Warning for litchi users

[Wessex]

I guess the reps must be on an extended Christmas/New Year holiday break.

An answer in the New Year would be appreciated chaps.

 

[WilliamM]

I guess the reps must be on an extended Christmas/New Year holiday break.

An answer in the New Year would be appreciated chaps.

Don't know about Litchi, but you won't ever see a DJI rep identify themselves on this site. I don't think they appreciate a competing forum, so if you want an answer from one of them it's best to post it on the DJI Forum site. And Litchi is good at replying to your email if you reach out.

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[Wessex]

Thanks William. I was thinking I'd seen a reply from one of them in the past but could well be mistaken.

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[Klaus_Klavier]

As cool as litchi is I will not use it because it's software not certified by DJI and messing with hardware like range boosters is one thing but software is vital to keeping your bird airborne and able to come back home and when you are using software to bypass official software It's a crapshoot imo


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[WilliamM]

As cool as litchi is I will not use it because it's software not certified by DJI and messing with hardware like range boosters is one thing but software is vital to keeping your bird airborne and able to come back home and when you are using software to bypass official software It's a crapshoot imo


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My not be certified, but it's a open source code for other software developers. They DJI, approve of other software developers or it wouldn't be open source.

 

[Klaus_Klavier]

My not be certified, but it's a open source code for other software developers. They DJI, approve of other software developers or it wouldn't be open source.

It's open source meaning while it's easy to make your own functions and apps for it it's also very easy for someone to goof up pretty badly and cause hundreds of dollars in damages because they used software that might not even be well tested. I can assume software from DJI gets tested enough to be safe. Anything else I'm not so sure of

 

[Schnoidz]

My not be certified, but it's a open source code for other software developers. They DJI, approve of other software developers or it wouldn't be open source.

Exactly. DJI opened their SDK to other developers to create software for the DJI products to use. This week I've been using Litchi to fine tune a flight to capture Christmas lights in the park. I planned the missions on the desktop and fine tuned them in the field on my phone. I review the videos at home and make changes to the missions to get what I want. Litchi lets me launch from a quarter mile away and repeat the exact flight over and over in the daytime until I get it right. Then I can do the night flights to capture what I want.

Waypoint missions can be done with DJI Go, but they are such a pain to accomplish.

 

[Klaus_Klavier]

Exactly. DJI opened their SDK to other developers to create software for the DJI products to use. This week I've been using Litchi to fine tune a flight to capture Christmas lights in the park. I planned the missions on the desktop and fine tuned them in the field on my phone. I review the videos at home and make changes to the missions to get what I want. Litchi lets me launch from a quarter mile away and repeat the exact flight over and over in the daytime until I get it right. Then I can do the night flights to capture what I want.

Waypoint missions can be done with DJI Go, but they are such a pain to accomplish.

I suppose if you're a waypoint user litchi would make more sense to use but I prefer to fly my drone Manually and control everything on the fly but that's just my preference so I'd get a range booster and fly FPV


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[WilliamM]

It's open source meaning while it's easy to make your own functions and apps for it it's also very easy for someone to goof up pretty badly and cause hundreds of dollars in damages because they used software that might not even be well tested. I can assume software from DJI gets tested enough to be safe. Anything else I'm not so sure of

Understand you point, but in the case of Litchi it's a great app. Some use it every time instead of the Go app for FPV (normal) flight. There both solid apps, it all personal preference. But Litchi has a few features Go can't come near. VR and Waypoint missions are two good examples.

 

[Klaus_Klavier]

Understand you point, but in the case of Litchi it's a great app. Some use it every time instead of the Go app for FPV (normal) flight. There both solid apps, it all personal preference. But Litchi has a few features Go can't come near. VR and Waypoint missions are two good examples.

Litchi looks and operates similar to the GO app but has some nicer features but those features I fear (as we seen in this thread) can go very wrong and rather than RTH your bird will hover somewhere out in the aether until it dies, something go wouldn't allow it to do


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[Schnoidz]

I suppose if you're a waypoint user litchi would make more sense to use but I prefer to fly my drone Manually and control everything on the fly but that's just my preference so I'd get a range booster and fly FPV


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Yes, if you only fly FPV than DJI GO is all you need. Litchi simply opens up many of the other things our Phantoms can do. I often fly the exact same mission on different days to document changes. Flying waypoints allows me to do that. DJI GO is a very good app, it's also very limited in what it can do.

 

[Schnoidz]

Litchi looks and operates similar to the GO app but has some nicer features but those features I fear (as we seen in this thread) can go very wrong and rather than RTH your bird will hover somewhere out in the aether until it dies, something go wouldn't allow it to do


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Like Litchi, DJI GO is only software and neither is infallible. Because more flights are done using DJI GO, more fly aways happen using DJI GO. Whether it's software error or pilot error, it happens with both apps and when it does it really sucks.

 

[Klaus_Klavier]

Like Litchi, DJI GO is only software and neither is infallible. Because more flights are done using DJI GO, more fly aways happen using DJI GO. Whether it's software error or pilot error, it happens with both apps and when it does it really sucks.

I'll give ya that one


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[CCrew]

I'll give ya that one

And considering that DJI bought the base code for Go from the developer of Litchi I think that the Litchi folks aren't as dumb as you try to give them credit for. Ever wonder why the interfaces were so similar? Sheesh. It's all about the calls to the firmware, if DJI screws up the API then all are going to have trouble.

 

[Klaus_Klavier]

And considering that DJI bought the base code for Go from the developer of Litchi I think that the Litchi folks aren't as dumb as you try to give them credit for. Ever wonder why the interfaces were so similar? Sheesh. It's all about the calls to the firmware, if DJI screws up the API then all are going to have trouble.

Ok I didn't call them dumb I just don't like the setup and don't trust it personally


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[CCrew]

Ok I didn't call them dumb I just don't like the setup and don't trust it personally

If all you're doing is looking at the screen and flying the bird, there's really little difference in the two apps though. I've got 400 + flights with Litchi, never an issue that I didn't cause myself.

 

[Klaus_Klavier]

If all you're doing is looking at the screen and flying the bird, there's really little difference in the two apps though. I've got 400 + flights with Litchi, never an issue that I didn't cause myself.

That's how I prefer to fly it. Automation is cool but it's not as good as a good pilot


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[FASTFJR]

That's how I prefer to fly it. Automation is cool but it's not as good as a good pilot

Its usually a lot better, flying a preprogrammed mission give you much smoother transitions....in video at least. If your just goofing around its a mute point

 

[Schnoidz]

Its usually a lot better, flying a preprogrammed mission give you much smoother transitions....in video at least. If your just goofing around its a mute point

I just got home from shooting Christmas lights in the park with a pre-planned Litchi waypoint flight. With 3 batteries I ran the 1.3 mile mission 12 times changing the exposure for each mission. The lights will be gone in a couple days for another year and without Litchi I would not have been able to do that. Now I have lots of the same mission with different exposures. It was a great way to learn about night settings. Tomorrow I'll review all the footage. There were lots of sweeping curves and several Points of Interest along the way. I can't imagine any pilot being able to fly that smoothly and also track with the camera. Sometimes automation is the only way to get the shot.

 

[RodPad]

It seems to me that most (if not all) mission stalls are when the drone gets to waypoint 1 - maybe suggest making waypoint 1 close to launch-site then if it stalls you can recover? I presume waypoint 1 is where Litchi flies the craft to then says 'over to you captain, Litchi over and out'

My observation from memory is that most posts mention P3/P3A - does it not occur on P4/P4P or Mavic?

I bought Litchi when it was on special but havent used it yet as the reason for purchase was the waypoint flights but am now too nervous till I see people reporting that it has a fix.

Viewed this thread 2x kind of fast, you bought Litchi on a Black Friday special?
Anyways, just ready to try a mission, was doing some searching / education, guess I will wait a bit, watch what happens here.

Rod