[CA] [CA11] DJI Mavic 2 Drone Support

[gerard143]

Looking for support for the DJI Mavic 2 pro. With every new lighthouse release I hope to see mention of support for the Mavic 2 series of drones but no luck.

Hoping we will see a release soon that incorporates it.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Gerard,

Please click here to view a FAQ in which I had previously addressed this subject. As indicated therein, the LightHouse 3 Advanced Operations Guide contains the latest information on supported UAVs and will be updated to reflect any future additions to the list of supported UAVs.

[gerard143]

Ya I did see that faq prior. I've watched the guides for each release.

Just wanted to voice my desire for the update. Hope its on raymarine's hitlist.

[IBV]

I hope so too...

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Robert,

As indicated within specified within Chapter 17: UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) app of the LightHouse 3.9 Advanced Operation Instructions and within the software history table of the LightHouse 3 for Axiom/Axiom Pro/Axiom XL MFDs Software Update web page, Axiom/Axiom Pro/Axiom XL MFDs running v3.9.46 or later software support has been added for DJI Mavic 2 Pro / Mavic 2 Zoom UAVs.

[DIYglenn]

Hi!
Is it possible to use either Mavic Air or Spark as well?

Both of these drones have a such small footprint and would be great for this use.

I own a Mavic Air, which should be pretty much identical to Mavic Pro 2 in terms of remote control, will it work while not officially supported? Has anyone tried?

If not, are there any plans to include support for them, or any reason why they won’t be supported?

Thanks.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum DIYglenn,

Per Chapter 18.2: UAV app overview of the LightHouse 3.11 Advanced Operation Instructions:

Currently, the UAVs listed below are supported:
• Mavic Pro by DJI
• Mavic Pro Platinum by DJI
• Mavic 2 Pro by DJI
• Mavic 2 Zoom by DJI
Connection to any other UAV is not approved and is performed at your own risk.

Please note that physical appearance is not necessarily an indicator of compatibility, as software and controls within other UAVs may vary from those tested. A feature request has been logged to consider support for the Mavic Air or Spark. Raymarine has not yet made any announcements regarding support for additional UAVs.

[gerard143]

I believe this is technically incorrect. Any mavic 2 purchased with the touch screen smart controller is not compatible with raymarine for control of the drone. The current process requires a physical connecting thru cabling to a Port on the non-smart controllers. The smart controller lacks this connection port. Unless raymarine specifically looks into connection with the smart controller (and I have been praying they do) connection is currently not possible utilizing the existing method.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Gerald,

Thanks for the additional comments. The DJI Smart Controller is an option for compatible DJI UAVs. Actually and according the DJI Smart Controller's operators manual, the Smart Controller has a USB-C port (see below). Have you tried connecting this port to the Axiom/Axiom Pro/Axiom XL MFD's USB port?

[gerard143]

Thank you for the reply. I can confirm this does not work.

On the regular remote control the port has communications enabled to talk to the dji go 4 application on an iOS/android device. Raymarine uses that same connection to connect to the remote control and the Raymarine app functions like a mock DJI Go 4 app.

On the Smart remote controller you cannot use the usb-c port for that same two way communication. I also tried connecting my iPhone directly to the smart controller via the usb-c port and opening the dji go 4 app to see if it would communicate with the drone. It does not.

So Mavic drones purchased with the Smart Controller will not work with the Raymarine app unless a workaround is found. At this time the only solution would be to purchase separately the original non-smart controller for $350 just to be able to use it with Raymarine. Bummer.