RTH gotcha to watch out for

[NickU]

Watch out when using DJI Go 4.0.3 onwards - DJI have introduced a feature to confirm (C1) or cancel (C2) return to home. Sounds great.... 'till you're busy flying and operating the gimbal controls when DJIGo does its announcement for "low battery, Return to Home in 10 Secs" ... just as you press C2 to change gimbal mode

Result, strangled announcement from controller as it only got part way thru announcing Low Battery.. Retur..." and a cancelled RTH.

OK, so not a problem, I heard it this time around and realised what had happened. Point is, if I hadn't had the speaker on on the iPad I could have easily cancelled or OK'd the RTH without realising what was happening. So, if your I2 decdes to land in place due to low battery, or suddenly takes off to RTH altitude and heads home seemingly without giving you the RTH message... you probably unwittingly C1/C2'd the message.

To be fair, it's more an issue with Go4 rather than an I2 issue as such... but take care. What seems like a good idea might not be so great in practice

 

[lake_flyer]

It's a good rule never to wait for the low battery warning in the first place. I test RTH regularly just to see if it would work, should a battery suddenly drop in voltage for whatever reason. But I never let the bird decide when it's time to come home. That's always my call.

 

[NickU]

I don't let the aircraft dictate either - I use the Low Battery RTH level as an audio/visual warning/reminder and set the threshold for it at a point above which it needs to be, so the above gotcha doesn't really cause me a big issue.

Other people do rely on the rth tho', so they may get caught out - hence the warning as the behaviour of the system has changed and may have unintended condequences for some.

 

[Jason Boucher]

I'm one who also never waits for the RTH to kick in, I am always keeping a constant look at the Battery Levels so I know how much more flying I can do.

I also always make sure to turn up my volume, because sometimes these warnings can save your bird.

 

[Dbrane]

Watch out when using DJI Go 4.0.3 onwards - DJI have introduced a feature to confirm (C1) or cancel (C2) return to home. Sounds great.... 'till you're busy flying and operating the gimbal controls when DJIGo does its announcement for "low battery, Return to Home in 10 Secs" ... just as you press C2 to change gimbal mode

Result, strangled announcement from controller as it only got part way thru announcing Low Battery.. Retur..." and a cancelled RTH.

OK, so not a problem, I heard it this time around and realised what had happened. Point is, if I hadn't had the speaker on on the iPad I could have easily cancelled or OK'd the RTH without realising what was happening. So, if your I2 decdes to land in place due to low battery, or suddenly takes off to RTH altitude and heads home seemingly without giving you the RTH message... you probably unwittingly C1/C2'd the message.

To be fair, it's more an issue with Go4 rather than an I2 issue as such... but take care. What seems like a good idea might not be so great in practice

Good to know thanks ! Little things like that can make for a bad day

 

[cougar]

Watch out when using DJI Go 4.0.3 onwards - DJI have introduced a feature to confirm (C1) or cancel (C2) return to home. Sounds great.... 'till you're busy flying and operating the gimbal controls when DJIGo does its announcement for "low battery, Return to Home in 10 Secs" ... just as you press C2 to change gimbal mode

Result, strangled announcement from controller as it only got part way thru announcing Low Battery.. Retur..." and a cancelled RTH.

OK, so not a problem, I heard it this time around and realised what had happened. Point is, if I hadn't had the speaker on on the iPad I could have easily cancelled or OK'd the RTH without realising what was happening. So, if your I2 decdes to land in place due to low battery, or suddenly takes off to RTH altitude and heads home seemingly without giving you the RTH message... you probably unwittingly C1/C2'd the message.

To be fair, it's more an issue with Go4 rather than an I2 issue as such... but take care. What seems like a good idea might not be so great in practice

I use 1 of my bluetooth AirPods when I fly, that way I get all messages from the app in my ear without losing any sound around me, from my other ear.

 

[dec]

all good points ! I keep BATTERY in my scan of the info and actually announce battery level . . . (even solo) that was if a VO or even just an on-looker is nearby, they know I'm monitoring. I am guilty of landing right at 10% (sometimes lower) battery remaining often, but only if I'm in a situation where I know my surroundings (practice area, wide open space, etc....) and it seems more often then not that last 2-3% before it goes to 10 happens at the most in-opportune times. Any1 else noticed that last 2-3% seems to go fast?

 

[ReesAerials]

It's a good rule never to wait for the low battery warning in the first place. I test RTH regularly just to see if it would work, should a battery suddenly drop in voltage for whatever reason. But I never let the bird decide when it's time to come home. That's always my call.

Preach the Gospel Lake_Flyer. These are words to live by. I was actually surprised that the default battery warning level was set to 20%. I immediately reset it to 30 before I ever flew the bird.