Litchi course out of distance of the transmitter

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If youve seen my previous posts I am slowly getting braver with Litchi. The other day I plotted a long 2 mile loop. My longest lItchi mission yet. The bird went out of site, started losing video feed, started losing transmitter. I knew this would be likely. I tried to tell myself that the bird knows what it is doing so trust the software but when you have 700+$ of equipment out there in the unknown your nerves start to kick in. The gps screen was showing that it was not moving. I hit RTH and jumped up around like a madman on top of the car trying to get as much height as possible to reestablish signal, low and behold it worked, and the mission was aborted and it flew back to me no problem.

The question is... am I correct in my assessment that if plot a course on Litchi that causes it to lose the TX, it will not update the position of the phantom on the map because there is no GPS data being sent back to the transmitter to display on the map. Once it comes back into range it should update its position along the course but in the meantime it is going to show the last known point?
 
I don't have Litchi yet (I plan to buy it soon), but from what I've read about it, yes, it will continue its mission even when signal is lost. Then re-establish connection when it gets back in range. I'd like to hear from someone on here who has actually experienced it though.
 
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Generally speaking you will lose Video Feed before RCTX. And you are correct on the map display question. As you mentioned " Trust the software". It is already progarmmed on the Phantom itself when you load a mission and will come back to the last waypoint and execute what you told it to do( Land, Hover etc.). even with no Video feed or TX.
 
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Also I want to add another question. If you're flying a mission route and your battery hits the level for rth, will it break the mission and rth? Even if there is no signal?
 
Let me tell you, Litchi is greatest thing ever. In the beginning I was totally nervous when doing missions with Litchi knowing I would be losing signal. I have done about 15 waypoint missions with Litchi where I lose signal and they all have returned back to me as plotted everytime, no issues at all. I actually plot missions now, knowing I'll lose connection. Two things though, I have a separate GPS device onboard the bird so I can track it while it's performing its mission, and two, I plot my mission where there is limited time over homes and streets. I never fly over top of streets, I cross them but never along them directly over top. All my missions have been 2 miles plus, my longest being 3.5 miles round trip. I go over my flight plan multiple times looking for high objects such as antennas...etc...if you're gonna do these type missions, you've got to invest in a way to still be able to track your bird. I have the Trackimo device onboard. Works great. I have it set to track every 1 minutes and so I can watch the software on my phone and see its newest location every minute. I still get nervy when doing these missions, but I have a lot of confidence in Litchi to do what it's suppose to. My part consists of a planning a safe route and performing intensive preflight checks on the bird itself. Go for it and enjoy the experience. You'll love it. You get to see footage for the first time after she returns home which is quite cool.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
yeah as much as I read about it and trust it, the first time it truly went out of sight and out of TX distance and didn't show it was moving on the map...I freaked
 
yeah as much as I read about it and trust it, the first time it truly went out of sight and out of TX distance and didn't show it was moving on the map...I freaked

For me, one of the greatest things about Litchi is that you can fly beyond transmitter range. I was nervous as hell the first time i did it, but it works, every time. Your bird will continue flying exactly where you told it to fly even though you've lost all contact.

That being said, you want to be very careful to double and triple check each of your waypoints before you send it out. I screwed up on elevation on one of mine and crashed my bird into a giant stadium light pole.
 
Also I want to add another question. If you're flying a mission route and your battery hits the level for rth, will it break the mission and rth? Even if there is no signal?


Yes.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
It does take a few missions to eventually calm the nerves, but this ability opens up so many possibilities. Just go over you mission plan extensively and take care of your bird. It will do amazing things for you, especially when you start to master controlling the gimbal and camera.
 
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I fly Litchi missions daily and most go out at least 1.5 miles. I hate losing my signal so I find high ground where there is an unobstructed view from controller to P3 throughout the mission. That way I never lose contact. You know it will disappear from eyesight right away, but using the video feed makes it just like being in the aircraft.
So - fly from high ground if possible and realize that the signal will be better when your P3 is flying high. I always fly the long missions at 300-400 ft altitude. Above that, you're asking for trouble. IMO
 
[QUOTE]
Also I want to add another question. If you're flying a mission route and your battery hits the level for rth, will it break the mission and rth? Even if there is no signal?[/QUOTE]


That is true, but if it ever happens it will mean that the pilot screwed up royally, and did very poor planning!
When you plan your mission with Litchi it tells you time and distance all the way, and as with any aircraft one should plan one's mission with at least a 10% safety buffer built in, be it fuel, flight time or battery power. In the case of the Phantom, that 10% should be added to your existing battery settings.
 
I fly Litchi missions daily and most go out at least 1.5 miles. I hate losing my signal so I find high ground where there is an unobstructed view from controller to P3 throughout the mission. That way I never lose contact. You know it will disappear from eyesight right away, but using the video feed makes it just like being in the aircraft.
So - fly from high ground if possible and realize that the signal will be better when your P3 is flying high. I always fly the long missions at 300-400 ft altitude. Above that, you're asking for trouble. IMO
Surely that depends on the purpose of the mission? One can't discern any detail when filming from 300-400 ft, which won't matter if you are just filming the panorama. However, if you are flying a S&R mission or structure or agricultural inspection etc, you want to be a lot closer to the ground. That is where Litchi comes into its own.
 
Surely that depends on the purpose of the mission? One can't discern any detail when filming from 300-400 ft, which won't matter if you are just filming the panorama. However, if you are flying a S&R mission or structure or agricultural inspection etc, you want to be a lot closer to the ground. That is where Litchi comes into its own.

How does Litchi "come into its own" flying closer to the ground?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
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That whole thread is in agreement that the altitude readings of a P3 are horribly inaccurate due to the bird's barometer. Litchi won't fix that.
I am not disputing that, and nowhere did I suggest that Litchi fixes anything.
It can be clearly seen from my posts that I was merely responding to 'Dounin Front' who flies daily Litchi missions, but prefers to fly higher to maintain signal. That is all.
 
While flying Litchi missions, take care of the following:

1. Limit the flight time to say 13-14 Mts
2. Ensure home point lock
3. Ensure it won't loose GPS on its mission, like flying in deep valleys...
4. Start with full battery
5. Check elevations on the entire route using google earth
6. Set RTH height
7. All references are with respect to home point
8. Don't get nervous, bird will come back
9. Sometimes Litchi crashes, don't panic. Let it come back to last waypoint, change then to P mode and take control.
10. If signal is lost but Litchi doesn't crash, signal will return back when bird is in los with RC within limits
11. Don't forget to set the action when it reaches the last waypoint
 
While flying Litchi missions, take care of the following:

1. Limit the flight time to say 13-14 Mts
2. Ensure home point lock
3. Ensure it won't loose GPS on its mission, like flying in deep valleys...
4. Start with full battery
5. Check elevations on the entire route using google earth
6. Set RTH height
7. All references are with respect to home point
8. Don't get nervous, bird will come back
9. Sometimes Litchi crashes, don't panic. Let it come back to last waypoint, change then to P mode and take control.
10. If signal is lost but Litchi doesn't crash, signal will return back when bird is in los with RC within limits
11. Don't forget to set the action when it reaches the last waypoint

Thanks! Wish there was some sort of method to ease my mind the first few times. Maybe Ill get my buddy to follow it in the car and confirm it is still moving hah
 
I have been doing some missions with Litchi and the first one I saw Litchi "loading" the mission up to the P3P then it did the mission. Now when I do a mission it does not load but instead the controller runs the mission and directs the P3P. Am I doing something wrong or is that normal. Maybe the P3P is running the mission and my controller is just showing the status? Just now I don't see a load screen that I first saw that "loaded" it up to the P3P. I also noticed that even if I have the nav points (mission) loaded on my tablet from from when I was indoors working on it...I have to download it again for the mission to run...if I don't do that Litchi gives an error saying something about not initializing....

Any ideas?
 
I have been doing some missions with Litchi and the first one I saw Litchi "loading" the mission up to the P3P then it did the mission. Now when I do a mission it does not load but instead the controller runs the mission and directs the P3P. Am I doing something wrong or is that normal. Maybe the P3P is running the mission and my controller is just showing the status? Just now I don't see a load screen that I first saw that "loaded" it up to the P3P. I also noticed that even if I have the nav points (mission) loaded on my tablet from from when I was indoors working on it...I have to download it again for the mission to run...if I don't do that Litchi gives an error saying something about not initializing....

Any ideas?
Could you me mistaken?
 

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