Start up sequence?

[Eagle928]

Something I noticed today that I hadn't seen before. Normally I start the controller, then the drone, then plug in the tablet. It won't turn on the camera view in the display on the monitor that way no matter what I did. I rebooted everything and still no-go. As a last ditch effort so my trip to the flight location wasn't a total bust I shut everything down again then started the drone first then the controller then plugged in the tablet.

For whatever reason this is how I must start everything now to get it to work. This is a new issue since updating everything. Not sure it's just my setup or a funky cable I got from Tripltek to keep the controller from charging the tablet or what. I will have to try different tablets/phones/etc. to see if i can pinpoint the issue. I'll also experiment with my second E2P to see if acts the same way now and try different connection cables. I have had an issue with another cable that must have been a charging cable only and not a data transfer cable or simple a bad cable.

Anyone seen this issue before?

 

[Eagle928]

Wouldn't you know it; I could not reproduce this issue on the work bench.

 

[herein2021]

Wouldn't you know it; I could not reproduce this issue on the work bench.

My EVO II startup sequence is picky as well and I can repro it about 50% of the time. If the app is already running and I land and just change the batteries on the EVO, half the time I have to restart the app. Sometimes if the app is left running and the tablet goes to sleep then I use it the next day.....nothing will get it to connect until I restart the app.

I have tried unplugging the tablet and plugging it back in, restarting the controller, restarting the EVO etc...only restarting the app works. This is on an iPad mini. I never had that problem with the DJI drones and their apps. Fortunately its just a minor inconvenience; I'll take that any day over the geofencing.

 

[Eagle928]

My EVO II startup sequence is picky as well and I can repro it about 50% of the time. If the app is already running and I land and just change the batteries on the EVO, half the time I have to restart the app. Sometimes if the app is left running and the tablet goes to sleep then I use it the next day.....nothing will get it to connect until I restart the app.

I have tried unplugging the tablet and plugging it back in, restarting the controller, restarting the EVO etc...only restarting the app works. This is on an iPad mini. I never had that problem with the DJI drones and their apps. Fortunately its just a minor inconvenience; I'll take that any day over the geofencing.

Oh, me too, and I wasn't complaining per se. I'm looking for a solution and now that I know it isn't just mine maybe the folks at Autel will be looking at this issue.

In a professional environment such as emergency services this issue would force the controlling company or agency to abandon Autel in a New York minute. For someone on the clock this would be 100% unsatisfactory. I'm mostly a hobbyist currently but if this issue becomes common I will abandon Autel for something reliable. I do plan on using my 107 license for some small projects and the machinery must be reliable when I show up for a shoot.

I really like how this Evo 2 flies and the amazing camera footage I see online plus I'm slowly getting used to its camera idiosyncrasies so I want to stay with it if I can.

 

[herein2021]

Oh, me too, and I wasn't complaining per se. I'm looking for a solution and now that I know it isn't just mine maybe the folks at Autel will be looking at this issue.

In a professional environment such as emergency services this issue would force the controlling company or agency to abandon Autel in a New York minute. For someone on the clock this would be 100% unsatisfactory. I'm mostly a hobbyist currently but if this issue becomes common I will abandon Autel for something reliable. I do plan on using my 107 license for some small projects and the machinery must be reliable when I show up for a shoot.

I really like how this Evo 2 flies and the amazing camera footage I see online plus I'm slowly getting used to its camera idiosyncrasies so I want to stay with it if I can.

I'll admit I'm a little biased towards my iPad mini in this scenario strictly because they have a less fractured eco system than Android and they don't have the charging problem when plugged into the controller, so when I hear of issues like these on an Android platform I always wonder if the same thing would have happened on the iOS platform due to the different versions of the Android OS that are out there and the different drivers and other things that are required to make them work on the different HW platforms.

The single Apple OS is the only reason I have stuck with my iPad mini all these years; the screen may be hard to see but its been rock solid reliable for both the Autel and DJI apps.

 

[Eagle928]

I've heard good things about IOS/Apple devices over the years but was always partial to PC's and now Android as are most people. The ability to work on PC's ourselves is the deciding factor plus Apple is so proprietary.

Investing $650 in the Tripltek was a no-brainer for me personally. I needed the extra brightness and horsepower it offers.

All these drone apps must work at least as good on Android as it does on IOS or it will be a loser for them.

JMHO, FWIW, YMMV.

 

[herein2021]

I've heard good things about IOS/Apple devices over the years but was always partial to PC's and now Android as are most people. The ability to work on PC's ourselves is the deciding factor plus Apple is so proprietary.

Investing $650 in the Tripltek was a no-brainer for me personally. I needed the extra brightness and horsepower it offers.

All these drone apps must work at least as good on Android as it does on IOS or it will be a loser for them.

JMHO, FWIW, YMMV.

I agree, not a fan of Apple products at all, the iPad mini is the only one I own. I had an NVIDIA Shield back when I first started flying drones and at the time DJI always put their newest/best features in the iOS version first not to mention the NVIDIA was completely impossible to see in daylight. I've been using the iPad mini ever since but have never updated it and I keep it in airplane mode.

 

[Eagle928]

I'm very happy to report I sent my Evo 2 Pro up at least 10 times this afternoon stopping at various places to set up, boot up, and send it without a single glitch. It did hang for an extra second one time but loaded everything up. I've been working with and building computers for a couple of decades now and one thing I learned is all computers can get glitchy once in a while.

Usually a reboot fixes it. Some code was likely read wrong or line-skipped. Could be a track in the CPU that should have read a 1 but read 0. Who knows. One thing I didn't do in the field was reboot the tablet; only the drone and controller plus closed and reopened the app so maybe it needed the tablet rebooted. I'll likely never know. Anyway; I'm sharing this in case someone else has a similar issue.

 

[Miteehigh]

I noticed the same thing the day before yesterday. My normal start procedure is drone first followed by controller and then plugging in my smart phone. I did not follow my normal procedure and the gimbal was goofy with tilted horizon. This happened twice. When I brought it back home. shut everything down and restarted in my normal sequence and everything is working as it should. I have no problems when I start with my normal process.

 

[Willyspu]

Coming from the RC Plane world, our startup procedure was always to start your controller and video first and then the vehicle. The reason being, if there were some type of glitch that activated the vehicle you would have a better chance recovering it if your controller and monitor were already activated. That is the process I use with the EVO, Controller/Video Tablet then Drone.

 

[Eagle928]

Coming from the RC Plane world, our startup procedure was always to start your controller and video first and then the vehicle. The reason being, if there were some type of glitch that activated the vehicle you would have a better chance recovering it if your controller and monitor were already activated. That is the process I use with the EVO, Controller/Video Tablet then Drone.

That's the way I learned as well. Common sense tells us this the safest way even if the drone equipment has a different idea in mind.

 

[herein2021]

That's the way I learned as well. Common sense tells us this the safest way even if the drone equipment has a different idea in mind.

Coming from the RC Plane world, our startup procedure was always to start your controller and video first and then the vehicle. The reason being, if there were some type of glitch that activated the vehicle you would have a better chance recovering it if your controller and monitor were already activated. That is the process I use with the EVO, Controller/Video Tablet then Drone.

That's the sequence I learned as well; however I do always start the tablet first my reasoning is that my tablet has the longest battery life out of the 3 and if the tablet dies I can still bring back the drone with the controller not to mention the tablet has the longest startup time. So I start the tablet first, then the controller, then the app (since the app sometimes won't connect if it is running before I start the controller), then the drone. Sometimes I still have to restart the app one more time to connect to the EVO.

My thinking is the same...if I start the EVO and it goes nuts as soon as its turned on then I might be able to keep control over it if the controller is already on.

 

[Quad808]

I always started previously with Tablet or phone on first, NOT launching any flying apps, then RC, connect the phone/tablet, then turn on the drone. I found that sometimes the app, either Autel or DJI, sometimes doesn't detect the drone, even if connected to the RC.

I don't do this anymore. Now, it's Drone always first. Then RC. Let them connect. No hurry. Then I connect the RC to phone/tablet. Let the app launch once it detects the usb connection. Why drone first? The app first to RC will allow the app to override the drone. I want the drone fully started up before any external connection. This startup procedure took me a while to "trust" it, being as you guys said....if the RC isn't on, what if the drone gets crazy? I haven't had this happen, even once. I let the device launch the app upon usb connection, this way I know for sure that the phone/tablet is getting the correct signal from the RC first, before manually launching the app like I used to. I have found the variable is the app...so I never manually launch it. Doing more than one flight? I force quit the app and don't have it running before the next flight. This ensures a clean startup of the app every time by USB connection. Yep, I turn off the RC as well, whenever I turn off the drone to change batteries.

If any "glitches" to the above startup, I will start all over. Force quit the app, disconnect it from the RC, and turn off both Drone and RC. Because I can force quit the app, I almost never restart the phone or tablet in the field. I work in the IT industry and realize how finicky software can be sometimes, so find it best to reboot everything when there is anything not normal....even if I have everything connected with the above order and the app, even in a glitch for a second, loses connection to the drone....could be a loose cable or any other reason. I force quit the app and disconnect the usb cable, and connect it again to the phone/tablet and let the app re-launch. Maybe overkill, but I don't want the app getting wonky in flight and having to restart it mid-flight. I never, ever rush a flight no matter what. All it takes is that one time you are in a hurry, and chances are...things will go wrong quickly. Not worth the risk. I do this on all my drones...Autel/DJI etc.

We are lucky with the Autel drones that we can just use the RC and not have to fly with the app if the app screws up mid-flight. Early on, with the Evo II Pro, I had the app disconnect mid flight as it did a RTH, AND the RC restarted. The drone didn't care, since it was doing an automated RTH and was still a ways away. Disconnected the USB and restarted the RC...connected right away and brought the bird home. Only a small panic. LOL!

 

[UasDriver]

We are lucky with the Autel drones that we can just use the RC

yup, that's why I bought the evoII

 

[Eagle928]

Today went well but for whatever reason; my setup requires me to start the drone first, then the controller, then I plug in the tablet which auto-starts the app. The drone must be started first. A quirk or a glitch; I don't know but if the drone is not started first I won't get it off the ground.

Perhaps the code jockeys at Autel can tell us what's what.

 

[charmin]

Hi, just as a thought, the USB cable used between the tablet or phone and the RC could be the possible problem for some if it is C type. There are now several different types of C cables, some have a small resistor inside which depending how it is wired can make the cable a Slave or Host, you'd have to check what you have, if Slave it needs a signal from the Host i.e. Phone or tablet to trigger whatever it is connected to before it works properly...
Just a thought... best read up from the web as I might have it the wrong way around... happend to me, changed back to a cheap old cable and then worked fine... might help. Cheers

 

[Eagle928]

Hi, just as a thought, the USB cable used between the tablet or phone and the RC could be the possible problem for some if it is C type. There are now several different types of C cables, some have a small resistor inside which depending how it is wired can make the cable a Slave or Host, you'd have to check what you have, if Slave it needs a signal from the Host i.e. Phone or tablet to trigger whatever it is connected to before it works properly...
Just a thought... best read up from the web as I might have it the wrong way around... happend to me, changed back to a cheap old cable and then worked fine... might help. Cheers

You could be right. I am using a special cable from Tripltek that has a resistor built-in to stop the controller from charging the tablet or phone I use.

I would rather it need the drone started first than need the controller started first because if the controller/tablet glitches out of contact at least I know the drone will re-establish contact once I get the controller/tablet combo back up.

It really shouldn't matter but I confess I don't know why it does this. It might be by design or a some kind of strange glitch with my system.

 

[Quad808]

Try not using the resistor cable from TRIPLTEK....I can use the tablet now without it and it is working fine. Give it a go and report back.

 

[Eagle928]

Try not using the resistor cable from TRIPLTEK....I can use the tablet now without it and it is working fine. Give it a go and report back.

That would defeat the entire purpose of using the non charging cable.

 

[Quad808]

yes, but no. The original problem was the Autel RC pushing maximum voltage to charge the tablet at the same time...in the last firmware Autel updated the RC firmware to not do that anymore. It still will charge, even with the resistor cable, but at a very low rate. I don't know the rate it is now without the cable and with the latest Autel firmware, but the slow, choppy video isn't an issue anymore on the explorer app running on the TRIPLTEK. Of course, it's up to you....my point was only that the cable is not required anymore to overcome the choppy explorer app if that was the reason you are using it.