First flight and operation questions

[buckchi206]

Just took my first drone flight ever in my new P3 standard and it was allot of fun. I have 4 questions.

1) I ended the flight in a fairly harmless crash. I had like 15% battery so I took it down to eye level and just for fun to get comfortable with the controls I was going to fly it to my car which was about 70 yards away. Well what I think is some kind of emergency trigger took over and it rocketed up to 100ft (the home sequence) and nearly hit a tree I had walked under and then proceeded to basically crash land at my old "home base" where it came down so fast it did a few barrel rolls. Is that normal? Should I just never ignore the battery beeping? Anyway to override that when I know I am aware of battery level?

2) What is the best way to get video and pictures to my computer? I can see the videos in the app but not the pictures. I plugged in my PC to the micro-usb on the silver part above the camera and nothing seemed to happen. Is everything done app based? I seem to get inconsistent connection between phone and drone.

3) Related to that connection, the camera does not always seem to turn on when I started flying? It would just be grey where I had last taken a picture. Any suggestions?

4) Realized quickly I need more than one battery. I have seen many used for great prices. I suspect that's a bad idea, no?

Thanks in advance for tolerating a newbie, this board seems great.

 

[120CCPM]

1) Apologies if I sound harsh, but you came here for advice and I think this is the best advice anyone can give you: read the manual. Yes, that means spending some time learning how the P3S works, BEFORE sending it up in the air. Go also through all different options and menus of DJI GO, but do NOT change any default settings until you really know what you're doing.
2) When you connect the camera to your PC, you must turn the AC on for it to be visible to your computer. Alternatively, remove the microSD card from the camera and use an external USB reader.
3) It happens, from time to time. Usually, switching between video and photo mode brings the camera back to life
4) You can find original, new batteries for around $100 online. Some people recently had luck exploiting a GameStop online price at $49 to have it matched at local Target or Best Buy, but since GameStop does not actually have the battery in stock, some store managers refuse to price-match it. You can also buy used, but at the very least check how much life is left in the battery (manual will tell you how). Lastly, you can get non-original batteries, plenty of posts here to read about pros and cons.

 

[Haterade]

1) If you hit critical battery level (10% is preset I think), your drone is going to come down whether you like it or not. You can stop it and maneuver but don't be surprised if you hit critical battery, can't get it back and it just lands, wherever that may be. That being said, don't fly on a low battery. I usually land on 30% or so. That's why I have extra batteries. You also really need to read the manual and watch some youtube videos on RTH and test it in a wide open place to see how it works. A 100ft RTH height might be good for a cornfield, but if there are trees, it's not. I put mine at 200ft. You need to do a lot more reading/watching videos and do controlled tests of your drone you're probably going to crash again...

2. Yes, you just plug it into the micro usb above the camera. It does take 30 sec or more for mine to show up. Maybe just wait longer? I assume you have the drone powered on while doing this?

3. If it's before you take off, just restart the app or switch camera/video modes. Make sure your camera isn't pointed at the ground, lol.

4. DJI new are the best. Used are fine but you'll want to know how many times they have been charged. I have one knock off from Amazon. It got good reviews and no problems with it yet. With aftermarket you're going to want to monitor your battery on healthydrones. You should also go register there and upload your flight plans to learn from them.

Have fun, don't crash.

 

[kbviper]

Just took my first drone flight ever in my new P3 standard and it was allot of fun. I have 4 questions.

1) I ended the flight in a fairly harmless crash. I had like 15% battery so I took it down to eye level and just for fun to get comfortable with the controls I was going to fly it to my car which was about 70 yards away. Well what I think is some kind of emergency trigger took over and it rocketed up to 100ft (the home sequence) and nearly hit a tree I had walked under and then proceeded to basically crash land at my old "home base" where it came down so fast it did a few barrel rolls. Is that normal? Should I just never ignore the battery beeping? Anyway to override that when I know I am aware of battery level?

2) What is the best way to get video and pictures to my computer? I can see the videos in the app but not the pictures. I plugged in my PC to the micro-usb on the silver part above the camera and nothing seemed to happen. Is everything done app based? I seem to get inconsistent connection between phone and drone.

3) Related to that connection, the camera does not always seem to turn on when I started flying? It would just be grey where I had last taken a picture. Any suggestions?

4) Realized quickly I need more than one battery. I have seen many used for great prices. I suspect that's a bad idea, no?

Thanks in advance for tolerating a newbie, this board seems great.

There are lots of members that are much more experienced than I, but I will be the first to offer my opinion. I have a P4, so there could be some differences.

1) You can set the level at which the battery being low triggers a warning. I have mine set conservatively - 30% and have never landed with less than 18%. Batteries can fail, particularly when they are near discharged. A good practice would be to "land" when you have 20% of more of battery. (Unless you are trying to set an endurance record ) As far as landing, my P4 toppled over in my driveway, scuffling two props, the first time I landed it. I have hand caught it without a problem every time since. mslinger has a good video on this site showing how to hand catch.

2) Easiest (and likely best) way to transfer and view video and photos is to put the micro SD card in the SD adapter most come with, and plug it into the SD slot that most laptops/desktop computers have and transfer the pictures to them. Format the card after the transfer and put back in the P3.

3) I believe most controllers have a button to turn video on and off and to take a picture. You cannot take a picture while shooting video - one of the other at a time.

4) Definitely need more than 1 battery and I would not purchase a used battery. You may be able to see how many times it has been charged, but you can't see how it has been handled, or if it has any defects. A few members have had batteries fail in the air, down you go. Minimize the risk and buy batteries new and follow the discharge recommendations if you are not using them for days at a time.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[buckchi206]

There are lots of members that are much more experienced than I, but I will be the first to offer my opinion. I have a P4, so there could be some differences.

1) You can set the level at which the battery being low triggers a warning. I have mine set conservatively - 30% and have never landed with less than 18%. Batteries can fail, particularly when they are near discharged. A good practice would be to "land" when you have 20% of more of battery. (Unless you are trying to set an endurance record ) As far as landing, my P4 toppled over in my driveway, scuffling two props, the first time I landed it. I have hand caught it without a problem every time since. mslinger has a good video on this site showing how to hand catch.

2) Easiest (and likely best) way to transfer and view video and photos is to put the micro SD card in the SD adapter most come with, and plug it into the SD slot that most laptops/desktop computers have and transfer the pictures to them. Format the card after the transfer and put back in the P3.

3) I believe most controllers have a button to turn video on and off and to take a picture. You cannot take a picture while shooting video - one of the other at a time.

4) Definitely need more than 1 battery and I would not purchase a used battery. You may be able to see how many times it has been charged, but you can't see how it has been handled, or if it has any defects. A few members have had batteries fail in the air, down you go. Minimize the risk and buy batteries new and follow the discharge recommendations if you are not using them for days at a time.

Good luck and have fun.

Thank you for your response.

 

[buckchi206]

T

1) Apologies if I sound harsh, but you came here for advice and I think this is the best advice anyone can give you: read the manual. Yes, that means spending some time learning how the P3S works, BEFORE sending it up in the air. Go also through all different options and menus of DJI GO, but do NOT change any default settings until you really know what you're doing.
2) When you connect the camera to your PC, you must turn the AC on for it to be visible to your computer. Alternatively, remove the microSD card from the camera and use an external USB reader.
3) It happens, from time to time. Usually, switching between video and photo mode brings the camera back to life
4) You can find original, new batteries for around $100 online. Some people recently had luck exploiting a GameStop online price at $49 to have it matched at local Target or Best Buy, but since GameStop does not actually have the battery in stock, some store managers refuse to price-match it. You can also buy used, but at the very least check how much life is left in the battery (manual will tell you how). Lastly, you can get non-original batteries, plenty of posts here to read about pros and cons.

Thanks

 

[buckchi206]

1) If you hit critical battery level (10% is preset I think), your drone is going to come down whether you like it or not. You can stop it and maneuver but don't be surprised if you hit critical battery, can't get it back and it just lands, wherever that may be. That being said, don't fly on a low battery. I usually land on 30% or so. That's why I have extra batteries. You also really need to read the manual and watch some youtube videos on RTH and test it in a wide open place to see how it works. A 100ft RTH height might be good for a cornfield, but if there are trees, it's not. I put mine at 200ft. You need to do a lot more reading/watching videos and do controlled tests of your drone you're probably going to crash again...

2. Yes, you just plug it into the micro usb above the camera. It does take 30 sec or more for mine to show up. Maybe just wait longer? I assume you have the drone powered on while doing this?

3. If it's before you take off, just restart the app or switch camera/video modes. Make sure your camera isn't pointed at the ground, lol.

4. DJI new are the best. Used are fine but you'll want to know how many times they have been charged. I have one knock off from Amazon. It got good reviews and no problems with it yet. With aftermarket you're going to want to monitor your battery on healthydrones. You should also go register there and upload your flight plans to learn from them.

Have fun, don't crash.

Thanks. I was testing it in a controlled open field. It was only after I was done that it did the low battery bail and crashed on its own. Ill certainly be more cautious of that low battery in the future.

 

[buckchi206]

There are lots of members that are much more experienced than I, but I will be the first to offer my opinion. I have a P4, so there could be some differences.

1) You can set the level at which the battery being low triggers a warning. I have mine set conservatively - 30% and have never landed with less than 18%. Batteries can fail, particularly when they are near discharged. A good practice would be to "land" when you have 20% of more of battery. (Unless you are trying to set an endurance record ) As far as landing, my P4 toppled over in my driveway, scuffling two props, the first time I landed it. I have hand caught it without a problem every time since. mslinger has a good video on this site showing how to hand catch.

2) Easiest (and likely best) way to transfer and view video and photos is to put the micro SD card in the SD adapter most come with, and plug it into the SD slot that most laptops/desktop computers have and transfer the pictures to them. Format the card after the transfer and put back in the P3.

3) I believe most controllers have a button to turn video on and off and to take a picture. You cannot take a picture while shooting video - one of the other at a time.

4) Definitely need more than 1 battery and I would not purchase a used battery. You may be able to see how many times it has been charged, but you can't see how it has been handled, or if it has any defects. A few members have had batteries fail in the air, down you go. Minimize the risk and buy batteries new and follow the discharge recommendations if you are not using them for days at a time.

Good luck and have fun.

Do you do all your photo editing in the app on your phone/device or do you do it on a computer with other software other than DJI Go?

 

[robca]

Thanks. I was testing it in a controlled open field. It was only after I was done that it did the low battery bail and crashed on its own. Ill certainly be more cautious of that low battery in the future.

Please note that overdischarging the battery (for me anything below 25%) means a much shorter battery life. A conservative approach is to never discharge batteries below 25% (unless you have some sort of emergency,in which case you still have plenty of reserve), so that your batteries will age gracefully. Given the cost of the batteries, making them last is a good idea

Also, not sure if it's an urban legend or not, many people recommend to use the battery very gently the first few cycles.

Lastly: a P3S is a great drone, it flies by itself (until it doesn't). Learn how to fly in ATTI mode,manually. Learn how to deal with the drone drifting and being less stable, and with the drone in every orientation (I usually recommend people to buy a cheap $20-30 toy drone and practice with it: it's actually harder to fly a small drone, and you can learn without any risk of damage). There are many people who destroy their P3 because they never learned to actually fly a drone and rely on GPS too much

 

[buckchi206]

Please note that overdischarging the battery (for me anything below 25%) means a much shorter battery life. A conservative approach is to never discharge batteries below 25% (unless you have some sort of emergency,in which case you still have plenty of reserve), so that your batteries will age gracefully. Given the cost of the batteries, making them last is a good idea

Also, not sure if it's an urban legend or not, many people recommend to use the battery very gently the first few cycles.

Lastly: a P3S is a great drone, it flies by itself (until it doesn't). Learn how to fly in ATTI mode,manually. Learn how to deal with the drone drifting and being less stable, and with the drone in every orientation (I usually recommend people to buy a cheap $20-30 toy drone and practice with it: it's actually harder to fly a small drone, and you can learn without any risk of damage). There are many people who destroy their P3 because they never learned to actually fly a drone and rely on GPS too much

Thanks. I've only flown twice and have not really learned how to fly it using GPS. So I've taken your advice from ignorance. Won't be flying under 25% again for sure. Tell me if I'm wrong but the manual says if you're not going to fly it for 10 days or more to keep it on and let it discharge and it will turn itself off at 65%?

 

[robca]

LiPo batteries should be stored between 25% and 50% of charge, in a cool place. Storing charged batteries will shorten their life (as will storing them in hot places)

There's a setting for the smart battery that self discharges after a certain number of days, if unused (it does so slowly, though). Not sure what percent will reach in that case.

If I don't use the batteries for a long time (>1 month), I check to see if they are over discharged (if a LiPo battery goes below a certain voltage, the chemistry is damaged and the battery will fail, usually very destructively upon charging)

 

[kndll]

Thanks. I've only flown twice and have not really learned how to fly it using GPS. So I've taken your advice from ignorance. Won't be flying under 25% again for sure. Tell me if I'm wrong but the manual says if you're not going to fly it for 10 days or more to keep it on and let it discharge and it will turn itself off at 65%?

buckchi206 , you should be flying with GPS starting out , probably are and don't know it , S1 in up position is P-GPS , always start with S1 in P-GPS , your P3S will be rock solid and hold position , once you get confident with your flying ability switch S1 to middle position = ATTI , you are now flying manually - no GPS , your P3S will now drift with the wind .

 

[buckchi206]

buckchi206 , you should be flying with GPS starting out , probably are and don't know it , S1 in up position is P-GPS , always start with S1 in P-GPS , your P3S will be rock solid and hold position , once you get confident with your flying ability switch S1 to middle position = ATTI , you are now flying manually - no GPS , your P3S will now drift with the wind .

Yah. My comment was clearly misleading. GPS is on I just have not done any pre planned flights. Or had it follow me, etc. I've mostly just flown low and close to me to get fast and comfortable with maneuvering the drone.

 

[kndll]

Sounds good , I tried follow me but won't work with my phone's gps , don't be disappointed if it doesn't work for you either , it's hit or miss depending on phone , POI works great as does Course lock and Home lock !

 

[Solly747400]

Welcome to the drone world and to the forum.

Also, depending on your finances, you can purchase training videos from Laurence at www.phantomfilmschool.com

He has a good special of $97 for the "extreme bundle". I bought this a few days ago and I can tell you that his videos are awesome. Ofcourse you can get free ones off youtube but some of the information they give is questionable.

Happy flying!

 

[robca]

Yah. My comment was clearly misleading. GPS is on I just have not done any pre planned flights. Or had it follow me, etc. I've mostly just flown low and close to me to get fast and comfortable with maneuvering the drone.

Then my advice stands: learn to actually fly

By learning on GPS modes, you are actually over-relying on the GPS. In 99% of the cases, that's perfectly fine and useful. In that 1% of cases when something goes wrong, knowing how to recover is critical

Buy a cheap toy quad and practice with that. One day you'll be glad you did now, before you develop too much reliance on GPS assist.