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First Impressions

Xanth

Well-Known Member
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Jun 16, 2017
Messages
56
Age
60
Quick and easy...

1. OcuSync or Lightbridge it ain't! Less range than my old Vision+. 1000' line of sight with the transmitter. Almost no range when signal is obstructed.

2. Good gimbal even in Sport mode.

3. Really hauls in Sport mode...for a few seconds before it goes out of range. (Not sure what fun the Goggles will be.)

4. Very responsive flier. Even more stable than the Mavic in light to no wind.

5. Easy to tote! Nice not to have a delicate-looking gimbal flopping around.

6. And though it's not a first impression, the most important thing of all: 250 grams. Which hopefully means you can fly it almost anywhere. (Informed disagreement welcome.)

7. What's up with no proper USB cables? The remote has the phone holder arms, but there's no wire to connect it to your phone. And unlike the Mavic remote which had a standard USB connection you could use with any Lightning cable, the Spark remote has only a microUSB connection. Now I have literally hundreds of USB cables of every possible configuration, but until now, I have never imagined needing a microUSB to Lightning cable (except the one included with the Mavic). Looks like another little green envelope will need to be coming from China...or Amazon.
 
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"(Informed disagreement welcome)". Thanks a lot. That excludes me for sure. I think I picked up that it was fun too.
 
I was able to get almost 2200' line of site with the RC + a spotter on a beach/over the water with almost no people and a really good distance to any houses (thinking WiIF interference). However, IMHO anything over 200-500' (depending on your eyes) is illegal unless you have a spotter as it cannot be tracked without some assistance any further. No VLOS. The video feed cut out on me after about 2100' or 890' with marsh and trees in the general area. So, definitely no MP as you mentioned in #1.

It is fun to fly around though, but I am not sure where you got 250g as I just threw mine on the scale and it shows 302g with the battery.

I found it funny that someone linked a DJI video where they are filming over people playing different games and the entire time I am shaking my head at FAA regulations or maybe just AMA suggestions about flying over people. Then at the very end they throw up some BS about following the local laws when flying over people. It certainly is a lot less intimidated when compared to my P3A or MP, but I also cannot imagine a 33-40mph projectile slamming into someone.
 
Quick and easy...

1. OcuSync or Lightbridge it ain't! Less range than my old Vision+. 1000' line of sight with the transmitter. Almost no range when signal is obstructed.

2. Good gimbal even in Sport mode.

3. Really hauls in Sport mode...for a few seconds before it goes out of range. (Not sure what fun the Goggles will be.)

4. Very responsive flier. Even more stable than the Mavic in light to no wind.

5. Easy to tote! Nice not to have a delicate-looking gimbal flopping around.

6. And though it's not a first impression, the most important thing of all: 250 grams. Which hopefully means you can fly it almost anywhere. (Informed disagreement welcome.)

7. What's up with no proper USB cables? The remote has the phone holder arms, but there's no wire to connect it to your phone. And unlike the Mavic remote which had a standard USB connection you could use with any Lightning cable, the Spark remote has only a microUSB connection. Now I have literally hundreds of USB cables of every possible configuration, but until now, I have never imagined needing a microUSB to Lightning cable (except the one included with the Mavic). Looks like another little green envelope will need to be coming from China...or Amazon.
You have to connect the phone to the wifi of the RC. That USB connection on the RC is only used for charging.
 
It is fun to fly around though, but I am not sure where you got 250g as I just threw mine on the scale and it shows 302g with the battery.

I went to the DJI site as soon as the Spark pages were live (before the launch event was even over) and me and a corroborating witness saw 250 grams with battery and 190 grams without on the spec page. I was looking for that specifically, and as soon as I saw it, I ordered it. Now I look at the page and it says 300 grams flying weight.

Honestly, if this thing is subject to all the same FAA BS that the Mavic is, then what good is it? The Mavic is 100x the machine and no more inconvenient to carry. I'm going to sleep on it, but right now I want my $700 back to wait for Mavic 2, or possibly Spark Lite.
 
You have to connect the phone to the wifi of the RC. That USB connection on the RC is only used for charging.

Not entirely true. I have a microUSB to standard USB adapter that I use for my tablets, and I connected my iPad directly to that port and it worked the same as the standard USB port on the Mavic controller.

Still, thanks for the heads up about the wifi. I'll have to try it. Though anyone that flew the early Phantoms got a belly full of that wifi video connection. Glad to know there's a way around it here (even if the video quality isn't much better).
 
One change I would like to see right away is a way to slow the gimbal /tilt wheel. It is way too fast and I don't think there is a way to slow and soften the stop.
 
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Not entirely true. I have a microUSB to standard USB adapter that I use for my tablets, and I connected my iPad directly to that port and it worked the same as the standard USB port on the Mavic controller.

Still, thanks for the heads up about the wifi. I'll have to try it. Though anyone that flew the early Phantoms got a belly full of that wifi video connection. Glad to know there's a way around it here (even if the video quality isn't much better).
I did not know that! Thanks for the heads up. What adapter are you using as I am have terrible connection issues from my phone to the RC. Thanks again!
 
I did not know that! Thanks for the heads up. What adapter are you using as I am have terrible connection issues from my phone to the RC. Thanks again!

I have an adapter that I got off of ebay a long time ago. When I searched Amazon for a more elegant solution, I found this: Amazon.com: Lightning to MicroUSB Cable, 4’ black, for connecting DAC/Digital Camera to iPhone 7/Plus/6/6s/Plus/SE/5s/5 & iPad: Cell Phones & Accessories
There are reviews saying that the cable doesn't work with Mavic, but that doesn't surprise me. The MicroUSB on the Mavic controller is OTG and has extra connectors. If that were true of the Spark controller then my adapter wouldn't have worked.

Somebody put this post up today:
DJI SPARK UNBOXING & HIDDEN FEATURE FOUND (Increases range)!

Apparently, the all-caps hubbub is that they did what I did to plug directly into the receiver and then made a YouTube video about it claiming it extended range. If that's the case, then I'm definitely sending this Spark back because the range using the cable was terrible, and if that's "extended," ugh.
 
You have to connect the phone to the wifi of the RC. That USB connection on the RC is only used for charging.

Here's a video of someone doing it.
 
Here's a video of someone doing it.

There they go calling it a hidden feature again. I don't think my car's owners manual says anything about the drink holders, so are they a hidden feature? It's just a matter of time until they go full click-bait and call it a "Secret feature that DJI doesn't want you to know about!"
 
I don't think its so much of a "hidden" feature but im sure somebody from DJI would have attempted this and figured it worked before printing the manual. they should have added it in there.
 
I don't think its so much of a "hidden" feature but im sure somebody from DJI would have attempted this and figured it worked before printing the manual. they should have added it in there.

The USB port in the exact same spot on the Mavic controller does the exact same thing. Is that mentioned in the Mavic manual? I confess I never bothered to look in either one.
 
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