Can a tablet be used without the tablet being used as a phone?

Alicatt · Oct 13, 2018

I have been using an 10.1" Archos 101b Oxygen for the past year or so, I would say it is at the bottom edge of running Go4, it is only a 1.3GHz Quad core with 2GB ram and 32GB of onboard storage, it has no GSM function but does have WiFi and Bluetooth, there were some incompatibilities at the start but now it runs ok and caching the video locally on the tablet pushes it to it's limit and maybe a bit beyond it. It cost €129 and I'm very happy with it, I use it a lot now, mainly for maps for off road driving, OBDII engine diagnostics, and of course it is my go to device for reading on Kindle, and it is great for watching Netflix and Amazon and with the HDMI out on it I can hook it up to my cinema

ARCHOS 101b Oxygen, Tablets - Overview

John Locke · Oct 13, 2018

Meta4 said:
Nothing for flying.
You can use wifi back home for software updates, map caching etc but when you are flying you could turn it off and it would make no difference.

I recommend ALWAYS turning off Wifi when flying, even the the wifi on your phone in your pocket. If you don't turn it off it will search all wifi channels, looking for a connection, endlessly, because you're out in the boonies flying and there's no access points to connect too. When Wifi hunts all channels I've see this cause terrible interference when flying on 2.4Ghz, causing intermittent green screen break ups, even when the craft is only 100' away. Turn off the wifi and this interference goes away.

However, if you have the table connected to the phone's access point via Wifi, you should be OK. This is because it's connected and not hunting on every channel frequency.

Meta4 · Oct 13, 2018

John Locke said:
I recommend ALWAYS turning off Wifi when flying, even the the wifi on your phone in your pocket. If you don't turn it off it will search all wifi channels, looking for a connection, endlessly, because you're out in the boonies flying and there's no access points to connect too. When Wifi hunts all channels I've see this cause terrible interference when flying on 2.4Ghz, causing intermittent green screen break ups, even when the craft is only 100' away. Turn off the wifi and this interference goes away.

Maybe that's something specific to the device you are using.
I never disable wifi for thea phone in my pocket and the tablet I fly with and have never noticed any issue from that.

John Locke · Oct 14, 2018

Meta4 said:
Maybe that's something specific to the device you are using.
I never disable wifi for thea phone in my pocket and the tablet I fly with and have never noticed any issue from that.

It was a friend of mine who experienced this, flying P4P, and I was flying P4P also. We both had stock RC's. He was using an iPad Mini 4, I was using iPad Air2. We agreed he would fly 2.4 and I would fly 5.8. We were way up in the mountains when this happened, no cell coverage or wifi for miles. He was getting lots of green screen breakups, so I turned off my radio, since I've experience interference from other DJI radios in the past. He was still getting green screen breakups with my RC off, even at short distances of 100' from home. I ask if his wifi was on and he said yes. As soon as he turned it off his problem went away. When he tried 5.8Ghz the wifi didn't affect his screen for some reason, but switching back to 2.4 it consistently created green screens. That's when I realized what was going on. When is iPad4 wifi couldn't connect to an access point, it was endlessly searching all channels, and when it got close to his video frequency, it interfered with the craft reception because the iPad was right next to the RC video reception antenna, overpowering it. When he had his Wifi off, I could fly 5.8 and he flew 2.4 for an hour without interference. This is all theory of course, but given the evidence I see no other explanation IMO. I now have a rule of thumb to always disable Wifi since it serves no purpose and drains more power for no purpose. If the wifi on the tablet is connected to an access point, such as your phone, this problem doesn't seem to exhibit itself, since it's not hunting all Wifi channels. This was tested later when I got home. It seems to be related to unconnected wifi, hunting for a connection.

badshoe · Oct 15, 2018

I've ordered a Galaxy S2 9.7 from Best Buys. I'll get it Friday. By my measurements, it should just fit in the controller clamp. It will also be used in my online videos business but my main reason to get it, is for the drone. If it works or not, I'll let you guys know.

badshoe · Oct 17, 2018

I got my Galaxy Tab S2 97. Loaded Go 4 app. After a few tries, it connected to the controller, flew the drone. It won't connect to the controller anymore. I get a flashing warning to plug the USB first then start the app (I think, it flashes so fast). I've done every combo I can think of, no go. I normally can pull and re-plug the USB on my Galaxy J7 and it works but not on this new one. I've un-installed and reinstalled the app, still no connection. Any hope for me, thanks....Ken.

Alicatt · Oct 18, 2018

For me I have to turn on the aircraft first, then the controller and then plug in the tablet then run the DJI Go app then it will connect, The DJI Go can be running before you plug it in but it does not connect every time. I also make sure I have force closed all apps that are not needed.

Edit: Is the USB port in the correct mode? The Android USB ports can run in different modes, I can't remember which is the correct one off hand I will have to go look later to see.

badshoe · Oct 18, 2018

I'm charging the battery right now and will try. I don't see anywhere to change the USB setting.

umanbean · Oct 18, 2018

badshoe said:
I'm charging the battery right now and will try. I don't see anywhere to change the USB setting.

Go to 'Device Settings > About' and tap 'Build Number' 7 times. This will turn on 'Developer Options'... inside the developer options menu are several ways to configure the USB port, depending on your Android version and the manufacturer. Trial and error on each one of them eventually worked for me and now I have no problems or glitches, just plug and go! on a Huawei Mediapad M3 8.4

badshoe · Oct 18, 2018

I think you might have it uman but I had the Best Buys guy take a look today but couldn't correct it. So, I just gave it back for credit. I'm thinking of going with the Apple ipad 9.7 which is about the same price at Best Buys. Seems like people are having better luck with the Apples.

umanbean · Oct 18, 2018

badshoe said:
So, I just gave it back for credit.

Good move... from what I read here, many Samsung devices have problems - likely due to the USB port configuration.

I'm really liking this Huawei though... as far as I'm concerned, best Android flight tablet for the money right now

badshoe · Oct 18, 2018

Yea, it's to bad, the Tab S2 was the ideal size and weight and wasn't too pricey. The Apple ipad 9.7 I'm looking at, has about the same measurements and really the same price (WiFi only). Unless one of you guys say it's crap or has some spec. concerns, that might be what I'll go with.

badshoe · Oct 20, 2018

I got an iPad 9.7 today. I haven't flown the drone with it yet however, there's no problem connecting to the controller and drone. I noticed that there's a few more options than on the Galaxy J7. Example, programing the C1 and C2 has a camera and map swap option on the iPad which isn't there on the J7.