You may have to get out of your way walk as far as you can, the obstacle avoidance may pick up you're there and adjust a bit. My 4pro always landed on the pad..
Yea I never really thought about that but it’s definitely a possibility. I usually stand pretty close with the camera to film the drone landing and it could easily be picking me up. Maybe the beeping means “Move Kevin!” But I don’t listen so Dwight moves. lol.
Drone is trying to deal with your truck cab being white and the tonneau cover being black as well as trying to stay away from the raised cab, which is why its landing as far back on the pad as it can. Thinking from my experience having had both a Mini 3 Pro and now a Mini 4 Pro, if you stand that close to it facing you while landing, it will back up to avoid you as well.
It’s funny you mentioned that because nobody’s ever brought that to my attention ever since I started flying from the truck like this until yesterday. lol. Someone else said the same thing and it sort of blew my mind that I never thought of that. Where were you guys last year??? Haha. Anyway, I’m gonna work on a test to see if that’s the case so thank you so much for the help. That’s what I love most about this stuff. There’s always someone who can help us figure out the problems and trust me…. We have plenty of problems. lol. God bless and thanks again, buddy. Have a great week.
@@WeretheRobertsfrom my experience this is spot on. If you fly close to anything the sensors start registering obstacles at about 12 ft./3 m. And starts avoidance at about 8 ft., the distance from your cab. An alternative you can do is placing your pad on top of your cab which would get the landing area above obstacles so the accuracy should improve.
Yea that’s a great point for sure. I’m working on that currently but I haven’t got it dialed in yet. I think you’ll like the solution we’ve come up with on that regard if it works out. lol.
I liked you vid. I don't use pad, just hand launch and recovery 99% most of the time. Beaches, woods, hills and Chiggers, not recommended but you do what you want. Safe flying all.
Awesome! Thank you so much for watching and commenting. It’s always cool to hear when someone enjoys our videos. Honestly when I’m flying for fun and not for videos I hand launch and catch most of the time, too. lol. Well, a lot of the time anyway. Especially with the Mini 2. Welcome to the channel and thanks again for watching. God bless! Kevin
KEVIN! You just made my day brother! My log shows 1600+ flights now from the M2 to M4 now and I STILL ON OCCASION TRY TO PUT THE DAMN BATTERY IN UPSIDE DOWN! I know now I’m not alone. You put me at peace brother LoL!
Alright brother , fantastic tests as always! Haha who needs antennas anyway! He definately does pause, even if it is at different times , maybe it’s when he’s lost his bearings and needs to adjust that bit more? I reckon that fishing sign is in the lake too and removed by the fishermen 😂 anyway great tests brother , look forward to the next one as always! Have a great week! 👌👍👍
Awesome! Thanks as always, man. When he paused around 8 feet the first time I was thinking there may have been something to it pausing where you raised it to at take off but the 2nd flight busted that. Booooo. Oh well. That fishing sign being gone cracks me up. I mention that thing almost every time I fly there.
haha I know right I thought it was going to be the 8ft thing till that other test haha! Did blow that out the water! Hahaha, you’re going to have to make your own sign now so you can still mention it 😂 have a great week brother ! 👌👍
Hi Kevin, my Mini 4 Pro always pauses too. It could be a foot or two out.. but then it’ll pause to adjust itself.. and at the same time will also turn around, so it’s facing the same direction it was facing on take off. I tend to take off and let it hover 15-20 feet off the ground before flying off. The drone will usually land within 2 or 3 inches, especially if I’m using the landing pad. As for the “cannot land” message, maybe you could try it again but with the pad on the ground, rather than the truck? Not sure if it’ll make a difference but it might be worth a try? Best Regards Steve
You are definitely doing things more right than I am apparently. lol. I do like how the drone reorients itself to face the same direction it was at take off and it was cool to really see where the drone begins to adjust itself when landing. I never really paid any attention to that part before. Normally Dwight is like your mini 4 and is within inches of his take off looks but lately it’s been off pretty good. Not as bad as our Mini 2 though. Hahaha
I see that you use the sunshade on your controller. I thought about that once, but decided to get the SmartRC hard case (had it about a year and really like it). The sunshade won't fit in the case, but that's okay. Because the only time I use the controller screen is when I fly at night (pitch dark outside - rural America). When I fly in the day I either use a pair of the XREAL Air 2 Pro augmented reality glasses or the Goggles 3 from my Avata 2. Both have a much wider view so I can see everything in amazing detail (much better than the RC2's screen).
Oh that’s cool. Yea these sunshades aren’t for everyone and honestly I don’t see it helping much in the sun. I got it mainly so I could be lazy and keep the sticks on the controller in the case. lol. It does keep me from seeing the antennas most times though so I’ll forget to extend them most of the time. Hahaha. I’d love to have some sort of FPV goggles. I reviewed the Drone Mask 2 last year and had a lot of fun with that. I know it’s not even a close experience to real FPV goggles but it was still cool and clear as could be.
@@WeretheRoberts I was getting real tired of putting everything in that tiny leatherette bag that DJI provides. With a hard case its all laid out neatly and the sticks are protected (never take them off). The antennas extended and the back side of them facing the drone gives you quite a range. I attached a Firehouse Arc V strobe on the bottom of the Mini 4 Pro just forward of the battery. This still allows the blades to fold perfectly. At night it is pitch black outside as there are no cities giving off light. I can see the strobe flashing up to 3 miles away. If the antenna weren't unfolded I wouldn't be able to go that far away. Flying in that darkness would make it impossible to see where you were going, But I figured out how to do it. I fly the drone up to about 350 feet (high above the trees). then I look around for a light in the distance and fly towards it. When I get there, I can zoom in and look around. Then I'll fly to another light and keep doing this until the battery gets to about 40%. Then the circled "H" shows me how to get home again. There is a large valley (about a mile wide) that I fly through and allows me to see the strobe. Always wondered what people on the ground that saw that light were thinking. A possible UFO? lol
@@WeretheRoberts I wasted $800 on the Integra goggles and the motion controller 2 used with the Mini 4 Pro when that firmware came out. A couple months afterword's the Avata 2 came out with the Motion Controller and Goggles 3. Then right away a firmware was released to use the new goggles and motion controller with the Mini. Now I can use the RC2 controller with the Goggles 3 when flying the Mini.
No! Don't do it! Actually that fishing sign will be missed! We have a sogn I have featured a few times on Falls Lake. It says: "NO FISHING BEYOND THIS POINT" ("Beyond" that point is WHERE THE WATER IS!) I don't get it. Do they want folks to fish on the dirt and broken asphalt that used to be Highway 98 Durham Road - that USED TO GO TO DURHAM, but now just goes directly INTO Falls Lake, straight to Davy Jones Locker, the old Citgo Station, a church, a mill and dozens of houses when the Army Corp of Engineers damned the Falls River in the early seventies. They stood on the River Bank and said: "I DAMN THEE" (re: Steve Martin in"The Jerk" Jackie Mason "Damn these glasses" to which Steve says "Okay! I DAMN THEE" Anyway, I will feature the "NO fishing beyond this point sign" again, where the WATER is "beyond this sign" - see if YOU can figure it out. I am clueless as per usual. Monty Python Reference of the Day: "Will this wind, be so mighty, as to lay low... the mountains of the earth?"
Hahahahaha. Dang, John that’s hilarious! And Norse is trying to get me in trouble. Or maybe you. lol. I think it would be really funny if someone was fishing in the dirt. I’ve done that before unintentionally of course. I’ve also fished in the trees and on other people (ouch). I had to read your comment 3 times before I made it all the way through without crying. 😂
Great video interesting results as I've ordered my new Mini 4 today. You could do a video range test with the antenna's folded down my guess they should be OK as long as the drone is not out of sight, not sure how far that would be as they are so tiny.
Heck yea! Congratulation on the new drone, man. You’re gonna have a blast. Don’t pay attention to the problems we’ve been having and don’t let that keep you from trusting the drone will do what it’s supposed to do most of our problems lately have been minor and have not affected the flights or safety of the drone in any way. I do like the test idea you gave, too. I don’t fly outside of line of sight anymore since I know the rules now. Hahaha but it could easily be demonstrated within line of sight. It differs with each drone but the mini 4 pro for me is around 1500 feet. Problem is if I look away from the drone at that distance, when I look back at it I have a really hard time finding it again. lol Anyway, thanks so much for the suggestion and again congrats! God bless and thanks for watching.
I've never paid attention to the altitude but both my Mini 3 Pro and Air 3 kinda pause and then slowly start to land as well. When I get that area under aircraft unsuitable for landing message, it does take a while on both my drones before it'll actually start to land. I have to hold that down stick longer than you would think 😮. Like always, well done 👍. Thanks for sharing. Take care and God bless!!!
lol thanks as always, Dave. I’m glad to know the unsuitable landing message isn’t specific to just my drones. It seems like a lot of issues are though. Hahaha. It felt like I held that left stick down for at least 15 seconds before it started coming down. I’m glad he wasn’t actively being attacked by that bird.
Kevin..love your tests..one thing you have to be very careful with is the antennas which show you have them in the closed/crossed position. The Gimbel shiver could have been part of the results from this.
Awesome! Thanks so much for watching and commenting, Mike. I swear I forget to open those antenna more often than I remember to open them. Ever since I put that controller shade screen on there, they’re out of sight so I don’t even think about it. I think I’ve come up with a solution though and I’m gonna show it in a couple videos from now. lol. I wonder if it’s also related to the lack of precision landings lately, too.
Good test Kevin, but does this only work during hurricanes? I would like to try it here in Thailand but there's a problem. We don't have hurricanes here, only typhoons. Will it still work? 🤣😲😭🙄😆
Hahahaha. Great question, Jimbo. I’d say you’re safe and it would totally work in a typhoon. It’ll probably work even better in a typhoon! Hahaha. Typhoons are overachievers.
For more accurate RTH use auto take off, let it take off and settle, then raise up. I noticed you didn't use auto take off your vid you took off manually.
Thats awesome! Thank you so much for the advice, man. I actually went out and shot a new video today for Sunday’s release and I tried this for the flights. It worked every time! I really do appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment. God bless! Kevin
Awesome! Thank you so much for watching and commenting. We really appreciate your support and kind words. We use Wondershare Filmora for editing. It’s relatively cheap and has some bugs but it does what we need it to do. Hope this helps. God bless! Kevin
I think you not update because when I did the last one on my mini 4 pro was way off the landing!! Also the mini 4 K was way off as well!!! Great tests!! 👍🐈⬛🐾👏
Dude someone is messing with our drones. Lol. I’m gonna skip this update for now and wait for the next fly app update. I’m pretty sure if anyone’s drone would suffer it would be ours. Hahaha
Just now tested the mini 4Pro and it had a perfect landing! The day before ( I have not changed anything) it was 6 feet off 🙀 so I don’t know what’s going on??? Situation about normal for me 😂😅🐈⬛🐾🐝
Yes. Mine does that, and when on return to home, especially this morning, the drone was a couple of feet off and when it was 8 metres or so ,the drone will stop for a few seconds and move itself to precise landing on the mat 😊
lol good deal. I’d be happy with our Mini 2 only being off a couple feet again. This one should definitely be a little closer but honestly I’m ok with it either way. I think precision landing is a bit of a sham sometimes. Hahaha.
Oh heck yea that’s a great suggestion. I’ll add this to the list of future tests. Awesome! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. We really appreciate your support and welcome suggestions all day long. lol. God bless!
+ Yes, I love my Pekrews Drone Bag too, very handy to have my drone right there in front of me for a quick grab when I'm on a hike. I've noticed Hope pauses before landing too, but I never paid attention to what height that is. I'll have to check that out. As usual, great tests Kevin. And glad you survived Debbie!
OK, I tried it 4 times with mixed results. The first time Hope (the drone) just went up 3.6 ft, then she went out through the woods to 261 ft and did an RTH. She came back and tried to land on the roof, about 12 ft past the landing pad, but she slid off and I did a manual on the deck. Second flight, she went up to 22 ft and hovered a few seconds, then out into the woods to 396 ft, at about 4 ft above the ground. At RTH, she followed through the trees until she found a clearing to the sky, landing on the landing pad. Third flight, she went up and hovered at 22 ft, then up and over the treetops to a fire lookout tower at 4463 ft away. At RTH, she landed about 5 ft from the landing pad. Fourth flight, she went up to 31 ft, flew out over the treetops to 1148 ft and did a low battery RTH, landing on the landing pad. Each time, she paused at about 8-9 ft up before landing. I'm happy. 🤗 Except for that landing on the roof. But I didn't go up to 22 ft before heading out into the woods.
See man? That’s what we need! More thorough testing. lol. I can say without a doubt that if Dwight had a chance to land on the roof at your place, that’s where he’d end up. Ain’t no way he’s cooperate if he saw that slope to try out. Hahaha. Thanks for following up and testing this stuff, buddy. Very cool results.
I personally think it's a software issue. DJI may have to do another software update. I don't own any mini drones but, my air 2 and air 2 S are fine. Thanks for sharing Kevin. 👍👍👍
Yea I’m totally gonna wait for the next fly app update before I update anything. It could easily be a software thing for sure. It may be a Kevin thing though since I’ve had issues with all 4 of of our drones. Hahaha
@@WeretheRoberts have you gotten in touch with DJI about that? If not, you should. I don't think it's good to be having problems with all your drones. Do you calibrate them before you fly. I usually do even if it doesn't ask for it. Try that. Good luck my friend and I hope you get them to work the way they should. See you in the next video.
I haven’t contacted DJI lately about anything but that may be something I need to do eventually. Also, I calibrate the Mini 2 drones pretty often especially the IMU but I don’t do the Mini 4 pro as often. Maybe I should start there. Lol
Yea that’s a great point. The black bed cover is definitely not a good backdrop for the drone to get its picture. I’m working on a solution for that though. lol. I’m hoping to unveil it soon. 😁
I still can't help but think it's not good for the transmitter to have the antennas touching each other when flying. Probably reduces the range for one thing and maybe causes the drone shaking for another. 🤔 Can't be good.
Hahaha. I can only say those pesky antennas were folded up because I simply forgot (again). Joe could have a point with the gimbal shake being related to that. I seriously need to have some sort of reminder on the controller telling me to open the antennas. Wow, I think I just solved the problem. Sticky note! lol. Oh, and I don’t do those range tests anymore. I do think I can figure out a way though to test the antennas in bs out. I’m gonna add this to the list and see what happens. lol.
Thanks Kevin for the video. It was very amusing. I also had the drone deviate far from the landing path. I'll try out your ideas soon. Thanks again for the very nice video.
You need to have enough clearance around the drone. I suspect the fact that you are landing close to your truck cabin, is interfering with the drone downward and lateral sensors, which cause it to show you the message. Notice the few times it lands, it it toward the border of the end of the truck. I bet if you do the same test over ground with enough clearance around, you will not have any issues at all and the precision landing will work.
You know what? You’re the first person to ever mention that possible issue with landing on the truck. Most people say it has to do with the metal interfering and stuff like that but this is a lot more logical to me. How come I’ve never thought of this? So basically, the cab is within the drone’s obstacle avoidance range and it’s being pushed away from the cab when it lands? That really makes a lot of sense and it could totally be related. I should’ve tried what you suggested on the day of this flight just to compare but I’m always worried about the videos running too long. lol. I’m gonna put this in the list of future tests and try it out. Thanks for the suggestion and for your support. God bless!
Well, Kevin... I don't know why you expected Dwight to pause at 16 ft, or at 8 ft particularly, since hovering at those heights after takeoff is not what the manual says to do for precision landing. Fact is, on the two last flights, when you did follow the procedure, were the ones where Dwight stuck the precision landings. Or would have, if you hadn't got the warnings about unsuitable area. So, what I think you proved here is, do what the manual says, you'll be fine ❤🤷♂️
Hahaha. Yea the manual is probably the best approach. I wasn’t really expecting anything in particular to happen with this test but I did remember before doing this that the drone seems to pause when landing. I just never paid attention to what height it was when it did that. The comment that spawned this video suggested it would pause at the height you stop when taking off so I figured it may do just that. Nope.
Hey Kevin you should get an orange cover for your truck bed with an "H" in the middle that way the drones can stick the landing LoL. I don't really care for my drones to have precision landing as long as I can manually land it when can take over the control while it's landing. Great video. God bless.
Hahaha. I’m totally working on that idea, man. I agree about the precision landing even though I do a lot of videos covering it. lol. I’m just happy when I see it landing close to where I can get it and don’t have to climb a tree again.
I just thought of something while watching this. Next time you go out when you take off and go up to the 23 ft for it to register it's spot for precision landing. Point the camera down and Mark the spot and see if when it land it lands in that spot. Maybe it's not registering the landing pad but a spot close to it and it's landing in the spot it registered and not the spot we think it should be landing in
lol I’m totally putting this on the list of future tests. The last sentence is a head scratcher but I think I understand what you said but I’m not sure I meant what you said when you meant it. Capeesh? Hahaha
@@WeretheRoberts hahaha. Yeah basically I'm wondering if the drone is registering a spot close to the landing pad because it shifts slightly after takeoff but in our minds we're thinking it registered the landing pad
@@HikeFly22 I think that’s what’s happening. When it lifts off it gets blown off center by the wind then that new spot becomes the point of reference. That could be the whole problem, eh? Sounds too simple. lol
I think some of the possible confusion arises when you take off and hover at 5-6ft then test the back/ forward and left/right controls and when you rise up further you may not be directly over take off and that's the co-ordinates the drone uses? Just a thought.
That’s a possibility for the Mini 2 for sure because I do that pretty much every flight. I know it doesn’t have precision landing like the 4 pro but it has to get its home point somehow, right? Normally with the 4 pro I immediately go up to the recommended 7 meter mark and let it hover so I’m not sure why it’s been so far off lately. It’s a conundrum. Lol.
Hmmmmm. I’ve never correlated the 2 but that’s a definite possibility. I’ll have to check and see if I’m screen recording each time that happens. Does it do it every time you screen recording or just intermittently?
Hey Kevin. Just wondering what height is the auto take off at ? The reason I ask is I hit the auto and just let my Air 2 hover at that height and it seems to always land centered on the orange side on rth. I guess I should try that on my Mini and see if that works too ? Orange you glad I didn't ask more questions ? I'm sorry , that's my attempt at humor today !
Hahaha. Orange I glad you didn’t say banana? Dude, dad jokes are my specialty. We’d get along just fine. lol. I dot know what that height is set at but it’s close to 6-8 feet from what I remember. Maybe closer to 4 feet? I always wondered why DJI don’t preprogram that auto take off height to their recommended 7 meters if it’s that important. It really seemed like Dwight did the best this time when I only raised him up a couple feet at the beginning for that last flight, eh? It’s all a crap shoot man! Hahaha
I’m not sure but anything is possible I reckon. I do know I’ve flown all my drones while sitting in the truck in the past and I’ve never noticed any interference when it comes to signal strength and controls. However, the landing stuff is totally different and could be more sensitive. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment by the way. That’s awesome. God bless and have a great week!
lol heck yea man, that thing is pretty cool. It’s actually not a kickstand but that’s how I’ve been using it for a while now. It’s a bicycle mount for the RC2 controller. I’ll add the link on Amazon where I got it but it seems like they raised the price. You may be able to find just that kick stand part sold separately though if you don’t want the whole kit. Hope this helps! Thanks so much for watching and commenting. God bless! a.co/d/bqloJlG
Hmmmm I never thought about the wind being the culprit but it would make sense. I’ve seen a couple other comments saying maybe it has to do with me forgetting to open the antennas. Lol. I bet every time it does it the antennas are down. They’re always down now. I can’t remember that! lol
lol thanks for watching and your picture there is awesome. Haha. I’ve tried the auto take off in the past but haven’t really tested to see if it’s more accurate or not so that’s a great idea. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment, buddy. My favorite part of this RU-vid thing is when we get test ideas from viewers like this. Heck yea! God bless you guys and thanks again for
What you need is a helipad cover that fits the bed of your truck. That way it can’t get confused with the difference between the black and orange. Might be worth a go 🤷♂️ be another video brother 😁 you could always ask Erik to make you one 👍
Dude that’s a great idea! How cool would it be to have a HUGE 01 on that truck bed? Ain’t no way they’d be confused as to where home in then, eh? Lol. I’m gonna work on that
Great test with your drone. Maybe he needs an IMU calibration, as you know the IMU is the brains of the drones, (algorithms). I think your drone camera shakes on the first flight because he is scared of all those tests. Hahahahaha. God Bless my friend. Are there gators in that lake?
Oh, edit: I haven’t seen any gators in that pond but they are across the street at another pond. It’s a bird sanctuary area and there’s gators all over the place there. That’s where I did the electric scooter video. Lol
@@fredmunson8603oh yea I’ve done that a couple times. There’s always someone there birdwatching though so it’s hard to do that and disturb what they’re watching. That may be where those big old birds came from this time. lol.
I am willing to bet a fisherman removed the sign. I spent have of my life in Canada with my father fishing. Nothing will stop a true fisherman from fishing!!
Hahahaha. That wouldn’t surprise me either, man. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying right? Hahaha. That’s a treatment pond for something so I lm not sure if wanna eat what’s in there but the fishing must be pretty good because there’s always someone there. Except when it “may” be legal. Hahaha
Hey there. Awesome question. This mat is weighted so it doesn’t normally move on me. Take off and landings are usually ok but when it’s windy, the mat ca. be moved a little bit. I’ve not seen it move more than a couple inches or so though. I watched it fly off the bed of the truck once though when I forgot to grab it before I left. lol
My mini does not always practice precision landing. It is hit and miss. If I have to move it over my orange landing pad, that is what I do. It has retrained me instead of vice versa.
lol yea totally I’ve learned precision landing is definitely hit and miss. It’s weird though. When these mini 4 drones first came out it seemed perfect every time, but since the updates started it’s been way less accurate. It’s all good though. Oh and I know what you mean about the drones retraining you. Same! Hahaha
lol yea I didn’t notice any of those birds until I saw that one at the very end. Watching the video back: HOLY CRAP!!! lol. Maybe Dwight was pausing to check his 6 when he was landing. Hahaha. Gary, didn’t you make a video with that red tape trick a while back? I know I saw it somewhere. lol.
@@WeretheRoberts Yeah, here she is after crashing into one of those tiny branches. Too bad the tape didn't keep those away. lol ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nDmXDiSdT3Q.html
I don't think it was a pause at 8ft Kevin, I think it was just a slow down. A pause would be a full stop wouldn't it? I didn't see a full stop. 🤷🏼♂ (Not a valid test if you forgot to put the antennae out! 😂)
Hahahaha. You’re killing me Smalls. I guess you’re right though about the stop. It’s like stopping at a red light or stop sign, right? Oh, and I really don’t think I’ve ever done a “valid” test on this channel. Something is always screwed up! Lol
Hey, mark! No, I’m using an iPhone 11 and 13 for these flights. I do have an iPad that I recently got from a buddy of mine that could possibly be used in a future video with a different drone though.
I’ve thought about contacting DJI to see if that’s a possibility but I haven’t followed through with it. I usually don’t use Rth when I’m out flying for fun but every time I do on one of these videos it’s off a little bit. Lol. I may contact them just to see if it’s something user error related as usual. Haha
Yea that’s a great thought, Joe. The shaking doesn’t happen nearly as often as I forget the antennas but it could definitely be related. It’s such an intermittent problem it would be hard to diagnose though. Any suggestions? lol.
@@WeretheRoberts perhaps it's a calibration issue and you could eliminate that possibility by recalibrating the drone. I have never done this myself but... it couldn't hurt. ✅
@@your_average_joe5781yea that’s a good point, too. I calibrated the mini 2 drones quite often especially the IMU but the Mini 4 pro not so much. I think it’s because I get so focused on the test. lol
@@chriscook1278hahaha. Kristis been retired for 7 years now and wow her nap to day ratio is definitely going up as the years go by. Hahaha. I remember when you retired. I may be calling for some advice. Lol
The Drone takes a photo? What old wives' tale are you spreading? I'm sure that it just uses accurate GPS. Make a mark with chalk, and place the landing pad on that. Take off and fly, then return to Home and move the landing pad, and it will land on the chalk mark. So not taking this photo idea
lol ok then. Check page 56 of the DJI Mini 4 pro manual. I’m sure it uses gps to locate its general take off area but it also tries to match the terrain to locate its precision landing position. Just my interpretation and also what I’ve read and heard around the forums. I could be totally wrong which has been known to happen. Haha. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. God bless!
