Is this where the firmware is stored on a P3P?

Rob Robertson · Nov 20, 2015

I am in the process of swapping the body of my P3P after a minor crash.

While taking everything out of the old body and reassembling it into the new one, I saw this:

It's an SD card mounted on the bottom-side of the main board.

I am wondering if this is indeed where the firmware information is stored. The reason I am curious, is that I have stopped upgrading my firmware just before DJI re-worked the firmware and made it so that all apps including third party apps would have to be rewritten in order to work. This was done to ensure that you do not hold onto the old apps that have fewer restrictions in them. Although DJI started limiting their own app with the release of DJI Go, reducing the number of video transmission channels, setting a ceiling on altitude, and whatever comes down the line next, I decided to block all communication with the internet for my apps, both third party and DJI, and shut off Google Play auto update so that I would be able to stay where I was with the last version of firmware that didn't take things away from me and the last version of my apps that worked with that firmware.

So, I was wondering if this is where that info is stored, and I could make an exact copy of that SD card, if I ever had to replace my copter with a new one due to a crash, would I be able to slip in my SD copy and have my old firmware back?

Since the new firmware releases will no longer allow you to go back to earlier versions to ensure compliance with the new restrictions.

Is this a fix for that?

Just wondering if any tech people out there can answer that question.

Poundofnuts · Nov 20, 2015

It may be worth putting into your computer and taking a look at.

TC Malker · Nov 20, 2015

No the SD only hold flight data log files. The firmware is stored in a chip somewhere else.

joebar.rc · Nov 22, 2015

The firmware is stored in the microcontroller during upload. A microcontroller usually has 2 or 3 types of memory, flash, program and non violent (eeprom)
There is usually no way to extract that fw (read protected) and if so, it takes skills and tools to use that on another microcontroller.

So, you're out of luck using that route, the only route would be to keep the downloaded fw and for the phantom and app forever.
I don't think that is going to be easy, if in the event you purchase another one it is probably blocked to downgrade fw. You just have to live with the upcoming restrictions I'm afraid

MattyDread · Nov 22, 2015

What is the capacity of the sd card just out of interest? Can't imagine it to be any larger than 4g due to the small flight log files.

EireialCreations · Nov 22, 2015

The card capacity out of the box for me was 16gb

TC Malker · Nov 22, 2015

MattyDread said:
What is the capacity of the sd card just out of interest? Can't imagine it to be any larger than 4g due to the small flight log files.

Have you seen the size of those files? They are anything but small.

MattyDread · Nov 23, 2015

TC Malker said:
Have you seen the size of those files? They are anything but small.

No I've never plugged the usb into the body, just the gimbal usb. I just assumed they would be small like some sort of text file

What size are they on average?

TC Malker · Nov 23, 2015

MattyDread said:
No I've never plugged the usb into the body, just the gimbal usb. I just assumed they would be small like some sort of text file

What size are they on average?

I believe a full flight (20 min) is about 200mb.