OTG or not to OTG?

Quickdror · Oct 8, 2018

Spark always gets the shots.

jwlsin · Oct 8, 2018

otg. quicker response in flight. gives better video feed and better download of videos and pictures too. in my experience.

RPL · Oct 8, 2018

OTG 100%. Nothing else needs to be said.

Northwood Mediaworks · Oct 8, 2018

Yep...have to agree. It removes a point of failure.

Andre Levite · Oct 9, 2018

Always OTG. Several advantages and no downside

It's simple to use and only costs $8. Not much to debate.

DJI made it standard on the Mavic for a reason!

B-Dog · Oct 9, 2018

Andre Levite said:
Always OTG. Several advantages and no downside

It's simple to use and only costs $8. Not much to debate.

DJI made it standard on the Mavic for a reason!

Is it still supported on Spark? I've heard some firmware updates removed OTG support.

suprPHREAK · Oct 9, 2018

B-Dog said:
Is it still supported on Spark? I've heard some firmware updates removed OTG support.

That was ages ago. Latest firmwares fully support OTG.

Andre Levite · Oct 9, 2018

B-Dog said:
Is it still supported on Spark? I've heard some firmware updates removed OTG support.

In the past support for Android was flakey with each firmware update. You are probably still hearing about that issue which has since been solved.

It's been rock steady on iOS for about a year now.

B-Dog · Oct 9, 2018

Andre Levite said:
In the past support for Android was flakey with each firmware update. You are probably still hearing about that issue which has since been solved.

It's been rock steady on iOS for about a year now.

That's good to know!

MarRoh · Oct 9, 2018

I never flying without the OTG cable even you have anyway to fly in a line of sight.

Brianuc4 · Oct 9, 2018

Got over a mile with the OTG cable...

Milton Furtado · Oct 9, 2018

To this day, I only flew without the OTG to test and see how bad it is without it.

lmel2005 · Oct 9, 2018

Andre Levite said:
Always OTG. Several advantages and no downside

It's simple to use and only costs $8. Not much to debate.

DJI made it standard on the Mavic for a reason!

Mavics don't use otg cable.

And there is a downside. Otg cables sold are not all reliable.
There are lots of posts about otg cable problems.

DJI supports otg connection, because there were problems with 5.8g WiFi connection (many devices in many countries don't support it), and because otg cable is the only way to use goggles with the spark.

Virtual1 · Oct 13, 2018

lmel2005 said:
And there is a downside. Otg cables sold are not all reliable.
There are lots of posts about otg cable problems.

The only "reliability" problems I have with mine are making sure I connect things in the right order. It either works or doesn't work, there's no in-between, and cables have never stopped working for me mid-flight.

lmel2005 · Oct 13, 2018

Virtual1 said:
The only "reliability" problems I have with mine are making sure I connect things in the right order. It either works or doesn't work, there's no in-between, and cables have never stopped working for me mid-flight.

Many users report cable problems here and in other sites

I use several otg cables, with no issues. The reason is that I use iOS and Android devices.

I think that the one which came with my spark combo, from DJI, is the best for those using android devices, because you cannot connect it the wrong way, and you can also use normal USB cables with it.

For those using iOS devices, it is impossible to connect it the wrong way.

Virtual1 · Oct 13, 2018

lmel2005 said:
For those using iOS devices, it is impossible to connect it the wrong way.

Well, with my OTG cable, it has to connect to the controller BEFORE the phone. It would be easier to connect the controller last, as I could plug in and fully dock my iphone5 and then reach under and plug in the controller, but that's not recognized. I have to plug in the phone last and then snug it back into the bottom of the controller.

matty4 · Oct 13, 2018

Otg no question. The difference has been amazing. No video drop at all. Previously had issues at around 500 to 600 m now i have tested at 1.5km with no drop out at all. Highly recommend

lmel2005 · Oct 14, 2018

Virtual1 said:
Well, with my OTG cable, it has to connect to the controller BEFORE the phone. It would be easier to connect the controller last, as I could plug in and fully dock my iphone5 and then reach under and plug in the controller, but that's not recognized. I have to plug in the phone last and then snug it back into the bottom of the controller.

Sorry for my poor English, but I didn't understand your problem.

Plug your cable on your controller, put your iPhone into the clamps, plug your cable on the phone. Fly.

Is there something I missed?

horesham · Oct 15, 2018

OTG seems to be working brilliantly, no failures between the tablet and the controller - a bit procedural when battery changing but a couple of minutes doesn't hurt

RoarRoar · Oct 16, 2018

I just don't like the way the OTG sits in the controller. I don't mind a slight lag in transmission because I have never had an issue with footage and pictures on the sd card.

I bought one and really only used it a few times.