(Intro) Sky over Tampa may be more dangerous...LOL!

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Hello to all!
I just bought a new Phantom 4 Pro. (my wife will talk to me again sometime) The reason the skies over Tampa may be more dangerous, although I haven't been in the air yet, I'm having a great deal of problems getting the controller connected to the bird.

Any way, Ive been flying helps for some time, not much of a technical chalenge. I'm very much looking forward to getting the Phantom up. As I'm sure you gathered, I live just outside of Tampa, FL. I've visited one local group and will try to catch up with them again soon. I'm interested in talking to more Phantom flyers.

As I mentioned in the paragraph above, I'm having trouble getting my Phantom 4 Pro and either of 3 Android devices to set up and work. If anybody has experience with this combination I would love to talk with you about it. If you're in the Tampa area I'd be glad to meet up, I might even buy lunch!

If someone has ideas, please get hold of me, I'm not getting much of a response to my emails to DJI. My email is [email protected].

Not much more about me. My wife and I have a small horse ranch just south of Brandon FL (about 16 miles outside of Tampa) I also enjoy sailing and keep a small sailing yacht in Apollo Beach FL Between the boat, the new drone, and keeping this place working, my horse thinks he's retired! Hope I do better making time for the drone!

Glad to meet all, please feel free to use the email listed above.

TNX,
Steve
 
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Welcome to Phantom Pilots! :)

I'm having trouble getting my Phantom 4 Pro and either of 3 Android devices to set up and work. If anybody has experience with this combination I would love to talk with you about it.
Which Android devices are you using? What exactly doesn't seem to be working?
 
Welcome to the forum .
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .
This bunch here are the smartest you will find anywhere :)
 
Welcome to Phantom Pilots! :)


Which Android devices are you using? What exactly doesn't seem to be working?

Hi Msinger

Thank you for the note.

I have tried my Samsung Galaxy Tab s, model SM T800, an Insignia NS po8a7100 Intel Quad core using Android 6.0, and tried my new cell phone Moto using android 7 I am able to partially connect as I can usually see a GPS map of where I am and can make the camera move slightly but just a milimeter or two. I have to make it to an appointment, I'll send more info when I get back in.
Again, thanks for the response.
 
I am able to partially connect as I can usually see a GPS map of where I am and can make the camera move slightly but just a milimeter or two
Both of those things sound okay. You'll need to yaw the aircraft when it's in the air if you want to move the camera to either side.
 
I messed around with a couple of my Samsungs last night trying to connect to the drone with the most recent GO 4. Sometimes it took, other times mostly it refused to connect to the video but the main GO 4 screen shows as does the street map, but live feed from the camera is black and it shows "Disconnected" usually and refuses to recognize the model of bird attached.

For some reason, the USB will try and charge the Sammy device if you look at the battery and small lightning bolt signifying charging out of the RC unit via the USB port. There is a setting in the Samsungs to select MTF (sp?) rather than "Device Charging." You might have to manually select the MTF/USB and reboot the Sammy and try it again. Sometimes it will not take though.

If you look around the web, seems the Samsung Android has a lot of issues with the USB. Some say it will drop out and cause it to reboot, etc. (Which mine will do at times!). Plus, you get the video feed break-up issues. It's just poorly implemented OS, imho, and Samsung isn't helpful on it either. They can't even get Bixby to work on their S8 flagship phone yet (Like one needs something else swallowing up the resources along with "Hey Google!").

Conversely, the Apple iPad Air+Cellular I have always would connect. I will note that it too is beginning to drop video at times now as GO 4 grows, maybe 1% of the time, whereas Sammy may not even boot in GO or drops out maybe 25% of the time, or goes black entirely and needs a re-boot. Samsung is pot luck to get it to take and hold via the USB if you check the Android forums.

Best option is to toss the Sammy out and get an iPad Air 2 or iPad Pro 9.7" if you plan to use GO 4 and not deal with as many break-ups, re-boots, green and magenta screen bars and hash, etc. Trust me, it works far better than Android with GO.
 
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Steve,

Yes, the Samsung tablet does take a bit of tweaking to get it to run and play nicely with the P4.

I have a dedicated Tab E that is only for the P4. Nothing is added and a lot was removed. I generally don't start the tablet until just before I'm ready for the first flight of the day.

What I have found that appears to work is to clean all the memory and storage space prior to starting the DJI app and the P4 controller.

This should clear any of the attempted updates of local apps, and it usually gets me another 200MB of RAM to free up.

Then start the P4. Then the R/C which should bring up the Go4 app and hopefully the blue icon on the lower right side.

This has been a pretty proven sequence for me. Also, when going to the next battery there is no need to shut everything down other than the P4.

At the end of the flight, just shut down the P4, pull battery, insert new battery (there's no rush on this) and the P4 and R/C will reconnect and you're good to go after the P4 goes through its startup routine.

If it's the first flight of the day and it won't connect up, just leave the P4 and R/C connected and restart the tablet. When it comes back to life, it will restart the GO4 app.

Also, that charging thing from the USB seems to be quite common. I was concerned about it early on but apparently it is a harmless function of the USB.

AD (down a bit south of you on the Gulf)
 
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Steve,

Yes, the Samsung tablet does take a bit of tweaking to get it to run and play nicely with the P4.

I have a dedicated Tab E that is only for the P4. Nothing is added and a lot was removed. I generally don't start the tablet until just before I'm ready for the first flight of the day.

What I have found that appears to work is to clean all the memory and storage space prior to starting the DJI app and the P4 controller.

This should clear any of the attempted updates of local apps, and it usually gets me another 200MB of RAM to free up.

Then start the P4. Then the R/C which should bring up the Go4 app and hopefully the blue icon on the lower right side.

This has been a pretty proven sequence for me. Also, when going to the next battery there is no need to shut everything down other than the P4.

At the end of the flight, just shut down the P4, pull battery, insert new battery (there's no rush on this) and the P4 and R/C will reconnect and you're good to go after the P4 goes through its startup routine.

If it's the first flight of the day and it won't connect up, just leave the P4 and R/C connected and restart the tablet. When it comes back to life, it will restart the GO4 app.

Also, that charging thing from the USB seems to be quite common. I was concerned about it early on but apparently it is a harmless function of the USB.

AD (down a bit south of you on the Gulf)
 
AWD, Msinger, & All

HI!
Thank you for following up with me and for providing the indepth answers. These were a great help. I apologize for being so slow getting back to you. I have a friend going through a bad time staying over night with us as she needs to be at the Moffit cancer center early this morning and she lives to far away for her to drive in from home. I have what I think is a good report. While the system still will not work with the Insignia tablet and will not work with the Galaxy 2 tablet, when I load the go 4 app on my Moto cell phone, operating on the Android system, everything works!!!! *#$%*!!

The GPS is not always accesable but I’m in the house and no GPS works well under a roof. That makes it seem like the system is not working. I need to repeat all of the set up testing that I did with the other devices. The good (great!!) news is that this indicates that the system is working. I just have to work out what I’m going to use as a monitor. I do have an Apple Ipad, I think it is an Air 2 It is very new and was expensive I'll have to check it. I hate the thought of trying to reset everything to use the Ipad, I'm not sure I know where to start on that. I'll steal it off my wife's night stand and see what I can do with it.


If you have more suggestions (specially regarding the Ipad, I would be very happy to hear your thoughts. I expect things to calm down here today. This seems like a good day to blow off all the work I had lined up, LOL! I’ll follow up after that.

Thank you,

Steve
P.S. AWD where are you around the Gulf?
 
Steve,

Not much difference when you use the iPad or the tablet. I've got both and other than the iPad working a little easier, you won't need to redo anything.

Of course you'll want to double check the RTH altitude and any changes that you may have made under the Android tablet, but the settings should all be correct.

I'm down south of you in Punta Gorda and there's some other guy down here that I just can't track down, but I see him playing tag from time to time with me over the beach..

AD (I'm the white boat in the middle of the photo)

i-PXBbgnL-XL.jpg
 
Just got a nasty email from my wife, LOL!

Beautiful cruiser, What Make is she? I wish I had a slip at my home, I used to when I lived in NC, we were on the inter coastal. Actually, the work I'm blowing off today is welding. I'm modifiying an older power boat trailer to carry my 28' Catalina sail. She's out on stands to be painted. I'm tired of paying for my slip and the marina charges to be up on hard. I need to finish the trailer by April 30th to avoid another month's charges. Ok well I've got the Ipad I think I'm going to give it a try....Despite the email! I'll let you know how it comes out.

Thanks!
 
I messed around with a couple of my Samsungs last night trying to connect to the drone with the most recent GO 4. Sometimes it took, other times mostly it refused to connect to the video but the main GO 4 screen shows as does the street map, but live feed from the camera is black and it shows "Disconnected" usually and refuses to recognize the model of bird attached.

For some reason, the USB will try and charge the Sammy device if you look at the battery and small lightning bolt signifying charging out of the RC unit via the USB port. There is a setting in the Samsungs to select MTF (sp?) rather than "Device Charging." You might have to manually select the MTF/USB and reboot the Sammy and try it again. Sometimes it will not take though.

If you look around the web, seems the Samsung Android has a lot of issues with the USB. Some say it will drop out and cause it to reboot, etc. (Which mine will do at times!). Plus, you get the video feed break-up issues. It's just poorly implemented OS, imho, and Samsung isn't helpful on it either. They can't even get Bixby to work on their S8 flagship phone yet (Like one needs something else swallowing up the resources along with "Hey Google!").

Conversely, the Apple iPad Air+Cellular I have always would connect. I will note that it too is beginning to drop video at times now as GO 4 grows, maybe 1% of the time, whereas Sammy may not even boot in GO or drops out maybe 25% of the time, or goes black entirely and needs a re-boot. Samsung is pot luck to get it to take and hold via the USB if you check the Android forums.

Best option is to toss the Sammy out and get an iPad Air 2 or iPad Pro 9.7" if you plan to use GO 4 and not deal with as many break-ups, re-boots, green and magenta screen bars and hash, etc. Trust me, it works far better than Android with GO.
Thank you, that's what I did and all works great with the apple.
Thanks again!
 
Good to know you got things figured out, im in the tampa bay area . Work of off madison and 50th by the port of tampa . Maybe we can make some time on a weekend and put the birds up in the sky ...
 
Good to know you got things figured out, im in the tampa bay area . Work of off madison and 50th by the port of tampa . Maybe we can make some time on a weekend and put the birds up in the sky ...
Sorry to be so long responding, I've been out of town working on a project.
That sounds great! I'd love to get out with an experienced drone pilot. If you want to email me I'll send you an email with my contact info and if you would like to get together give me a call and I can meet you out where you fly. Im on 5 acres here in Lithia (just south of Brandon) lot of clear sky here if you don't mind nosey horse bothering you. LOL!
My email is [email protected]
Hope to catch up with you soon,
Steve
 
Sorry to be so long responding, I've been out of town working on a project.
That sounds great! I'd love to get out with an experienced drone pilot. If you want to email me I'll send you an email with my contact info and if you would like to get together give me a call and I can meet you out where you fly. Im on 5 acres here in Lithia (just south of Brandon) lot of clear sky here if you don't mind nosey horse bothering you. LOL!
My email is [email protected]
Hope to catch up with you soon,
Steve
no problem steve ill shot you an email soon as i get some free time ...
 

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