New P4P Owner, Multiple Questions

[EhmayWuntee]

Hey everyone, this will be my first true thread on here and I thought it'd be best to try and keep all my questions in one place as opposed to multiple threads in multiple locations. If I don't seem to get answers to some questions I will then consider creating a new thread in a better sub-forum for that question. I appreciate any time you can commit to answering my questions and I am sure I will be thinking of and adding more down the line.

As an initial lead in; I just purchased a P4P for myself and also convinced my employer to purchase one for work use as well. Currently I have limited experience flying a P3P for work that I borrow from another department at times which is why I wanted to try and get one specifically for myself as well as get the upgraded camera in the P4P.

1) As a certified sUAS remote pilot under Part 107, where do you keep your certification card? I still only have my temporary certificate, but I would like to know if I am supposed to carry the card with me at all times (or at least have it in the case when flying) or if I can keep the card at home/work and if someone official requests to see it, I can provide it to them eventually or log in and show them the IACRA database. I suppose if I keep it off-site I could at least have photographs of the card on my phone for initial purposes.
Surprisingly whenever I try searching for this answer, I haven't come close to a result.

2) Is the DJI branded 3 battery charger worth the $50 premium over a generic one? ($70 vs $20 on newegg)
I like to save money, but I also want the max life out of my batteries as well as fastest charging speeds.

3) I plan to do a bunch of browsing/searching on here, but just in case someone has these topics bookmarked or know where they are super quick can you link me some threads or sites with information on:

• What to do initially out of the box (things to check, initial start up, any burn-in required, etc?)
• What to check for as potential flaws and need to get a replacement (crooked camera, etc?)
• Deeper explanation of settings in the DJI GO app and recommended starting settings?
• Any other tips for first time owners?

4) It sounds to me like the State Farm Personal Articles Policy is a no-brainer and is worth getting by itself without considering DJI Care. Am I correct in this or am I overlooking something big?

5) I am a semi-experienced GIMP user for photo editing, but have never done anything with videos. What is a good video editing program that I should look into and is ideally free?

6) I am pretty sure I read that the P4P can shoot RAW+JPEG for stills. I am not used to editing RAW photos yet, but know that I can get them working or eventually imported into GIMP and go from there. Would this be the ideal way to start taking photos so that I have both versions and then eventually I should start relying 100% on RAW for best results and take advantage of the camera on the P4P?

That is all for the current moment; again I appreciate any input you can provide me and I look forward to diving in deeper on this forum.

 

[Meta4]

The standard charger will be fine

What to do initially out of the box (things to check, initial start up, any burn-in required, etc?)

• Any other tips for first time owners?

The main thing to check is that your Phantom hovers in place without slowly turning around, that it flies straight and responds properly to controls.
Do all your learning flight well away from obstacles such as buildings and trees.

6) I am pretty sure I read that the P4P can shoot RAW+JPEG for stills. I am not used to editing RAW photos yet, but know that I can get them working or eventually imported into GIMP and go from there. Would this be the ideal way to start taking photos so that I have both versions and then eventually I should start relying 100% on RAW for best results and take advantage of the camera on the P4P?

Despite what some may tell you, don't feel that you must use raw to get the "best" out of the camera.
Although a lot of pros use raw , the Phantom's jpg files should be perfectly good for most users, most of the time and they'll be a lot simpler to use.
To see how good the jpg files can be, look at some in my galleries - everything was shot on jpg only.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

The standard charger will be fine.

After seeing your answer here I wonder if I didn't ask my question clearly or perhaps I misunderstood your reply, either way I will clarify.

I want a 3 battery charge for ease of use. I saw a $70 DJI one on Newegg and a few $20ish ones that I assume are no name generics. Is the DJI one worth the $50 premium?

 

[Meta4]

After seeing your answer here I wonder if I didn't ask my question clearly or perhaps I misunderstood your reply, either way I will clarify.
I want a 3 battery charge for ease of use. I saw a $70 DJI one on Newegg and a few $20ish ones that I assume are no name generics. Is the DJI one worth the $50 premium?

Your post indicated that you were trying to save money
Whichever you get, it won't charge your batteries any faster or better.
They just seem like an expensive alternative to pulling connectors of and swapping batteries.

 

[pep56]

I shoot in raw only now, you can clean up so much of the photo in raw. You can also do editing in jpeg. However raw you can do so much more.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

Bump for help with 1, 4, 5, and any additional input on the others.

To take #2 a bit further, I see a benefit in the 3 battery charger such as charging multiple batteries during one "set it and forget it" time period.
I also am interested in the storage option (50% charge), but couldn't tell if that is only the DJI branded one or the off brand too. I assume this is to get the battery to 50% and then unplug it for storage and not have it sit on the charger 24/7 maintaining 50%, correct?

So yes I am interested in saving money (or at least being cost efficient) and I still think that is an accessory I would want to add early on. Now I just need to justify the $50 premium or not.

Work has kept me busy lately so I only have a few hours in the evening to balance relaxation time and researching my new purchase so I can't ready up on as much as I'd like. Trying to keep the research efficient as well by seeing if others can sum things up or promote a valuable article instead of weeding through a large search list.

 

[John Locke]

After seeing your answer here I wonder if I didn't ask my question clearly or perhaps I misunderstood your reply, either way I will clarify.

I want a 3 battery charge for ease of use. I saw a $70 DJI one on Newegg and a few $20ish ones that I assume are no name generics. Is the DJI one worth the $50 premium?

I'll give you my opinion on this. The DJI cradle is worth the investment.

It does cost more. However, I really like the STORAGE MODE. The other's I've seen for less money don't do that. Here's why I like the DJI cradle:
1. Whenever I fly my batteries down to 25%, and I don't know when I'll fly next, I throw them into the charge cradle and charge them on STORAGE mode. This brings them up to half charge which is ideal. It's not good to let batteries set discharged, they should be brought up to at least half charge asap.
2. Whenever I know I'm going to fly again, I bring the batteries up to full charge the night before. Since they are already half charge, the other half charge doesn't take long, maybe 1.5hrs for all three batteries. Sometimes I'll wait till morning to finish the charge because I typically fly in the afternoon. I find the less time between charge and flight, the better duration I'll have, starting off with a full 100% instead of 98 or 97% if I let them set overnight after charging.
3. I rarely discharge a battery from full charge down to half for storage, but you can do that too with the DJI cradle. The battery will inherently discharge itself automatically after 10 days, or whatever you have programmed to start to discharge, so the discharge capability really isn't that helpful, but it's there is you want it.
4. The 3 battery cradle is light and somewhat compact, fitting in to my Think Tank Helipak backpack when I fly by plane. When I arrive my hotel, I always find an area to setup a charging station area in my room (flight batteries, RC, iPad, Phone). Having the cradle charge 3 batteries at a time is really convenient while I'm out to dinner, or asleep at night. Single battery charging is a hassle when you have 6 batteries. After having the luxury of letting 3 charge at a time, automatically with little supervision, I really like it. I typically travel with 6 batteries, so two groups of 3 batteries is my recharge MO.

If there is another cradle that provide the half charge STORAGE MODE for less money, then it may be worth considering. Otherwise I recommend the DJI unit.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

Thanks John that confirms some of what I was thinking. To clarify, do you keep them plugged in on storage for days/weeks at a time if not using them for awhile as opposed to reaching 50% storage charge and then pulling them off to sit unplugged? I follow that you say a setting will have them slowly discharge in 10 days or so if left unplugged, but also wouldn't it be a negative to keep them trickle charging to maintain 50% on storage mode 24/7?


One additional question for anyone, and I may need to find a 107 certification subforum to ask this, but is there a site that lets you download and print off large sectional charts of any area or centered around a zip code? I've seen a few for major hubs like DFW or LAX, but I'd want one for my wall at work covering the City I work for which has a small county airport like 10 miles away. If not free to download or not specific to any area, who can I contact to pay for one?

 

[Meta4]

do you keep them plugged in on storage for days/weeks at a time if not using them for awhile as opposed to reaching 50% storage charge and then pulling them off to sit unplugged? I follow that you say a setting will have them slowly discharge in 10 days or so if left unplugged, but also wouldn't it be a negative to keep them trickle charging to maintain 50% on storage mode 24/7?

There's no need to keep batteries on the charger.
They will hold their charge level for much longer than 10 days.
The discharging mentioned is a feature of DJI batteries that self-discharges down to around 50% if batteries are left unused for a number of days that you can configure in the app.
Around 50% is a good storage level to prevent battery deterioration.

is there a site that lets you download and print off large sectional charts of any area or centered around a zip code?

Look at: SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts

 

[John Locke]

To clarify, do you keep them plugged in on storage for days/weeks at a time if not using them for awhile as opposed to reaching 50% storage charge and then pulling them off to sit unplugged?

No, as Meta said, pull them out after half charged, you'll be good. However if you ever let them set for 3-4months, I suggest putting back in the charger again on storage mode to see if they're OK, then pull them out and store away. Since I fly year round here in Calif, I don't let my batteries sit for long periods, maybe 2 or 3wks at most.

FYI, there are other uses for these batteries besides drones. They can come in handy for charging a variety of things via USB while on trips or hikes. Here's the adapter.

I'm planning to build a patio table out of a large burl wood slab, ~2" thick. I have plans to put tiny LEDs in the surface of the table, maybe 40 or 50 of them, and finish the table top with surfboard resin, like glass. You've probably seen bars with their bar-tops like that. Since my patio table is free standing, no near power, the LED's will be powered by a retired Phantom battery plugged into the bottom of the table, hidden, which will power the LEDs for many hours when entertaining guests. The on/off switch for the LEDs will be hidden on one of the table legs. That's another use for Phantom batteries.

 

[thinkpic]

After seeing your answer here I wonder if I didn't ask my question clearly or perhaps I misunderstood your reply, either way I will clarify.

I want a 3 battery charge for ease of use. I saw a $70 DJI one on Newegg and a few $20ish ones that I assume are no name generics. Is the DJI one worth the $50 premium?

Only the DJI version has a storage mode which discharges batteries to 50% for long term storage. This is very useful for proper battery care.

 

[Meta4]

Only the DJI version has a storage mode which discharges batteries to 50% for long term storage. This is very useful for proper battery care.

DJI batteries automatically self-discharge to ~50% without using any additional equipment.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

I am happy now to be justified in paying the extra to get the DJI hub with the storage option. I do have a few follow ups though that are still not 100% clear to me even after some searching.

The 10 days (or whatever you set it to) is when the battery will START to discharge if above 50% and doesn't get touched, correct? (Not the amount of days it will take to drop to 50%.)

Then does it only discharge down to 50% or it slowly and consistently discharges down to like 5%?

If it stops at 50%, how long will it stay around there before you should top it off a bit because it eventually dropped to say 30%? I'm asking in terms of not flying for weeks/months, so longer times of no use.

Even if the battery has some good discharge features built in, I see use in the hub to bring 3 batteries to 50% after a day of flying and make that my routine (bringing them up to 50 after flying down to 20 or so). I want to do things properly from the start and not 5 cycles in.

Thanks again to all that comment.

 

[PeterGNJ]

I bought a sectional chart at the local airport near me. Amazon has them in the 10-15$ range

 

[Meta4]

The 10 days (or whatever you set it to) is when the battery will START to discharge if above 50% and doesn't get touched, correct? (Not the amount of days it will take to drop to 50%.)
Then does it only discharge down to 50% or it slowly and consistently discharges down to like 5%?

The self discharge feature takes about two days to drop the battery down to around 50%, after which it will stay at about that level for a long time.
I've never left them long to find out how long.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

I forgot 2 other questions.

I looked through a PDF version of the manual, but don't recall seeing it say you cant or shouldn't charge both a battery and the remote at the same time, but I know a YouTube video or two mentioned that specifically. Did something change with an updated manual or did I overlook the note?

Should we ideally treat the remote like an aircraft battery and try to get it to 50% when we anticipate a longer period of no use? I assume it is also a LiPo battery.

 

[John Locke]

It doesn't hurt to charge an RC and flight battery at same time. It just slows the charge of the flight battery a little.

I think that original warning stems from older P3A craft that had only a 55W charger, but the warning was assumed to be for the 100W charger of the P3P also. I've charged both for 2yrs, starting with my P3P, never a problem.

It would be good to treat the RC battery that same if storing for long periods, however it's not as easy to do. RC batteries don't take the amount of high current drain abuse as the flight batteries, plus the battery duration isn't as important, but it's a good idea to take care of it as best possible.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

Good news, my P4P arrived today!
I got my batteries and remote charged up and will try flying it later this week or this weekend at the latest.
The batteries came with ~25% charge as only a single dot was lit up (and none blinking) so either they store them slightly lower or they lost charge over time while in long storage.

I didn't realize the manual wouldn't be included in the box, just a few other booklets. Had I not researched and read the manual ahead of time from a downloaded PDF I think I would have assumed that was all that exists. I don't even recall seeing something in the booklets or a single sheet of paper informing me that a full manual can be downloaded from XXXXX website and is encouraged to read. This seems like a bad decision on their part as a lot of people will likely glance over the delivered materials and fall short on information.

I just finished registering my drone through the FAA and since there is a chance I will fly it commercially, but not my intention initially, I decided to click the button for commercial use. I figured error on the side of caution, hopefully that was a smart move.

I am curious though, had I started as a hobby user and paid my $5 there, but later wanted to switch it to commercial, would I have to pay $5 again to technically re-register it under that classification?

Also, my work P4P arrived as well and I will have to look at it a bit closer tomorrow as I didn't have much time today, but there may be an issue with the battery that came in the box. The free extra battery charged fine, but the one in the box seemed to blink once or twice and then go dark. I hope I can get it to take a charge in the morning, but otherwise I would guess that the battery arrived dead and I might have to return the whole kit in order to get a replacement... that would surely be annoying.

 

[EhmayWuntee]

@John Locke
I see your signature says you are also Part 107 certified, can you please comment on my very first question which I have reproduced below:

1) As a certified sUAS remote pilot under Part 107, where do you keep your certification card? I still only have my temporary certificate, but I would like to know if I am supposed to carry the card with me at all times (or at least have it in the case when flying) or if I can keep the card at home/work and if someone official requests to see it, I can provide it to them eventually or log in and show them the IACRA database. I suppose if I keep it off-site I could at least have photographs of the card on my phone for initial purposes.
Surprisingly whenever I try searching for this answer, I haven't come close to a result.

 

[Meta4]

The batteries came with ~25% charge as only a single dot was lit up (and none blinking) so either they store them slightly lower or they lost charge over time while in long storage.

The most likely explanation is that under IATA regulations lithium batteries can only be sent as airfreight if the charge level is 20%.

I am curious though, had I started as a hobby user and paid my $5 there, but later wanted to switch it to commercial, would I have to pay $5 again to technically re-register it under that classification?

Recreational and commercial registration are two separate things.
Recreational registration has not been in force since May (but the FAA don't state that clearly on their website).
FAA's drone registration rule suffers major setback