Crash from a compass error and loss gps

[NoBiffBetter]

You prolly had a bad calibration the last time you took it for a fight. DONT recalibrate it Every time. It isn't needed. They say to but don't. If you know you have a good calibration then leave it alone, cuz the chances of getting a bad calibrating are very high, so once you have a good one you can just leave it alone.

The only time you really want to recalibrate is if you are flying a new location which is miles and miles away, and even then I wouldn't recalibrate unless you leave your state and go to a different state. This is really the only time a calibration is needed.

I have had my phantom 3 for almost 2 years now. I have calibrated it 1 single time. That's it. I have yet to have any issues and I have flown all over my naiborhood, I would say I have flown from locations as far as 15-30 miles away from where I live all in different areas and I have never had an issue. My first calibration was perfect, and I intend to keep that calibration unless I move far away, or go on vacation somewhere and take the drone with me.

Hope this helps. I'm sorry to hear about your drone :/ looks like it is repairable. Make sure you check everthing out thoughally and check to see if the accelerometer is working properly before your next flight. Good luck on the repairs

 

[Numone]

The only time you really want to recalibrate is if you are flying a new location which is miles and miles away, and even then I wouldn't recalibrate unless you leave your state and go to a different state. This is really the only time a calibration is needed....

Totally agree and in reality, you don't even need to do it 1000m from home; I've flown <1k miles from home without any issues.

 

[sar104]

Totally agree and in reality, you don't even need to do it 1000m from home; I've flown <1k miles from home without any issues.

Entirely correct. Compass calibration has nothing to do with location - it is simply measuring and storing the magnetic field of the aircraft itself so that it can subtract that from the measured magnetic field during flight, leaving (in theory) just the earth's magnetic field. And the magnetic field of the aircraft should not change unless it is exposed to very strong magnetic fields that might change the magnetization of any of its components, or if components are changed or added.

 

[kerrylaw7307]

I agree with SAR104. Sounds like it went into ATTI mode. Isn't it true, that you normally only do a compass recalibration, if you have moved from your normal "magnetic neighborhood" or "compass error reported",etc?

This article seems to infer NOT to calibrate unless there is good reason too. Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer

• DO Calibrate
  • Mod value out of whack or compass error reported (check area first).
  • Circling in flight or not flying straight (also check for other possible causes).
  • New equipment added or removed / new firmware installed.
  • Location change (greater than ~250 miles).
  • Significant change in terrain (e.g. to / from mountains).
  • If you just degaussed your compass (BTW, don't degauss unless instructed).

• DO NOT Calibrate
  • If near concrete, buildings, and hidden or overhead power lines / pipes / etc.
  • If you're indoors, on a paved surface, on a stone surface, on the beach, on a boat, on a balcony, near a car, near speakers, etc.
  • If there are metallic (ferrous) objects nearby or you're not sure

Thoughts?

 

[Numone]

I agree with SAR104. Sounds like it went into ATTI mode. Isn't it true, that you normally only do a compass recalibration, if you have moved from your normal "magnetic neighborhood" or "compass error reported",etc?

This article seems to infer NOT to calibrate unless there is good reason too. Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer

• DO Calibrate
  • Mod value out of whack or compass error reported (check area first).
  • Circling in flight or not flying straight (also check for other possible causes).
  • New equipment added or removed / new firmware installed.
  • Location change (greater than ~250 miles).
  • Significant change in terrain (e.g. to / from mountains).
  • If you just degaussed your compass (BTW, don't degauss unless instructed).

• DO NOT Calibrate
  • If near concrete, buildings, and hidden or overhead power lines / pipes / etc.
  • If you're indoors, on a paved surface, on a stone surface, on the beach, on a boat, on a balcony, near a car, near speakers, etc.
  • If there are metallic (ferrous) objects nearby or you're not sure

Thoughts?

Thoughts? Yes, you it's correct, you don't have to recalibrate the compass once you've done it. I've not recalibrated in 19 months and dozens and dozens of flights, many 1000's of miles apart.

 

[sar104]

I agree with SAR104. Sounds like it went into ATTI mode. Isn't it true, that you normally only do a compass recalibration, if you have moved from your normal "magnetic neighborhood" or "compass error reported",etc?

This article seems to infer NOT to calibrate unless there is good reason too. Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer

• DO Calibrate
  • Mod value out of whack or compass error reported (check area first).
  • Circling in flight or not flying straight (also check for other possible causes).
  • New equipment added or removed / new firmware installed.
  • Location change (greater than ~250 miles).
  • Significant change in terrain (e.g. to / from mountains).
  • If you just degaussed your compass (BTW, don't degauss unless instructed).

• DO NOT Calibrate
  • If near concrete, buildings, and hidden or overhead power lines / pipes / etc.
  • If you're indoors, on a paved surface, on a stone surface, on the beach, on a boat, on a balcony, near a car, near speakers, etc.
  • If there are metallic (ferrous) objects nearby or you're not sure

Thoughts?

That was Ian's primer from early 2015, as it applied to the old Naza FCs (P2 and earlier). Back then DJI did recommend calibration if moving a significant distance from the previous calibration, presumably because the calibration also appeared to measure geomagnetic inclination. That's no longer required - the the newer FCs include a geomagnetic field model.

 

[Meta4]

I know that the P4 Pro plus just had an firmware upgrade recently like 2-3 weeks ago for a compass calibration issue.
.... Also in between the 14 days sending it out and receiving this one a firmware was released to fix exactly the problems were all discussing

This sounds like someone's given you some misinformation.
There has been no firmware update to change anything at all about how any Phantom's compass works.
If it was something for the P4 pro+ only, and compass related, it would have been for the compass in the P4 pro+ display unit, not the compasses in the Phantom.

 

[Henry Matias]

This sounds like someone's given you some misinformation.
There has been no firmware update to change anything at all about how any Phantom's compass works.
If it was something for the P4 pro+ only, and compass related, it would have been for the compass in the P4 pro+ display unit, not the compasses in the Phantom.

Well I don't know how you know if it's in the Drone or in the RC display but it is a fix for the compass errors we were getting that caused GPS drops.

 

[Meta4]

Well I don't know how you know if it's in the Drone or in the RC display but it is a fix for the compass errors we were getting that caused GPS drops.

If it was for compass errors that caused compass drop outs, that would be for the compass in the Phantom.
But the P4 pro+ drone is no different from a P4 pro drone, only the controller and display are different.
And the P4 pro compass system has been working without a problem since released.

 

[Henry Matias]

Well I don't know how you know if it's in the Drone or in the RC display but it is a fix for the compass errors we were getting that caused GPS drops.

A GPS failure for some pilots not use to flying Atti mode near the ground with trees close with a bit of a wind drift.... come on there is always a bit of wind enough to make those Drones drift. It can panic anyone when it happens unexpectedly.

 

[JoBe]

Compass calibration...is simply measuring and storing the magnetic field of the aircraft itself so that it can subtract that from the measured magnetic field during flight, leaving (in theory) just the earth's magnetic field.

This is some dope info sar. I havent seen this in all of the endless threads about not needing to do the compass cal. I dont get on here much but when i do i always learn something.

 

[JoBe]

The easiest and most effective way to get valuable feedback on your flight is to follow what @Meta4 requested on Sunday in this post.

Was he ever heard from again?

 

[Henry Matias]

I have no idea what all that was about? Can somebody put it in laimens term. Is it ok to calibrate or not the compass?

 

[sar104]

I have no idea what all that was about? Can somebody put it in laimens term. Is it ok to calibrate or not the compass?

Calibrate only when the Go app tells you to calibrate.

 

[msinger]

Can somebody put it in laimens term. Is it ok to calibrate or not the compass?

Yes. Calibrate it whenever you'd like. The compass rarely needs to be recalibrated, so doing it before every flight is just a waste of time in most cases.

Here are scenarios where you should calibrate the compass (even if the DJI GO app does not prompt you to do it):

• Compass interference values are out of whack or compass error is reported (check area first)
• Circling in flight (also check for other possible causes)
• New metallic equipment added or removed
• If you just degaussed your compass (BTW, don't degauss unless instructed)

 

[sar104]

Yes. Calibrate it whenever you'd like. The compass rarely needs to be recalibrated, so doing it before every flight is just a waste of time in most cases.

Here are scenarios where you should calibrate the compass (even if the DJI GO app does not prompt you to do it):

• Compass interference values are out of whack or compass error is reported (check area first)
• Circling in flight (also check for other possible causes)
• New metallic equipment added or removed
• If you just degaussed your compass (BTW, don't degauss unless instructed)

I agree with all those examples, but have you actually encountered situations where an aircraft has compass goes out of calibration but the app does not request recalibration?

 

[msinger]

I agree with all those examples, but have you actually encountered situations where an aircraft has compass goes out of calibration but the app does not request recalibration?

Personally? No. I've seen instances of the reverse though -- where the compass needs to be calibrated, but DJI GO does not tell the pilot to do it.

I think people often recite "calibrate only when the go app tells you to calibrate" because that's what the current Phantom manual instructs. The fact that it instructs that does not necessarily mean it's the best advice to follow though.

 

[sar104]

Personally? No. I've seen instances of the reverse though -- where the compass needs to be calibrated, but DJI GO does not tell the pilot to do it.

I think people often recite "calibrate only when the go app tells you to calibrate" because that's what the current Phantom manual instructs. The fact that it instructs that does not necessarily mean it's the best advice to follow though.

No - that was what I was asking about - compass needs calibration but the app does not request it. I've not encountered that but if it does happen then it complicates the situation and does mean that the advice in the manual (which you are correct - it is what I was quoting) is not entirely adequate.

 

[msinger]

The only message I've ever seen was the "Compass error: Move aircraft or calibrate compass" message. In most (all?) cases, all that means is the compass is near some type of magnetic metal object (and you should move away from it).

 

[sar104]

The only message I've ever seen was the "Compass error: Move aircraft or calibrate compass" message. In most (all?) cases, all that means is the compass is near some type of magnetic metal object (and you should move away from it).

Agreed - magnetic interference is almost always the cause of that error, rather than calibration needed. The danger of randomly calibrating is purely that if done in a location with magnetic interference, the calibration will be bad. If done properly in a good location then obviously the resulting calibration should be good, so no harm done.