Compass error

[steel2]

Hi all, I was flying today with 2 fully charged batteries, I used the first one, landed and put the second one in, did the usual sequence and calibrated again with the 2nd battery, took off in

 

[Fly Dawg]

did the usual sequence and calibrated again with the 2nd battery, took off in

Care to continue the explanation?

 

[steel2]

Hi all, I was flying today with 2 fully charged batteries, I used the first one, landed and put the second one in, did the usual sequence and calibrated again with the 2nd battery, took off in

Hi all, I was flying today with 2 fully charged batteries, I used the first one, landed and put the second one in, did the usual sequence and calibrated again with the 2nd battery, took off in p-GPS mode got to about 70ft up and 120ft down range and unexpectedly a red message flashed up at the top of my screen saying "compass error exit GPS mode" so I did and brought the craft back only to find the message gone and all returned to Normal. Can anyone tell me if this disconcerting message is a symptom of something worse about to happen, I am paranoid now that I'm going to see a flyaway!
Thanks.

 

[steel2]

Care to continue the explanation?

Sorry, my tablet slipped out of my hands!

 

[Fly Dawg]

Can anyone tell me if this disconcerting message is a symptom of something worse about to happen, I am paranoid now that I'm going to see a flyaway!

Generally speaking this usually occurs from taking off near anything metallic. It will confuse the compass. Even underground re-bar will cause this. Also, you should not calibrate before every flight.

 

[dewens]

It could be frequent interference. It has happen to me. You may just have move to a different location where you are flying.

 

[Fly Dawg]

It could be frequent interference. It has happen to me. You may just have move to a different location where you are flying.

Possibly, but most likely not. The compass depends on many factors. Where and when you calibrate primarily, and secondly your launch point. The compass could appear fine at ground level, but once airborne it can be skewed and cause errors. Just bare terms here. Unless, the compass has been affected by storage near anything magnetic. At that point you would need to degauss.

 

[RodPad]

@steel2,

Welcome to the Forum!

#1 Don't do a compass calibration if you haven't had any compass problems.

#2 Read these links.....

Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer
Looking for Trouble ??
Litchi Mission Switch to ATTI mode mid mission - P3P


#3 Reply back to this thread, if got any question.

#4 Reply back to this thread...

#5

Rod

 

[Meta4]

did the usual sequence and calibrated again with the 2nd battery, took off ...

Why did you recalibrate the compass?
There's no need to recalibrate the compass between flights.
There's no need to recalibrate the compass if you traveled 50 miles, or 500 miles.
There's almost no need to ever recalibrate the compass.

 

[solentlife]

did the usual sequence and calibrated again with the 2nd battery, took off in p-GPS mode got to about 70ft up and 120ft down range and unexpectedly a red message flashed up at the top of my screen saying "compass error exit GPS mode" so I did and brought the craft back only to find the message gone and all returned to Normal.

1. I second / third above replies - no need to keep calibrating compass. Manual is badly worded on that.

2. You probably calibrated and included a small error at that location that was enough to cause warning once in flight and away from the influence.

Suggestion :

Find a nice quiet, clean area well away from buildings, roads, driveways, cables, pipes, etc. - best is a farm field !! Baseball / sport grounds are actually not because of the workings just below ground surface ...
Do a calibration which is 'clean' and without any influences.
Once done - that's it ... leave it alone unless you modify / repair / change the model.

If you get an error at another location - power down .. move a few feet ... power up again ... DO NOT re-calibrate.