A Secret DJI Feature That You Might Find Interesting
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ธ.ค. 2023
- DJI Air 3 Drone - amzn.to/47ipDSm
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In this clip I show you a hidden feature that is built into some of the newer DJI Drones that you may not know about. Unfortunately it’s not available in the U.S. yet but could be an indication of big things to come. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below and thanks for watching!
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I'm a novice Air 2S flyer. I fly in many areas of the very busy Los Angeles/SoCal basin. VLOS is a must for beginners.
Most important for people learning spatial awareness with a drone is planning, planning, planning. Where are you
going during this flight. Think it through before you launch. A flight plan also goes along way in keeping your drone
in one piece. I'll bet the FAA is freakin' out about drone/cell network access.
Great content Rick. I think this is desperately needed for first responders operating in dense urban environments.
We are limited on how far to fly a drone in the states. But yet the Biden administartion lets china fly a ballon across the US. go figure!
Loved this video Rick. Great discussion. Keep up your EXCELLENT WORK!!!
I think it's great that we all get the benefit from your curiosity! Fascinating clip Rick, hope you and the kids keep it up...
Thanks for the post and I love flying and uncovering tweaks like this one. I hope you had a great holiday!
Nicely done, sir. Thank you for the information.
Vision assist allows you to use the 360 sensors to see around you. I also think this will be for adds ons for professional uses like RTK, Speaker, Light. DJI will likely release and SDK with these extras to extend the life of the drone for commercial use.
Great conversation learned a lot thanks for this video
Great discovery Rick. I feel you on target on with your scenario
Excellent info and presentation. I am and have always been a proponent of VLOS flight. Thanks for the info.
I'm fine with "visual line of sight" as far as being able to see the airspace around where your drone is flying. What I find silly is that you not only have to be able to see a drone the size of a cell phone but even the orientation of it. I can't tell orientation by looking at the drone when it's about 50 feet away, and easily lose sight of it after about 300 feet. But I can see whether there is any other aircraft in the space where it's flying, or most anything else that could be a problem - that's all that should really matter.
I agree with you and my interpretation of VLOS is exactly the same. The intent of the rule is to avoid a collision so if I have a clear view of the sky near where my drone is flying, I can see aircraft approaching and drop down to avoid any incident. I do use a small strobe to help with the visibility of the drone and it gives me about 3000' of view.
My sentiments exactly 💯 I believe most people that complain about VLOS regulations is exactly that. If I have clear sight of the sky around where the drone is and can see where the drone is that should be allowed. I can get having the ability to see it can be crucial if say you lose the camera feed and need to fly it back by eye sight...
Even sillier is the moment you put on goggles you have effectively lost VLOS so how are goggles legal?
Thanks for the post. If you're using goggles, you need to have a spotter with you. You can't use goggles alone as per the FAA rules because you have no clear view of the sky and can't maintain VLOS.
@@flurrywhite they aren't here in australia for that exact reason unless flying indoors
Great discussion Rick. Any thoughts of using this compartment / USB for other purposes? Lights, beacons, other tech?
Very helpful! Thank you! 👍👍
Very Interesting Rick. Thank you.
That was really helpful, thank you for sharing
Glad it was helpful! I have a lot more new content posting this week so be sure to stop back soon.
Another great video Rick
Good informative video Rick
Love your channel!
Thank you Rick. 👍
My issue with VLOS is that while I can't see my drone much more than a couple hundred yards, I can certainly see aircraft in the area. I'd think VLOS should be based on being able to see aircraft in the area that you're flying, and not necessarily whether you can pinpoint the actual drone itself.
The latest mini4 pro update takes care of those problems. One is the RTH which will automatically do the procedure when the juice is low. Obstacle avoidance is on all axis. This one and the rth comes out of the box. Now with the best Christmas update our drone can now even let us see what the sensors are seeing visually though only in black and white. Good enough for me. Thanks DJI and its engineers.
Rick, great vid. Real world pilot here. When aircraft are flying low enough to collide with a drone, usually the pilot is flying VFR (Visual Flight Rules) unless landing IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) and landing at an airport under IMC conditions. ADS-B is something pilots use to track locations of other aircraft. Maybe it’s time for DJI, et al, to dabble with ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) in drones. Not sure if it’s possible, but it might be worth a look! Just say’n! 🤔
The line of site isn't really an issue when it comes to interacting with other aircraft (if you pay attention to the AIR SENSE which is just further complemented with the recent update for vision assist through the obstacle avoidance sensors .
Good discovery. There is some research in journals about using cellphone technology for UAVs. A policy issue beyond BVLOS is band allocation; UAVs are stuck on certain shared frequencies, where there are dozens of signals and other sources of EM noise in urban areas creating interference. The FCC and the FAA need to work on this quickly, even creating a voice frequency on the Air band. In fact, there are several other bands, 433 MHz ? available, as well as ham radio bands.
My VLOS forward using just the drone camera is much greater than when I used to fly my old taildraggers (T-Craft, Champs): I am not a fan of the drone VLOS rules in the USA. I enjoyed your commentary in this video. Keep up the good works.
Rick since my nighttime crash I have spoken the DJI at length or nausea!!!! They can see all yes ALL my flights!! This is why I had their attention!!
Excellent video and well explained!!
Glad you liked it! I appreciate the post and will have more content posting this week so be sure to check back.
Excellent video.
As a full scale general aviation pilot of a small personal aircraft [1974 Decathon] I can attest as to how difficult it is to see another aircraft when you're flying especially during the day and if you're close to the same altitude or above them. You might see one if it was above you and the sky was the background. Of course coming into an airport, you expect more of a chance for there to be other aircraft in proximity to you but that's when we start depending our radios to figure out where everyone is or, in the case of a larger airports by directions from people following all the planes by radar. While there are instruments for proximity warnings [TCAS], most small aircraft do not have these. So even though we're looking, essentially, we mostly depend on the fact that the sky is big and luck. How this relates to drones is that even if a drone was as big as a Cessna you don't have any more of a chance of hitting someone else than in a full scale aircraft except if you fly into an area you know is likely to be congested. Also, with the exception of helicopters and crop dusters , most full scales don't fly at 400 ft or less unless they're landing or taking off and they're supposed to stay at least 500 ft away from any obstacles. So... the bottom line is that there's really not much point in hyper-regulating drones because just common-sense regulations are adequate.
I agree with you if it was just you, me and a collection of other responsible pilots flying. In that case the chances of a collision would be really low. The challenge is that every day some new fliers enter the hobby and with the explosion of novice pilots launching drones, the chances of a crash are increasing exponentially. It's just more gear in the air, which makes it more likely. VLOS at least limits the chances of a crash since the pilot can actually see the drone to avoid another aircraft. I know from experience that smaller planes can come up on you quickly and are well under 400' where I live since they are servicing crops. VLOS minimizes the chances of me missing them and ruining the hobby for everyone.
It’s weird that paraglider pilots and PPG are less limited than drones though. I think it’s super odd. Paragliders do have some of the best visual range as far as being able to look around BUT they lack the mobility to get out of the way. Yet at 5-6 thousand feet there are pretty much little to no regulations for PG pilots.
Careful, You cant just go spewing truths like this.@@braddenison6034
That's really interesting to learn Rick; I love discovering hidden little things like this! Does that USB C plug provide power? It would be interesting to find an alternate use for the plug and the cavity. What other drones from them appear to have this?
I was thinking led line of sight module
Imagine a usb-c to mini solar panel capable of sustaining enough power to prolong flight time, that could sit atop the drone.
I'd bet that it is also preparing for network ID, flying 400feet up will give a much better signal to connect to the network.
Do you know how to connect a lanyard to a DJI rc controller while using a Hugerock x7 tablet.
you can already fly farther than the battery will allow accounting for rth right?
Good one
Interesting info Rick. As far as VLOS, while you can't see the drone you can see the general area where the drone is located. You can see manned aircraft in that area, even a C-152, That should be enough to see and avoid. If I see an aircraft in that area I can lower the altitude to avoid it. Btw, even if you can see a drone 1,000 feet away it's still very difficult to judge distance, speed, direction and altitude of an aircraft that is relatively much large.
If you have 120° visibility with your camera, that's 240° you can't see, an airplane can fly faster than a drone overtaking the drone. Until we have some sort of detection on the controller, that will warn of an aircraft approaching I don't think we should be able to fly, farther than visual line of sight. That's my humble opinion for what it's worth.
Excellent channel, I'm wondering if this port is multi use and could also be used for a Remote ID Module, just a thought.
Thanks for the post and I actually thought the same thing since the original FAA regulations called for the drone to broadcast it's location directly. I think the Air 3 was probably in development when these regulations were being created and DJI wanted to hedge their bets. They are always ahead of the curve.
Matrice 30T also has a cavity; definitely made for the previous dongle. USB and screw holes line up and everything. (oddly, no antenna leads; maybe just in the US. Maybe I need to just open it up and put in my own uFL/MCX cables.) I think because of the recent law that went into effect (today) though - we'll never see this in the US. I'd love to just to have a backup connection. I fly in the mountains, and terrain out here is crazy. Multipath, trees, mineral deposits, weird stuff. It's always good to have backup and a more resilient connection. And the drone would be far less likely to enter an uncontrollable state. Also could help greatly in finding lost drones, and improve location and remote ID facilities. So it seems the benefit of this would outweigh the possible misuses (having 'more of a temptation' to go BVLOS?? okay...) - but with recent legal moves and the scaremongering it'll never be implemented here. I still use the (active) dongles in my Matrice and RC Pro controllers tho, because it's nice to have a connection outside of wifi when you're out in the field.
Awesome video!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! I have a lot more content posting soon so be sure to stop back. Rick
Great video, thanks . I wish DJI develop a release mechanism integrated into their controller so i can dual use my drone for fishing bait dropping 😂
Get an optical sensor that can turn on and off based on seeing light or not. Then use your light on the drone to toggle that to open and close a grip thing!
I don't know if this would actually work, but I have thought about it before.
@@NinjaKickthat a great idea. When you’re flying, what do you press to turn the light off and on?
God bless you for making this video
I agree with you totally about visual line of sight. It is risky.
If you click on the QR code under the shell, it shows you exactly what it’s for there is a 4g module for it even has a video and how to it’s made for the mini 4 pro also somehow and I even found the module on eBay for 159.99
The USA is to Communistic for the Public to be allowed this.
Maybe you can add a lidar device or infrared camera? Ideas?
Other than search and rescue, law enforcement or similar flight missions I believe that there is little need to fly BVLOS. Other than the drone becomes difficult to see due to its size. Hi-Vis tape or paint? Thanks Rick.
Well done Rick !; just a quick comment on VLS; its a flawed process in some respects for the following: there are so many new and experienced pilots flying very small DJI drones and trying to do the right thing with keeping their Drones in VLS however due to there color and extremely small profiles, invariably they are going to push the limits of "Site"; this in turn creates an issue with situational awareness (you can see where I am coming from!); my view is to change the rules where for EG, to fly beyond VLS you must have for EG, a minimum of a DJI Fly / Go 4 / Go and or any other similar Manufacturers platform to visually know (on your phone / tablet / RC) where you are at; the redundancy's / obstacle avoidance systems these days take care of a lot of the other risks involved; just a thought and possible starting point for further discussion !!! Happy New Year!!!
THANK YOU DRONE VALLEY 🎉🎉2024🎉
FLY SAFE
Excellent video once again Rick. Question... I'm considering the purchase of a Mini 4 Pro. Are there currently any DJI goggles that can take advantage of the new DJI O4 video transmission? And does the either (or both) of the Mini 4 Pro Controllers have a video output port (to feed to another monitor?
Thanks for the post and I'm glad that you're enjoying the content. DJI just released a new firmware update for the Mini 4 Pro that now makes it compatible with the DJI Goggles 2 and the Motion Controller 2. This means you can fly it both as a camera drone and also in FPV mode with the Goggles. None of the controllers (outside of the larger Smart Controllers) have an HDMI port but you can do a screen recording when flying and even add audio commentary to it with one of our Drone Valley Microphones. I have a few links here to check out the gear I've mentioned.
Mini 4 Pro - amzn.to/48xl5se
DJI Goggles 2 & Motion Controller 2 - amzn.to/48zDXXE
Drone Valley Mic - tinyurl.com/4h3wc86e
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the DJI Goggles 2 use the DJI 03 video transmission. So, they will work, but if there were goggles that utilized the DJI 04 video - then wouldn't they then provide me the same signal distance as my Air 3's controller?
From what I've found so far, the DJI Goggles 2 uses the O3+ transmission system, so I guess its safe to assume these goggles can't take advantage of the Mini 4 Pro's newer O4 transmission system. Anyone know what the difference(s) are between O3+ and O4? Unfortunately my timing for buying DJI products has been terrible. It seems as soon as I bite the bullet on a DJI product, DJI supersedes it with a better product, so as you can imagine I'm leery to order the DJI Googles 2 for the Mini 4 Pro. It would be interesting to know if DJI plans to come out with goggles that can take advantage of the Mini 4 Pro's O4 transmission system. The reason I asked about whether either Mini 4 Pro Controller has a HDMI output is, I still own DJI's Crystal Sky Ultra 7" Monitor (2,000 nits) which I use with my older Mavic Pro. It's a really nice monitor and it would be great if I could use it on the newer DJI drones.
Rc-n2 controller can do HDMI over the USB c connection you just need an adapter
Thanks for the post but currently none of these DJI remotes (DJI RC / RC2 / RC-N1 / RC-N2) support video output from the USB-C connection natively, even with an adapter. The reason is that DJI intentionally left the needed DisplayPort driver out of their Android build on the controllers. We have been testing this on all of the remotes and there is a lot of tweaking needed to get this working, including side-loading the driver. I think the reason that DJI left this feature out was to minimize lag on the application. Remember, DJI built these controllers to do one thing well - fly the drone. Any other features that expand that use put additional stress on the processor and could affect performance. I'm optimistic that DJI will make this available in the future but it may be on the next generation of DJI RC with an upgraded processor.
You need a STARTRC LED SKID GEAR set for your DJI MINI 3 PRO for night flying. Visible at incredible distances.
Howdy Rick!!
Nighttime flight must be adressed
wow, fcc is always more powerful enough, with cellular: nice!
Yep, the FAA governs the skies and the FCC governs the airwaves. Cell service in the air has always been a challenge and it looks like DJI is experimenting with using it as a connection technology in the future. Stay tuned.
Love the video. We actually have three types of “cellular” networks. GSM (T-Mobile) as in Europe. TDMA (AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon).
But my man, these are all discontinued technologies. TDMA went away a long time ago, and CDMA was turned off in 2022. T-Mobile has some 2G/3G GSM towers left, but they are few and far between if they actually exist at all in 2024.
Now they all use LTE (each at different frequencies, or channels but it's not based on previous TDMA or CDMA technology at all) and 5G which runs at different bands and frequencies but again not related to prior technologies.
I've had several areas where there is RF connection issues outside of your two scenarios.
What country has BVLOS for recreational pilots?
The Fimi X8 Pro has a spot for the accessory dongle for 4G on the back end. Not available in the USA.
Cool , does the Mavic Mini have this ? Just out of curiosity.I'm a Mavic Mini beginner . Happy New Year .
There have been a few kits with the dongle out for some of the DJI Mini drones but it still doesn't work in the U.S.
I think they may have installed that into the drone to try and match the anafi ai drone because that is the only other drone to fly on the cell network
I ran into this issue overseas with military small and medium sized UAS platforms. We ran signals at the same bandwidth as European cell phone carriers. Even though a lot is done with GPS, the signals would get mixed and cause a lot of headaches.
Visual line of sight only makes sense when flying in areas you can potentially hit something. It makes no sense when I'm flying along small streams in rocky environments with a lot of signal obstruction.
the auto dive also has an impact if your covering news, and the drone would be forced down if another news helicopter entered the zone. Part of my issue is DJI and having to step to them for unlocking the drone, even if the FAA has already cleared you to fly in a restricted/regulated space, as you have gone via 107 and gotten approval. the new DJI 360 obstacle avoidance should cover a lot of the issue. if a drone is an aircraft and it ID's as an aircraft, does that mean when another drone enters the area, they both dive to 50 feet. more to think about on that.
The rules are pretty clear that a drone has to give way to other aircraft. We are the last ones to start using the airspace and have to be aware of other aircraft to avoid a collision. ADS-B will help with that and a lot of the newer DJI drones have that built into their design and you'll get a notice that another aircraft is in your area. The challenge is that not all aircraft use this system and most helicopters don't either so there's a lot of traffic in the sky that you're blind to if you fly beyond VLOS. I think the tech for drones will eventually sort this out but we're a few years away from that right now.
Here in Australia, we have to stick to vlos. Ive just updated my dji and now i have a ceiling limit of 150ft! So i think we are more restricted than the US.
Those height limits are location specific. Normally I can fly up to the 400' ceiling here in the States but in some locations it's lower to 150' or 300' depending on how close I am to a local airport or military base. I'll bet if you move to a new location you'll be able to fly even higher. Thanks for the post!
I think this is for network remote-id and flyers will have an account with the operator, and will have to get clearance to fly our drones, maybe
On the Mavic 3 classic RC It tells you if there is an aircraft in the vicinity It picks up any aircraft signal.
Yep, there are a few drone models from DJI that offer this feature (and DJI is the only company including this right now) but not all planes broadcast the signal. Many of the smaller sightseeing planes and crop dusters as well as most helicopters aren't required to have an ADS-B system and if you're relying on the DJI system to warn you, you're totally blind to those aircraft. That's one of my complaints about RID. Somehow every drone in the sky needs to self-identify but a large portion of the other commercial aircraft can fly without the critical ADS-B systems installed.
I think it may be for the Next step in remote ID, when FAA first proposed Remote ID they wanted drone to be connected to the Internet and that would require being connected to cell network. I think DJI is just looking into what next step in RID is going to be.
Yea the FAA wants to track our every move
I have one for my RC Pro controller. I still need to get the sim card activated so I can use if w/o attaching to the wifi signal in my car. For mapping and connecting to an RTK Mount Points.
It's actually perfect for that application and I'm curious to see what the data charges will be with downloading the map data and mount point connections. I'm sure it's worth it for commercial work but might be too high for a hobby flier.
@@Dronevalley it's a flat $20/month for a data plan added to my current bill.
That sounds like a winner!
Hey Man , I bought my air 3 a month ago, I have been living in China for 20 years, I use the 4 g network when ever I fly i. , It uses the TD-LTE dongle. It works very well, I Can go around buildings with no problems. Some times it will lose a single but pick it up very fast. It can use a sim card or an esim. The way it works is the controller goes to a DJI server the drone connects to the same server. If it losses WiFi it will use the 4 G network. I live in a city so its a very dense electronic environment. Dji has a sort of back pack for the mini 4 that can hold the TD-LTE dongle the problem with that is its over 250 gram and need to be registered. But that's very easy the DJI store does it for you. It really changes the way to fly.
Didn’t the Mini 4Pro make available 360 visible through its side/back sensors? Although black and white ?
Yes, I did a clip on this feature a few weeks back and the Mini 4 Pro does now provide Vision Assist. It helps with side blind spots but you can only see one direction at a time so it's somewhat limited. It may be a glimpse into what's coming next.
@@Dronevalley like you have said about other things, it's only a matter of a bit of programming - get the drone to automatically show you a screen in the corner if it detects movement against the sky and you'd be in pretty good shape.
I have flown beyond visual line of sight for almost 11 years now I have never had any issues. First and foremost a manned aircraft normally doesn’t fly below 400 feet unless near an airport but I don’t live within 50 miles of any airports also flight radar app is great for seeing any manned aircraft that might be flying close to your location. And it not only shows the manned aircraft’s position and heading but also the altitude of that flight. Another factor is helicopters flying within a couple miles of your location are pretty loud and easily detected before getting close. Flying around 150-200 feet in altitude is a pretty good altitude for long distance flights. Vision assist also helps you view through the camera sensors giving you 360 all around vision now. Also you can have visual line of sight upto 5 plus miles or further depending upon your location. If you’re standing in a desert and can see a mountain that is 10 miles away and you fly directly towards the mountain you might not actually see the drone itself but can see the general area of where the drone is located. And if a plane happens to be flying in that area you will see it as it is much larger than the drone.
I appreciate the post but can't agree with your logic. A LOT of aircraft fly well below 400' on a regular basis. Sightseeing helicopters and planes as well as smaller aircraft servicing crops. Very few of these broadcast an ADS-B signal so you're effectively blind to them in the air. Flying beyond VLOS is like driving through town with blinders on since you can't really see anything above, below, behind or to the sides of your drone and that's a lot of dark space you can't react to. The simple fact is that we fly in a shared airspace with other aircraft and since we're not actually in the aircraft to take evasive action to avoid a crash, there have to be limitations until the drone can do this automatically. I'm sorry but I'm really opposed to this type of flight with today's technology. It's like playing Russian roulette in the sky and the potential for trouble is too high, plus you're violating the law.
If you stay below 400' aircraft should never be an issue. Aircraft have to stay above 500'. Flying beyond LOS should be allowed for those with cameras, FPV or screens on their controllers, that allow the user to see exactly where they are. The new rules should be for commercial drones only, they are heavy and dangerous. Hobbyists drones-planes have never been a problem in the past 50 years, no need to regulate them now.
I agree, but playing devil’s advocate here, those planes have to take off and land. The 500’ doesn’t apply then. That being said, I fly non-VLOS here in the rural country; no farm airstrips close by. These mini drones go out of sight quickly!
sptrader, thanks for the post but there are a lot of situations where commercial aircraft fly well below that 500' ceiling. Sightseeing planes and helicopters as well as smaller crop-dusting aircraft are just a few examples. I've had more than one encounter at the shore with a low-flying plane pulling a banner sneak up on me. The other challenge is that most of these aircraft do not have ADS-B enabled so you're totally blind to them with the newer DJI gear.
jimgray- I agree with you and have had quite a few times where a farmer was working their field and popped up from behind a stand of trees well below 200' making another pass treating their crops. If my drone was out of sight, there could have been a collision and that's the whole point of VLOS.
@@Dronevalley I guess I’ll check your website for a beacon to attach to my mini 4. I’ve never seen crop dusters around here; too many woods and smaller corn and tobacco fields. Your point is well taken though.
Helicopters routinely operate under 400 feet. There was a midair between a Mavic drone and a helicopter in Daytona Beach,FL the day before this video posted. That collision occurred at 180 feet AGL.
kewl! 😃
Hey Rick, I am new to your channel, and great video discussion. Just as an FYI, I purchased a DJI cellular dongle about 5 months ago and put a sim card in it and installed it into my DJI RC Plus controller for my M30T hoping that it would give me cellular connectivity for my controller to be able to stream video (Using DroneSense). Unfortunately when I installed the dongle with a known working sim, in setup it would only allow me to choose between two Chinese carriers. I tried resetting the dongle numerous times and switched between a FirstNet sim and a Verizon sim, but no matter what I did, I could not get it to connect to any cellular network.
I called DJI support and they advised me that the dongle was not supported outside of mainland China. I've searched around and was never able to find anyone that had any success connecting it domestically. I would love to hear that someone figured out a way to make it work, at least for me just to be able to stream video without having to be connected to Wi-Fi. I still have the dongle sitting on my desk as a paperweight in hopes that at some point they allow cellular connectivity for video streaming. As a public safety drome pilot, we would love to see the ability to fly via LTE, but I don't think the FAA is ever going to budge on that one, even for first responders.
I also ordered 2 dongles for my dji m30t and I'm waiting for them to arrive I'll lyk if they work
@@jac0by Awesome, Thanks!
@@GregB2561 they just arrived
@@jac0bylet me know if it works. Fingers crossed!
@@GregB2561it works with the RC plus controller but it gives me an error with the deone
Good vid...the ominous warnings are there...no alt....need tcas...I need some more info on the other ac altitide....vlos is not realistic....sorry faa
Could an RTK module be fitted in that spot?
After thinking about it a little more, I was wondering if they added it for other accessories like a light / speaker or RTK but there's no mounting holes to secure anything to the drone. it was clearly designed for the cellular dongle to fit in there. Interesting...
@@Dronevalley moreover, the size of the trunk matches the size of the dongle, but it doesnt seem reasonable for djji to work and design this for few countries while wasting space that could have been used for upward sensors or bigger battery for their biggest and richest markets like the US
Perhaps there isn't anything to mount on the current piece, but those screws would be able to hold another piece I think? If it pops off that easily another one could pop on?
That's actually a great idea and if DJI offered a new hood with a USB extension and mounting holes you could replace the current one with, that would allow you to mount accessories on there and have power as well.
I just really want to be able to buy an RTK module for $700 for the air 3 and not have to buy a mavic 3E... I'm dreaming with @lukepadfield80 here lol
I don't think DJI is ready to cannibalize the enterprise features too much yet for us. They'll keep trickling that stuff down slowly once there is less to offer otherwise.
As a FAA Commercial pilot I can tell you beyond line of site is fine as long as you stay 400 feet and below (not hear airports) there almost no chance of coming close to aircraft. Our landing patterns at the airport are often 1,500 feet. So I'm not sure if this guy has a license or just has no clue what he referring to in his line of site comments.
Mike, I find it hard to believe that you're an FAA licensed pilot that would advocate for flying beyond VLOS. That has to be the most irresponsible comment I've had posted to date. While it is true that commercial aircraft have to stay above the 500' ceiling, there are a LOT of exceptions to that with smaller planes and helicopters. I live between a large farming area and the shore and fly at these locations regularly. I can tell you that on most occasions, smaller planes over the fields fly well below 400' when crop-dusting. At the shore there are sightseeing helicopters and banner planes flying every day below the 400' limit and all of these are in a drones airspace. Also, very few of these have ADS-B on board so they are essentially invisible to me and can appear quickly, which provides very little time for me to avoid them. The other more important point is that the FAA gave us a simple set of rules to follow as drone pilots, which includes the VLOS one. Why would you ever suggest that drone fliers ignore this based on your experience? Do you also speed through school zones because you're a good driver? These rules were put in place to make the skies safer for commercial aircraft and still allow us to share that airspace with our drones. I'm not a big fan of rules either, but these are simple and I try to follow them. If folks took your advice to fly beyond VLOS, it would only be a matter of time before we had an incident and the FAA could ground all drones with the stroke of a pen. Give that some thought and I hope it makes sense. If not, please sell your drone and find another hobby so the rest of us can enjoy the thrill of flight.
@@Dronevalley I have been a pilot my entire life....I will show you my license and I even did stunt flying! How can I reach you, I am shocked you would doubt me?
Mike, I couldn't believe that a pilot would advocate for drone fliers not having to worry about aircraft below 400'. That was an irresponsible comment and made me question your credentials. As I pointed out, there are a lot of private and commercial planes, helicopters and other aircraft that regularly fly below that 400' ceiling and why the FAA has implemented the VLOS rule. That was the real point of my reply and you haven't addressed that. Pilots are some of the most careful and conservative professionals I know and ALWAYS err on the side of safety. Encouraging drone pilots to ignore the VLOS rule is reckless and irresponsible, hence my reply.
i wonder if you can put a SSD hard drive in there
Dang that’s cool
Thanks for the post buddy and it's great to see you on the channel. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years with the family!
Howdy Rick!!
Huston we have a problem!!
First, I am so thankful to come across your channel!!
Next, one issue I believe that has not been addressed with DJI drones; nighttime flight!!
I am on my 3rd AIR 3!!
Here's my story!! Its dark I am flying for 30 minutes without an issue! I changed the battery; the drone takes off as normal then it becomes " a possessed drone; it shot off like a rocket!!
Similar to a "Ukrainian Drone!" It Kamazai'd into my neighbor's tree!
I reviewed the flight the data the drone was headed to the Gulf of Mexico!! (Approx. 1500 miles away)
I spoke to the DJI folks "don't fly at night!" Huston aka Rick any input??
Someone asked what happen to your "first drone?" Once again at night, I was flying in the "N" mode or normal mode when I decided to fly in the "sport mode"!!
I was approximately 2000 feet from my location when I transferred to "sport" mode from "Normal!"
Once again the drone became diabolical (The Church lady from "Saturday Night Live had control of the drone !!) It slammed into my daughters' house then slammed into her neighbors house 200 feet away!!
Suggestion: Don't fly in "sport" mode at night if you value your relationship with your family and neighbors!
You earned my sub!
I think Skydio was on track to awesome 360 obstacle avoidance but was lacking in other capabilities.
I wonder if this does not have to do with the fact that the WiFi frequency that it can be used in Europe (for example) is only the lower potency of the 2 we can use in the USA. Although I have to say I have not heard anything about this from the European drone community I follow. Interesting.
Excellent video, as usual. However 1 comment needs addressing. The CASA rules in Australia are even tougher than the USA regarding line-of-sight flying. So there is no Outback flying past line-of-sight restrictions. Our drone flying rules in general are the same or tougher than USA, FPV is highly controlled . I own the little Mavic Mini and the amazing Air 2S drones, both had to be registered. Have to pay annual fees for the Air 2s registration being greater than 250Grams.
Sorry about goofing on that detail. I always think of Australia as more "easy going" that the U.S. and it's one of my favorite places to visit. I (mistakenly) thought the Outback was rougher terrain and more flexible on flying rules. Thanks for letting me know and I hope you're getting some amazing footage!
so you must be using your drone for commercial use because if it’s for your own use, you do not have to register it and that’s up to 950 g
@@ramroddrone5449 250g not 950g and yes I use them commercially
Where may we buy the antennas to put in the trunk?
You can find them if you do a Google search but remember that these don't currently work in the U.S.
@@Dronevalley thank you so much
All they need for BVLoS is a ADS-B receiver like they have in the FPV..
the Air 3 already has one.
Sure you can fly BVLOS in the US. All it requires is a FAA Part 107 BVLOS Waiver. Is it easy to get? No, it can take a year or more to get approval.
I understand but for the average hobby flier, VLOS is still the limit. Even with a Part 107, BVLOS is almost impossible to get approval for unless you're testing a new delivery quad or have a very special requirement.
Why wouldn't that compartment be a preparation for an R.I.D. module? USB C for power. The Antennas just need to be the right length for the VHF Frequency band. The module could be "fixed" or removable just by a small change in the cover to be a snap-on cover like a battery compartment. Being on top also facilitates a GPS antenna. I already have two different R.I.D. modules. One is self powered and the other needs a power source similar to a Receiver. So the USB C connection works. Or, DJI could be planning for future, built-in additions whenever the US FAA decided to levy tariffs to get them to comply.
Someone showed a video just recently where you can actually view outside of the Optical avoidance. Cameras on it so really? That gives me a 360° view. Especially if you had a way to do that with like first person viewers.
Thanks for the post and I've done a review on the channel for this new feature but it's a really grainy image and you can only view one side at a time. It's great for avoiding a tree in close quarters but not nearly effective enough to avoid an aircraft.
Rick, your channel’s link for the CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY states, “stay tuned to the channel for a clip announcing the winners.”
Where is that clip? 😊
We just sent out the last of the winner emails and have to wait to hear back from the winners before we can make the announcement. Unfortunately it takes a little time for folks to read their email with the holidays and all so it might be a week or so yet before all of the winners are confirmed. Once I have that done, I'll post a clip on the channel announcing the winner and where they are from. Please be sure to check your SPAM folder to make sure you didn't miss anything. I've sent 14 emails so far and only had 6 responses from winners.
Thanks. I am willing to sacrifice myself to accept all the unclaimed prizes; we wouldn’t want them to go to waste. - Tim - 😊
As a side-note, you wanted our TH-cam “handle” as well, but how do you communicate with someone through their TH-cam name. (I just need to know where to look).
Perhaps the Chinese military can also use the add on coms system to connect to satellite network if needed say for drone swarms in combat.
LOL, why do we always go to the most extreme fantasy when trying to have a reasonable conversation about technology. There are at least 5 safeguards I can think of off the top of my head that would prevent this. Plus, they would have to somehow update the firmware to implement a future tech like coordinated flight, which the best labs in the world haven't gotten working yet. Non-issue, but thanks for the scenario.
Ref: they would have to somehow update the firmware to implement a future tech like coordinated flight, which the best labs in the world haven't gotten working yet.
Labs haven’t been able to coordinate drone swarms? Are you certain about that?😉
It's been an ongoing effort (publicly) but could be further along privately (military) than I know. Either way, that's years off for consumer drones and real stretch to think China will use this for any type of surveillance when they have high-definition satellites and agents with phones that can gather the same data much easier.
@@Dronevalley appreciate the quick replies. Happy new year and here’s to voting out Biden in 2024! 😁
That's exactly what enables the usable weaponization of drones. Without a reasonable range, the drone flyer is vulnerable to any other threat on the battlefield. This is what is allowing the Babayaga drone to drop off another drone, sacrificing its battery power to deliver the passenger drone far behind the lines in to support areas. The cards used may not be using mobile phone cell towers, but the connection card is certainly being used by militaries and governments. The US public will likely never see that space and connection used for any furthering of the drones range. They are already afraid of what 1 person with a tiny budget can accomplish with this technology. It proved to be too effective in Gaza and Ukraine.
One soldier with enough drones can currently take out an entire battalion of standard infantry and armor.
How much damage would an air3 do to a helicopter? I should think the wash from a copter would blow any small camera drone away long before it becomes a threat. I don’t know what a small plane in flight would do.I never fly above 400ft, as a matter of 😮fact I top off at 393 because that’s what my controller sets itself to. I too see what aircraft are near me through the dji app.
Can anyone give me a legit example of BVLOS operations for an Air 3? It can’t carry much of anything. Are we trying to replace carrier pigeons?
There are a lot of great examples where a BVLOS flight makes sense. It could be for tracing a fence line on a farm or checking on cattle from a distance. Rescue teams also need to fly great distances when searching for a lost hiker or boat. It's not needed for consumer flights but has a lot of applications in the commercial space.
My autel has adsb on it. It’s radar that tells you where planes are.
A lot of the DJI drones have ADS=B in them as well and DJI was actually the first company to provide that feature and Autel followed suit. The challenge is that a lot of smaller planes, helicopters hot air balloons, para-gliders and other aircraft don't broadcast an ADS signal so you're blind to those hazards when flying beyond VLOS. That's why we need to keep an eye on the drone when flying to avoid a collision.
Hi Rick. Been subscribed to your channel for years. Would you consider making an in-depth video on the "Countering CCP Drones Act" being proposed in the House?
makes me smile chinese spy technology? alexa says hold my fekin beer lol 🤣🤣🤣
I think for heavily populated areas, fine, I can agree still stay in the line of sight, but in the middle of the woods and you’re staying low enough, the manned pilot would have to be out of his mind. I don’t get it. It’s not like I want to go farther than two to three miles anyway.
US don't have it yet ... And may never have if Autel get their way and ban them altogether
Thanks for the post but it's not really Autel behind the ban, it's more likely Skydio that lobbying for restrictions. All Chinese drones (including Autel) are covered by the Federal ban so they're hurting too.
Greg Reverdiau from Pilot Institute posted a 15 minute YT video about 2 years ago specifically focused on VLOS. In that posting he explains that the FAA's intent on VLOS is that the Pilot in Command (PIC) or a visual observer (VO) immediately proximate to and in real-time communication with the PIC "must have the ability to see the aircraft at all times." The FAA's concept of VLOS. therefore, does NOT mean the PIC can see the air space in the area where the drone is located. The PIC or VO must be able to actually see the actual aircraft. Strictly applied, this concept renders most consumer drones to missions within a very small radius from the PIC. FAA's concept of VLOS may date to a time when remote control aircraft were larger fixed wing aircraft having analog signal transmission, no cameras and no on-board visual signal transmission. IMHO, this concept of VLOS is unrealistic (and wholly ignored) in the current era every day consumer drone deployment.
TCAS ( Traffic Collision Avoidance System) is what you are talking about.
That's one solution (that's years away for drones) but another simpler one would be to equip the drones with a detect and avoid system that would drop the drone to 50' (with crash avoidance enabled) when it senses another aircraft in the area. We're close on this right now with ADS-B and other detection systems in the current drones. This would provide BVLOS flights for all of us safely.
Stay visual (line of sight) for non-commercial users, period. Like you said, those users (irresponsible people) that do distance testing are putting people and property at risk of damage, injury and life. I use to have a drone years ago and would never attempt a distance run. I gave it up because it's too expensive now for my hobby (aerial photography). You have to pay extortionate amount of money for drones, licences, and get permission from too many property owners to fly anywhere these days.
The cellular card would be useful in recovering a lost or stolen drone.
The fact that you can fly that far is one thing... And great for SAR however not many people get involved... I live in NZ line of sight and the cellular thing... Terrorist will love this. Shhhhh!
In the EU you can fly BVLS. But it is not in the Open category but in the Specific category. There, no restrictions apply that are in the Open category, but you can pretty much fly any way you like. But it requires a special training of about 8 months full time. Then flights must be investigated very carefully in terms of safety etc. It must then be investigated by an authority corresponding to the FAA. it costs a lot and then license fees must be paid on it. Perhaps all other air traffic in the area should be cancelled, etc. So it is not for amateur flights but pure commercial Flights.