DJI Agras MG-1 Review – Professional Agricultural Drone
In this DJI Agras MG-1 review we will take a detailed look at one of the best high end drones available. At Future Circuits we review the most technologically advanced products designed to make your life easier. This is a DJI professional drone for the agricultural market. DJI is one of the top drone brands available today.
If you are involved in the agricultural industry then you will know that it is very competitive and that you need to do everything that you can to lower your operational costs. Having a drone like the DJI Agras MG1 will help to improve your efficiency. If you want the best professional drone for crop spraying then this is it.
In this DJI Agras MG1 review we will take a look at what you can use this DJI best drone for. Here are some ideas:
- Efficient crop spraying
- Land survey and volume metrics
- Analysis of plant health
- Monitoring irrigation issues
The primary function of the DJI Agras MG-1 is the efficient spraying of crops. All farmers have to deal with plant diseases as well as parasites and pests. This drone will efficiently spray the right solutions to tackle these issues. You can also use it to spray liquid fertilizer to feed your crops.
DJI Agras MG-1 Review – Drone Performance
If you are going to invest in one of the top drones on the market to improve your efficiency and lower your operational costs then you need to know that it is a good performer. The designers at DJI are aware of this so the designed the Agras MG-1 to spray between 4,000 to 6,000 square meters of land in about 10 minutes.
This is as much as 60 times faster than manual spraying.
So is this drone ideal for all farms? In all honesty the answer is probably no. If you are a farmer with a large farm consisting of hundreds of acres then the DJI MG1 is probably not for you with its current battery life performance. But for smaller farm owners this is one of the best rated drones to improve efficiency.
Spraying is accurate with the DJI MG-1. When you purchase this DJI drone you will receive several different nozzles to use for a number of applications. You can choose the most appropriate spray nozzle based on:
- Specific type of liquid to spray
- The density of the liquid
- The viscosity of the liquid
In fact, there are spray nozzles for all the different applications that you can think of. The most efficient crop spraying is what you want to achieve and the DJI MG-1 helps you to do this with its various nozzles and other features.
As DJI is one of the best drone brands available you would expect their products to be tough and durable. This is certainly the case with the Agras MG-1. Even the spray nozzles are durable and sturdy and will last a long time with minimal wear and tear.
This drone is an octocopter. The drone has four spray nozzles located below the motor. In flight with all of the propellers working, the air flow generated creates a downward flow. This means that spraying is fast and it helps to provide a wider reach through the spray nozzles.
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Minimal Assembly and Learning Curve
When you buy a drone online you will often have to spend a lot of time assembling it when it arrives at your door. Not so with the DJI Agras MG1. Some drones require the user to spend a great deal of time learning how to operate them but this DJI drone is straight forward to use and you will get the hang of it pretty fast.
For example, it will be fairly simple for you to setup grids so that the drone will take care of your crop spraying missions autonomously. Any machine that works on a farm is going to get wet and dirty and the designer’s at DJI have designed the Agras MG1 to be water and dust resistant and the drone will not corrode either.
It is very easy to store this drone as well as you can fold it down making it easy to store and transport around.
You will find that it is comfortable and pretty easy to fly the DJI Agras MG-1. The advanced flight controller makes it easy for you to maneuver the drone and maintain its flight stability. This controller also provides precise management of pilot commands.
The DJI Agrras MG1 has three separate flight modes that you can use:
- Manual
- Manual Plus
- Smart
The choice of flight mode depends on the terrain and the specific mission that you have planned for the drone. When you fly the drone in manual mode you have total freedom to navigate it as you want to. To use manual mode effectively you need a good understanding of the drone itself and the terrain you are flying over.
With the manual plus mode you can effectively plan the twists and turns that you want the drone to perform. So if you have an area of land that has an irregular shape, for example, this could be the best flight mode for you to use.
By using the smart mode you can program a complete flight with the press of a few buttons. You don’t need any experience of terrain mapping to use this mode. Smart mode is a virtual automated way of flying the Agras MG-1 and you should be able to use it without having to control individual turns for example.
So if you are new to drones then start with smart mode. As you build up your experience of flying the drone you can introduce different drone movements by utilizing the manual and manual plus modes.
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Features of the DJI Agras MG-1
The DJI Agras MG-1 has some of the best drone features of any agricultural machine. Firstly, the design of the MG1 incorporates variable rate precision for fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
You would expect high quality drones like the DJI MG-1 to perform well and it certainly does that. It can cover long distances very fast which makes everything more efficient and will save on your operational expenditure.
Good liquid carrying capacity
The DJI Agras MG-1 can carry a 10kg liquid equivalent load thanks to the sophistication of its propulsion system. With a powerful motor, the MG1 is able to cover a lot of ground rapidly. The spraying system is smart and will adjust automatically to the flight speed – clever!
Microwave Radar
Is the DJI Agras MG-1 the best professional drone on the market? Well if you are in the agricultural industry then we think that it is certainly up there because it is a very smart machine. This octocopter has a flight control system that includes microwave radar.
Why is this important? Well it enables the drone to scan the terrain below it in real time and then you can visualize this data to provide you with a total understanding of the area. You can develop your insight about the terrain using the data and images and the MG1 can provide accuracy in the centimeter range above the heads of your crops.
With this built in technology the DJI Agras MG1 adjusts the spray density to ensure that it is uniform across all of the terrain. It will scan the entire area to make sure that it sprays the right amount of liquid on the land no matter what irregular contours exist.
Advanced Memory
Flight operations are simplified due to the advanced memory within the Agras MG-1. The drone will automatically record all of the coordinates that it has flown previously. If the MG1 gets stuck it will refer to its memory to steer it back on the right course.
Sometimes a drone will suffer from an interrupted flight. A common reason for this is that there is insufficient battery power to propel it. Or in the case of the DJI Agras MG1 it could be that the tank for the liquid becomes empty. You can easily ground the drone and then take the appropriate action to get it airborne again from the point where it stopped.
Smart Remote Controller
The remote controller with the MG1 will notify the pilot that the spray tank is close to empty. It also has a battery level indicator so that you know where you stand in terms of the amount of battery power that remains.
By using the smart remote controller you can control all drone flight operations with precision and increased stability. The controller has a state-of-the-art transmission system, Lightbridge 2, which reduces the latency of the controls to the drone significantly.
Easily fold for transportation and storage
This DJI folding drone can fold down to a much smaller size which makes it very convenient for storage and transportation. The MG1 is a Y shaped octocopter which allows you to fold the motor arms inward when the drone is not in use.
When you fold down the DJI Agras MG-1 it will have the compact dimensions of 780 mm by 780 mm by 482 mm. You can easily carry your folded MG1 in the trunk of your car and you don’t require a lot of storage space either.
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Flight Parameters of the DJI Agras MG-1
The DJI Agras drone weighs in at 8.8 kilograms and has a takeoff maximum weight of 24.5 kilograms. For those of you interested in the thrust-weight ratio, the maximum is 1.81 kilograms so the actual takeoff weight has a maximum of around 22.5 kilograms.
There is a powerful battery in the Agras MG1 specially designed by DJI for power and efficiency. The DJI Agras MG-1 has a maximum power consumption of 6,400 watts. When the drone is hovering with a takeoff weight of 22.5 kilograms the power consumption is around 3,250 watts. Bear these figures in mind to preserve drone battery life.
We looked at the hovering times with different weights. When the Agras MG-1 is carrying 12.5 kilograms it will hover for a maximum of 24 minutes on a fully charged battery. Increasing the load to the maximum 22.5 kilograms reduces this hovering time to only 10 minutes.
How fast is the DJI Agras MG1? Well the maximum operating speed is around 8 meters per second and the maximum flying speed is 22 meters per second which is quick. You should operate this top of the range DJI folding drone within the temperature range 0 to 40 degrees Celsius.
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Assembling the DJI Agras MG-1
As mentioned previously, there is not a lot of assembly required with this DJI pro drone but you will have to go through a straight forward installation process out of the box. Here is what you will need to do:
- Install the landing gear
- Install the spraying tank
- Unfold the frame arms
- Install all of the sprinklers
- Install the radar module
- Install the battery (you need to purchase this separately)
- Install the status panel to the remote controller
This may seem like a long list but it will only take you a few minutes to complete all of the installation tasks. DJI provide precise instructions which are easy to follow You do not require any special tools, just the right screwdrivers to install everything correctly. We found the assembly process to be simple and straight forward.
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Using the DJI Agras MG-1
To get started with the Agras MG1 the first thing that you need to do is to calibrate the compass. If you don’t do this then you are likely to get unexpected results from your drone. This has to be done as you move from indoors to outdoors. If you end up with a blinking red LED then the calibration is incorrect and you will need to do this again.
You need to observe a number of different flying conditions when you are using your DJI Agras MG-1. These include:
- Not flying the drone when there are adverse weather conditions such as strong winds, heavy rain, thunder and lightning or snow
- Do not fly your DJI drone near steel structures or tall buildings as these are likely to affect the accuracy of the GPS and the compass
- Avoid flying the drone in areas where there is a strong concentration of electromagnetism. This would include avoiding radio transmission towers and cell phone base stations
- Avoid flying higher than 6,580 feet as the change in temperature and air density are likely to affect the performance of the drone
- When you are using the Manual Plus or Smart flight modes you must have a good GPS signal
The reason that you need a good GPS signal is that the Agras MG1 will record the “home point” (where you started from). When you command the drone to return to home it will do this automatically.
You need to take great care when using pesticides. They can be very hazardous to your health so be sure to read the instructions fully and follow them. If you have used the MG1 previously with pesticides then check for any blockages before using again.
You must check the battery level on the Agras MG1 before attempting a flight mission. The remote controller provides a visible indication of the battery level. If the battery level is low then replace with another battery or charge the existing battery prior to operating your drone.
The remote controller has antennas and you may have to adjust these for the strongest signal. You want to keep the drone within the optimal range for transmission from the remote control. If you have a weak signal at any point, adjust the antennas again or fly the drone closer to you.
When you are ready for takeoff place the drone on flat and open ground and have the aircraft status indicator pointing towards you. If the propellers are folded then unfold them and be sure to tighten the frame arm sleeves.
You will now need to move the flight mode switch into “P” mode and set the mode switch to “Manual”. Turn on the power for the remote controller and connect the communication port to the battery and also the XT90 port. Use the throttle stick to enable the drone to takeoff.
Landing the DJI Agras MG1 is simply a matter of pulling down on the throttle stick so that the drone starts to descend and lands on the ground. To turn off the motors you can pull down on the throttle stick again and after 3 seconds they will stop.
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Pros and Cons of the DJI Agras MG-1
Our DJI Agras MG1 review would not be complete without taking a look at the pros and cons of this drone.
Pros
- Very good performance
- State-of-the-art electronics
- An efficient drone
- Real time scanning
- Easy to use
- Reputable brand
Cons
- Price is fairly high
- You have to purchase a battery separately
The DJI Agras MG-1 is certainly not the cheapest drone available but you do get a great deal for your money. Having to purchase the battery separately is not that big a deal and quite common with the purchase of drones.
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Conclusion
If you are a farmer and want to reduce your operating costs and increase your efficiency then the DJI Agras MG1 could be the perfect solution for you. This is a very versatile drone that can perform several different functions. As drone brands go, DJI is one of the best and has an excellent reputation in the market.
In this DJI Agras MG-1 review we have provided you with all of the information that you need to make the right purchase decision. This is one of the best drones on the market and we are confident that if you do purchase one you will be delighted with it and it will serve you well for many years to come.
Click here to check the latest price of the DJI Agras MG-1