P3P Ipad Mini 3 WiFi only and Garmin GLO and Follow Me

Avionics · Sep 10, 2015

Don't post much but I do read a lot.

I did the 1.4 FW update with no problems. I got all the correct beeps and the solid green light on the gimbal.

I was very anxious to try Follow Me. The Ipad Mini 3 wifi only has no GPS. After doing a little
research on GPS receivers I ordered a Garmin GLO on Amazon. I chose this unit because it is WAAS and GLONASS compatible. I figured the more satellites the better.

I set the ipad Mini 3 up with wifi off and bluetooth on. The ipad and the Garmin GLO paired with no problem.
On the DJI GO App I noticed a Blue circle where my home point was, so I figured I was good to go to try the follow me feature. I have a small field next to me where I do test flights. I launched the P3P and then paired the Garmin GLO with the Ipad.

I put the flight mode switch in the F and the menu tab appeared next to the flight status tab at the top of the screen. I chose Follow me from the menu after tapping the new tab and there it was. I place the Garmin GLO in a little case on my belt. I noticed you have to fly to a height of 30m for the follow me modes to work. After hitting apply I walked around the field and the P3P followed me where ever I walked.

So I would say the Garmin GLO works so far. I also tested the POI function and it worked also. I do not think you need GPS for POI.

sdharris · Sep 10, 2015

What is the range of the bluetooth on the GLO?

I was considering this for the family to run about with while I stand in the corner of the field with the controller. Its difficult to look natural and that you are having fun with a controller and iPad in your hand.

Avionics · Sep 10, 2015

I think I read somewhere the range is approximately 30 feet. I could be wrong.

sdharris · Sep 10, 2015

Ah thats a shame, sounds like I would still need to run about and look awkward ;-)

Avionics · Sep 10, 2015

There are other GPS receivers out there you may find one with a greater range.

mirrorimage · Sep 10, 2015

sdharris said:
What is the range of the bluetooth on the GLO?

I was considering this for the family to run about with while I stand in the corner of the field with the controller. Its difficult to look natural and that you are having fun with a controller and iPad in your hand.

It's bluetooth. It's the range of bluetooth. 30 feet on a good day.

Avionics · Sep 10, 2015

mirrorimage you are correct. I should have known that, but I had a SM (senior moment).

FunN4lo · Sep 10, 2015

It doesn't matter the range of the BT. The Phantom has to communicate with the tx, which has to be connected to the phone/tablet with gps. The Phantom follows where the tx/phone/tablet is located

mirrorimage · Sep 10, 2015

Avionics said:
mirrorimage you are correct. I should have known that, but I had a SM (senior moment).

Heh, I just call those moments me being "normal"

hehe

sdharris · Sep 10, 2015

mirrorimage said:
It's bluetooth. It's the range of bluetooth. 30 feet on a good day.

There is 2 or 3 different classes of bluetooth. I think one has up to 300 feet or something crazy like that but do not know which class is in the iPhone or the GLO.

Prometric · Sep 10, 2015

Just purchased a GLO also and it works great.
Class 3 radios – have a range of up to 1 meter or 3 feet
Class 2 radios – most commonly found in mobile devices – have a range of 10 meters or 33 feet
Class 1 radios – used primarily in industrial use cases – have a range of 100 meters or 300 feet

mirrorimage · Sep 10, 2015

iPhone and iPad support all current versions of Bluetooth including 4.0+EDR. I think the legal maximum range is 32 feet. It's a class 2 transmitter. If someone is boasting 300 feet claim they are probably lying. I've seen motorola do this, but it was only with antennas and under the best line of site. It would be a lot of fun to tell it to follow somebody other than the operator. Maybe use AutoPilot on iOS to do this?

mirrorimage · Sep 10, 2015

Prometric said:
Just purchased a GLO also and it works great.
Class 3 radios – have a range of up to 1 meter or 3 feet
Class 2 radios – most commonly found in mobile devices – have a range of 10 meters or 33 feet
Class 1 radios – used primarily in industrial use cases – have a range of 100 meters or 300 feet

Our posts were seconds apart

Prometric · Sep 10, 2015

Nice... The only thing I don't like is the 30 meters [emoji30]

sdharris · Sep 10, 2015

Thanks for googling that guys.

Avionics · Sep 10, 2015

When you think of it, 30 yards is better than GPS built in to an Ipad which would be Zero yards.

witold · Sep 10, 2015

Avionics said:
When you think of it, 30 yards is better than GPS built in to an Ipad which would be Zero yards.

It's also going to be a heck of a lot better than a tiny GPS chip inside a tablet.

The tradeoff is that you have one more failure point. Bluetooth connections are not rock solid.

Pete Leare · Sep 15, 2015

I just purchased a Glo. So all you do is pair it with your device and that's it? No background apps to run apart from DJI Go?

Chuck Young · Sep 15, 2015

FunN4lo said:
It doesn't matter the range of the BT. The Phantom has to communicate with the tx, which has to be connected to the phone/tablet with gps. The Phantom follows where the tx/phone/tablet is located

This one does not seem logical. If positioning comes from the GPS receiver and it is wireless linked to the Glo then the position in the GOapp should update position according to the Glo. If the Glo goes off somewhere and the TX is stationary the bird should follow the Glo. Now the question would be is the Glo/TX a Class 1?

Oso · Sep 15, 2015

Chuck Young said:
This one does not seem logical. If positioning comes from the GPS receiver and it is wireless linked to the Glo then the position in the GOapp should update position according to the Glo. If the Glo goes off somewhere and the TX is stationary the bird should follow the Glo. Now the question would be is the Glo/TX a Class 1?

Correct. It would follow the GPS unit, not the RC. Just as you said.
Of course it goes without saying I hope that the range of the bluetooth from GPS to iPad is very limited.

It works like this. Click to enlarge if needed.