Compass Calibration and Other Issues

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becomethesignal

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I just bought a brand new Phantom from Amazon.
I am new to all of this, and the instructions and online tutorials are poorly written at best. I am trying to calibrate the compass. I start by turning on my Remote Control, then I plug the battery in to the Phantom, it flashes red and yellow consistently indicating the compass is not set. So, I toggle the top right switch between GPS ant the bottom ATTI several times, but the light on the phantom never turns yellow....
I have connected the Phantom to my computer and with the NAZAM software upgraded the firmware. I have calibrated the the transmitter. I also tried importing the default Configuration Parameters, all to no avail.
Any ideas??

Also, why are there two ATTI options on the Remote Control? What does CL and HL do?
A better question for the manufacturers - why does the instruction manual not come with a schematic with all parts clearly labeled and explained?

Thank you for your help in advance!
 
http://www.dji.com/tutorial/phantom-tutorial/

You may want to watch the video above, in particular the last one which shows you how to reset the compass.

As for the CL (Course Lock) and HL (Home Lock) are the god send features for many because they will enable you to control your Phantom when you lost your orientation.

CL works by using the compass, once activated no matter what direction the Phantom is facing if you pull the right stick back, it will come back to you starting position or home point (assuming it was properly recorded earlier either automatically about 30 seconds after the power up or manually set). Note also that CL will only work when Phantom is 10 meters or more from the home position.

HL needs 6 or more satellites to work, similar to CL but "toward" the home position in any angle not straight line grids as the CL.

Note once it is back pass the home point it will work as below:

CL-vs-HL-01_zpsfbf621ef.jpg
 
First, plug the Phantom into the computer and do a IMU calibration. If it says it's to hot, hit OK, it will continue on.
Then take it outside, unplug then plug it back in again, flip the right switch 8-10 times, do the compass dance.
Once done, you can connect to the software and turn on the I OC.
Course and home lock are described in the DJI website, but once you get GPS lock and fly 30' away, regardless which way you turn the Phantom, in home lock, the right stick will always move the Phantom forward when you push forward and back when you pull it back. It's nice if you lose which way is the front of the copter.
Good luck.
 
rampage42 said:
First, plug the Phantom into the computer and do a IMU calibration. If it says it's to hot, hit OK, it will continue on.
Then take it outside, unplug then plug it back in again, flip the right switch 8-10 times, do the compass dance.
Click to expand...

Thank you for both the replies.
The problem is that when I take it outside and do the toggle 8-10 times - nothing happens. That's where I'm at...
Also, what doesn't make sense to me is that in the instruction videos it shows the toggle stick stuck down and he keeps mentioning that as necessary when plugged into the computer. How does the toggle stick even stay down?? It's natural resting position is in the center, not down. Did I screw something up because the toggle stick wasn't down when I plugged it it and did the IMU calibration?
 
The problem lies somewhere in the communication between the Remote and the Phantom, I think. This seems to be the case as it doesn't respond to the calibration and the propellers won't turn on when I put both sticks down towards each other like he does in the video, so I can't fly it at all.
Is the software even necessary? If you watch his videos, he assembles the phantom, turns it on, calibrates it and flies it all without connecting it to the computer first....
Confusing...
 
The "toggle switch" you're referring to is the throttle (left stick)...the latest phantoms have the self-centering throttle stick where the earlier ones did not. The one you see in the video is one of those older model controllers, yours is the newer type.
 
OI Photography said:
The "toggle switch" you're referring to is the throttle (left stick)...the latest phantoms have the self-centering throttle stick where the earlier ones did not. The one you see in the video is one of those older model controllers, yours is the newer type.
Click to expand...

OK. Thank you for the explanation.
Any ideas on why the Remote Control doesn't seem to communicate with the Phantom??
 
becomethesignal said:
OI Photography said:
The "toggle switch" you're referring to is the throttle (left stick)...the latest phantoms have the self-centering throttle stick where the earlier ones did not. The one you see in the video is one of those older model controllers, yours is the newer type.
Click to expand...

OK. Thank you for the explanation.
Any ideas on why the Remote Control doesn't seem to communicate with the Phantom??
Click to expand...

After the update you'll need to get the default settings file to apply, and then you'll probably need to re-bind the transmitter to the receiver in the phantom: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3645&p=25070&hilit=bind#p25070

What happens when you try to apply the default settings file...any error messages?
 
Sir, in all due respect, I gather from your questions and use of terminology, that haven't done your home work on your Phantom yet. You have hours of reading and video watching to do, seriously!
OK, first of all, you can stand there all day long switching the S1 switch and you'll not be able to get in to compass calibration mode (been there, done that) UNTIL, you demagnetize the compass as shown in one of Colin's tutorial videos.
After you get that MOD value down to around the 2000 range (with a magnet close to the compass), THEN you'll be able to go back outside and do the rapid S1 switching to get a solid yellow LED. Then do the compass dance, then, just for the heck of it, do a TX calibration. Then, back inside to hook up to the software to run the advanced IMU calibration. Check the MOD values afterwards, the values should fall within the following ranges: Gyro MOD = 0.0 to 1.50, Accel MOD = .98 to 1.02, Compass MOD = 1400 to 1800.
Now, after all this, you might be ready for that first "GPS ATTI" test flight.
Good luck!
 
cczx14r said:
Sir, in all due respect, I gather from your questions and use of terminology, that haven't done your home work on your Phantom yet. You have hours of reading and video watching to do, seriously!
Click to expand...

I have spent many hours watching videos and reading. The manual is only a few pages long. In this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEN3MBYnFZs - he unboxes the Phantom, assembles it, calibrates the compass and flies it. I cannot get the compass to calibrate because the light never turns yellow. It's my understanding that the machine can fly without the compass even being calibrated - is that right? Because mine won't. The red and yellow lights just continue to flash even after 10 minutes of sitting in an open field.

cczx14r said:
OK, first of all, you can stand there all day long switching the S1 switch and you'll not be able to get in to compass calibration mode (been there, done that) UNTIL, you demagnetize the compass as shown in one of Colin's tutorial videos.
Click to expand...

Why would I need to demagnetize the compass on a brand new Phantom, especially when I haven't been putting it next to strong magnets?
 
OI Photography said:
After the update you'll need to get the default settings file to apply, and then you'll probably need to re-bind the transmitter to the receiver in the phantom: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3645&p=25070&hilit=bind#p25070

What happens when you try to apply the default settings file...any error messages?
Click to expand...

I applied the default configuration file and it went OK. The software just said the GPS needed to be calibrated.
It looks like this Wiki article - http://wiki.dji-innovations.com/en/inde ... d_Receiver - shows how to bind the receiver and the transmitter. Perhaps I'll try this next. I'm not sure why I have to take apart a new Phantom and do this, but it's worth a shot. However, I'm thinking if they aren't already linked (or bound) together already, wouldn't I get yellow blinking lights from the phantom? I did get these last night and fixed that - but then it went back to blinking red and yellow.
Maybe the compass is defective?
 
RE: Why would I need to demagnetize the compass on a brand new Phantom, especially when I haven't been putting it next to strong magnets?

When I first got my Phantom, it flew fine and after a few days I got the RED/YELLOW blinking like yours. I used the magnet to reset the compass as per video but I found out that I had to actually touch the compass to make it work. The following day the R/Y blinking came back! I finally believe I figured it out, I carried my Phantom on the back seat of my hybrid car and the position of the Phantom was just above the HV tracking battery!

It doesn't have to be a strong magnet to mess up the compass: metal construction frames, metal pipes under ground, steel bars under the concrete pavement, etc have been known to cause the R/Y blinking. I experienced that when I tried to take off my Phantom from the car roof.

I believe you can fly it in MANUAL mode to by pass all of these auto gadgets. I flew indoor on second floor of 3 story building with no GPS but with ATTI with no problems.

I don't think you have to re-bind your TX though.
 
tanasit said:
http://www.dji.com/tutorial/phantom-tutorial/

As for the CL (Course Lock) and HL (Home Lock) are the god send features for many because they will enable you to control your Phantom when you lost your orientation.
Click to expand...

Just get an FPV transmitter plus an IOSD and it will point the direction to the home point. ;)
 
tanasit said:
RE: Why would I need to demagnetize the compass on a brand new Phantom, especially when I haven't been putting it next to strong magnets?

When I first got my Phantom, it flew fine and after a few days I got the RED/YELLOW blinking like yours. I used the magnet to reset the compass as per video but I found out that I had to actually touch the compass to make it work. The following day the R/Y blinking came back! I finally believe I figured it out, I carried my Phantom on the back seat of my hybrid car and the position of the Phantom was just above the HV tracking battery!

It doesn't have to be a strong magnet to mess up the compass: metal construction frames, metal pipes under ground, steel bars under the concrete pavement, etc have been known to cause the R/Y blinking. I experienced that when I tried to take off my Phantom from the car roof.

I believe you can fly it in MANUAL mode to by pass all of these auto gadgets. I flew indoor on second floor of 3 story building with no GPS but with ATTI with no problems.

I don't think you have to re-bind your TX though.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply.
I will try to use a magnet and re-calibrate, but without the compass calibrated, it should still fly in ATTI mode, right? Because I can't even do that....
 
Also, moving the toggles on the Remote Control does not move the sliders in the software. Maybe the remote is at fault??
 
I used the magnet and got the mod values in the right place. I disconnected it from the computer, did a power cycle and tried to calibrate it. The phantom kept flashing red and yellow and will not turn to stay a solid yellow. I still cannot calibrate the compass at all nor can I fly it.
Does anyone have any more tips not covered in the videos? Has anyone actually seen this problem? I've obviously watched all Colin's videos and read through plenty of manuals and forums but cannot find this particular issue.
 

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