DJI SUCKS

In case any of you think I'm a DJI fanboy, you'd be so wrong.

With DJI's A3 flight controller and Lightbridge 2 system ($1999) you'd think I would not have to deal with this BS.

Yeah, it works. Kinda. Sometimes.

So there I am, $3000+ into a system that should work flawlessly out of the box, a scheduled flight actually happening, and the system doesn't connect. For like 30 minutes.

Then it suddenly does, barely just in time to make the takeoff cost worth it, and I get some cool footage.

A day later, and I fire up the system at home. It connects without a hitch. Which is weird, but I noted my startup procedure, just in case it mattered.

Two hours later, I fire it up again, with exactly the same procedure, and it does not connect, and gives all sorts of guff. So I shut it down, and try again, more methodically checking my procedure.

Nope.

Two hours after that, after hard resetting the controller and ipad several times, full system reboots, it SUDDENLY connects ... and I don't really know why ... same as the other day when it finally connected in the air.

It's totally random. But once it starts working, it stays working ... until it gets shut down ...

This, my friends, is absolute BS. If there was another company that offered similar systems/decent quality (when it's working) I'd be so happy to pay double what DJI charges ... but there isn't, so they have us over a barrel, and they are not being gentle.

I am really really livid.

But, happy to say, that the system works well when it does, and I guess that's the price I pay ...

DJI can go ---- ----------!

Gene, I don't own a DJI or for that matter any drone so my thought is from pure ignorance of how it works.
But you mentioned resetting the IPad. This seems to me to throw another equation in the mix.
Could it be the iPad that is the problem? Do you have another iPad to test this with.

Glad you agree with me. DJI is buggy and you will get very poor customer support. They will act like your problem is the first time it's ever happened. They are so busy churning out millions that proper engineering and quality control does not exist.

Sorry to hear about it, I've had problems with three different DJI quads and they have offered no help other than send it in and pay us big bucks to fix.

Can't say I have experienced anything like you guys. I owned a walkera before this and I don't think there is a more buggy and awful system than what I experienced with that. My Phantom 4 has been flawless. I have never had a single issue. The range is astounding and the video feed back to the controller unlike anything I have ever seen. Can't say what their customer service is like because I have never had the slightest need to call them. I will for sure be buying my next quad from them when the time comes. Hope you get it figured out.

I agree, when they work and don't have a failure problem they are a great quad. They got it all started and brought on all the competition to help keep them honest.

Basically the A3 + LB2 (flight controller and Lightbridge 2) system has issues. They know it. Especially with the Z3 camera I am using .. "We are very sorry, these don't work together very well yet."

So some portion of the people with this expensive top of the line system are experiencing problems ... it's a firmware thing, and, from my testing, is basically something in the controller ... the USB connection to the ipad (or my Android tablet ... BOTH do the same thing) turns on and off intermittently ... doesn't' even have to have the Go App open, or have the flight system on ... So I'm coming unhinged waiting for China to get off holiday (which I respect .. dont' get me wrong!) so they can fix it, as I have very little time to use this system for its intended purpose this season! A 2 hour setup/connect time is too much!

Pretty sure it's something in the controller.

And yeah, Walkera .... YUCK.

It's all fun and games though .. some people have real problems.

My controller is in the refrigerator at the moment. Yeah, I'm trying anything ...

This is NOT a drone, by the way ... just has the brains of a drone, to control the drone gimbal/camera. Which, after I get the system working, will be X5R ...

Yeah ... I suspect the controller's USB module super sensitive to heat. Pulled it out of fridge, and a couple reboots of controller, and it is working. Still working.

I will test this through the day to make sure, but I think I have isolated the culprit.

Hi Gene, what is the machine you are flying with these do hickies

This is DJI brain and Z3 camera in an aerodynamically designed enclosure for mounting on various vehicles.

Good news:

I left the controller outside ... windy, 53 degrees. Chopped wood, etc, made some system wiring mods, basically did other stuff and system was powered down the entire time since my last message.

I just came in, powered it on, and in less than 2 minutes I am connected, and staying connected.

The connect/disconnect icon and beeping happens a couple times, then stops when image transmission stabilizes.

I have easier solution for now (frozen ice pack) already in freezer awaiting tomorrow. Transport the controller to location next to ice pack. Carry ice pack along just in case.