New drone flyer here! Just started with a Mini 2 and loving it but definitely overly conscious and cautious about the battery life, especially since I bought it used. Was there ever a firmware update for this issue?
Welcome aboard! Yep, the latest firmware fixed this issue. Be sure to check the DJI site for your drone under the "downloads" tab to make sure you're on the latest. Also, when you do the update be sure to rotate all of your batteries through the drone. They each have controllers inside of them (smart batteries) and may need to be updated as well. I hope that helps and be sure to sub the channel so you don't miss anything.
Thank you for the video! I just got a new Mini 3 and love it! I'm new to the drone world but always learning! Glad I found your channel and can't wait to watch more my new friend!
Glad I could help! I post a few times a week and fly all of the current drones on the market so I'm always posting something. Get out there and start enjoying your drone. You can watch my clips when it's raining!
Nope, not yet at least but I do expect that DJI will be releasing more adapters for the SDC port over time. I'm hoping the Mavic 4 Pro is next. Stay tuned.
Finally the SDC wire for Mavic 3 was available and DJI emailed me. What a Rip-Off….$19 for the wire and $10 for shipping=$30 Friggen dollars for the stupid little SDC wire. POO
That's the challenge with custom products with low production runs. They tend to be expensive but you have to remember that it's more than a wire. The base has a controller in it that negotiates with the Power 1000 and controls the charging. Besides, you're flying a $1500 drone, $30 should not bother you to be able to recharge the batteries in about 30 minutes. That extra air time is well worth it.
It allows you to easily adjust the amount of space the video takes up on the screen and move it around if you need to. It's basically a fine-tuning control for the output. Most units don't provide this and Orei spent time including it in this product. It really helps.
LOL, I totally agree and appreciate the comment. You and I are terrestrial creatures and controlling a flying robot that can give us a view from 300' overhead is magical. I've been flying these newer drones for close to 20 years and it still excites me.
I’m not sure but I have my fingers crossed. I’ll ask the folks at DJI to see if they have plans. I think it makes sense since the Mini 4 Pro is so popular. In the meantime, the USB-C port does a great job since it’s PD.
Rick, I purchased the Power 500 this week and used it on Saturday to charge my Air 3 batteries using the SDC port. Having the ability to fast charge drone batteries in 30 minutes is a game changer. I also like that it slows down the import charge at 95 percent and slowly gets it up to 100 percent. I am sure that it helps prolong the battery life. For the first time, I was able to stay up flying without fear of running out of usable batteries. (I have 4 Air 3 batteries) I was filming the sunrise and during ND filter changes, I would change the filter and also pop in a new battery, so that I could stay up longer with that ND filter on. I would put the removed battery on the SDC port and top it off. Also, having so many different charging ports options is great. During a break, I plugged my controller, strobe light and cell phone. The Power 500 is perfect for providing sufficient power for a day of flying.
I agree that it’s a game changer and lets me extend the flying day by quite a bit. The 500 is perfectly portable and packs a ton of power. The SDC port makes all the difference for charging the Mavic and Air 3.
I was still a bit confused as to the advantage of the SDC port as I know the USB-C PD port also has varying levels of voltage and amps. In looking at the specs I noticed the USB-C PD voltages occur in steps depending on the PD version from 5v/2A all the way to 48v/3.75-5.9A. Whereas the SDC port can produce continuously variable voltage from 9-27v at 240W (max). So unless a device requires exactly one of the stepped voltage levels form a USB-C PD, a double conversion process would have to be made resulting in some loss of efficiency. For example, the Mavic 3 battery requires a charging voltage from 15.4v to 17.6v. With the USB-C PD connection the 20v (Profile 4) stepped voltage would be used and the Mavic battery circuitry would step this voltage down to the charging range (15.4v to 17.6v) resulting in some loss of charging efficiency (probably very minor) . Whereas with the SDC port there would only be one voltage conversion, the internal battery bank to the requested voltage by device being charged. The other advantage the SDC port has is it can provide a much higher level of wattage output than UBS-C PD can.
Mark thanks for the post. The USB-C port is the most powerful "standard" port on the unit and is limited to 100W (20V X 5A) and can only provide stepped voltage changes. It's great for most devices but a little crude for charging drone batteries that require a little more control. The SDC port on the other hand can provide up to 240W, which means that it's moving more electrons into the battery, more quickly that results in a faster and safer charge. The new USB-C standard does provide for 240W charging but is only available on a limited number of devices at this point and hasn't been adapted by many device vendors. Even still, the drone batteries will still be on the older standard and limited to 100W max. I hope that helps.
It sounds like a great piece of tech. I'm being honest I've been looking at the 4patriots one they have, but I don't know if it's stronger than this DJI one. I do know it's a lot more expensive than the DJI. What do you think. Which of the two would you recommend Rick. Thanks for sharing.👍👍👍
Thanks for the post and the 4patriots line of Power Stations is a bit of a gimmick. They don't actually produce them, they just use generic Power Stations and brand them. The DJI 500 and 1000 are built completely by DJI and if you're flying a drone either one of them would work well for you. The addition of the SDC port allows you to charge the Mavic 3 and Air 3 batteries in less than an hour and I think they are both the best of the bunch right now for drone fliers.
Hi Rick, I bought the 1000 power station and car charger a couple weeks ago, pretty happy with it. I wonder if DJI is working on making this power station expandable by using one of the SDC ports as an output to an input to an expansion battery? Just a thought.
I agree and we normally carry it together, like we would a cooler filled with water and ice. Unfortunately most of the larger power stations are built this way and they should be adding wheels to them if they're over 60 pounds.
Thanks so much for the post and the kind words. I love tech and hope that discussing it on the channel helps others understand the gear. Stay tuned for more this week.
Hey Rick, did you notice that Hovsco sent the sit down version to us older guys, and the younger reviewers like Eddie Nunez got the stand up version. 🙂 I'm not complaining. As you stated it's a well made product.
Rick -- Thanks for this information! I just picked up your 4 port 140W Gan Charger - to charge everything up on the Avata 2, and it works great! The charge rate is fast! Thanks again for what you do - and your products! Awesome job!
Hi Rick...I need a recommendation to charge my Mavic 3 Enterprise batteries and M210V2 batteries via Colorado charger (not at the same time) in the field. Will the Anker Solix C1000 fit the bill or do have another recommendation?
Thanks for the post and it all comes down to math and electrons. The Power 1000 has 1024Wh of internal capacity, which means it can supply 1024W of power for an hour, or 512W of power for 2 hours and so on. The Mavic 3 batteries have 77Wh of internal capacity so you can basically divide the capacity of the Power 1000 by the capacity of the batteries and you'll get about 10-12 charges (depending on how depleted they are). The other factor is the conversion loss associated with the charger. If you use the Mavic 3 adapters with the SDC ports on the Power 1000, you'll likely get even more charges than using an external charger like the Colorado. The reason for this is that this is a direct DC-DC connection with none of the loss of AC-DC conversion the external charger will cost you. It also means less weight and hassle in the field since you won't need to bring along the extra Colorado charger. If you do want to use the Colorado system, it'll still work by plugging it into the AC but it might cost you a battery or two of charge. I hope that helps.
@@ddsllc4290 I'm happy to help and mistakenly thought you were referring to the DJI Power 1000 unit. The Anker Solix 1000 have the same internal capacity but is missing the SDC ports that the DJI units provide. I did a review of their Power 1000 on the channel and that unit has the same capacity as the Solix 1000 but also includes 2 of the custom SDC ports that you can use with the Mavic 3 adapters to charge those batteries in about 35 minutes - pretty amazing. Here's a link to the unit - amzn.to/4aWEhk1
Thanks for the video. This is what I call "From out of left field" event. No matter a person's experience level and pre-planning, there are unexpected events that happen that can trigger a panic reaction.
I always like to push the boundaries to test the gear and you can trust the APAS system. Even if you don't take it to this extreme, it's good to know it can really protect your drone. I'll have more content posting soon and hope that you'll stop back and sub. Thanks, Rick
Thanks for the post and the kind words on the content. I still fly the Mavic Air and am still blown away at how amazing that drone was for the time (and still is today) I hope you have a great summer of flying! Be sure to stop back and sub the channel so you don't miss anything. Rick
@@Dronevalley Subbed, thank you for the reply. It's winter here in South Africa, good stable air for flying. Maybe an Air 3 in the bag soon. Just wondering if there is a 3S or 4 around the corner. Good deals up for grabs here on the 3, so something must be happening.
A handy jump starter. I am looking for a Father's Day gift and this little jump pack seems like a good choice. My father likes traveling and brings it can solved many unexpected problems on the road.
Thanks for the post and be sure to check the description. The company just sent me a discount code for Amazon that drops the final price to around $39 total. It's a great deal on a cool product!
Thanks, I use the code and there was also a $20 discount but I didn’t get the other discount. Still, 50 bucks is not a bad deal. But it’s not 40 bucks.
The first thought I had was about the rules for unmanned and uncontrolled flight. Rockets, balloons and gliders come to mind plus powered airplanes. The new facets are that for $2k you get and aircraft that can reach 1000 ft, travel 30 mph for 30 minutes. (reference numbers for discussion) 1) Drones over 100g are aircraft. Operators are the pilot in command and subject to the same regulations as an ultralight pilot, sport pilot etc. I could go on with ways to fit drones into the existing architecture that regulates airspace. It's an exercise in logic and common sense. Here's why I think line of sight is silly. Say visibility is 800 ft. Can you see the approaching air craft 900 ft away? Could you see that same air craft through your FPV? Just what use is the observer next to the pilot? A forward observer along the flight path with a radio maybe. If I were flying 30 ft aside a tree line at 20 ft altitude half a mile beyond line of sight my 400g drone hitting an aircraft is the least of it's worries. Civil aviation has a good track record. That model lends itself to our hobby and for some vocation. Benchmark what works.
I'd rather be out flying but ground winds and winds aloft preclude that. If you have an amateur radio licence you can trip a local repeater and make that signal digital. The digital signal can be routed through the web. That network is free. There's potential to guide a drone that way. Not sure if it is feasible but I got the idea from using a cell signal/network. FCC amateur licence would be required.
Thanks for the post and Visual Line of Sight is tricky. I agree that if you are at the treeline it doesn't make any sense, but that only works if you're in a wooded area and won't help at the beach or lake. The challenge is that the drone can only see a small portion of the overall sky with it's camera. You're essentially blind to almost 80% of the airspace to either side, behind, above and behind you and any one of them could have a plane in it, heading for your drone. Unlike hot air balloon and other aircraft where you're actually in the vehicle (and the airspace) and can see all around you - a drone can only avoid a crash in front of it. Until the drones get better with automatically detecting and avoiding another aircraft, VLOS will have to be a thing to keep the skies safe for everyone.
@@Dronevalley Have you flown in civil aviation? (asking as a reference point) What is represented by 80% visibility? Real rough estimate with a fixed view 135 degrees l/r unobstructed, 45 degrees u/d + unobstructed. The drone's field of view is far greater than a manned aircraft. A drone field of view is better than an auto or a truck. The specifics of flying a tree line will not work on a beach but the principles will translate to spec out safe/unsafe flight. That leaves the utility of the observer to address.
@@Blacksheep12267 No, my only experience being airborne with with drones and older RC gear. I'm just around the space and other pilots a lot and understand the concerns and the tech. To be totally fair, I'm not a fan of VLOS but understand that there are dangers (however small) when flying a drone beyond the sky I can see.
@@Dronevalley I understand your perspective from the candor of your response and your caution is quite appropriate and responsible. I think there are points of discussion that would be interesting.
Thanks for the post and the Jackery Explorer 500 is a really handy thing to have for both of those situations and can provide critical power during an outage and keep the kids happy on a camping trip by charging their gear. I hope you enjoy it.
I've been running a Synology NAS for years. Absolutely great devices with the ability to backup every PC in my home and stream movies to any TV in the house or over the internet is great. The server backs up to the cloud every night just in case something catastrophic happens - but the backup is encrypted when it uploads it. Great company.
I just picked up an Avata 2. Searching RU-vid I came across your video. Thanks for taking the time to educate us all. I just purchased your 140W Gan Charger Kit as well as 2 additional cables for the googles and controller. Keep us the great work Drone Valley. Wishing you the best. Looking forward to seeing more of your content.
Good review Rick. Have a different brand, and fortunately never had to test or use it. Just have to check every few months and make sure the battery starter has enough charge.
Thanks for this great video. I have problem please. I bought a need mini 2 dji and started using it but i got with alot of busy stuffs for 2months and the battery of my drone got discharged completely. When i came back to charge through the drone it was not charging any more. So i need help to recover the battery please.. Ps i dont have a charger
I love these things. I have the gooloo, which helped jump start my v8 impala back in the day 7 times in a row while i was hunting for a battery. It uses a barrel connector for charging though. I like that this usb-c. Good to give your kids or family this when they get a car. Then they don't have to deal with strangers.
A drone just showed up in my backyard when my children was in the pool. They said it hovered for a while. Im not cool with that. Even if its a damn realtor. I already have realtors calling my phone and asking for me by name to see if I want to sell. If I find out its realtors Ill make them eat their hat . 😡
Simple answer No. Can I as Your nieghbor build a bridge over your house to my property on the other side again No the airspace is owned by the property owner.
Thanks for the post but you're wrong. You don't own the airspace over your home and in some states you don't even own the mineral rights under your property. I can essentially fly over any property, public or private as long as it's not in a NFZ zone and I'm not flying over people and stay under 400'. The point of this clip was to warn fliers that hovering over a property is a different matter and is creepy and may actually violate privacy laws in some states. But it your moving, you're fine flying over anyone's property.
Is there way of warning the drone pilots perhaps a loud speaker letting them know your filming them and they’ve been warned about not to hoover on your property or else?
Just got my first DJI today. Avata 2. Bummed that I spent $1,400 and it doesn't even have a charger. Very bummed. My much much cheaper Potensic Atom fly more kit ($349) had everything needed to get right into the air. Love that drone too......maybe this is just how DJI rolls and I'll have to get used to it if I continue to purchase DJI. Thank you for the video.
Nothing simple about it. It took us months to figure it out, and we wanted to make sure people knew how to do it. The whole point of our channel is to help flyers have more fun and explore the tech. I’m glad you found value in the clip
