M200 drone half cooked?

[Matthew Dobrski]

One may expect that such sophisticated (and expensive) machine should perform flawlessly and immediately off the box and after basic set-up. No luck here. Stubborn Compass Error along with lost GPS lock doesn't allow to fly further than 25-50 m away and perform any maneuverings without jumping into Atti Mode. Well, at least DJI confirmed the issue and promised a fix with next "coming soon" FW upgrade ... Am I alone with crippled M200 or - indeed - is it a common issue?

EDIT: New firmware (01.01.0600) installed Feb 12, bird tested ... No luck, no behavior change whatsoever ... This bird goes back to factory ...

 

[Dave Pitman]

Mathew, I can't speak to whether it is a common issue with the M200. It is common for dji craft to be very good hardware wise but poor software, unfortunately. Since the M200 is currently their flagship "commercial" offering. I would think they will get it figured out for you.

 

[Matthew Dobrski]

Mathew, I can't speak to whether it is a common issue with the M200. It is common for dji craft to be very good hardware wise but poor software, unfortunately. Since the M200 is currently their flagship "commercial" offering. I would think they will get it figured out for you.

Yes, we're all at the mercy of this powerful, dominant but exotic brand, unfortunately. Well, thank you for spiritual support, at least ...

 

[BigAl07]

One may expect that such sophisticated (and expensive) machine should perform flawlessly and immediately off the box and after basic set-up. No luck here.

While I fly several different brands of sUAS, the vast majority of my work is carried out using DJI products. One thing to keep in mind is that DJI rushes things to market just like every other brand of sUAS does out there. From their cheapest SPARK to their M200 series they release a product with known issues/flaws and are slow to get them fixed. We keep buying them either without researching or we research but take the chance anyway. Remember the first Indians get the most arrows in their backs.

DJI are not the only ones to do this. We've flown an $80K (it was supposed to carry a $20K payload but we opted to test it without that) aircraft that was supposedly "bullet proof" in terms of FW and SW. Launch was spot on and the aircraft performed splendidly. When it was time to land we hit a "glitch" and it would not AutoLand (a selling point by the manufacturer) and ended up crashing into Terra Firma at a high rate of speed. From initial evaluations it looks like it is totaled. It's being sent back to France for repair/replacement.

I'm not taking up for DJI but let's not forget this is a very common practice even with greatly more expensive platforms.

 

[Matthew Dobrski]

While I fly several different brands of sUAS, the vast majority of my work is carried out using DJI products. One thing to keep in mind is that DJI rushes things to market just like every other brand of sUAS does out there. From their cheapest SPARK to their M200 series they release a product with known issues/flaws and are slow to get them fixed. We keep buying them either without researching or we research but take the chance anyway. Remember the first Indians get the most arrows in their backs.

DJI are not the only ones to do this. We've flown an $80K (it was supposed to carry a $20K payload but we opted to test it without that) aircraft that was supposedly "bullet proof" in terms of FW and SW. Launch was spot on and the aircraft performed splendidly. When it was time to land we hit a "glitch" and it would not AutoLand (a selling point by the manufacturer) and ended up crashing into Terra Firma as a high rate of speed. From initial evaluations it looks like it is totaled. It's being sent back to France for repair/replacement.

I'm not taking up for DJI but let's not forget this is a very common practice even with greatly more expensive platforms.

Oh, of course, I'm far from being in venting mood. After all this is a cutting edge technology and we're in front line. Sorry to hear about your catastrophic experience with - let me guess - U1 ...

 

[Ravenflight]

I'm not taking up for DJI but let's not forget this is a very common practice even with greatly more expensive platforms.

It seems to me that's a bit like saying "I'm not taking up for Harvey Weinstein but let's not forget this is a very common practice." Beta testing on users may be common but it's unconscionable. Apple and Google blazed this trail. No one stopped them and it's only gotten worse. Pretty much every tech related company does this now. It's one thing to have a buggy smart phone though; a buggy aircraft puts people and property in jeopardy. But these big companies don't care unless it were to impact their bottom line. Since the government isn't stopping them and we're all buying the products anyway it will only continue.