Is there consensus on the best ground station platform? I'm a Mac user (and have downloaded APM2 at home) but hear lots that Windows using Mission Planner is superior.
I need a new laptop for 'work' - should I go windows or stick to Mac?
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The update of the app iDroneCtrl now allows mission planning on an iPhone. Tested it and it works just fine.
what is IOW? an iPad GCS?
I have a MacBook Air myself and love it. I've been thinking about getting parallels. Do you know about how much of the flash drive space it uses? Which Windows OS do you use with that? Thx
Thanks Mark for the detailed info I'm sold!
I have nearly the same setup as Mark. (Windows 8.1 via Parallels on a MacBook Air) I haven't run into issues flashing new firmware, but when I start looking at the post processing end of things, there's not much available for Mac, & even 'Window's on Mac.' (Example: Pix4D see's this as a remote desktop & won't process the images.)
If you have a Mac tho, Parallels is a great way to run Mission Planner & take advantage of some of the features APM Planner doesn't have.
Mark,
Thanks for the input. In the case of installing Pix4D, software installs fine, & appears to operate fine (initially). When I bring my pic's in & start a new project, my first warning shows up; 'Warning w0045: Less than 4GB of available RAM was detected. This might be insufficient for processing larger projects.' This one's easily fixed by adjusting the RAM I make available to Parallels.
The second warning shows up; 'Error e0094: It was not possible to initialize OpenGL. Please verify that you have the latest drivers for your graphics card and that you are not using the application from a remote desktop.' I'm not so sure this one's as easily fixed within Parallels?
I was trying to stay away from Boot Camp based on convenience. You have me re-thinking.
We have an Android tablet that's been floating around the office & I've held hostage as a GCS. I agree, DroidPlanner2 is a convenient way to go.
Thanks again!
Chris
Just in case you missed it full Mission Planning and Telemetry on iPhone with MAV Pilot 1.0 see http://appstore.com/mavpilot and if you lost drone try http://appstore.com/findmydrone
more info in this blog post http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/mav-pilot-v1-0-for-iphone-is-av...
I just got this [ see link ] and it works fantastic with my iPhone. I don't have an iPad with the new style connector but I can see that's gonna be on my to-do lists real soon. Cannot program missions on the iPhone only the iPad but that is coming soon. It will be really interesting to see how they progress with the code.
http://www.fightingwalrus.com/products/idronelink
But back on topic... I am a Mac guy. I have no problem using APM Planner but... I do think MP is more refined and is better for reading logs. More detail. So I have a cheap PC I use once in a blue moon. I've had better luck using MP for setting up the telemetry radio's too. But it seems like you always go through the 'need to download this driver' or 'cannot find the com port' bla bla bla with the pc. But nothing that is a big deal and once you get it set it works great. So your answer is... get both! It's only money right?
We see this question from a slightly different angle, as we design and manufacture complete ground control stations. When it comes to systems integration, Macs are pretty much out of the question, since they all come from one company with one vision. If you share that vision, fine, run with it, but if you don't, you're screwed. There is very little you can do about real sunlight readability for example, when no such screen options are offered by Apple, and you cannot even replace them with anything else out there.
This leaves us with Windows and Android, and there are tons of different hw and parts to choose from. If you're fine with pricey stock hw, the Panasonic and Getac rugged laptops and tablets are already perfect for outdoor applications. If you want to end up with a more compact and practical package, there are lots of biscuit PCs, dongle size Android sticks or even complete tablets that do the job embedded with the addition of a transflective or high nit screen.
I haven't found a reasonably priced sunlight readable mainstream Android tablet so far, despite continuously researching this area, only the aforementioned industrial rugged systems, overpriced niché pieces or other vapourware. There are some high nit types that cope better with sunlight, the Asus TF700T and the 2nd gen. 2013 Nexus 7 come to mind, but you still need to apply high quality matte 3M screen protectors if you don't want to see your face in them outside. Some current Samsung tablets are also fine with this treatment, e.g. the huge Galaxy Note PRO 12.2.
It's windows for me as I use Panasonic Toughbooks in the field as they have daylight readable screens. All of my experiences with phones and tablets involve sunshields and clumsiness. Has anyone found a daylight readable android tablet?
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