Phantom Mode vs NAZA-M

harens

Member
I am new to quad-copters. I have about 2 hours total time on a Blade qx 180. I recently purchased a DJI Phantom 2 plus. I loved the fact that it had a "mode" IOC that allowed me to move the phantom with the stick relative to my position no matter which direction the drone was pointed. That is very useful to me in that I cannot always see which way it is pointed.

However, after reading the manual, it appears that the IOC mode is only available if I configure the my phantom 2 vision (via pc assistant) in NAZA-M mode vs the default Phantom mode. There are all kinds of warnings to me that I should not do this unless I am an experienced pilot which I am not. This IOC mode (Intelligent Orientation Control) would seem like a feature that an beginner would want to use. My question: Does someone know of a description on the differences in the two modes (my manual only discusses Phantom mode). I would like to know if I could just change the mode to NAZA-M and leave all the selections alone other than IOC and still be OK as a beginner. I called DJI and they do not have any comparison documentation or pros and cons. Can someone point me in the right direction or give me advice on this?
 

harens

Member
I have an update. Spent about 30 minutes flying the Phantom and it was great. The ability to hover in place makes all the difference in the world to me. Perhaps I will not need the IOC as bad as I thought. Still would like to use that facility though. I spent a few hours yesterday viewing all the Youtube videos I could find on the subject and even though I now know more about the features, none of them explained how the NAZA M mode can get me into trouble that I would not get into with the Phantom mode.
 

IM0001

Member
I am still waiting on my P2, however from what I can gather, the Phantom 2 mode is essentially a "Safe" mode that makes the Quad easy to fly with GPS stabilization and the like. Switching Naza M mode opens you up to other modes like ATTI (Which does not use GPS, but does have auto level and I believe, altitude hold (correct me if I am wrong), as well as full Manual mode which I would not recommend for a novice on a P2. I actually didn't know the P2 had IOC so I will have to check on that.

I would recommend practicing in modes without the GPS like ATTI mode to both become a better pilot as well as to help prepare you incase the P2 looses GPS, you could still fly manual and land it yourself.

I got a little Hubsan X4 to practice on which may be small, but it does have 6 axis stabilization and is a great tool to learn orientation and ATTI style flying. It is also crazy fun to boot.


A Good manual to read up on flight modes is the Naza M one from DJI themselves.
 
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harens

Member
Thanks ... you are correct. But I was thinking, if I use the NAZA M mode and then keep the S1 switch in GPS (not atti or manual) then would it not be in a safe mode as long as I keep the S2 switch set to off? If it is as safe, then I would not mind switching to NAZA M mode via the PC assistant program (which is a bit of a hassle). Then if I feel brave, I could check out the Court and Home modes on S2 because I really do want to learn them and use them. Thx again.
 

38super

Member
Hi
I don't know why they give you that warning in naza mode . In phantom mode I think it said normal, and failsafe and that's it . In naza it saz GPs ,att. and failsafe and you can change one of the positions to manual which is where I thick the warning comes in . You have to be in Naza to set IOC which like you said comes in mighty handy . Sometimes I fly out over the trees and out of sight and only way back is to ether hit failsafe or IOC to get it back to me . I prefer the IOC.
 

harens

Member
I now have quite a bit of experience flying in NAZA mode and as long as I keep it in GPS mde and have at least 6 satellites, I think it works the same as "phantom mode". I have not found NAZA-M mode to be a big problem or risk. I have about 3-4 hours of NAZA experience now.
 

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