Anyone Use an iPhone 12 Pro Max as a Remote Control Screen?

[GeekOnTheWing]

I use a 12 max and it works pretty decent in sunny situations ( that is compared to other phones). Need to angle it a bit to reduce reflection.

Thank you. Any overheating issues?

 

[Kruphen]

Thank you. Any overheating issues?

No I haven’t had any so far. I typically fly through two or three batteries as well, so good chunk of time.

 

[GeekOnTheWing]

No I haven’t had any so far. I typically fly through two or three batteries as well, so good chunk of time.

Thanks.

 

[GeekOnTheWing]

So I fashioned a redneck-style sunshade out of black poster board, Popsicle sticks, contact adhesive, and T-Rex duct tape (nothing but the best). It had tabs made of duct tape folded over itself that fit between my OnePlus 7t and its bumper case.

I initially was quite impressed by my handiwork. Ten years of living a mile from the middle of nowhere



apparently had taught me a thing or two about cardboard and duct tape.

Unfortunately, installing the sunshade on the phone also had the effect of dimming the screen; and apparently, the 7t has some sort of limiter that only allows max brightness when adaptive brightness is enabled. Grrr.

I don't know if that's also the case with the iPhone, and it's too cloudy and rainy to test it. Also, the iPhone has the "official" silicone case, which fits much more snugly; so I'd have to come up with an alternative attachment mechanism.

I'm thinking that I could build a frame out of split PVC tubing that would slip over the phone and case, using dowels to support a hood made of some black canvas-like cloth that came with the power supply for a computer I built a few years ago. Trying to anchor the hood between the phone and the holder would be precarious because the encased phone barely fits in the jaws as it is.

Which brings me to a gripe I have about anything made to hold phones: Why can't they give you another quarter inch (6.35mm) or so of jaws? Especially on something like a drone remote which by design is used outdoors and moved around, increasing the chances of gravity doing its thing to the phone, shouldn't the jaws be generous enough to hold a phone in a heavy-duty case?

 

[Eagle's Eye Photo]

Came up with something similar... Used black corrogated plastic as the base shade material. Fortunately, the Samsung Galaxy S7 does not adjust brightness to ambient light levels.

This is for now, a temporary solution... I have a tablet on the way, and will construct a larger version to accomodate the size difference. On that tablet version, I will use Sintra PVC board. ?

 

[Azelgato]

I'm using my iphone XR. I never noticed how dim the display is until I was in the middle of a mission. Maybe the phone got warm and dimmed but the Autel app also decided to reboot during the mission. Luckily I had set the option to continue flight if connection lost. Exciting few minutes!

 

[GeekOnTheWing]

I'm using my iphone XR. I never noticed how dim the display is until I was in the middle of a mission. Maybe the phone got warm and dimmed but the Autel app also decided to reboot during the mission. Luckily I had set the option to continue flight if connection lost. Exciting few minutes!

Thanks.

I have to say one thing about the 7t: It never overheats. I also realized today that if you face the screen to the sun at the beginning of the mission, it lets you max out the brightness and stays there. Disabling the 90Hz refresh also helped. Maybe the screen can't keep up brightness-wise at 90Hz?

It was always a great phone hardware-wise. I'm just not a huge Google fan. You know what was the straw that broke the camel's back? I stopped at a Thruway rest area one day and Google Maps popped up and asked me to review the head. I was like, they even keep track of when I pee? That was the end of Android and me. I drove to Albany and bought an iPhone.

In any case, the way I did it today, the 7t stayed bright enough that there was no point at which I saw nothing on the screen. I still had to squint, but it was usable. Barely.

The iPhone 11 has a dimmer screen that's easier to read, which I also can't quite wrap my brain around. Maybe an LCD versus OLED thing? I don't know. But if iPhones have a tendency to overheat, I'd rather just buy the Smart Controller, which is what I did.

 

[Wghayek]

I presently use an iPhone 11 as my DD phone, and a OnePlus 7t for my remote control.

I find the screen brightness on the 7t much too low to be useful. I haven't been using adaptive brightness, however, and someone posted somewhere that it has some sort of limiting feature when in full manual brightness control. So I do plan to try that next.

I've been thinking about upgrading to the iPhone 12 Max anyway, however. Apple will give me (I think) $350.00 in trade, and I get a 10 percent veteran's discount; so it wouldn't be all that expensive.

Has anyone used the iPhone 12 Pro Max as a controller for their EVO II / EVO II Pro? If so, how's the brightness? Also, how's the app? I haven't tried it for the lack of a cable, which is easily enough solved.

Thank you.

Yes I have the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Brightness and app work fine.

 

[GeekOnTheWing]

Yes I have the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Brightness and app work fine.

Thank you. I've already ordered the Smart Controller; but if that ends up being vaporware, a phone upgrade is probably my next step.

Although with the adaptive brightness turned on, the 7t is readable in the sun. Barely. I was thinking about building a ball-and-swivel type mount with a miniature umbrella to use as a shade.

 

[Wghayek]

Yes I have the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Brightness and app work fine.

BUT today on a cloudy day I could hardly see the screen?!? It wasn’t that hot out so I’m scratching my head wondering why. My brightness was turned up all the way.

 

[GeekOnTheWing]

BUT today on a cloudy day I could hardly see the screen?!? It wasn’t that hot out so I’m scratching my head wondering why. My brightness was turned up all the way.

It's kind of strange that no one has built a phone specifically targeted to people who work outdoors and need a bright screen with fully manual control.

My current plan, unless I actually receive a SC, is to build a little non-metallic bracket with a swivel and mount a miniature umbrella on it. Most of the commercial hoods I've looked at look like they were designed by people who never actually used one.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

It's kind of strange that no one has built a phone specifically targeted to people who work outdoors and need a bright screen with fully manual control.

My current plan, unless I actually receive a SC, is to build a little non-metallic bracket with a swivel and mount a miniature umbrella on it. Most of the commercial hoods I've looked at look like they were designed by people who never actually used one.

unfortunately phones are phones first and drone controllers second. my first awareness of an attempt is the tripltek tablet where it appears they have purposely built the tablet so you can see if when bright outdoors....and it works.

don't forget the crystal sky unit. before my sc arrives, I have been using the smaller c.s. and it's better than any phone and while not the brightest bulb in the bunch, it works.