Litchi crashed my p4

Autopilot is not "more powerful than" it is "different to" Litchi, tell me, if I want to fly autonomous missions outside of radio range is AP still more powerful than Litchi or does AP become useless in comparison? Different horses for different courses, I say take advantage of all these well established 3rd party and enjoy the technology that entails.

They are identical in terms of "autonomous missions outside of radio range". In many other aspects, the Autopilot waypoint mission capabilities are clearly superior to Litchi's.
 
Autopilot is not "more powerful than" it is "different to" Litchi, tell me, if I want to fly autonomous missions outside of radio range is AP still more powerful than Litchi or does AP become useless in comparison? Different horses for different courses, I say take advantage of all these well established 3rd party and enjoy the technology that entails.

Very good point,
 
Very good point,

How is that a good point? Both Autopilot and Litchi can follow a waypoint route that goes out of range of the controller. The poster you are replying to (and you?) obviously didn't realize that Autopilot had added that feature since at one time a connection to the RC was required by Autopilot.

Autopilot and Litchi don't have identical feature sets, but of the overlapping features, Autopilot provides more options and more flexibility. If you don't need that extra power - Litchi is a great product which is easier to start learning - but the comment that was made claimed that Litchi was "the most powerful" which is simply not true.
 
How is that a good point? Both Autopilot and Litchi can follow a waypoint route that goes out of range of the controller. The poster you are replying to (and you?) obviously didn't realize that Autopilot had added that feature since at one time a connection to the RC was required by Autopilot.

Autopilot and Litchi don't have identical feature sets, but of the overlapping features, Autopilot provides more options and more flexibility. If you don't need that extra power - Litchi is a great product which is easier to start learning - but the comment that was made claimed that Litchi was "the most powerful" which is simply not true.

The "different horses for different courses" part is a " very good point"

And I afree, saying litchi is the most powerful app is just an opinion and not the actual fact, and what I just said is an opinion also. So the moral of the story is " all a matter of opinion"
 
ROFLMAO!!!!

Most powerful? Not a chance!

Autopilot's waypoint mode is far more powerful than Litchi's. I don't say that to take anything away from Litchi. Litchi is a very good product - and you may be right that it's the most popular - but I doubt you have citations for any of those claims. Part of the reason Litchi could be the most popular/most used is that it's available for Android AND iOS whereas Autopilot is (currently) only available for iOS. Litchi is also more intuitive and easier for new users to get started whereas Autopilot, providing more features and more granular control, understandably is a bit more complex to control - at least in the beginning.

But more importantly - both of these 3rd-party apps license and use an SDK provided by DJI specifically to make the creation of these 3rd party apps possible. All of their communication with the Phantom is handled through DJI-written API's - therefore - simply using a third-party app DEFINITELY does NOT void your warranty.

If the program logic contained within Litchi or Autopilot causes a crash - you may have to look to them for reimbursement and they may or may not help you...but if there were a programming error in the DJI SDK that the 3rd party apps are built on, then DJI will be responsible. If a sensor malfunctions or any other kind of hardware problem occurs - that's also something DJI will be responsible for - no matter what program you happened to be running to control the bird.

Litchi, Autopilot and some of the other apps are so full featured, you might be able to use them exclusively and only use DJI Go very occasionally - to link a new RC or to put the AC in flight data mode - and that's awesome and convenient - but these apps are not in competition with DJI Go - they are built to be supplements to Go. And DJI does not actively discourage the use of these 3rd party apps. They encourage it. They provide support and developmental assistance to the 3rd party app development teams. These 3rd party apps bring new capabilities to the Phantoms which helps to further differentiate them (DJI) from their competitors.

If you own a Phantom - you're not being smart by avoiding the 3rd party apps. You're doing yourself a disservice. Check out what's possible with Litchi. Look what you can do with Autopilot! Read their FAQ's regarding your warranty. Don't take the word of a fear-monger on a forum to be factual. Spend some time in YouTube looking through the tutorials and give one - or both of them a try! I currently have AutoPilot, Litchi and FPV Camera - and I use them all - but I like Autopilot the best - especially for waypoints - because it has options the others don't. And those options let me get the exact shots I want - whereas with Litchi or FPV Camera - I'd be forced to compromise and make trade offs.

My condolences to the OP. I think there's enough evidence in the logs to prove there were errors with hardware or software under DJI control and that they should replace this Aircraft free of charge.

Good Luck!
Soooo, you like Autopilot better than Litchi then?
 
I actually haven't tried AP yet, sort of unbelievably.

I was just joshing the dude for his strong opinion about it.

I like them both - but if for some reason I could only buy one, I'd buy Autopilot. Fortunately that's not the case and I was able to buy both - and others!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jussaguy
To add my two cents to the "mine is longer" discussion, I am a user of both AP and Litchi on IOS. Both are excellent products but I have to agree that by no way Litchi is "more powerful".

- Autopilot is by far the most powerful of both, meaning by powerful the ability to do things that cannot be done otherwise. These include variable speed at waypoints, curve paths, dynamic modification of paths during the mission, and ability to use an external barometer calibration to track or focus on a subject along a height gradient without crashing. To my knowledge these are functions exclusive of AP because they do not depend on the DJI flight controller. The tradeoff of these features is the need to be connected to the RC during missions, but in the latest versions of AP this has been added as an option: use AP flight controller and have "advanced" modes or use DJI controller and have mission continuation on signal loss. Its weakest point is an overwhelming interface and steep learning curve.
- Litchi (on IOS) is more powerful on its support of VR googles, and has a far more intuitive and easier interface. Waypoint mission design is also much better having a PC desktop app.

I could agree that Litchi is the most powerful app on an Android platform, because there is no AP version for this platform. But on iOS, if you want an easy DJIGO-like experience with less limitations on the advanced modes I'd recommend Litchi, whereas if you want maximum flexibility and control of everything I'd recommend AP. And if you can afford it, I'd recommend both.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nickn7
- Litchi (on IOS) is more powerful on its support of VR googles, and has a far more intuitive and easier interface. Waypoint mission design is also much better having a PC desktop app.

I agree with almost all of what you said - but I would not say that the Litchi support of VR Goggles contributes in any way to the discussion of the apps power.

It's definitely a difference that should be noted/highlighted - and if it's a feature that a user wants, it will absolutely play into their selection criteria - but it's absence or presence as a feature does not change the "power" of the app - even as you defined it in a previous paragraph.

Incidentally - Autopilot just added a whack of new features this week that do make it more powerful. And not all of Autopilots waypoint features can be created from a PC, but you can define the waypoints themselves on a PC and export/import them to Autopilot.

Finally - I was just made aware of a new app today (Vertical Studio) which looks promising. It supports object tap and track, virtual walls and orbits. It's not as full featured as the other 2, but it's a good start - and if you want to be able to define a "safe" arena before handing the controls over to your kid or spouse - it's the only game in town (as far as I know!)
 
I agree with almost all of what you said - but I would not say that the Litchi support of VR Goggles contributes in any way to the discussion of the apps power.

It's definitely a difference that should be noted/highlighted - and if it's a feature that a user wants, it will absolutely play into their selection criteria - but it's absence or presence as a feature does not change the "power" of the app - even as you defined it in a previous paragraph.

Point taken, I just wanted to highlight this and I agree


Finally - I was just made aware of a new app today (Vertical Studio) which looks promising. It supports object tap and track, virtual walls and orbits. It's not as full featured as the other 2, but it's a good start - and if you want to be able to define a "safe" arena before handing the controls over to your kid or spouse - it's the only game in town (as far as I know!)

Didn't want to add more apps into the equation but now that you mention yes, I have been a beta tester of VS and it has unique features based on a much better visual tracking of objects, but its focus is more on creative filming and framing of close subjects than on automated flight (though in addition to what you said it does have a "rails" function)
 
What is a "rails" function?
 
What is a "rails" function?

The way it works in VS, it is like a zipline but you draw the path on the map directly with your finger. Once drawn, you send the bird and it will follow the path autonomously at certain speed, while adjusting the yaw and camera angle to focusing on the subject (a visual pattern) of your choice
 
Today was the last day, at least for a while, that i flew my p4. Just a month old and now already dead :( How? I did some new test out today with the litchi app on a new spot to fly some waypoints. 9 waypoints total. All waypoints were set on 10m altitude and tripple checked all setting. Length of the flight 715m and the duration of the flight 3 min. It went fine to the first waypoint. But on the way to the second waypoint is went up in the air like crazy till around 400m high. No way to stop it. The pause button didn't work while it was going up so pressed the return to home button. then it came down slowly. Then the horror happened. It just flipped ver and crashed down on the ground. Housing cracked open, gimbal bended and damaged, props gone and some more damage.. any idea why this happened and what went wrong? I have the flight logs and video if that would make things more clear..
thanks guys!

Here the screenshot from after the crash. -411m? Im forever done with this app. It just dont do what it supposed to do.. [file]litchi crash p4|none[/file]

Here are the flight logs..
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

and here is the video..
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Wow that place is beautiful!
Unfortunately The flight was not.. I would not trust anything but myself to fly mine. I'm still using the Phantom 2 with GoPro hero 4 black. A way better camera by far!
U lost a motor or an esc board telling ur motor what to do. I'm still thinking about buying an emergency parachute for mine.
 
Today was the last day, at least for a while, that i flew my p4. Just a month old and now already dead :( How? I did some new test out today with the litchi app on a new spot to fly some waypoints. 9 waypoints total. All waypoints were set on 10m altitude and tripple checked all setting. Length of the flight 715m and the duration of the flight 3 min. It went fine to the first waypoint. But on the way to the second waypoint is went up in the air like crazy till around 400m high. No way to stop it. The pause button didn't work while it was going up so pressed the return to home button. then it came down slowly. Then the horror happened. It just flipped ver and crashed down on the ground. Housing cracked open, gimbal bended and damaged, props gone and some more damage.. any idea why this happened and what went wrong? I have the flight logs and video if that would make things more clear..
thanks guys!

Here the screenshot from after the crash. -411m? Im forever done with this app. It just dont do what it supposed to do.. [file]litchi crash p4|none[/file]

Here are the flight logs..
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

and here is the video..
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.



You really need to read the whole application. I'm not saying you made an error. But I learned myself to get out of the app you need to change the mode from P to S and then back again to get in the GPS. Sorry for your loss I feel for you bro
 
6 messages above you stated the trade-off with AP is needing to remain connected to the RC. This has always been my understanding of AP's waypoints features which, while powerful, is useless to me since I'm always flying beyond RC range.
Sorry if my msg was not clear, AP lets you choose between mission continuation on contact loss or default djogo behavior. The tradeoff is that if you choose the first you cannot get the benefit of AP advanced features during that mission
 
6 messages above you stated the trade-off with AP is needing to remain connected to the RC. This has always been my understanding of AP's waypoints features which, while powerful, is useless to me since I'm always flying beyond RC range.
I do use a app on five occasions already. And I fly long distances too. And my RC disconnects for many minutes at a time before the copter completes its mission. And it's worked flawlessly to date. Read the app. It's not abnormal for the RC disconnect when it goes out of range
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,352
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic