I have a Fly More Combo and want to know if I were to use an OTG cable between my iPhone and the controller; should I (or do I need to) connect my iPhone to the Sparks WiFi?
OTG cable and WiFi
- Thread starter Tcrooksy
- Start date
Danno
Member
Aerial FX
Well-Known Member
Danno
Member
Yes. You can turn off the phone's wifi when using OTG cable.
The RC and the Spark have a separate wifi connection to communicate. The OTG cable only replaces the wifi connection between the RC and phone. Less wifi connections equals less potential sources of interference.
I have yet to hear of a convincing argument against OTG now that's it's working on both iOS and Android.
Yes, the theory with OTG cable is it reduces the amount of radio frequency in your flight area by eliminating the wireless link between your phone and the controller. So if you're using OTG, turn off Wifi, Bluetooth, and Cellular data for the cleanest radio environment. Airplane mode should turn off all of those I believe, but it doesn't turn off Bluetooth on my Note4.
Rendlesham UAP
Well-Known Member
- Join
- Mar 8, 2019
- Messages
- 581
- Age
- 62
OTG entirely replaces the need to connect via Wi Fi. I have been using OTG for the past 6 months and cannot recommend it enough.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if a future Spark 2 is connected like this i.e. dispense with WiFi. All said OTG plus Parabolic range extenders and landing legs make for an excellent small drone.
Just as a percaution turn off your wifi and Bluetooth. All happy.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if a future Spark 2 is connected like this i.e. dispense with WiFi. All said OTG plus Parabolic range extenders and landing legs make for an excellent small drone.
Just as a percaution turn off your wifi and Bluetooth. All happy.
jimlips
Well-Known Member
Here is one reason NOT to use OTG: latency. See the test this guy did:
I observed this on my Spark, and it just didn't make sense how a wifi connection could be FASTER than a cable. But, for whatever reason, it was in my case. The guy above tests latency in all three connection modes (OTG, Wifi via RC, and Wifi direct from Spark with no RC).
Forget Wi-fi, use an OTG cable and put your phone or pad on Airplane Mode and you'll be a happy camper. Your Spark will be happy too!
The date on that YouTube video is 18 months OLD (Aug 2017) -- just a few months after the Spark was first released. That was several firmware and software updates ago.
Many of the posts on this forum describing OTG problems are also outdated. DJI had been constantly improving this feature although they will never "officially support" it (whatever that means. Lol).
I am seeing zero discernable latency with OTG so I expected DJI either fixed it or it's device dependant. For me the OTG has always been better connection and fast update to video on phone's screen compared to wifi.
MicroModDude
Active Member
- Join
- Feb 28, 2018
- Messages
- 25
- Age
- 53
I'm on the .0900 firmware so I could remove the NFZ limit with the software NLD. On wifi I get almost 2 seconds latency on my LG Tablet. With the cable connected, I get about 1 second delay, all using the DJI GO app that closes down every flight.
I then tried Litchi app, with the cable and get maybe 1/2 second delay. Soo much better and reliable.
I then tried Litchi app, with the cable and get maybe 1/2 second delay. Soo much better and reliable.
nilanjan118
Well-Known Member
- Join
- Oct 31, 2018
- Messages
- 1,022
"This guy" has surely misled a lot of people with this one and a half year old "test" of his as Andre pointed out and it's pretty annoying to keep seeing this video pop up in every OTG-WiFi discussion.
Anyway, just to make it clear in simple words, no one flies the Spark like this "test".
You need to go out, fly your drone and check the difference between WiFi and OTG when the AC is at least 300 feet away.
Repeat the test in different settings. Open field, urban/semi-urban area.
You don't need to measure the latency in milliseconds. Your eyes will tell the difference when you see the live feed.
WiFi surely works, but OTG is better. Just as LAN cables are better for networking or online gaming.
Anyone who says you don't need an OTG cable has simply not flown his drone enough.
I haven't any clue, that otg cable has to do with Spark's range.
So why someone should test his cable, with spark at 100 m away (at least)?
If otg cable is useful or not, depends on OS of the device, and the go4 version.
I am one of those who say that with my iOS devices, I don't need a cable.
Maybe, I haven't flown my Spark enough?
With my Android devices (I use two of them), I noticed problems with video feed, go4 version related, and an otg cable is not helping with them.
nilanjan118
Well-Known Member
- Join
- Oct 31, 2018
- Messages
- 1,022
I use an Android device too and it is absolutely impossible for me to fly without the cable as the video feed with WiFi is terrible. It looks all good when I am connected indoors but as soon as I go out and fly out to a certain distance, I find that the video feed starts getting poor. It is sometimes hard to tell when I am flying straight but as soon as I yaw, I know how long the live feed is taking to update.That's why I said that test with the AC at least 100m or 300 ft away. There is a general consensus that iOS devices perform better with the Spark than Android and many people are happy without OTG too but to rule out the need of OTG without testing in all conditions and across platforms won't be correct. That's what I actually meant by someone not flying the Spark enough. And most importantly, an OTG cable is available all over the world for less than $10. Why not just have one and not need it, rather than running into a situation where you may need one but don't have it.
Connection between RC and device, cannot be responsible for poor video feed, while distance increases.
I agree, it's a cheap accessory, useful under some circumstances, but if WiFi connection is ok, it's not necessary.
nilanjan118
Well-Known Member
- Join
- Oct 31, 2018
- Messages
- 1,022
And how did you arrive at this conclusion? As I tried to explain above, within 100m from home point, I can very easily fly without OTG, but beyond that I cannot. So there is definitely something which is affecting the downlink data signal when I am connected to the RC via WiFi and it gets more erratic as the distance increases.
