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Possible heat problems with Inspire 2 during 2 hours of flight with multiple batteries changes?

John Githens

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Island County, Washington State
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www.aerialwhidbey.com
I have two flight plans developed in Pix4Dcapture that are adjacent, and together cover more than 90 acres. Each mission is estimated to be about 60 minutes, which, if the wind is not too strong, should be sufficient for a total of 5 RTHes for battery swaps, then home at last. Each RTH with battery swap and reboot should take 7-10 minutes if all goes well.

So far, Pix4Dcapture has worked well for a long mission with one battery swap. This will be my first time doing multiple battery swaps. I'm wondering if anyone had problems from running the Inspire 2 somewhat continuously. Any comments?
 
The Inspire will handle the time just fine. A greater concern is the tablet you will be using. They can overheat and shut down after a period of time on a hot day. iPhones can do that as well.
 
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Thanks for the encouragement. Yes indeed an iPad can shut down. Didn't believe it until a few weeks ago. Can't say which of the following "solutions" (or both) reduced that risk, however since doing both I have not felt much excess heat, and I frequently check the back side just in case.

a) Keep the iPad's display away from direct sunlight. It really can heat up quickly.

b) "Regardless of your iOS iPhone or iPad version or series, the following tip will optimise your iOS iPhone / iPad for maximum memory and performance when using GO App.

1. Unlock your iPhone / iPad and go to home screen.
2. Hold down the power button until the message “Slide to Power Off” appears.
3. Release Power button and hold down the Home button for six seconds so it returns to the App screen.
4. Now start GO App and enjoy maximum memory and performance from your iOS iPhone and iPad. "
 
I have two flight plans developed in Pix4Dcapture that are adjacent, and together cover more than 90 acres. Each mission is estimated to be about 60 minutes, which, if the wind is not too strong, should be sufficient for a total of 5 RTHes for battery swaps, then home at last. Each RTH with battery swap and reboot should take 7-10 minutes if all goes well.

So far, Pix4Dcapture has worked well for a long mission with one battery swap. This will be my first time doing multiple battery swaps. I'm wondering if anyone had problems from running the Inspire 2 somewhat continuously. Any comments?
All the tablets will experience heat issues... the amount of glass and only passive cooling in a ultra thin case, and it's compounded if you install the tablet into protective case that basically creates an insulation barrier. In my personal usage, the iPad Pro performs better than the iPads... the previous generation's 10.5" iPad Pro I feel is probably one of the better options. The Android side.. the Samsung Tab S4 normally outperforms the iPad Pro on the both the extreme Heat & Cold. But, they will all fail with enough Heat... it's built into the Circuits of all tablets & phones to safeguard the hardware.

That being said... I wouldn't suggest setting the Inspire2... or any sUAV on the bench and allowing them to heat soak between flights; I particularly wouldn't heat soak the batteries to an extreme, nor recharge them soon after completing mission... let them cool. All electronics have temperature operating ranges, few will reach it during flights but heat soaking on bench can reach limits.

Several Pilots take a small cooler...with the frozen blue ice bags... toss in a few drinks too but use to store tablet when not in use to cool it down. I've personally found it's not solely the "Temperature Heat", it's the intensity of the Sun heating the screen, which in turn overheats the tablet. The Hoodman Hoods... a 2 piece snorkel is tall enough it blocks all the sun light greatly reducing the heat exposure and providing excellent screen view. So clear, you're not needing to stare at screen much... a quick glance during flights is more informative than the open hard to see screen. On a 100 F degree day, I can stand in shade or under canopy without issue... walk into Sun and tablet may overheat without a Hoodman Hood.

Regarding the iPad Refresh... That has a few variations depending on Generation of iPad.
But if you hold power button to obtain Slider... turning off & back on is not purging & refreshing memory.
That is only accomplished by reboot / restarting / resetting... what even "term" various sites indicate.
On the Older units with Home & Power button... holding BOTH until it flashes off and presents the "Apple" icon is performing Full Restart.
The New Generations require a toggling of the Volume buttons then Power to slide off... a Full Restart is triggered in the event.

This URL provides a short & complete outline for the generations.
 
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As Pat, myself, other Vets or GI Govt Civ...the MilSpec tablet is much thicker even out of it's shock suspension case... and the primary difference are multiple low RPM large diameter Fans and an anti-reflective heat film over screen.
Heat & Sun Heat are major issues in tablets if used outside in external environments.

Personally, with tables becoming an outdoor instrument & tool; I thought some one by now... Apple or Android, would have made an external version tablet with improved cooling. I know Dell (via Govt Contracts) and few others have made external Notebook versions for Civilian usage.
 
I overcame the tablet heat issue by using two tablets. Lately our local temp has been constantly in the high nineties to hundreds. The iPad works is good for a about 45 minutes, then I swap them out. I have eight pairs of batteries and many days I will use all eight, a little over two hours of actual flying.
The Inspire two is a work horse, I have never had an issue it's motors overheating or any other issues.
 
I’ve flown fire coverage with temps around 99-102. Flights are all short and I stand in the shade or I use a thick folder cut off and placed in my cradle to cover the screen of the ipad. All has been well. I monitor engine and battery temps with an IR gun, and yes, the Ipad gets warm. Haven’t had one shut down yet. Ipad 2018. I did notice it get very warm on one flight and upon landing it went in the A/C truck, along with phantom and batteries, for a cool down.
 
All the tablets will experience heat issues... the amount of glass and only passive cooling in a ultra thin case, and it's compounded if you install the tablet into protective case that basically creates an insulation barrier. In my personal usage, the iPad Pro performs better than the iPads... the previous generation's 10.5" iPad Pro I feel is probably one of the better options. The Android side.. the Samsung Tab S4 normally outperforms the iPad Pro on the both the extreme Heat & Cold. But, they will all fail with enough Heat... it's built into the Circuits of all tablets & phones to safeguard the hardware.

That being said... I wouldn't suggest setting the Inspire2... or any sUAV on the bench and allowing them to heat soak between flights; I particularly wouldn't heat soak the batteries to an extreme, nor recharge them soon after completing mission... let them cool. All electronics have temperature operating ranges, few will reach it during flights but heat soaking on bench can reach limits.

Several Pilots take a small cooler...with the frozen blue ice bags... toss in a few drinks too but use to store tablet when not in use to cool it down. I've personally found it's not solely the "Temperature Heat", it's the intensity of the Sun heating the screen, which in turn overheats the tablet. The Hoodman Hoods... a 2 piece snorkel is tall enough it blocks all the sun light greatly reducing the heat exposure and providing excellent screen view. So clear, you're not needing to stare at screen much... a quick glance during flights is more informative than the open hard to see screen. On a 100 F degree day, I can stand in shade or under canopy without issue... walk into Sun and tablet may overheat without a Hoodman Hood.

Regarding the iPad Refresh... That has a few variations depending on Generation of iPad.
But if you hold power button to obtain Slider... turning off & back on is not purging & refreshing memory.
That is only accomplished by reboot / restarting / resetting... what even "term" various sites indicate.
On the Older units with Home & Power button... holding BOTH until it flashes off and presents the "Apple" icon is performing Full Restart.
The New Generations require a toggling of the Volume buttons then Power to slide off... a Full Restart is triggered in the event.

This URL provides a short & complete outline for the generations.
Thanks for all the great info! I'm currently using an iPad 9.7" Pro. It is unusual for our local temps to be in the 90s. That said, I will try to keep everything in the shade as much as possible, especially the batteries. A cooler with cold blue gel packs also sounds like a good way to remind myself to stay hydrated, safely of course. And a Hoodman Hood looks like a great choice. I appreciate the time you took to write.
 
Thanks for all the great info! I'm currently using an iPad 9.7" Pro. It is unusual for our local temps to be in the 90s. That said, I will try to keep everything in the shade as much as possible, especially the batteries. A cooler with cold blue gel packs also sounds like a good way to remind myself to stay hydrated, safely of course. And a Hoodman Hood looks like a great choice. I appreciate the time you took to write.

About your batteries, if you don't run them below 30% they the temp will stay in the normal range. It is when you get below 20% they start building heat rapidly. Also with you iPad make sure you have plenty of free memory.
Best of luck to you.
 
I see many posts mentioning overheating issues with iPads but can't remember any for Android devices.
Are you aware of Android tablets overheating?
 
I see many posts mentioning overheating issues with iPads but can't remember any for Android devices.
Are you aware of Android tablets overheating?
Yes... noted in #4 post as example.
All tablets will over heat, although I've found the Samsung Tab S4 will survive maybe a little longer.

But direct sunlight on a hot day will effect all electronics... all tablets when heat reaches a critical level will shutdown to protect their circuits.

Price also "normally" dictates it's quality... iPads are upper end hardware, as well as the TabS4... lower end tablets may be more susceptible to heat.
 
But direct sunlight on a hot day will effect all electronics... all tablets when heat reaches a critical level will shutdown to protect their circuits.
Every summer there are iPad users reporting overheating issues in forums, but it's something I've never seen from an Android user.
I'm not sure if Apple devices get hotter or have less heat tolerance or there's something special about Android devices, but the owners aren't reporting overheating like Apple flyers do.
 
Every summer there are iPad users reporting overheating issues in forums, but it's something I've never seen from an Android user.
I'm not sure if Apple devices get hotter or have less heat tolerance or there's something special about Android devices, but the owners aren't reporting overheating like Apple flyers do.
Ummm... may be due to the larger percentage using iPads or Apps that require iPads for various tasks: mapping. I have both and on a hot day... they both act the same with a overheat failure.... incidentally the same on the extreme cold too.

On other forums...Inspire or Mavic, I've come across several that state the Android over heats... actually I've found posts where they claim Android crash a lot compared to iPads, but several try android to save money, and that doesn't help... low priced / low performance Androids equates to dissatisfaction. Android price range is very wide from low to high... but the ones around the same cost as iPads Pros also perform about the same as an iPad Pro.

But I'm not bashing Android... I use both and I personally feel the TabS4 endures a little more heat or cold.
Looking forward to trying out a TabS6 8Gb 256Gb sometime in the future... looks like a sweet device!
 
Ummm... may be due to the larger percentage using iPads or Apps that require iPads for various tasks: mapping.
I would have guessed the numbers were about 50/50 but a quick look at numbers of users for Apple vs Android here: Best Tablets and Phones for DJI GO (Updated Daily) | Phantom Help
.. comes in at 1519 Apple users vs 3318 for Android.
I don't think there's any bias in operating systems for specific tasks, there are plenty in both flavours for mapping etc
I've found posts where they claim Android crash a lot compared to iPads, but several try android to save money, and that doesn't help
There are a lot of myths spread in forums and that's a common one.
The app runs equally well (or poorly) on either operating system.
It just needs to have a properly configured tablet with a fast enough processor and enough RAM.
 
I would have guessed the numbers were about 50/50 but a quick look at numbers of users for Apple vs Android here: Best Tablets and Phones for DJI GO (Updated Daily) | Phantom Help
.. comes in at 1519 Apple users vs 3318 for Android.
I don't think there's any bias in operating systems for specific tasks, there are plenty in both flavours for mapping etc

There are a lot of myths spread in forums and that's a common one.
The app runs equally well (or poorly) on either operating system.
It just needs to have a properly configured tablet with a fast enough processor and enough RAM.
Thanks... I like that article. That's an interesting set of tables but it doesn't really reflect the User base, it's an opinion poll and of questionable collection or data... and it's not an accurate comparison with iPad size tablets to Android tablets.

Globally, Android has always been the higher percentage of mobile devices.... although the number of higher end Android tablets of 9" or greater that's within the iPad specification arena has greatly declined due to a declining market demand and the base the iPad has established.

I'd fully agree... as I've indicated in multiple threads... the Android "tablets" when similar in specs performs equally as well as iPads.

When it comes to which OS for DJI... even though DJI's own CS & CS UB units are specifically limited to DJI approved applications and an Android OS device, they make their new GSP2 product iOS specific.

The majority of specific purpose apps that are "commonly" used are iOS: Drone Deploy, Maps Made Easy (MME), etc. In addition, based on personal experience the Apps made for Both OS, the iOS version tends to be more polished... the majority, not all. There are several high-end Android only apps: UgCS & Drone Harmony to name a few; but they don't seem to have the market share or established user base of Drone Deply or MME. They do compete nicely within niche markets of professionals that recognize their high quality & performance... but since many high end Android apps don't offer a "free" version, it limits their market and installed base.

Circling back to the original point... it's not brand specific, all electronics contained in thin cases, passive cooling, and one side glass is an oven on internal electronics and they all have a fail safe procedure to stop operations in extreme heat or cold. One unit may go a few degrees more than other, but unless temps are managed all devices will exhibit similar... they all spec similar temp operating ranges.
 
Thanks... I like that article. That's an interesting set of tables but it doesn't really reflect the User base, it's an opinion poll and of questionable collection or data... and it's not an accurate comparison with iPad size tablets to Android tablets.
It's not an opinion poll, it's just the Phantomhelp users reporting what phones or tablets they use.
It was the only source I could think of quickly that might offer an indication of the proportion of users for both operating systems.
The majority of specific purpose apps that are "commonly" used are iOS: Drone Deploy, Maps Made Easy (MME)
The only iOS specific mapping apps I'm aware of are MME and DJI's GSpro.
DroneDeploy was an Android app for some time before they brought out an Apple version.
All or most of the others are available in Android versions ... Pix4d, PrecisionHawk, Propeller Aero,
Circling back to the original point... they all spec similar temp operating ranges.
To go back to that original point, I'm a moderator on a large drone forum and read way too many forum posts.
I see plenty of Apple users commenting on overheating each summer but your mention of your Samsung is the first I've run into for an Android device.
 
My error... I personally don't use Drone Deploy and I've only heard iOS Users discuss. I've come across several iOS only apps. I personally prefer the TabS4, although use the iPadPro due to some apps.

Forums are a good source for those that like to discuss, express or complain... but it's not representative to the mass. I personally know several shops that don't even monitor forums and I've chatted with several Android Owners expressing similar. I didn't elect to chat on forums until recently... it's entertainmet. Electronics is electronics, all live within similar bounds.
 
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The only iOS specific mapping apps I'm aware of are MME and DJI's GSpro.
DroneDeploy was an Android app for some time before they brought out an Apple version.

To go back to that original point, I'm a moderator on a large drone forum and read way too many forum posts.
I see plenty of Apple users commenting on overheating each summer but your mention of your Samsung is the first I've run into for an Android device.

Not part of the overheat issue... but on the usage of OS device "side" discussion.

In an indirect manor, DroneDeploy's Own recommendation reinforces the trending direction of main products being iOS iPads... over 75% DD market is iOS. Although DroneDeploy initially began as a Android app it's quickly developed more into an iOS platform. If usage was even close to 50/50 mix, that probably wouldn't occur.

Their (DD) percentage I would guess is pretty representative & close to market... In the "tablet" market, I'd guess easily 85-90% iPad. Another indicator is the mobile device APP development & sales: both much higher on the iOS platform.


Within this page:
Apple iOS is most reliable for mapping
Over 75% of DroneDeploy flights are made with Apple iOS devices. We consistently see greater application stability, performance and DJI drone connectivity on the Apple iOS operating system.

I still prefer my Tab S4, still enjoy the flexibility of the Android OS but I realize more general development & market with iOS... especially tablets. I also recognize the majority of Android development is primarily outside the USA and also noticed the more complex app tend to be or initially start as Android.
 
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In an indirect manor, DroneDeploy's Own recommendation reinforces the trending direction of main products being iOS iPads... over 75% DD market is iOS. Although DroneDeploy initially began as a Android app it's quickly developed more into an iOS platform. If usage was even close to 50/50 mix, that probably wouldn't occur.
Their (DD) percentage I would guess is pretty representative & close to market... In the "tablet" market, I'd guess easily 85-90% iPad. Another indicator is the mobile device APP development & sales: both much higher on the iOS platform.

Within this page:
Apple iOS is most reliable for mapping
Over 75% of DroneDeploy flights are made with Apple iOS devices. We consistently see greater application stability, performance and DJI drone connectivity on the Apple iOS operating system.
I can't see how DD could possibly tell what the percentages are for their users.
There's nothing a user sends that could show what OS was used to make a DD flight.
If it's true, their very strong recommendation may be a factor.
But they are flat out wrong when they say iOS is most stable.
That just sounds like they are repeating (and contributing to) the same myth that you find in forums all the time.
The Android tablets I've flown for the last few years are 100% stable.
I haven't seen a glitch in any of many hundreds of flights with them.
And there are many other users reporting similar performance.
iOS devices might be as reliable, but they cannot be more reliable than 100%.
 
I can't see how DD could possibly tell what the percentages are for their users.
There's nothing a user sends that could show what OS was used to make a DD flight.
If it's true, their very strong recommendation may be a factor.
But they are flat out wrong when they say iOS is most stable.
That just sounds like they are repeating (and contributing to) the same myth that you find in forums all the time.
The Android tablets I've flown for the last few years are 100% stable.
I haven't seen a glitch in any of many hundreds of flights with them.
And there are many other users reporting similar performance.
iOS devices might be as reliable, but they cannot be more reliable than 100%.
Calculate market share for App OS is easy... they see the numbers from each app store.
They're most likely seeing more than 75% more iOS apps requested than Android.

Point was market share... iOS iPads have the majority of the Tablet market. I like my TabS4 but realize the market share easily goes to iOS for tablets. Phones, well that's a different story... iOS is stronger in USA and Android I beleive continues to dominate non-USA.

In my field, we supplied both and supported both... even BlackBerry... supported all platforms for years... then android percentage continued to decline as iOS percentage climbed. We eventually dropped development and services for Android... now only a few IT and Techie types continue to retain a personal Android device and Enterprise is all iOS.

As far as reliability, similar quality gives similar performance. Problem is many buy an android because it's 1/3 the cost of an iPad and then complain because it lacks performance or hangs when various apps are running... that's not an android OS failure, just inferior hardware... many later move to iOS and express how poor Android perform. When there's a large percentage of low end Android hardware being purchased compared to iPads, that's most likely the reason they make the more reliable statement... consistently stable.

I'd agree, an iPad Pro is not more stable than a TabS4 but it is more stable than a $200 low end Android tablet.
 

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