Got a new Spark, 3+ hours of set up, 10 secs of flight

[Ophidia Snaketongue]

Isn't that essentially false advertising?

 

[Virtual1]

Yes, the setup process can be quite time-consuming, but it is (for the most part) a one-time delay. It took me at least an hour to get everything set up when I first got my Spark. I could probably do it again in 25 minutes, a lot of the time is spent pairing things and getting firmware updated. I ran into an unexpected delay in the park when I swung by Best Buy to pick up a few spare batteries, and of course when I got to the park they both wanted their firmware updated, oy vey! Someone that's new to drones or isn't good with tech could easily take hours to get a Spark set up initially. It's a technical device, and if you're not tech-savvy then you should enlist the help of a geek you know to give you a hand. It's no different than setting up a smart TV or a home automation system or a fancy wireless printer.

As for crashes.... drones are in an uncomfortable triangle of expensive, delicate, and nimble. While some drones are more durable than others, it's their nature to be vulnerable to physical damage and to be operating in circumstances that may get them abused. NO drone should be expected to crash and emerge with no damage. Some may be more likely to survive, or to sustain only minimum damage, but it's never guaranteed. "I only crashed it once and now it's broken!" Yep, that's entirely possible. That's why we took Driver's Ed in school before getting our license, you can crash and do damage on your first attempt. There's no Driver's Ed for drones, so you just have to start slow and careful and work your way up slowly. A lot of people don't understand that drones aren't foolproof, and the retailers do have an unfortunate habit of giving users that impression, to convince a nervous customer that "you can handle this, it'll be fine!"

Unfortunately a lot of retailers will also show drones being flown "effortlessly" indoors. Who gets a drone for Christmas and wants to wait until spring to go outside and fly it? But indoors is not a good place to learn to fly. My house is quite small and I have to be extremely careful indoors. I also have radio-proof plasterboard walls so GPS is very unreliable. New users should never fly indoors without prop guards at the least. The best place to exercise your wings is in a park, preferably out on a football pitch or field where there's flat grass, no people, no water, no pavement, no trees or structures - just lots of open space and everywhere's a soft landing.

 

[aviscomi]

Isn't that essentially false advertising?

Companies don't like the phrase "false advertising". It's called "creative marketing".

 

[Bubbles!!!]

Isn't that essentially false advertising?

False advertising would more be like saying the drone can do backflips when it has no programming for such a maneuver, or that it's a hexacopter.

 

[Eljay]

Isn't that essentially false advertising?

There can sometimes be a subtle legal distinction which is what keeps the class action lawyers in caviar.

 

[Spark 317]

False advertising??

After all of these years, I still can't get my Slinky to go down the stairs, alone or in pairs.
Everybody knows it's Slinky.

 

[aviscomi]

False advertising??

After all of these years, I still can't get my Slinky to go down the stairs, alone or in pairs.
Everybody knows it's Slinky.

I think that you might be showing your age with that reference...

 

[Robert G]

No wonder you have trouble if you've never/only once looked at the manual.
Flies perfectly well indoors, gps not needed under 5 meters.
Aicraft indicators display all this and masses more info. Compass status screen is so accurate you can find pipes/cables in your house. If you takeoff and don't read the rear indicators...

 

[THE WOMBLE]

I can fly my Spark in my lounge at night with only the main light on. Also the obstacle avoidance works. Have even taken a pano sphere photo of the lounge.

 

[myko]

I get it, I'm a newbie here and I did something (starting it up indoors), that everything thinks is stupid.

FWIW if DJI is going to be successful in the "normal" consumer market, people without much of a background with drones, I think they are going to need to up their documentation game. I found the set up difficult, the booklets, they try and be "cool" with their packaging, but they're small and hard to follow. I can't have been the first person to start their spark indoors because hey, we've seen plenty of drones indoors, even in their promos. A nice start up guide and some step by step instructions with a few real warnings and tips would be helpful to prevent some of the stupid stuff.

I honestly don't know what happened. It was hovering then it rose unexpectedly and hit the ceiling, then the floor. I guess I'll find out what the damage is from DJI.

If it loses connection for a brief period, it is designed to automatically "return to home" during which it flies straight up to a certain pre-programmed height before making its journey to its home destination. Thats what seemed to have happened.

I fly indoors the majority of the time, its just a matter of taking some extra time after starting it up to ensure everything is properly calibrated, good connections, then making some settings adjustments such as disabling the auto rise during return to home. Definitely use propeller guards as well and like someone else said, ensure good lighting.

 

[Tilak]

If it loses connection for a brief period, it is designed to automatically "return to home" during which it flies straight up to a certain pre-programmed height before making its journey to its home destination. Thats what seemed to have happened.

I fly indoors the majority of the time, its just a matter of taking some extra time after starting it up to ensure everything is properly calibrated, good connections, then making some settings adjustments such as disabling the auto rise during return to home. Definitely use propeller guards as well and like someone else said, ensure good lighting.

I thought that when close to the HomePoint - Return to Home is inactive and it just comes straight down

 

[Robert G]

Well for that you would have the unlikely facility of the homepoint being set with no gps.

 

[kydroneman]

I just got a new Spark for Christmas. I have to say i'm disappointed.
I was very excited to get it. I've watched a bunch of videos including DJIs promos. I have a Syma drone that I've had for a year and was hoping to have something more robust, with an active camera.

I unbox it, and it try and set it up for a quick flight. Obviously that was a foolish thought. The QR scanner wouldn't work to link up the drone, then the controller turned on, but wouldn't turn off or have its wifi recognized. I figured out how to turn it off through forum research and got it reset. Then the updates to firmware for both the controller and drone which kept dropping wifi connection and this took forever. All told, this took hours.

I finally get everything linked up and go to take off in my living room. It takes off, I get it to go left and right briefly, then it just goes up somewhat on its own, hits the ceiling and falls to the ground. Flight lasted less than 30 seconds and seemed to climb on its own.

I go outside to try again and it says there is a motor obstruction. After spending 20 minutes on hold with DJI support, the guy basically said
1) you have to send it in, there is no troubleshooting they do over the phone
2) DJI does not make any drones that are expected to operate indoors.
3) they don't take the information over the phone or anything I need to open a case online.

I point out that they have multiple promo videos showing their Spark operating indoors. After he goes and checks for 5 minutes he comes back and says tthat those people had a clear GPS signal.

Overall I'm pretty unimpressed. Both in DJI's response and that with 1 fall the drone is inoperable.

as a new drone owner it is not advisable flying indoors initially. you probably need to practice outdoors before attempting indoor flight.

 

[Flashoser]

I just got a new Spark for Christmas. I have to say i'm disappointed.
I was very excited to get it. I've watched a bunch of videos including DJIs promos. I have a Syma drone that I've had for a year and was hoping to have something more robust, with an active camera.

I unbox it, and it try and set it up for a quick flight. Obviously that was a foolish thought. The QR scanner wouldn't work to link up the drone, then the controller turned on, but wouldn't turn off or have its wifi recognized. I figured out how to turn it off through forum research and got it reset. Then the updates to firmware for both the controller and drone which kept dropping wifi connection and this took forever. All told, this took hours.

I finally get everything linked up and go to take off in my living room. It takes off, I get it to go left and right briefly, then it just goes up somewhat on its own, hits the ceiling and falls to the ground. Flight lasted less than 30 seconds and seemed to climb on its own.

I go outside to try again and it says there is a motor obstruction. After spending 20 minutes on hold with DJI support, the guy basically said
1) you have to send it in, there is no troubleshooting they do over the phone
2) DJI does not make any drones that are expected to operate indoors.
3) they don't take the information over the phone or anything I need to open a case online.

I point out that they have multiple promo videos showing their Spark operating indoors. After he goes and checks for 5 minutes he comes back and says tthat those people had a clear GPS signal.

Overall I'm pretty unimpressed. Both in DJI's response and that with 1 fall the drone is inoperable.

Promo Videos are not something to learn by or have the experience, how many people say Wie open Area?? I'm sure someone already said this to you, it's common sense..

 

[Concorde]

I have a year of experience of flying an indoor “toy” drone, and opened the Spark Fly More Combo a few days before Christmas as an early gift from my wife. I watched a couple of “Spark Beginner” videos on YouTube, went through the compass and IMU calibration and suggested settings customizations in less than an hour. First several flights were inside the house without incident, and then moved to outside, again without incident.

I’ve continued to read here and elsewhere, and learn from as many videos as I have been able regarding controls and flying modes and building experience quickly.

My next step will be to learn more about the advanced camera modes and controls. It’s a learning process that I am enjoying.

 

[Ophidia Snaketongue]

Talking of those tutorials, does anybody else find the DJI tutorial guy really creepy? He's either a robot or made of plastic, IMO.