Difficulties of migrating from DJI Flay to DroneLink

• 

  Eric Goldstein

  • August 24, 2020 12:29

  Thank you for your feedback.  Lots of question.  Let me try and address them :

  The first problem came when I put together a new “List” component for setup the camera, the video and the drone. Before I started to fly with DJI Fly I always checked Safety parameters and some others. I do not want to put down here all the parameters (you can find them in the attached Excel sheet) and functionalities what DJI Fly knows, but DroneLink not. I put down here only those what I could not setup via commands, or what I could not check in the DroneLink IOS application. In my Excel sheet on the DroneLink part a lot of cells are empty. Those cells are empty because I didn’t find the corresponding functionality in DroneLink application or in the planning system. I would appreciate a lot if somebody would tell me where can I find them!

  - For the most part, if DJI has enabled a command for Dronelink to have access to, we have enabled it in Dronelink.

  - Missing features or settings  are most likely the result of DJI locking down that command

  - We dio appreciate your spreadsheet and will look at it to ensure we're capturing things.  I'm also looking to add what you documented into the user guide that's being built.

  1. I couldn’t find the User Manual of DroneLink application. Maybe I am old fashioned, but for me the video Tutorials are not substituting the written manuals. If I am looking for something how can I find what I am looking for in 50 different videos?

  - There has been a "quick" user overview -but people are being driven to the videos.   I have been working with some of the new and experienced users to build a user manual targeted toward the newbies to help them get flying if they don't want to watch video.

  1. Even I could set up by a drone command the Auto RTH Altitude I couldn’t check it in the application. Without checking this I believe it is forbidden to start to Fly! To be honest I checked my command result in DJI Fly application and found it O.K.

  - Not sure if this is a question, but you can set the RTH altitude in Dronelink.

   

  1. I could set up the “Signal Lost” parameter by command (return to Home, Descend, Hover), but I could not check it in the application. Without checking this I believe it is forbidden to start to Fly!

  - It's a setting in the list you can configure.  Are you talking about checking for it in the native app?  Yes, this is not there

  1. To be honest I didn’t check if during a flight can I see my drone position on the map and if the home and the RC position is on the map or not.

  It is

  1. I couldn’t find any possibility in the DroneLink application to change the Flight mode (CineSmooth, Position, Sport). During a normal mission I do not need this functionality, but in case of emergency (for example strong wind) when the drone stops execute the mission it is necessary to switch into “Sport mode” and bring the drone by back manually. Anyway, I think every pilot wants to know in which mode the drone is flying.

  - Can't use Cinesmooth or Sport mode with Dronelink.

   

  1. I couldn’t find in DroneLink application how could I set up the “Gimbal mode” (Follow mode, FPV mode). Sometimes I like to make video which looks like it was made on a normal aircraft. If you destinated your application only for mission flying this functionality is not missing too much, but why to start DJI application if I want to do that?

  - Follow- mode is a future feature.

  - If you watch the video on Google Earth and see the video about Niagara Falls, you can see a setting we used so the drone acted like a plane going over and facing down over the water.

  - I personally don't think Dronelink is the best app if you're looking to just manually fly around.   I'd use Fly or Go for that.   The on the fly functions are good middle or the road options if you want Dronelink to create a mission for you.

  1. Overexposure warning setup (On, Off) is missing from the application and from the mission planning commands too!

  - Got to look into this.  There I s a histogram.

  1. There is a very much hearting point now with Mavic Mini. When you switch off the Mini for example you have to changing the battery, after switch on the drone the implicit WIFI Frequency will be 5.8 GHz. In case of European models the WIFI becomes instable after 50 – 100 m distance. Control and setting is totally missing from the application and as well from the “Drone” commands!? It is the same with the Channel Mode (Auto, Manual).

  - Need to ask the dev about tthis

   

  1. About Camera and Video setups: with the DroneLink mission planning it is possible to do every (according my knowledge) settings what the drone allows. One functionality is missing: it is impossible to change the camera - or video mode (Auto, Manual) by the application. Due to this it is not possible to set up 100% the camera and the video by the application.

  - Not clear what you mean here.   You can switch between video and picture.

  1. On my iPhone the lot of text are written with so small letters that I had to use a magnifying glass to read what is written there. When you are on the sunshine, I think 95% of people can not read the written text.

  - Overall, I recommend flying with an Ipad or a larger device.  Always balancing between info and visibility 

   

  1. I read somewhere on the internet that DJI community has over 6 million members already. I do not know how many of them are using more than 1 type of drone or are developing missions for large communities for different drones. It would be more than welcome from the DroneLink developers to introduce a new functionality which would declare that the current plan should be valid for this and this set of drones. After this the system would show only those commands and components which are valid for the drones which were declared. It would make the life of huge amount of user much easier.

  - A simpler UI for hobbyists is on the radar.

  1. I couldn’t find any documentation about the planning part of the system. In lot of cases I am just guessing what a command or component does and what their parameters means and how I do need to setup them to avoid trouble.

  - Working on docuemntation

  Here you have a link wherefrom you can download the Excel sheet and the original text: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1jltyvzw1m8s4tl/AADYOjHe6J80luMs9FjCtb0Fa?dl=0

  -Thanks for providing that.

   

   

  Hopefully, you'll continue to fly - I know it's a lot to learn, but it does a lot.  I do think your iPhone 8 is a little on the older side for Dronelink as well - you'll get better results with a newer phone or tablet, but it will work.

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• 

  Gábor Bokrossy

  • August 24, 2020 19:56

  Dear Erik,

  First of all, big thanks to you for reacting my long letter in detail. I appreciate it! Now I try to be much shorter. My general opinion about DroneLink software is: it is brilliant! It is why I didn’t understand why elementary things are missing from the application. As I understood from your answers lot of things are not implemented in your IOS application because DJI SDK does not allow it to do. It means for me that even I want to use DroneLink missions I do need to use the DJI Fly application too! I think in this case a short video or documentation would help for the beginners how they have to set the allowed parameters by commands and how to control them in the IOS application and those parameters what SDK does not allow to do how to set and control via DJI Fly or Go application. At all how to manage the coexistence of DroneLink and DJI Fly applications.

  My answers to your comments:

  You said: Can't use Cinesmooth or Sport mode with DroneLink.

  What to do in “strong wind” emergency situation when Sport Mode is required?

   

  I wrote: Overexposure warning setup (On, Off) is missing from the application and from the mission planning commands too!

  You said: - Got to look into this.  There I s a histogram.

  My opinion: Overexposure warning and Histogram are two different things!

   

  I wrote: About Camera and Video setups: with the DroneLink mission planning it is possible to do every (according my knowledge) settings what the drone allows. One functionality is missing: it is impossible to change the camera - or video mode (Auto, Manual) by the application. Due to this it is not possible to set up 100% the camera and the video by the application.

  You said: - Not clear what you mean here.   You can switch between video and picture.

  My opinion: by the help of Camera Exposure Mode command you can set up the drone Exposure Mode (Auto, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, Manual). Depending on what was set on the drone by the last command DroneLink IOS application will behave differently. My original question is: why it is not possible to set the Mode from the IOS application?

  All other comets I accept!

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• 

  Frank H. Ritz - Ritz Engineering GmbH

  • August 24, 2020 20:35

  It's very nice to read from a very structured and clear thinking man. In my understanding more functional schematics and diagrams about the needed elements and their relation helps. Videos show only "what to do" and mostly "how to do". The "why to do" is often open. Thank you for your post.

   

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• 

  Gábor Bokrossy

  • August 24, 2020 20:42

  Thank you for your words Frank!

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