DJI Phantom 2 Vision Compass and GPS issues

[Almmohd]

I have posted this elsewhere and I haven't gotten much feedback so I thought I would try here.

I recently bought a DJI Phantom 2 Vision in December 2013, it arrived with the compass pretty messed up and needing calibration. No amount of spinning round and round like an obsessive dog chasing its tail could fix this. The DJI app kept saying that the Vision needed compass calibration and the LEDs kept showing that as well. The magnet calibration took hours to get this thing close to where it should have been.

The last flight was a really good, it flew well and I was so glad that I had gotten it. I parked it down in its original box for a couple days and when I came back and powered it up, it kept saying that it needed compass calibration. I connected it to the PC and the compass showed the following values:
x 215 y -72 and z -83 mod 22845

The magnet calibration had no effect on correcting the mod value. It would drop to about 18000 when the magnet was around but go back up to 22000 when it was removed. Not only that but it would no longer connect to any satellites when I put it outside so no more GPS lock or return home feature.

I contacted the dealer, B&H photo, and they could offer no troubleshooting advice. They just said send it back and they will ship another one, the problem is that I am not in the US and they admitted that the compass can get messed up through the scans in going through customs and security. I did ask if there was some part they could send to me so that I could change it out but they said no, that would mess with their ability to make the return.

I really like this thing but I can’t go through sending it back and forth for repairs/returns every so often, especially when it can arrive not working properly. Is this a lost cause, should I give up and just take the refund?

What I would really like to know is if this is a fluke and so happens rarely?
Is there a (easy) fix for this, what can I do if I get a new phantom and this reoccurs?

 

[krsdj1]

I know how you feel man i lost my dji phantom on like the 3rd flight and i went through all the correct checklist to begin my flight.I got a green light then a green steady flashing lights lift off waited a few minutes and the drone went up up and away,i tried putting it in atti mode,turned the controller off and nothing i watched it go to the clouds and never saw it again,good thing you didnt lose it,well i never had compass issuses but i have a problem locking onto gps.I can lock onto 6 sattelites and never get the green steady flashing light,I would try another one good luck

 

[Big Ben]

I know how you feel man i lost my dji phantom on like the 3rd flight and i went through all the correct checklist to begin my flight.I got a green light then a green steady flashing lights lift off waited a few minutes and the drone went up up and away,i tried putting it in atti mode,turned the controller off and nothing i watched it go to the clouds and never saw it again,good thing you didnt lose it,well i never had compass issuses but i have a problem locking onto gps.I can lock onto 6 sattelites and never get the green steady flashing light,I would try another one good luck

This was a P1 or a P2 in NAZA mode? Dit you get TWO series of rapid flasing green lights? The first (after 30 sec.) indicates setting the course lock orientation and only the SECOND one indicates setting the Home Point. If the HP wasn't properly set it might have flown to your previous flying location where a proper HP was set.

 

[iDrone]

If you don't want to endure returning & waiting you might try replacing the compass module. It's available as a spare part pre-attached to a leg (probably so you don't have to use a metal screwdriver to mount it which might throw it out of cal). Just unplug the cable from yours, remove the leg and replace with the new leg & compass, plug your cable back in (you won't need the cable that comes with it).

Not sure where you are but perhaps Quadcopters.co.uk is more accessible to you. I think this works with the Vision but double-check with them to confirm. £13.36 and here's the link: http://quadcopters.co.uk/dji-phantom-compass-module-582-p.asp

iDrone

 

[krsdj1]

Thanks for getting back to me, yes I did get the two set of flashing lights and then it went back to red green red green. I recently changed an option in the assistant to Naza mode so I can take advantage of ioc mode because I believe I needed to be in Naza mode to use the ioc option.so I use ioc mode with gps lock?

 

[Almmohd]

wow, that's rough krdsj1, were you able to recover it or get a refund? I did want to use the ioc mode too but I thought I would wait till I had a couple of flights before enabling it.

iDrone, thanks for the info. I'm in the Caribbean, theUS is closer to me. Tell me though (if you know), would this part be affected just by having it shipped or only when installed and connected to a power source? Also, is there any sort of shielding that could be used to protect it?

And is the GPS function dependent on having a working compass? Could I have disconnected the compass?

 

[iDrone]

...I connected it to the PC and the compass showed the following values:
x 215 y -72 and z -83 mod 22845

The magnet calibration had no effect on correcting the mod value. It would drop to about 18000 when the magnet was around but go back up to 22000 when it was removed. Not only that but it would no longer connect to any satellites when I put it outside so no more GPS lock or return home feature.

What I would really like to know is if this is a fluke and so happens rarely?
Is there a (easy) fix for this, what can I do if I get a new phantom and this reoccurs?

Normal range for XYZ is between +/-500 and Mod is between 750-2250. As the compass may get magnetized, the purpose of orbiting magnets around it is to degauss the compass, so possibly you may need a stronger magnet if you're not getting results w/Mod.

Others who have had this problem (even after impass replacement) solved it by reloading factory parameters, but for the Vision we don't as yet have this capability. Out-of-Box Vision mode relies on GPS + Compass + IMU sensors to stabilize & position the aircraft as well as to enable setting a HOME point, so yes having a working compass is critical.

iDrone

 

[krsdj1]

wow, that's rough krdsj1, were you able to recover it or get a refund? I did want to use the ioc mode too but I thought I would wait till I had a couple of flights before enabling it.

iDrone, thanks for the info. I'm in the Caribbean, theUS is closer to me. Tell me though (if you know), would this part be affected just by having it shipped or only when installed and connected to a power source? Also, is there any sort of shielding that could be used to protect it?

And is the GPS function dependent on having a working compass? Could I have disconnected the compass?

Almmohd I wasn't able to get a return I contacted many people at dji and felt they didn't want anything to do to help me.Allerc is were I purchased the quad and they offered me half price for a brand new one if I sent them the controller back. Bottom line cost me 250.i felt it was better than nothing. Thanks again for the tips . happy flying

 

[Almmohd]

krsdj1, yes at least you still got something back. I have returned my vision, I am trying to figure out if to go back for another one or try the phantom 2 (non-vision) with a gopro hero 3+ and eventually get fpv for it.

I have seen a couple videos from the non vision and it is smooth. Anyone can to offer some input on this?

 

[Almmohd]

Went ahead and got the phantom 2.


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[Scottrod]

How frequently do you guys have to calibrate your compass? Even if I'm flying in the same location if I leave my vision off for at least a day or two when I go to fly next time I have to calibrate it or it does not fly properly. I don't get it because my first P2V didn't seem to need to be calibrated as often as this one.

 

[nhoover]

I calibrated it before the first flight then didn't for the next 20 - and it always worked perfectly. Since then (the next 30 flights) it's never behaved as well - drifts left when coming to a stop. I calibrate before every flight now but it doesn't help. All the values in the assistant are in normal range and it behaves nicely when attached to the computer. It's a little annoying but that that bad really. It does NOT hover in circles - it is rock solid at hovering. It just drifts left when stopping (and at the start of a flight, flies at maybe 10-15 degrees to the left of where it should - that gets better over time). Weird but I've gotten used to it.

 

[Almmohd]

Mine would never hover in one spot. It always had some drift and I'd have to move it back to some spot before it collided with something. It only stayed more or less in one spot when I had it over 40 ft up and there was some wind.


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