DJI Inspire 1 iOS App

When you buy the new DJI Inspire 1, you get the drone and the controller and hopefully you already have a mobile device to attach to the controller. Now all you need is the free iOS app. This app is specifically for Apple devices and it was released in the middle of March this year—so it’s pretty new. If you have an Android, there is also an Android app available. Not only can you use all of these app features with your Inspire 1, you can also connect the app to a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced or Professional drone (as long as the firmware is version 1.1.6).

Here are a few things you can do through the iOS app:

1. You can get all the flight parameters right on your screen and customize all your flight settings. It will show info about the battery, location, speed, and anything else you need to know about how your Inspire is operating.

2. You can view your drone’s flight in live HD and view a dynamic map. The map works with the GPS to help you see exactly where you drone is flying which is especially useful if your drone gets pretty far away. Viewing your drone’s flight in live HD means that you get to see everything your camera sees. So, if you fly your drone over a river and a few fish start jumping out of the stream, you can see that immediately and hopefully catch a shot of it before they stop.

3. Any of these great photo and video shots can be captured remotely. You have full control of the gimbal from the app and can manually change the camera settings while the Inspire 1 is in the air.

4. You can record your flight in real time and even stream it live on YouTube. So if your great-aunt wants to view your outdoor drone adventures when you do, she can.
5. Edit your video. This is very useful since you don’t have to go to another source to start editing your video—you can do it straight through the app.

6. The app even has a flight simulator that is extremely realistic. It is remarkably accurate to how the Inspire 1 responds to your command in real life. This is great for when you want to practice new maneuvers without the risk of accidentally damaging your drone. The flight simulator even has a little tutorial box that will guide you through your flight

7. Help guides and video tutorials are also available on the app so if you have any questions or troubles, you can easily find the answer.

To download the app, just go to the DJI website and, once you’re on the Inspire 1 page, then go to the downloads tab. There will be a link to download the app from there through iTunes. When you have the app downloaded onto your device, connect the device to your controller with the USB cord.

The iOS app for the Inspire 1 is easy to use and will greatly enhance your flying experience.

SOURCE: Drones Etc. – News – Read entire story here.

DJI Inspire 1 Issues

You’ve probably heard a bunch or horror stories about drones. These maybe range from tall tales about drones taking over the world and replacing people to malfunctions in the firmware, making the drone crash and costing the owner a lot of money. Don’t worry. Drones are not taking over the world. However, when it comes to drones malfunctioning, crashing, and wasting a lot of money, that does happen. Not often, but every once in a while.

So what issues does the DJI Inspire 1 have?

First of all, calibration. This can be as much of an issue as it is a solution if the calibration isn’t done properly. If you do not calibrate your Inspire 1, you may have issues during flight and your drone may even crash. The two calibrations you need to worry about are for the compass and for the IMU. The compass is very sensitive and should be calibrated every time before takeoff. The IMU stabilizes your flight so that everything operates smoothly. You don’t need to calibrate this every time you turn on your drone but make sure to keep an eye on the IMU levels in case a calibration is needed. Quite a few people have reported issues with their battery getting overheated quickly, making it so they can only get in a couple of minutes of flight. This is related to the IMU not being calibrated.

You may also have issues relating to the GPS signal being lost, though this is hardly a fault of the Inspire 1. GPS can be unpredictable at times and there are other flight modes on the Inspire 1 that do not require GPS signal, so your drone will switch into one of those and easily keep flying.

The Inspire 1 has a high-tech design and it is fully tested before it is ever sent to you so you should have virtually no issues with the mechanics. If you do, it will probably be with the propellers; If the propellers aren’t on tight enough, they may come loose. But there is a simple fix of tightening them and even adding prop-clips.

DJI is constantly updating the new firmware to weed out any bugs that are likely to occur. If you do run into errors though, there are ways to troubleshoot so that you can get your drone safely back into the air. With most firmware problems, you will be notified of an error through the app on your mobile device, through the controller itself, or on the body of the drone. If there is an error, there’s usually a safety feature for every flight aspect to prevent damage.

Most crashes and issues come simply from pilot error. The only way to avoid this is to do your homework and figure out the specifics of flying your drone. If you keep having difficulties with something, call for support or maybe try out the same thing on the flight simulator a few times.

If you’re having issues but cannot troubleshoot the drone yourself or you can’t seem to fix a problem, you can always call DJI or even a number of drone retailers. They will guide you through each step to figure out what the problem is and how to best fix it. It may be that a part is damaged and you need to send it back. Don’t worry; virtually any issue can be resolved.

SOURCE: Drones Etc. – News – Read entire story here.

DJI Inspire 1 Calibration

If you seem to be getting errors on your Inspire 1, you probably need to do some recalibration. There are three main things that need to be calibrated: the gimbal, compass, and IMU. The first two should be calibrated before flight every time and recalibrated if you have issues during flight.

Before you let your Inspire take off, you have to let the gimbal calibrate itself. As soon as you turn it on, it will spin around in a circle a few times and when it stops you know that it is calibrated.

Inside each Inspire is a sensitive compass which will also need to be calibrated every time before takeoff. To calibrate it, first open your DJI pilot app and press the “mode” button then select the “calibrate compass” button. When you hit start, a light at the back of the Inspire should turn blue.

When this happens, you want to actually pick up your inspire and hold it parallel to the ground. Spin around in a full circle (360 degrees), keeping the Inspire level. Now the light (the Aircraft Status Indicator) should turn green.

Next, turn the Inspire so it is facing nose down. Then spin in another full circle. The light should now turn off and go back to blinking purple. You can place your Inspire back on its flat surface—the compass has been calibrated! However, if the indicator light is a solid red, you will need to calibrate again. And if the light blinks red and yellow, you will need to move to a different location and recalibrate.

Don’t worry about memorizing all of these steps before you get your drone out there. The app should guide you through each step with specific instructions.

Now, be aware that this is a very sensitive compass. Any interference could disrupt the flight and even cause damage to the craft. Make sure when you calibrate that you stay away from strong magnetic forces and that you remove any ferromagnetic items from near the Inspire (including things like cell phones). It is also suggested that you not calibrate near any large metal objects. So, if you find a huge metal box in the middle of your flight field and really want to calibrate inside of it, resist the urge.

You may need to also calibrate the IMU (particularly if your battery seems to be overheating quickly). The IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) makes sure your drone has a nice, even flight. It measures all the aspects of the attitude of your drone. By going to the sensors tab on your app, you can check the status of your IMU. If you need to do a calibration, there are two buttons next to the “check IMU” button which you can tap to start the calibration. The basic one will take only a few seconds and you should be good to go. If you need to do the advanced calibration, you must first let your drone cool down (if it hasn’t already) before you can start.

So, really calibration is pretty easy and doesn’t take much time. And, once you’ve done all the calibrating, your drone will fly nice and smooth.

SOURCE: Drones Etc. – News – Read entire story here.

DJI Inspire 1 Insurance

You can read up on everything related to your DJI Inspire 1 so that you will have the best possible flight experience but there are some things you just can’t control. Like the weather. And accidents. But after paying $2,899 for the Inspire 1, you really don’t want to pay extra for new parts or even a new drone a short time later because your drone ran into a tree or something. Even worse, you really don’t want to have to pay an arm and a leg because you accidentally crashed the drone into your neighbor’s car. Beyond this, some people can also run into privacy problems and liability issues.

If you are worried about any of this, you can always get insurance.

It’s probably good to understand that there are two types of coverage that you might want. The first is for liability. If your Inspire 1 crashed into someone else’s property, for example, and broke some expensive stuff, whatever insurance you get should cover it. This is the most important type of coverage for your Inspire 1 because liability damage could cost you a lot.

The other type of coverage is for damage to the Inspire 1. Like I said above, this could be a really great idea so that you don’t have to worry about replacing parts or buying another drone. However, insurance isn’t cheap. First look at your insurance rates and compare them to prices surrounding the Inspire 1. It might end up being cheaper, or about the same cost, to just replace parts than to get insurance for damage.

I’ve seen some posts online that say some people’s homeowners insurance actually covered their drone as long as they were only using their drone for recreational purposes and not commercial. This isn’t a for sure thing and every insurance company is different. But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to call your current insurance company to see if they would cover your drone.

If your insurance company does not cover your drone, or you are planning on using it for commercial purposes, you can buy insurance specifically for your drone.

I’ve been doing research but it seems hard to find definitive insurance for drones. Two different companies, AIG and Unmanned Risk Management, seem to offer coverage options for physical damage and liability. And two other companies that have gotten good reviews are Highlands Aviation Insurance and SquareTrade.com. Go ahead and contact any of these companies to get a quote.

AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) though has been praised a few times as the best option. As a member of AMA, you get liability insurance. But I don’t think it covers damage to the drone. Although, like I said before, you may be better off just getting liability coverage and just paying for damage yourself since you could end up paying more than you need to cover damage.

Also, remember that policies are different depending on what country you are flying your drone. There are different regulations for where you fly it and how you fly it. And if you are flying your drone for commercial purposes, you may actually be required to have liability insurance. Be aware of these regulations and policies wherever you fly.

SOURCE: Drones Etc. – News – Read entire story here.

DJI Inspire 1 Lightbridge

Part of what makes the DJI Inspire 1 so inspiring is Lightbridge.

The DJI Lightbridge is a digital video downlink in 2.4G full HD, making it an advanced FPV (First Person View) system.

Lightbridge transmits video up to 2km away straight to your mobile device or even to Cinemizer glasses, if you have them. This system will also send you live flight data: altitude, vertical and horizontal speed, GPS heading, signal strength, etc. With most drones, you have to buy Lightbridge separately, which costs about $1300. Plus, you have to hook everything up, which can be complicated. With other drones, you would even have to attach a Lightbridge transmitter to the body of the drone which would increase the weight and possibly decrease flight time.

But with the Inspire 1, Lightbridge is actually integrated, meaning it is already built into the drone. So with the Inspire 1, you have an all-in-one communication system with live HD viewing, and you don’t have to buy an additional Lightbridge system and hook it up to anything; your system is ready to go.

Some other features on Lightbridge are the master-slave mode, input support for dual video, mobile device and HDMI HD support, and advanced security.

With the master-slave mode, you can have one remote controlling the drone while a second remote controls the camera. Any additional remotes can also be linked up, but they will only be able to receive video. With the dual video support, you will be able to monitor both pilot and camerawork with the same system. The mobile device and HDMI HD support will actually increase functionality by charging USB devices. The advanced security ensures that only devices that are authorized can receive data from your Inspire 1 and camera. It protects from interference with great internal and external shields. And, you can recharge the LiPo battery, giving you 4.5 hours of operation.

Since Lightbridge will give you live video feed, you may be wondering if there is any latency. Latency is the amount of time that a video lags behind real time. You have the capability to hook up both an HD monitor and a tablet at the same time to view what Lightbridge is viewing. With the HD monitor, you will get very little latency, while with the tablet you may get a little bit more of delay on your video. However, any delay that you get will generally be less than a second. If you’re worried about too much lag time, make sure to hook up a higher-quality tablet or other viewing device as this will minimize latency.

You can even hook it up to Zeiss Cinemizer OLED glasses to give yourself a touch of the future. The glasses will let you view everything the camera is seeing—almost as if you were really flying.

The DJI Inspire 1 is miles ahead of its competition with its integrated Lightbridge system. It really gives you a sweet advantage with videography and photography. With this system, you have optimum control over your camera and viewing capabilities.

SOURCE: Drones Etc. – News – Read entire story here.