It has taken nearly a year and lots of to and fro-ing with the DJI forum. In the end, I just bought a new mic and this has sorted out my drop out issues. Now I just need to allow a couple of seconds before I start talking to allow the mics to sync up and I should be all good.

After weeks off the bike, I finally had my plaster removed and completed my first physiotherapy session. Needless to say, I was itching to get back out for a ride. I didn't want to tackle anything too technical while my thumb was still recovering, but I was keen to get some kilometres under the tyres.

It also gave me the perfect excuse to explore one of New South Wales' hidden gems—Swallow Tail Pass, near Bannaby.

This adventure bike-friendly route winds its way through some of the Southern Tablelands' most picturesque countryside, linking the charming towns of Gundaroo, Collector, Towrang, Big Hill, Taralga, Crookwell and Gunning before looping back to the ACT.

With a mix of scenic backroads, easy gravel, and spectacular rural landscapes, it promised to be the ideal ride to ease myself back into the saddle while discovering another fantastic route close to home.

Watch my Swallow Tail Pass video on YouTube.

I recently picked up one of the new DJI Mic Minis — a neat little gadget with just two buttons. No manual included, but honestly, who needs one for something that simple? One button for power, another to link it to the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro. Easy. I paired it, tested it, and it worked perfectly. Job done… or so I thought.
Turns out, this clever little mic has a surprise feature — it shuts down after 15 minutes in its default mode. How was I supposed to know that? Who records a quick test clip, then sits around watching a microphone for a quarter of an hour?
Yes, yes, RTFM. But there was no FM to read!
Fast forward to my latest overnight motorbike trip. I set the mic up neatly in my helmet, ready for some crisp, wind-free audio. The first clip sounded great. But after that… silence. Most of my trip narration? Gone — lost to the wind. Thankfully, the camera’s internal mic seemed to step in and save the day (even though I was sure I’d turned it off).
During the ride, I noticed the mic’s LED had gone dark. I restarted it a few times and even mentioned it to Jason, thinking maybe it had a power-saving feature and would reconnect automatically each time the camera started. Nope. Not even close.
This morning, I finally did what I should have done earlier — Googled it. Turns out, there is a manual, hidden away online, and you need to connect the mic to the DJI Mimo app to change its settings. By default, it powers off after 15 minutes of “inactivity.” Oh, and you have to manually enable noise cancelling too.
So now I’ve turned off the auto shut-off and switched on noise cancelling. You’d think those would be default settings, especially when DJI claims the battery lasts 10 hours. That is, if they mean with it running constantly and noise cancelling turned on!
Oh, and surprise, there is a software update for the mic as well.
Lesson learned. Next time, I’ll be back to narrating the old-fashioned way — and hopefully, the next adventure will sound as good as it looks. Grrrrrrr!