Old news. We are dumping our DJI drones because of the geofencing. Just got a Parrot Anafi and are looking into Autel and Skydio.
There is a company that has a replacement control software that blocks info from DJI’s servers.
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I’ve had a couple of incidents where in spite of my agreement with the precautions it would not let me fly. The worst was when it let me fly and I started examining the roof but then wouldn’t let the mini return to me. I thought I was going to loose it into someone’s backyard.
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Yeah, I understand that. Sometimes it can do weird things. I used mine today and all of a sudden it was telling me I wasn’t logged in to my account. Still let me fly but limited my range. Still plenty of range to get the job done though.
Ive been reading this thread with great interest. IMO Obviously walking a roof is a better for inspecting but I dont bounce as well as i used to. Ive been playing around with an old drone I borrowed and the one thing ive noticed - is most drones use your cellphone to show you the real time camera. I find it difficult to see the video in any amount of sunlight. I can turn up the brightness on the cellphone but its still difficult to see whats going on. I think the solution is a pair of those FPV googles but they are serious money.
Do you folks have the same issues or any solutions to this problem?
Tim
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… Or as I like to tell my wife, “I’m not a spring chicken any more.”
Back in the old oscilloscope days we had hoods for the screens to increase visibility. All it did was cast a shadow on the screen to increase visibiity (if you turned the brightness up too much it would burn the phospher coating on the picture tube). Black poster-board or foamboard would work and its disposable. Other options include baseball caps (that’s what visors are for) and sunglasses. Only real cure is a cloud - hard to come by some days.
I fly a Typhoon H which has it’s own controller (ST16) and it does come with a hood for those bright days but personally I’ve never used it, I just position myself with my back towards the sun and that works for me.
Had one. Nice drone, nice company but not very stable. Traded it for a generator. 
I would agree with you on this, but I believe a drone has its place. I recently purchased a drone because I could not reach the roof of a three-story home and had to hire another inspector to inspect the roof with a drone. I am still working on my certification and do not use my drone for inspections yet. I do believe if you can walk the roof, you should.
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what are you flying now? I know this was while ago
Dji mini 2. I went for the combo pack with 3 batteries, extra blades and a case. I upgraded the case to a hardshell later. I bought the guards but I don’t like them and never use them. They effect the flying in windy conditions and flight time.
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you like it?
I got a cheap one and as soon as I asend…it takes off…I have never used it because it takes off. It will fly into a wall…lol
I just ordered it…I’ll give it shot…
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It serves it’s purpose. It’s been dependable. Affordable.
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not supposed to happen. is your gps signal good?
Edit: sorry, misread your response before. I thought you meant you got a cheap Mavik mini. Who knows about those cheap ones
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@wbernauer did you buy one of those Skydio 2 drones? I wonder if they’re actually being sold to home inspectors. Sounds like they don’t sell to individuals without being involved with a business or governmental institution.
yeah they recently left the consumer market and only offer drones for commercial use. I do have a skydio 2. I purchased their enterprise option to give me more flexibility; you can turn off or reduce the obstacle avoidance. It is the best “follow me” drone out there. There are other better options out there for inspecting. My main criteria is I did not want a Chinese drone.
What’s an enterprise option, and where did you buy it?
Not Walter but these may help:
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If I thought that I could obtain an ongoing contract with someone to fly for, I might consider that X2 as an option. Thanks for the info @lkage .
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