Maiden flight, all went well ... but a few questions

[Rumbaar]

Howdy from the land down under, where it's summer so cold conditions are not a problem ... only too hot conditions.

Had my first flight today, and it went relatively well. Took it to a large open field and flew it in beginner mode, then turned that off and flew it around the boundaries of the field. Learned the controls, up and down, etc. Best way to navigate, which will take some flights to get the muscle memory right.

So I have two batteries, and two on the way. Fully charged via a charging hub (grrr doesn't charge all at once). I flew them till the low battery warning came on, 30%, and then came closer and hovered a bit and then shut the drone down. What is the best practice to 'break' in batteries? Is there one, should I run to zero, half? It's fairly hot here ~35c(~95f). I've let the batteries cool and will charge later.

I also found sun was a major issue with glare on my display device (Sony Xperia Z), what is the best way people have found to avoid this?

I also found that the displayed height was off quite a lot at times, like it was under 2m psychically, but on the display said something like 4m. Is this a calibration issue or sensor issue?

I took it up to around 50-60m and was impressed at it's stability. Still reluctant to take it over anything, trees, buildings etc. But that'll come after some flight time and self training.

Here's to some happy flying.

 

[Nathan1994]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you find it a useful resource! As far as a "battery break-in" is concerned, I found it best to only run down the batteries to 50% on the first three charge cycles. After that, I usually will end a flight between 25%-30%. I'd recommend looking for a sunshade on amazon or ebay for the tablet you are using. Hope this helps.

 

[John N Kronyak]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you find it a useful resource! As far as a "battery break-in" is concerned, I found it best to only run down the batteries to 50% on the first three charge cycles. After that, I usually will end a flight between 25%-30%. I'd recommend looking for a sunshade on amazon or ebay for the tablet you are using. Hope this helps.

I keep low warning at 20% and critical at 15% and make sure I bring it back close at first warning.

 

[Rumbaar]

Thanks Nathan, yeah I was reading about the 50% thing, but wasn't sure. I know in old days if you didn't do full cycles, it would get a memory and not go down or up to the right levels. Just trying to get the longest life out of them, as not too cheap. Yeah, I might have to construct a temporary crude sunshade out of cardboard or something.

So when is the best time to run them down to zero?

Yeah I was never more than 60m away, and that was vertical at most. But yes I need to learn how long those last percentages last for return flights or safe touchdowns.

 

[John N Kronyak]

Howdy from the land down under, where it's summer so cold conditions are not a problem ... only too hot conditions.

Had my first flight today, and it went relatively well. Took it to a large open field and flew it in beginner mode, then turned that off and flew it around the boundaries of the field. Learned the controls, up and down, etc. Best way to navigate, which will take some flights to get the muscle memory right.

So I have two batteries, and two on the way. Fully charged via a charging hub (grrr doesn't charge all at once). I flew them till the low battery warning came on, 30%, and then came closer and hovered a bit and then shut the drone down. What is the best practice to 'break' in batteries? Is there one, should I run to zero, half? It's fairly hot here ~35c(~95f). I've let the batteries cool and will charge later.

I also found sun was a major issue with glare on my display device (Sony Xperia Z), what is the best way people have found to avoid this?

I also found that the displayed height was off quite a lot at times, like it was under 2m psychically, but on the display said something like 4m. Is this a calibration issue or sensor issue?

I took it up to around 50-60m and was impressed at it's stability. Still reluctant to take it over anything, trees, buildings etc. But that'll come after some flight time and self training.

Here's to some happy flying.

Howdy from the land down under, where it's summer so cold conditions are not a problem ... only too hot conditions.

Had my first flight today, and it went relatively well. Took it to a large open field and flew it in beginner mode, then turned that off and flew it around the boundaries of the field. Learned the controls, up and down, etc. Best way to navigate, which will take some flights to get the muscle memory right.

So I have two batteries, and two on the way. Fully charged via a charging hub (grrr doesn't charge all at once). I flew them till the low battery warning came on, 30%, and then came closer and hovered a bit and then shut the drone down. What is the best practice to 'break' in batteries? Is there one, should I run to zero, half? It's fairly hot here ~35c(~95f). I've let the batteries cool and will charge later.

I also found sun was a major issue with glare on my display device (Sony Xperia Z), what is the best way people have found to avoid this?

I also found that the displayed height was off quite a lot at times, like it was under 2m psychically, but on the display said something like 4m. Is this a calibration issue or sensor issue?

I took it up to around 50-60m and was impressed at it's stability. Still reluctant to take it over anything, trees, buildings etc. But that'll come after some flight time and self training.

Here's to some happy flying.

Take it easy at first. You won't be disappointed later. Been flyin' mine for 6 months with no problems. Happy flyin' a videoing.

 

[Rumbaar]

Take it easy at first. You won't be disappointed later. Been flyin' mine for 6 months with no problems. Happy flyin' a videoing.

Yeah, I certainly did. I was quite nervous and didn't want anything to go wrong. I'm in not hurry to go to extremes, just baby steps. Thanks!

 

[John N Kronyak]

Thanks Nathan, yeah I was reading about the 50% thing, but wasn't sure. I know in old days if you didn't do full cycles, it would get a memory and not go down or up to the right levels. Just trying to get the longest life out of them, as not too cheap. Yeah, I might have to construct a temporary crude sunshade out of cardboard or something.

So when is the best time to run them down to zero?

Yeah I was never more than 60m away, and that was vertical at most. But yes I need to learn how long those last percentages last for return flights or safe touchdowns.

Do not run the batteries down to zero. They have an automatic discharge rate on the software.If you deplete completely they might not be able to be recharged.

 

[Rumbaar]

Do not run the batteries down to zero. They have an automatic discharge rate on the software.If you deplete completely they might not be able to be recharged.

Is there a cycle you're meant to do after a certain amount of charges?

 

[JustinJ]

Is there a cycle you're meant to do after a certain amount of charges?

In the battery manual..

But I think it's down to 8% every 20 complete cycles (from memory)

Battery cycles (for the particular battery in service) can be found within the menu when in camera view in the DJI app

 

[Rumbaar]

In the battery manual..

I guess that's not Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines manual? As it's not stated in the version I have.

 

[JustinJ]

I guess that's not Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines manual? As it's not stated in the version I have.

Ok maybe in the main manual (obviously, in the battery section)

I'll have a look

 

[JustinJ]

I guess that's not Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines manual? As it's not stated in the version I have.

What version do you have then? (Manuals are available via app too!)

Page 4 of battery manual "battery charging" section - note 1)

Also

Page 21 of user manual "how to discharge your intelligent flight battery"

 

[John N Kronyak]

Is there a cycle you're meant to do after a certain amount of charges?

Just run the batteries down and don't worry about a systematic maintenance. You'll be fine for hundreds of cycles.

 

[Rumbaar]

What version do you have then? (Manuals are available via app too!)

Page 4 of battery manual "battery charging" section - note 1)

Also

Page 21 of user manual "how to discharge your intelligent flight battery"

I've only read the paper ones that came with the device/battery.