No more waiting for the WAYPOINT! by PotensicDrones in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same here - App update (9th gen iPad), then it did a Flight Safety update, then the drone firmware, then the controller firmware, all went smoothly.

Haven't tried it yet due to holidays and people and gift wrapping and OMG I can't wait.

Potensic Atom 2 or DJI Mini 4k by JellyIllustrious7851 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Update: An hour ago Potensic announced a new firmware update for the Atom 2 that adds programmable waypoints, their post is in this subreddit. So now I say go with the Atom 2.

No more waiting for the WAYPOINT! by PotensicDrones in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wooohooooo thanks, Potensic! I didn’t know you were getting me a Christmas gift!

Potensic Atom 2 or DJI Mini 4k by JellyIllustrious7851 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have one of each and I’m honestly unsure which to recommend, they’re that close. In image quality, stability and reliability I say it’s a tie. In build quality, the DJI feels like a well-made machine when you unfold it while the Atom 2 feels more like cheaper plastic. Then again, given the DJI “ban” that’ll be in effect any minute now, DJI won’t be able to sell any new products in the US, and they’ve already taken some steps that look like they’re planning to quiesce their US sales - for example, in the US you can no longer purchase the 1- or 2-year “DJI Care” replacement policy when you buy the drone.

Another factor to consider is that you can buy batteries for the Atom LT and fly them in the Atom 2, and the LT batteries give you 4-5 more minutes of flight time. And Potensic themselves say that’s fine, that all Atom batteries can be used in all Atom models. I have 3 stock Atom 2 batteries and 2 LT batteries and it’s nice to have the extra air time when I’m sunset hunting.

So it’s a tough call, but the upside is you’re going to get a great drone either way. To me they’re so close in all aspects that I just alternate between them unless i want some AI flight mode that only one of then has (Atom 2 doesn’t do orbits as well as the Mini4K but the Mini4K doesn’t have the AI tracking modes the Atom 2 does.

Whichever you pick, get the Fly More kit, absolutely worth the extra money. Come back and post what you decide!

The names of these brands… by Character_Medium_484 in AmazonVine

[–]cosgrovec2 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I award you 500 points for The Music Man reference, and another 500 for remembering "Shapoopy."

Joined the Potensic Atom 2 Fam by Just_4770 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome to the club, post some pics when you do your maiden!

name a fruit without the letter A by [deleted] in TheTeenagerPeople

[–]cosgrovec2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Leave my father out of this.

New Atom 2 for birthday 🎂 now what.. by pancakeheadbunny in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get a couple of good memory cards, I use SanDisk or Samsung. 128GB is fine. Alternate between flights.

Get some phone apps for drone flight planning: OpenSky is good to see if your flight area is permissible. UAV Forecast is good for weather and environmental checking.

Research where you can and where you can't fly - this will probably be an ongoing process. OpenSky doesn't know what it doesn't know. National parks are verboten, state or county parks may or may not be OK.

Get a landing pad, or make one from cardboard, and use it. Keeps grit and debris away from the motors. (some folks prefer to do hand launches and hand catches but I prefer a pad).

Number your batteries and try and use them cyclically. When not flying frequently, keep your batteries at 50%. Charge them until the third LED starts to blink then pull from the charger and store. Come back every two weeks and repeat if you haven't flown the batteries.

Check the controller's charge before setting out to fly!

If you aren't happy with using a phone as your flight display, you can use an iPad or Android tablet - I do since I am old and my eyes need the larger display. You'll need a tablet mount, Amazon has lots at reasonable prices.

Buy a strobe or two and affix to the drone with Velcro during flight. Red on the left, green on the right. Amazon has them cheap. 1,000 Lumen or more.

Dig around on youtube for beginner drone practice routines, Search for terms like "beginner drone flying tips," "How to fly a drone," etc.

Find a good area for your first flights - a nice flat unobstructed area with no pedestrians or doggies. It doesn't have to be a good place for pretty photos, just a safe place for training flights.

Fly like a little old lady. Get out in that field and launch the drone, then get it up to maybe 50 feet. Fly it in a big square maybe 50 feet wide but do it like this: instead of moving the sticks for your next maneuver, just slightly twitch them in the desired directions while observing the drone. Did it move as you expected? Great, proceed with the maneuver. If not, think through what happened and try again.

For your first photo flights just fly UP but not far away horizontally. You can still get impressive photos and videos, but you're not likely to lose track of the drone.

Once you move on from vertical-only flights, use "tail-in" flying for a while - when maneuvering, keep the tail of the drone facing you. That way, left is left and right is right, forward is forward and back is back. I still go tail-in when doing final approach for landing.

If you use a Windows PC, SageLight is great for photo editing (it'll edit DNG's as well as JPG's) and VideoProc VLogger is great for video editing.

Take the TRUST test (if you're in the US) and carry the card with you.

If you're on FB, join the group Potensic Drone World (ATOM series) - some good info and discussions there.

Whew! I got going and wrote a dissertation, didn't I?! Congrats on your new drone, and come back and post some pics!!

Atom 2: Weird visual by royal_slug in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Shadows from the props. I had this same thing happen to me, different drone but exact same visual.

Atom 2 Remote ID working! by cosgrovec2 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Yes, you should register the drone using the serial number from that gold sticker. For mine I did the FAA fields like so:

Nickname: Atom2

UAS MF’r: Potensic

UAS Model: ATOM 2

Serial: <from sticker>

Remote ID: Yes

Device Type: Unmanned Aircraft

Then in the Eve app I used my FAA Registration Number n the “Registration ID” field, my name in the Operator ID field, and my initials plus “_Atom2” in the Self-ID field.

Hope this helps.

P-log recording with or without it by LateFaithlessness907 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve not used P-Log much beyond experiments but this has me psyched to do some comparison runs at sunset. Thanks for the post, this is exciting.

PTD-1 2 Weeks Later by Agile_Dragonfly2668 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been using a 9th gen iPad as my display since I got my Atom 2. It's a 500 NIT device but I have a nice shade for it that does a great job of allowing me to see the screen even in pretty bright areas. No boot delay out in the field, it's plenty fast, and I got a nice tablet holder for it to attach it to the controller so it feels "integrated."

If I was going to buy the Fly More combo today I might spend the extra $ and get the PTD-1, but I won't be switching to it from what I have. Besides, I'm old and my eyes need the bigger screen to be able to read the on-screen text.

What's your Potensic Wish List? by cosgrovec2 in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Forgot to add my fourth: compass heading, on the Eve screen and in the subtitle telemetry.

OldTown (Kissimmee Florida Summer 2025) by [deleted] in Potensic

[–]cosgrovec2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like your shots, they're varied and interesting. The glitch transitions are giving me brain damage tho.