New P4P Owner - Initial Thoughts & Questions

[Equidale]

Finally picked up my new P4P the other day! I spent the first thirty minutes of the "unboxing" stage just looking at everything and handling the remote and drone like they were made of porcelain (haha) before putting them back in the foam box (case on order! already dislike the foam box - once things come out, they don't go back in as nicely!).

Spent today reading the various pieces of paper that came with. The remote showed 3 lights of charge out of the box, the batteries (bought an additional one) each showed one bar. Charged everything up one at a time (charging hub, on wish list) and then decided to check the firmware with the DJI Assistant on my computer.

Here's when the anxiety came in...

Plugged the remote (fully charged) into the computer. Took a second try when the program didn't seem to see the device. Once it did, there was nothing in the program aside from a "Factory Reset" button. Nothing to click on about firmware updates or checking for an update... I tried googling it, couldn't find anything related. So I figured I could reset it to factory settings and maybe then the firmware update would show up. Clicked the button and immediately regretted my decision, but sat there with mounting anxiety as the remote beeped on for an eternity (or what felt like). And then the program stopped and said the connection had been interrupted.

So there's me, thinking I've now royally messed up the remote - picturing it hung up with half a deleted firmware file, connection issues, and beeping in a loop. Turned off the remote and closed the program - turned it back on and the program immediately went back to resetting, but the remote was no longer beeping or flashing or anything of the sort. Sat there feeling sorry for myself, thinking I'd totally screwed it up. Decided to just unplug and pretend it didn't happen. Turned my attention to the drone, still with all its plastic stickers and warning labels because I was afraid to remove anything in case it jinxed it, just yet.

Connected my ipad mini to the remote, remote and app seemed to be functioning (anxiety lessening) and then took a deep breath, popped in a freshly charged battery and powered on the drone. Finally got to hear the lovely boot-up tune that I've heard for so long in youtube videos and tutorials. Made me smile. Camera did its little wave and the sound of the drone seemed normal, steady, as loud as expected. Remote/App and drone saw each other instantly (anxiety almost gone) and I went through the set-up steps in the app. Then it (finally) showed me that there was a firmware update to be done, and to connect the ipad to the drone. Did that, started downloading the update. I sat back and watched the green lights flashing...

The lights started flashing yellow, then yellow/green, then red (all four), then eventually back to green. I noticed the download bar seemed to be at 99% for awhile and then the anxiety came flooding back. I had read about some 99% glitch.....back to furiously googling, panic rising. 10 minutes on, 99%, lights flashing occasionally different colours. Started to think I would need to unplug but decided to just wait and stare at the screen and will it to go one more percent. The gimbal randomly would swing around, camera looked at me and then at the ground - disappointed in me?

And then the drone shut off. I starred bug eyed at the ipad - still said 99%. All hope is lost.

And then it booted back up, lights continued to flash like they did before. And then a couple minutes later it finally said "Update Complete".

The whole experience was so stressful that I played around with the flight simulator for maybe a minute before shutting everything down and taking a break - haha. I'm no beginner to equipment, but I always tend to treat new things with kid gloves. Doesn't help that every thread and video I've watched until now seem to caution on doing things in a particular order, etc.

Anyway, that's it for now. If the weather is decent tomorrow I might take it out in the back field with plenty of space and practice. Or I might sit and stare at it some more and try and convince myself its not going to randomly explode. Then again, I read a lot of cautionary tales about those batteries, haha.

/ Story Time Over

Onto questions.

- Is everything described above, normal (Assistant Program not being very assisting / firmware update behaviours)

- Memory card. I'm torn between the Sandisk Extreme and the Sandisk Extreme Pro. Only the Sandisk Extreme is listed on DJI as one of their supported cards. Which is the best card for the job?

 

[Dirby]

fly it like you stole it.
happy flying.

 

[Meta4]

- Is everything described above, normal (Assistant Program not being very assisting / firmware update behaviours)

Don't get too anxious about updating firmware.
The Phantom would have worked quite well out of the box and updating only adds small tweaks (and often a lot more bulky unnecessary "features" in the app).

I've never tried connecting the remote to the computer but whenever I've had difficulty updating the Phantom through the app, it has always worked faster and better connecting the Phantom to the computer and using Assistant 2.

Memory card. I'm torn between the Sandisk Extreme and the Sandisk Extreme Pro. Only the Sandisk Extreme is listed on DJI as one of their supported cards. Which is the best card for the job?

The Sandisk Extreme is more than adequate for the Phantom and paying more for a faster card won't get any better performance.

You'll find that it's much easier to fly than you imagined.
It takes about 5 minutes to learn - but a lot of practice and experience to become proficient.
Don't let the simplicity make you get too adventurous too early.
There are many things that can go wrong and you need to understand what they are and how to make sure they don't happen to you.

Do your early flights in a large open area, well away from trees, buildings and obstacles.
Be afraid, very afraid of trees, buildings etc. They are involved in most incidents.

Read up on return to home procedures, practise using RTH and cancelling it so you understand how it works and how you can resume control in an RTH situation.

And in case you haven't found the manual, it's here: https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_4_pro/20170314/Phantom_4_Pro_Pro_Plus_User_Manual_EN.pdf

 

[Equidale]

The Sandisk Extreme is more than adequate for the Phantom and paying more for a faster card won't get any better performance.

That's what I was thinking - I was just getting conflicting information, but that is why I love forums - real world advice.

Another question I just thought of - when your drone is in its case / bag, do you leave a battery in it? Or do you remove the battery and leave the drone "open" until you intend on using it?

 

[KevMo Photog]

You should be able to do all your updating from the DJI Go app in the future. It's a lot easier to deal with tbo. So you just do it when prompted in the app. Then you use the little cable adapter thing to connect your device to the bird direct. And then you plug it back into the controller to finish process. And I make it a practice to pull batteries right after flight especially in the summer time when it is hotter outside. This helps the electronics in bird cool off faster plus gets your battery cooling down too.

 

[Linux&OS/2]

Hi,

About the batteries, you could buy a LIPO-SAFE bag to be sure.

Success with the bird.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Finally picked up my new P4P the other day! I spent the first thirty minutes of the "unboxing" stage just looking at everything and handling the remote and drone like they were made of porcelain (haha) before putting them back in the foam box (case on order! already dislike the foam box - once things come out, they don't go back in as nicely!).

Spent today reading the various pieces of paper that came with. The remote showed 3 lights of charge out of the box, the batteries (bought an additional one) each showed one bar. Charged everything up one at a time (charging hub, on wish list) and then decided to check the firmware with the DJI Assistant on my computer.

Here's when the anxiety came in...

Plugged the remote (fully charged) into the computer. Took a second try when the program didn't seem to see the device. Once it did, there was nothing in the program aside from a "Factory Reset" button. Nothing to click on about firmware updates or checking for an update... I tried googling it, couldn't find anything related. So I figured I could reset it to factory settings and maybe then the firmware update would show up. Clicked the button and immediately regretted my decision, but sat there with mounting anxiety as the remote beeped on for an eternity (or what felt like). And then the program stopped and said the connection had been interrupted.

So there's me, thinking I've now royally messed up the remote - picturing it hung up with half a deleted firmware file, connection issues, and beeping in a loop. Turned off the remote and closed the program - turned it back on and the program immediately went back to resetting, but the remote was no longer beeping or flashing or anything of the sort. Sat there feeling sorry for myself, thinking I'd totally screwed it up. Decided to just unplug and pretend it didn't happen. Turned my attention to the drone, still with all its plastic stickers and warning labels because I was afraid to remove anything in case it jinxed it, just yet.

Connected my ipad mini to the remote, remote and app seemed to be functioning (anxiety lessening) and then took a deep breath, popped in a freshly charged battery and powered on the drone. Finally got to hear the lovely boot-up tune that I've heard for so long in youtube videos and tutorials. Made me smile. Camera did its little wave and the sound of the drone seemed normal, steady, as loud as expected. Remote/App and drone saw each other instantly (anxiety almost gone) and I went through the set-up steps in the app. Then it (finally) showed me that there was a firmware update to be done, and to connect the ipad to the drone. Did that, started downloading the update. I sat back and watched the green lights flashing...

The lights started flashing yellow, then yellow/green, then red (all four), then eventually back to green. I noticed the download bar seemed to be at 99% for awhile and then the anxiety came flooding back. I had read about some 99% glitch.....back to furiously googling, panic rising. 10 minutes on, 99%, lights flashing occasionally different colours. Started to think I would need to unplug but decided to just wait and stare at the screen and will it to go one more percent. The gimbal randomly would swing around, camera looked at me and then at the ground - disappointed in me?

And then the drone shut off. I starred bug eyed at the ipad - still said 99%. All hope is lost.

And then it booted back up, lights continued to flash like they did before. And then a couple minutes later it finally said "Update Complete".

The whole experience was so stressful that I played around with the flight simulator for maybe a minute before shutting everything down and taking a break - haha. I'm no beginner to equipment, but I always tend to treat new things with kid gloves. Doesn't help that every thread and video I've watched until now seem to caution on doing things in a particular order, etc.

Anyway, that's it for now. If the weather is decent tomorrow I might take it out in the back field with plenty of space and practice. Or I might sit and stare at it some more and try and convince myself its not going to randomly explode. Then again, I read a lot of cautionary tales about those batteries, haha.

/ Story Time Over

Onto questions.

- Is everything described above, normal (Assistant Program not being very assisting / firmware update behaviours)

- Memory card. I'm torn between the Sandisk Extreme and the Sandisk Extreme Pro. Only the Sandisk Extreme is listed on DJI as one of their supported cards. Which is the best card for the job?

And don't forget to calibrate and let home point be recored before take offand enjoy

 

[Equidale]

Hi,

About the batteries, you could buy a LIPO-SAFE bag to be sure.

Are they form fitting around the battery? Could they still be stored in that, inside a hard case?

And don't forget to calibrate and let home point be recored before take offand enjoy

Thank you! I noticed with the drone just sitting on the floor of my room that the horizon tilt seems a bit off on the camera. Not sure if that's a calibration issue or something I can tweak in the settings later.

Right now looking into DJI Care Refresh for peace of mind.

 

[Linux&OS/2]

Hi,

Are they form fitting around the battery? Could they still be stored in that, inside a hard case?

Mine do not.
They do not fit in the hard case.
Maybe by cutting some foam away one could make them fit in the hard case. But I am not sure the fly companies would allow that.
My case is titanium so I do not use them, but I bought the bags to go on holiday.

Marc.

 

[Multicoptertec]

Why did you first connect the remote to the computer? There was no need for this.

 

[Jesse_M]

That's quite the unboxing tale! lol

Happy flying! You'll love it!

 

[Equidale]

Why did you first connect the remote to the computer? There was no need for this.

Because I had watched a video or read something about them saying it was a better way to update the firmware on each device (drone and remote) one at a time through the computer with the Assistant program, vs using DJI Go app. Something about the app not being always reliable or some such. Clearly a mistake and I won't try it again. According to the app my remote has the latest firmware, so nothing happened at least

That's quite the unboxing tale! lol

Happy flying! You'll love it!

Now just waiting for the winds and weather to cooperate for a test flight!

 

[Jeremiah Nelson]

Xanax.

 

[Hawkwind]

Really enjoyed reading your story time thing and it made me think about when I first got my P4. The anxiety that goes with trying to learn something new that you've never done before.Good advise was given to you about looking out for buildings,trees and other things.Especially look out for trees.The obstacle avoidance is really good for solid objects,but tree branches have been my downfall. As mentioned by other pilots on this thread its easy to learn,but takes time to master. Have fun and feel like a bird.

 

[photoskyview]

Finally picked up my new P4P the other day! I spent the first thirty minutes of the "unboxing" stage just looking at everything and handling the remote and drone like they were made of porcelain (haha) before putting them back in the foam box (case on order! already dislike the foam box - once things come out, they don't go back in as nicely!).

Spent today reading the various pieces of paper that came with. The remote showed 3 lights of charge out of the box, the batteries (bought an additional one) each showed one bar. Charged everything up one at a time (charging hub, on wish list) and then decided to check the firmware with the DJI Assistant on my computer.

Here's when the anxiety came in...

Plugged the remote (fully charged) into the computer. Took a second try when the program didn't seem to see the device. Once it did, there was nothing in the program aside from a "Factory Reset" button. Nothing to click on about firmware updates or checking for an update... I tried googling it, couldn't find anything related. So I figured I could reset it to factory settings and maybe then the firmware update would show up. Clicked the button and immediately regretted my decision, but sat there with mounting anxiety as the remote beeped on for an eternity (or what felt like). And then the program stopped and said the connection had been interrupted.

So there's me, thinking I've now royally messed up the remote - picturing it hung up with half a deleted firmware file, connection issues, and beeping in a loop. Turned off the remote and closed the program - turned it back on and the program immediately went back to resetting, but the remote was no longer beeping or flashing or anything of the sort. Sat there feeling sorry for myself, thinking I'd totally screwed it up. Decided to just unplug and pretend it didn't happen. Turned my attention to the drone, still with all its plastic stickers and warning labels because I was afraid to remove anything in case it jinxed it, just yet.

Connected my ipad mini to the remote, remote and app seemed to be functioning (anxiety lessening) and then took a deep breath, popped in a freshly charged battery and powered on the drone. Finally got to hear the lovely boot-up tune that I've heard for so long in youtube videos and tutorials. Made me smile. Camera did its little wave and the sound of the drone seemed normal, steady, as loud as expected. Remote/App and drone saw each other instantly (anxiety almost gone) and I went through the set-up steps in the app. Then it (finally) showed me that there was a firmware update to be done, and to connect the ipad to the drone. Did that, started downloading the update. I sat back and watched the green lights flashing...

The lights started flashing yellow, then yellow/green, then red (all four), then eventually back to green. I noticed the download bar seemed to be at 99% for awhile and then the anxiety came flooding back. I had read about some 99% glitch.....back to furiously googling, panic rising. 10 minutes on, 99%, lights flashing occasionally different colours. Started to think I would need to unplug but decided to just wait and stare at the screen and will it to go one more percent. The gimbal randomly would swing around, camera looked at me and then at the ground - disappointed in me?

And then the drone shut off. I starred bug eyed at the ipad - still said 99%. All hope is lost.

And then it booted back up, lights continued to flash like they did before. And then a couple minutes later it finally said "Update Complete".

The whole experience was so stressful that I played around with the flight simulator for maybe a minute before shutting everything down and taking a break - haha. I'm no beginner to equipment, but I always tend to treat new things with kid gloves. Doesn't help that every thread and video I've watched until now seem to caution on doing things in a particular order, etc.

Anyway, that's it for now. If the weather is decent tomorrow I might take it out in the back field with plenty of space and practice. Or I might sit and stare at it some more and try and convince myself its not going to randomly explode. Then again, I read a lot of cautionary tales about those batteries, haha.

/ Story Time Over

Onto questions.

- Is everything described above, normal (Assistant Program not being very assisting / firmware update behaviours)

- Memory card. I'm torn between the Sandisk Extreme and the Sandisk Extreme Pro. Only the Sandisk Extreme is listed on DJI as one of their supported cards. Which is the best card for the job?

 

[John Locke]

Are they form fitting around the battery? Could they still be stored in that, inside a hard case?

Some backpacks will allow the LIPO bags to fit inside. The ThinkTank HeliPak Ver2 or Ver 1 allows this, but I don't use Lipo bags myself, it's too much hassle IMO. You may want to utilize a backpack someday, it's much easier to travel on an airplane, carrying everything onboard, and on trails when backpacking, not to mention driving around in your car. It's lighter than a hard case. Canada has a lot of hiking trails that I bet you'll want to tote your drone along in a backpack, once you get the hang of everything.