 20:42
What I understand is that the GPS is in the P3 bird, not inside the remote control. The P3 transmit ...

I have the Inspire 1.

If I am not mistaken, there must be a GPS in the RC because:
1) I get message sometimes telling me RC has weak GPS signal
2) If it does not have GPS I would not be able to set "dynamic home point" - ie home point where the RC is at that time.  

I have used this function many times after flying 5 to 10km in one direction and following with the vehicle, then setting home to where the RC is in the App.  The aircraft returns more or less to where I was standing.

Adamastor Posted at 2015-9-13 15:59
Okay...
So I downloaded Google Maps and Here Maps

Of course you are not stupid.
The problem with iPad or iPhone, the DJI GO seems to use iPlans instead of Google Maps.

Maybe I am wrong again ?

GQ. Posted at 2015-9-13 21:41
So I am wrong. I have try to use my iPhone 6 far away in the bush without cellular connection and i ...

The article you linked confirmes what I said:
"Though a lot of people misunderstand AGPS and think it’s some faux GPS system, that’s not the case: AGPS requires a GPS receiver to work. Apple’s iPhone and 3G iPad models include AGPS, as do nearly all competing devices with GPS chips, notably Android phones."

and
"But cell towers are too far away from one another to provide GPS-like precision, and they don’t work well in less-populated areas, even suburbs, where less coverage is necessary than in an urban environment."

DreamingWatchma Posted at 2015-9-13 16:56
The article you linked confirmes what I said:
"Though a lot of people misunderstand AGPS and think  ...

Why do we need 2 GPS systems to make the P3 works is the question I am asking to myself and to the others. We dont have the accurate response from DJI yet.

GQ. Posted at 2015-9-14 02:42
What I understand is that the GPS is in the P3 bird, not inside the remote control. The P3 transmit ...

I don't know about the iPhone. I use Android as a GPS device when I am traveling in China, in which I only use a sim card with no data feed function. The GPS works for me everywhere even in area not covered by cellular network (as long as I am not in a tunnel). I think the reason why the GPS in my Android phone tends to start quickly is because we always leave our phone on and the GPS function starts automatically. So it hardly need a cold start. Another reason I think why the phone has no lapse in cold start is because where both telemetric transmission and GPS are available, the phone uses both. But even with a purely GPS receiver (which I used before), the cold start time is only 1 or 2 minutes, never 12.5 minutes mentioned in the article you helpfully shared.

kirk2579@aol.co Posted at 2015-9-12 12:29
With respect Tim , that is the answer you should have stated long ago vs the bs others have alread ...

Kirk, we appreciate your suggestions and will work on improvements.

Kit Walker Posted at 2015-9-14 02:28
I guess. It only takes two people travelling in the same area with "follow me" or "waypoints" to be ...

I saw in the internet that Goggle team is working on an automatic obstruction avoidance system for drones. I bet DJI is working on that also. It emits either laser or ultra sound and once the drone approaches any obstruction, it will automatically take avoidance action by hooving, going up or veer to the side where no obstruction is detected. That should minimize many mishaps due to inexperience in handling. I won't be surprised that in another 2 years time this may become mandatory in drones.

Is there a way to operate the camera independently of the craft while it is fly waypoints?

Houston

Adamastor Posted at 2015-9-13 12:59
Okay...
So I downloaded Google Maps and Here Maps

Adamastor,

That is not the way it works.  When you have a wifi connection, turn your App and Tx on.  Make sure that you have enabled cache maps in the App.  Then scroll to the area that you are going to be flying in.  Make sure that you magnify the area to the highest resolution for the entire flying area.  When you arrive at your flying site, the map will be available once the P3 has GPS lock.  I hope that helps.

houston Posted at 2015-9-13 20:19
Is there a way to operate the camera independently of the craft while it is fly waypoints?

Houston ...

You have control of the gimbal and camera while running waypoints.  

GQ. Posted at 2015-9-12 14:38
DJI Dave. Tim team and forum Members

Sorry for my poor english not being my first language.

I will make the suggestion for you.

Adamastor Posted at 2015-9-13 05:31
What a pity that this type of information is not really available before a person goes out and spe ...

For follow me feature uses the GPS from your phone or tablet not the RC.

Adamastor Posted at 2015-9-13 16:31
What a pity that this type of information is not really available before a person goes out and spe ...

I've checked - the WiFi iPad Mini does not have a GPS receiver. You get the impression that GPS works because it uses a WiFi connection, but that is not true GPS - which is why you will also notice that the accuracy of the 'GPS' on an iPad Mini WiFi shows up as a circled area rather than a specific spot.

The iPad mini still works fine in any other situation, just not in IOC modes. My guess is that the DJI Go app isn't (or can't) pull GPS data from the RC

chiupolini Posted at 2015-9-14 05:55
I saw in the internet that Goggle team is working on an automatic obstruction avoidance system for ...

Conceptually, that's what the Vision Positioning System does - it's basically a sonar system. If they set it up on the front, back, downward, and sides, it should be able to do some sort of avoidance, BUT the drain on battery life is going to be rather significant.

Frankly, I would rather err on the side of diligence than rely on technology, in the same way that I would rather choose to drive my own car than have a self-driving car, or use cruise control over adaptive cruise control, both of which force me to be more attentive while using equipment.

ghoonk Posted at 2015-9-14 07:58
I've checked - the WiFi iPad Mini does not have a GPS receiver. You get the impression that GPS wo ...

Most likely because the RC does not have GPS.

DreamingWatchma Posted at 2015-9-14 10:31
Most likely because the RC does not have GPS.

That is correct. The Inspire RC has GPS, but the Phantom 3 Pro/Adv RC does not. Also worth noting that even with the DJI Inspire, even though the RC has a GPS receiver, DJI Go still requires the tablet/smartphone to have a GPS receiver.

DJI-Dave Posted at 2015-9-14 01:45
I will make the suggestion for you.

So what is your suggestion Dave .