Yuneec Q500 4k GPS problems

Launched earlier in 2016, the DJI Phantom 4 is recognised as the “best-in-class” RC quadcopter, contrasting with the year-old and problem plagued Yuneec Q500 4K.

DJI Phantom 4 reviews make it very clear that the DJI RC Quadcopter is the definitive winner in the DJI vs Yuneec contest.

A DJI Phantom 4 comparison against its competition becomes pretty straightforward when the Phantom’s collision avoidance feature is taken into account. Almost any Typhoon H review, evaluating the drone that Yuneec China produces, mentions that Yuneec drones are prone to connectivity problem. And one of the reasons for that is its reliance on Yuneec Q500 4k GPS tracking only.

On the contrary, Phantom 4 flight tracking is done through GPS as well as GLONASS. Launched in 1982, GLONASS is a Russian-led satellite network intended to work for weather positioning, velocity measuring and timing anywhere in the world or near-Earth space. Access to the US-led GPS system and to GLONASS makes the Phantom 4 a much better connected drone. All of this can be credited to DJI’s superior R&D capability.

DJI Phantom 4 signal loss incidents are extremely rare. And that’s at least partially due to the dual-support the drone gets. When used alone GLONASS doesn’t necessarily have a stronger coverage than GPS. But when both are used together, GPS+GLONASS certainly increase accuracy as well as coverage. And it is more useful in northern latitudes as Russia started GLONASS originally for Russia.

DJI Phantom 4 has a clear advantage over the Q500 4K or even any intel UAV Typhoon H. Accuracy is an advantage of using GLONASS with up-to 2 metre of accuracy. GPS+GLONASS allows the DJI drone to be pin pointed by a group of over 55 satellites all across the globe.

 

 

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How will Yuneec fare in getting Typhoon H Pro features up to speed?

Yuneec has set out to provide a host of delicate new features on the Typhoon H Pro and that has more than a few users worried that the initial cost will only grow quickly as the inevitable need for third-party accessories and replacements for damaged parts comes into play.

Already reports are out that the retractable landing gear has had issues and at times halts, making the flying profile more awkward. Other problems stemming from the landing gear mean moving around placements for the Intel Realsense module and figuring out an entire new production line sequence.

Of course UAV drone manufacturers normally go through teething issues to bring models up to scratch and invite a feedback loop from beta, or early, users who can help tweak R&D efforts.

Forums say Yuneec is along in that process, but as seen in the past with its internal WiFi card and related issues with GPS, fixing problems means sending units back to the head office where they pile up in need of attention as engineers in the company try and move ahead on new models.

At stake in that back-and-forth on the old and new is the real prospect of quality getting sidelined as a user, Andrew Z., in an August video posting showed.

“Just got my Yuneec Typhoon H Pro last week and took it to my overseas trip. 1.5 hours into flying it crashes into lake with no warning. There was a message on screen about 5 engine failures or something like it.”

And the feedback from fellow users then highlighted other probable causes, including issues that harken back to the Yuneec Q500.

“You know, that looks much like a battery failure, flying fine then no warning falls from sky then lights up the ST16,” said Batfire.

“Seen this myself with my copters but fortunately was only 2 foot off ground when failed. There is a lag time from bird to transmitter. The Yuneec batteries are not good batteries from the get go … check the resistance of a new one verses other brands and you will see. That’s why I replace them as soon as I get a high resistance battery. I saw this with the Q500 batteries and only use them in my land drones, no flying with those batteries due to this very issue.”

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Drones for Good: Mitigating Mining Disasters

Drone could be used for good by mitigating environmental disasters at mines says former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer who serves as Chairman of the Board at Stillwater Mining Company, the only U.S. producer of platinum and palladium.

“I see a real use for drone at mines in monitoring for environmental changes in settling ponds,” said Schweitzer. “By more closely monitoring these ponds we could drastically reduce the odds of an environmental disaster that could contaminate clean water, erode habitats and harm animals or people.”

Settling ponds are used to collect wastewater or tailings at mines and thereby control water pollution. Mines monitor these ponds to enable timely detection and correction of adverse trends in the biological condition and quality or quantity of groundwater and surface water.

Schweitzer says there are still improvements to be made in detection of problems and he believes drone could help. “Having an eye in the sky and viewing the ponds, the land and nearby water sources from that perspective would give mines more information – you can really see where what water is doing or where it might be moving from the air.”

The year before, an EPA crew at the Gold King Mine in Colorado accidentally unleashed more than 3 million gallons of water filled with mercury and arsenic. The toxic spill flowed into the Animas River, eventually running into New Mexico’s San Juan River and into Lake Powell.

Another incident happened in Brazil when a dam built to hold back water and residue from a mining operation burst, killing 19 people and causing major mudslides and polluting more than 400 miles of waterways.

There are a number of techniques used to prevent the release of contaminated water including things that UAV’s could monitor and collect data on.

“For example drone could monitor rain and snowmelt runoff easily seeing from the air where the water was headed giving mines better lead time for water diversion and preventing the potential for water contamination from exposed tailings,” said Schweitzer.

“UAV’s could monitor evaporation rates in the ponds and see changes in water coloration or capture drainage problems that could cause overflows,” he continued.

Schweitzer added, “You could be seeing the potential problems from anywhere and share the data with mine experts around the world if something was off. That means better response times that could stop an environmental disaster before it happens. It’s another way drone could be used for good and that’s pretty cool.”

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Tips, Tricks and Advice for Filming a Film with a DJI Osmo

Jon Lim is a Tech Reviewer at Staples Canada Tech Hub as well as a Software Engineer for Proofpoint, Inc. His passion is technology and after seeing the DJI Osmo, he immediately wanted to put it through its paces. After a short hands-on demo, Jon already sung the Osmo’s praises in an article for the Staples Canada Tech Hub, but we wanted to really test the Osmo as a filmmaking tool. What would it be like, he wondered, to shoot and edit a short film entirely with just the Osmo and DJI Go? Here’s what he discovered and some of the lessons and tricks he learned along the way.

1. Trusting the Gimbal

Going into his experiment, Jon already knew he could rely on some of the stabilization features that the Osmo provides.

“You can lock it on a specific point, you can have it roll along with your motion, or you can control it directly using the joystick,” he says.

Jon used this feature so he could focus on composition and movement, rather than the often complex logistics of making a shot look smooth.

2. The Gimbal has its limitations

Despite being able to stabilize within a certain degree, the Osmo can only handle so much. When Jon tried shooting from a car, the bumps in the road made him jump in his seat – causing the footage to look more jumpy than usual.

“The shot itself was steady, but the hands holding the camera were getting jerked around, so the end result was jarring and discombobulated,” he said

Additionally, strong wind will affect the gimbal’s motors, so hanging it outside of a moving car will overpower the motors and decrease the efficiency of the motors.

Jon’s shoot lasted around 6 hours in total but actual shoot time was only about an hour. The Osmo can do many things wonderfully but there’s no free Osmo lunch without the power needed to shoot in 4K while using a phone connected to Wi-Fi.

Jon’s advice: “If you’re going to be doing any extensive shooting with the DJI Osmo, I highly recommend you bring a battery for every 30 minutes of footage (or 60 minutes of standby time) that you’d like to capture.”

Watch Jon’s Osmo only film ‘Touring the 6ix #FiestaFoodie’ — “where we drove around the six boroughs of Toronto, eating at a restaurant in each one” — here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU6ahihQc7A

So… the gimbal is good but not always and it runs low on batteries… We need some more positives here.

 

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Camera options with a Yuneec drone remain limited

Options for cameras attached to a Yuneec drone, whether the RC quadcopter Yuneec Q500 series or the hexacopter Typhoon H models, a series of potential glitches thwarts pilots.

Ironically, one of these glitches comes with a Yuneec drone designed to accommodate a GoPro camera.

The Typhoon G was built specifically to house a GoPro along with the Typhoon G500 4K and Typhoon G500+, but a software update by GoPro “GoPro halted the camera stream out of the USB port, rendering the user helpless to get the desired video. This can leave the Yuneec drone without the ability to capture video, in essence.

As well, the struts need to be removed from the undercarriage of the Yuneec drone to attach the camera mount, the often-flimsy Yuneec SteadyGrip, onto the gimbal. But the AA NiMH battery system gimbal of the Yuneec drone does not charge the GoPro via the via USB and blocks the memory card slot.

These problems highlight earlier comparisons of DJI Phantom vs Yuneec in quality, notes a review in the World According to Cole that discusses the Yuneec drone.

“Getting back to the original comparison between the DJI Phantom 3 and the Yuneec Typhoon Q55+ Quadcopters: These two drones are similarly priced with similar, but not certainly not identical features,” Cole writes.

“If you’re interested in getting higher quality video (up to 4K), you may want to consider the Phantom 3 Professional, which can record video at three levels: High Definition (HD), Full High Definition (FHD), and Ultra High Definition (UHD), whereas the Typhoon Q500 only supports video in HD. If HD is enough for you, then the Phantom 3 Advanced model has the advantage based on price.”

Then of course there are the connection issues between the camera and controller that come with almost every Yuneec drone because of faulty internal WiFi cards and fewer satellites to lock on than DJI has for GPS connections.

This can result in a flyaway Yuneec drone, especially if line-of-sight is lost, and a loss of video. DJI routinely show better attention to detail in the operation of drones.

“The Phantom 3 holds the clear edge when comparing the maximum transmission distance of the controller, i.e., what’s the maximum distance (line of sight) that the drone can communicate with the controller? For the Phantom 3, it’s 2,000 meters; for the Typhoon, it’s only 600 meters, which is more than 3 times less than the Phantom 3,” Cole writes.

Practically speaking, the GPS transmitter on every Yuneec drone needs to be in sync with at least six satellites to get the Yuneec drone to follow the operator’s movements from above and aid in possible recovery – particularly important for new users, to maneuver the drone home if it comes out of range.

These transmission issues affect a number of in-flight parameters of a Yuneec drone that new users can probably adapt to with some trial and error. But the bigger issue on a Yuneec drone is when the casual user starts to want to use the drone for work-related tasks. This is a big and growing area that includes using drones to survey roof tops for repair issues, or surveying land.

Quality video is crucial to getting the work done.

 

 

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