DJI A2 Performance/Build Comparisons

[Bartman]

Are you flying a DJI A2 flight control system? How's it working out? Good? Bad?

Please post;

1. what it is that you are flying (configuration, # of motors, ESC's, etc.)
2. RC system being used and how it is connected to the A2
3. Other equipment being used (Ipad, UHF, iOSD, etc)

and then please describe how it's working for you. Are all the features working correctly? Are there features you'd like to see added in a future firmware revision?

Thanks!
Bart

 

[Jumpy07]

1. CarbonCore H950 Hex, Hobbywing Platinum 30a ESC's, Tiger 4012 400kv motors
2. Taranis & X8R, 16 Channel Sbus external RX (8 Channels PWM direct to Z15 and iOSD)
3. iOSD & Bluetooth Datalink & Zenmuse Z15 / Nex, ImmersionRC VTX

Have not tested all features.. I mostly fly in GPS mode... occasionally Atti.. haven't had an issues since upgrading to 2.1 so far.. have flown @4 hours on 2.1

Good Points:
Flying great.. no issues in flight.. very stable.
Ipad Ground station. appears to work ok.. but haven't tested all features..

Bad Points.
Assistant does not show failsafe when switching off TX... but shows rx loss (would be nice if it confirmed failsafe activation as in previous versions )
LED colours and indication confusing.. and not per manual

Wish List:
SBUS Pass through for Zenmuse Z15
Photogrammetry with shutter trigger for Zenmuse.. cant seem to get this to work.. but believe it was flaky on WKM anyway.
Better PC and Ipad ground station... I don't find either easy to use compared to APM Mission Planner.
Pass through from A2 to iOSD over CANBUS for video channel change
(Not sure if this is possible.. but support of telemetry from A2 over SBUS to external RX.. SBUS I believe supports two way comms)
Rather than led for status... a character based display would be nice.. so many variations on led flashes and colours are getting hard to remember.. (only for ground status)


That's all I can think of at the moment...

 

[soler]

1. S800 - Standard Setup
2. Futaba 8FG, Using A2 internal receiver and secondary receiver for Z15
3, iOSD, Z15,

Good Points
No Big issues so far, not crashes as a result or lost GPS etc as experienced with others,

Bad Points
I have occasionally experienced that during fast forward flight after 5 or 6 seconds the craft can yaw left, still need to diagnose this problem to see if this is a compass aligmnet issues or not

Wish list
Jumpy07 - You hit the nail on the head with your wish list, The A2 should act as the central command unit for all the other DJI devices without having to use cables from the A2 to the Z15 or Iosd, these should all be sent through the can bus

Leds are starting to get confusing, the whole LED signalling procedure is counter intuitive and needs a redesign. What I see now is that some LED Status lights do not apparently indecent that there is a fault unless you are fully aware of all the LED status lights, Example would be IMU status needs to be calibrate which gives 4 green flashes, and abnormal compass data Yellow / Green, Attitude status Bad three white flashes.

In my opinion anything that is indicating a fault that may down the aircraft needs a red indicator, anything that is information could be green / blue / white. Warnings should be yellow

Red - Faults - Danger / Land (No GPS, Abnormal Compass, Battery issues, Attitude status)
Yellow - Warning
Green / Blue / White / Purple - Indicators, safe to fly

 

[Gerthart]

S800 EVO
Futaba 14SG w/A2 internal SBUS receiver
IOSD II, H3-2D gimbal (not installed), just installed upgrade blades from DJI (untested).

Running an A2 with v2.1 firmware. I still need to test the POI. The Evo suddenly jerked backwards in the air during a test flight on GPS mode and none-responsive manual controls. Recovered by switching to ATTI to regain control.

Pros: Stable GPS lock. S800 EVO frame working well so far but it isn't loaded with a full size gimbal yet (Z15). Landing gears works like a dream.

Cons: Why did they take away the aluminum case that the orig S800 came with? A2 v2.1 is the best update so far but *may* still have some unacceptable bugs like the lost of control in GPS mode with erratic movements. H3-2D stair steps when it moves using the latest firmware. LED indicators were much clearer on the Naza. Even with the added features on the A2, it shouldn't be as bad as it is now. Some light combos aren't even clearly described in the manual, if it existed. Slowing the repeat delay between flashes will help us identify how many times it pulsed more accurately.

Wishlist: Improved documentation for installing flight controller. Stronger arms/upgrade path to a similar S1000 build. Install hardware for an H3-2D, which I had planned to use for testing. #1 Better DJI customer service. Thoroughly tested firmware updates.

Overall, even with the issues I have recently encountered, I am optimistic that DJI can overcome the A2 issues. I just hope that I am still interested with the unit. Given the improvements with v2.1, I really wish DJI acknowledges bugs and shares details on release notes as well as planned upcoming firmware updates. I am hopeful!

 

[Droider]

DW VMX3
A2 FC
dsm2 sat receiver
AXI motors
Jeti ESC,s

Same here with uncontrolled flight in GPS
GPS drop outs
GPS Not locking on to satellites even when Garmin is. Saying 9/10 - restarting system can get lock almost instantly ( got this on video)
Turquoise flashing lights in fast flight indicating new POI even though function is not enabled
No auto switch to Atti when gps signal lost

DW XMX3
A2 FC
DJI s-bus converter
Spektrum AR 9020 receiver
Spektrum TM 1000 telemetry module
AXI motors
Jeti ESC,s

All of the above issues with the added issue of RX recognition. Even though Spektrum system is all working A2 refuses to recognise its there and stays in fail safe.. Continual rebooting can spring it in to life or sometimes flicking between atti and gps can kick it into life.

Positives
When it is flying it flies really nice. Super smooth
When in GPS hold it's rock solid

I am sure they will get it dialled but we should not be having to put this thing on test machines to sort these issues out. There is NO way it will by flying on a fully set up craft until I am 100% happy. I doubt if that will be any time soon. It most certainly won't be going on any new craft to be registered with CAA that's for sure.

Dave

 

[Jumpy07]

GPS Not locking on to satellites even when Garmin is. Saying 9/10 - restarting system can get lock almost instantly ( got this on video)
No auto switch to Atti when gps signal lost

Dave, I had that in previous firmware.. but not seen it in 2.1 at all.. I reported it to DJI.. but no surprise.. no response from them.... I thought the new GPS firmware had fixed it.

 

[shyfx003]

Dave..Jumpy..are you guys making progress with the new firmware? Part of me is saying "Do it,you know you want one" yet the other part of me is saying "wait a few more weeks!!!"

 

[Droider]

Dave..Jumpy..are you guys making progress with the new firmware? Part of me is saying "Do it,you know you want one" yet the other part of me is saying "wait a few more weeks!!!"

You can have one of mine cheap and join the A2 beta testers if you like :nevreness:

Dave

 

[Droider]

Dave, I had that in previous firmware.. but not seen it in 2.1 at all.. I reported it to DJI.. but no surprise.. no response from them.... I thought the new GPS firmware had fixed it.

I videoed three flights so have it on camera it doing just what I describe. I also managed to just get it flashing new POI registered but cant be arsed spending anymore time editing UNLESS DJI rant to see it. Then for all our sakes I make the time and will post it up

Dave

 

[Nobody2]

No Problems in Arkansas

Are you flying a DJI A2 flight control system? How's it working out? Good? Bad?

Please post;

1. what it is that you are flying (configuration, # of motors, ESC's, etc.)
2. RC system being used and how it is connected to the A2
3. Other equipment being used (Ipad, UHF, iOSD, etc)

and then please describe how it's working for you. Are all the features working correctly? Are there features you'd like to see added in a future firmware revision?

Thanks!
Bart

S800 evo Rtf
Futaba 8fg with SBus
Zenmuse with NEX 5. & Futaba Rx
DJI OSD
DJI 5.8 video link
Maxxamp 11000 mah lipos
firmware 2.1

Have at least three hours on this bird without any major problems. Did run into the rocking problem,but had the distance from home set at 30 meters. All the features work as advertised, GPS is rock solid, and by the way, it is 14cm above the plate. The GPS receiver iseems to be sensitive if to close to other hardware.

No cons

Greg

 

[Droider]

S800 evo Rtf
Futaba 8fg with SBus
Zenmuse with NEX 5. & Futaba Rx
DJI OSD
DJI 5.8 video link
Maxxamp 11000 mah lipos
firmware 2.1

Have at least three hours on this bird without any major problems. Did run into the rocking problem,but had the distance from home set at 30 meters. All the features work as advertised, GPS is rock solid, and by the way, it is 14cm above the plate. The GPS receiver iseems to be sensitive if to close to other hardware.

No cons

Greg

Hi Greg. just wondering why you went to the trouble of using s-bus and RX when using futaba which will bind directly to A2 FC?

Is it the DJI S-BUS unit?

Dave

 

[Droider]

Anyone flying the A2 in cold conditions?

Dave

 

[Bartman]

You can have one of mine cheap and join the A2 beta testers if you like :nevreness:

Dave

Dave,

I'll take one, how much? btw, I'm expecting your stuff from Patagonia this week so I'll send it along when it gets here.

Bart

 

[Droider]

Dave,

I'll take one, how much? btw, I'm expecting your stuff from Patagonia this week so I'll send it along when it gets here.

Bart

PM me matey with an offer. In direct contact with DJI now who are being incredibly helpful.

Dave

 

[Bartman]

PM me matey with an offer. In direct contact with DJI now who are being incredibly helpful.

Dave

doh!! you're just saying that to drive up the price!! it's not my fault we declared independence!


(i need to stop drinking so much coffee)

 

[Nobody2]

Dji rx

Hi Greg. just wondering why you went to the trouble of using s-bus and RX when using futaba which will bind directly to A2 FC?

Is it the DJI S-BUS unit?

Dave

Hi Dave

You are absolutely correct about binding directly. In fact that is what I did. However, I put the radio in the sbus mode to get 14 channels. (Mult2) Just so you know I'm a JR/Specktrum fan, and forced to switch to Futaba for teaching reasons. It's amazing to me how many guys seems to have problems with the JR/DJI combo.

Thanks for catching my "mispost".

Greg

 

[Jumpy07]

Anyone flying the A2 in cold conditions?

Dave

Depends what you mean by cold.. but was flying mine in -1c last week .. no issues

 

[Tahoe Ed]

PM me matey with an offer. In direct contact with DJI now who are being incredibly helpful.

Dave

Dave good to hear that you are getting some assistance.

 

[Gerthart]

PM me matey with an offer. In direct contact with DJI now who are being incredibly helpful.

Dave

Anything worthwhile you can share with us Dave?

 

[gael]

Hi guys, how do you calibrate your esc with the internal receiver ? Is there a way ? Or we need tu use an external receiver ? Thanks.