ERRATIC UP AND DOWN HOVER

sdmarcos13 · Dec 14, 2016

HELLO, MY PHANTOM 4 HAS BEEN WORKING FINE THE FIRST THREE TIMES I FLEW IT. IT'S BEEN IN BEGINNER MODE STILL. ITS ON LATEST FIRMWARE AND CALIBRATED. I STARTED MOTORS AND TOOK OFF BUT ONLY WENT UP A FOOT OR TWO OFF THE GROUND/TAKE OFF POINT AND IT STARTED MOVING UP AND DOWN IN ONE SPOT CONTINUOUSLY. IT FELT OUT OF MY CONTROL. WHEN I TRIED TO LAND IT RIGHT AWAY, IT DIDN'T WANT TO COME DOWN RIGHT AWAY. I HELD DOWN THE LEFT STICK FOR A WHILE AND WAITED FOR IT TO LAND ON ITS OWN. THE WHOLE TIME IT WAS MOVING UP AND DOWN. HAS ANYONE EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE? ANY ADVISE WILL HELP, THANK U.

Great_Lakes · Dec 14, 2016

Couple of questions: Did you use "auto takeoff"? Did you have the ground recognition option on? What type of surface did you take off from?

Erised · Dec 14, 2016

Two things that could be the cause, 1 the surface was too bright or dark with no pattern, (try over another surface). 2 The VPS needs recalibrating. To get a good calibration you need a decent monitor and mostly to follow the instruction in assistant to the T. When you follow the dots on the screen with the bird you must maintain the distance and do not move the bird at all from it's axis. ONLY point the cameras to follow the dots.

sdmarcos13 · Dec 14, 2016

Did not use Auto take off. Didn't know of a ground recognition option. Where can i find that option? Took off from a driveway wen it started doing the erratic hover and then I moved it to gravel the second time and still did the same thing.

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alokbhargava · Dec 14, 2016

Fly at 100' high and check if you still face the problem. If it is unstable at low heights only then it's VPS issue and follow what others are suggesting. If not then you need IMU calibration.

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Aotearoa Kiwi · Dec 14, 2016

You might also want to check the lens of the two small cameras are not dirty or blocked by foreign objects, also the two ultrasonic sensors for foreign objects

Great_Lakes · Dec 14, 2016

Aotearoa Kiwi said:
You might also want to check the lens of the two small cameras are not dirty or blocked by foreign objects, also the two ultrasonic sensors for foreign objects

This is the "ground recognition" I was talking about. You should see the two little cameras and sonar sensors on the bottom of the aircraft facing down. Like he said, if they are dirty or blocked, then at a low hover close to the ground they would be confused.

Also as mentioned, the IMU senses movement, or the "inertia" of movement. IMU means "intertial measurement unit". If it is out of calibration it will also cause some erratic behavior.

sdmarcos13 · Dec 14, 2016

alokbhargava said:
Fly at 100' high and check if you still face the problem. If it is unstable at low heights only then it's VPS issue and follow what others are suggesting. If not then you need IMU calibration.

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It only allowed me to go up that foot or two. Could've go any higher so I tried to land and took a lil while.

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Great_Lakes · Dec 14, 2016

sdmarcos13 said:
It only allowed me to go up that foot or two. Could've go any higher so I tried to land and took a lil while.

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See previous posts. Check the ground recognition cameras and sensors for being dirty or blocked, or turn off the feature altogether in the GO app and try again.

sdmarcos13 · Dec 14, 2016

That's guys. Much appreciated.
I'll check out those areas.

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Kman · Dec 14, 2016

Hovering that low to the ground will cause the P4 to be unstable. The P4 is fighting rotor wash that is hitting the ground. Fy higher up, 20 to 50 feet. Should be a lot more stable.

Great_Lakes · Dec 15, 2016

Kman said:
Hovering that low to the ground will cause the P4 to be unstable. The P4 is fighting rotor wash that is hitting the ground. Fy higher up, 20 to 50 feet. Should be a lot more stable.

He says he can't get it to go any higher than one or two feet.

sdmarcos13 · Dec 15, 2016

I disabled the VP and obstacle avoidance sensors and it was fine. Someone said It may have been low light or to bright of the take off surface. Guess it messed with the visual sensors cuz it works fine in the day but in the evenings, shooting the sunsets, is when i was having the issue.

Thanx for everything guys. Took all advice into consideration and greatfull for the support.

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