John Shaw said:
You are right that DJI does not provide the opportunity for any in-depth greater understanding...
But this isn't guess work...
Remember that early in this issue Ianwood assembled a list of those effected. Those that are effected are in eastern or western North America (not in the center), east coast of Australia, New Zealand, and the southern tip of Africa. All places with a declination of 10 degrees or greater. Almost no one else reports being affected. As this list grows the places where people are effected stays the same.
So through this and other threads it was determined that there was a very strong correlation to declination. Navigation systems have to deal with this, and most do. It is a real issue and well known phenomenon that has to do with the earth's magnetic field.
You shouldn't doubt that firmware could be the problem. The firmware can do anything since it's in control. Since I have flown 1.x and 3.04 and they fly generally the same. (I am at a declination of 17 degrees and strongly effected) It is more likely you may find your firmware gains were different and that could make a Huge difference. High gains are generally more twitchy than low gains, etc. These can be changed with the assistant.
Some people notice these problems more than others probably based on their piloting technique and the tasks they are trying to do. If you take off in an empty field and just fly the Phantom you may not notice much of a problem. Initially I flew mine on a pair of soccer fields, noticed it didn't always fly straight, but didn't think much about it (RC aircraft are far worse as they have NO navigation or stabilization system). When I read Ianwood's initial post on this issue a light bulb went on and it all made sense. I ran my own test flights and confirmed it made sense. And DJI agrees this is a firmware problem otherwise they would be revising the firmware. On the other hand if you are trying to fly in a tight area or hold to a specific line you will surely notice it quickly - if you are in an area of high declination.
By the way, after I became familiar with how it flew, I have been able to fly 1.x through 3.04 etc firmware in my confined tree lined backyard - you just have to stay on top of it to keep dampening the TBE and not making long high speed runs that lead to JHook. After a few minutes the effect goes away (another indication it is a firmware issue) and you can fly relaxed.
I hope that gives some perspective
I always enjoy your posts John and appreciate that you try to take the emotion out of the equation as much as possible. After lots of research on this topic, I tend to share your thought that firmware is an important part of the equation when it comes to the magnetic declination issue. However, I still have not seen anyone come up with a rationale explanation for why all P2 craft in severe MD areas do not appear to be affected. I personally, have had a combination of 4 Vision and Vision+ units, and only experienced the problem on 1 unit (testing in similar location which is +13 degrees). I also have a relative with a Vision in the same area and his unit does exhibit the problem. So combined, we are 2 out of 5 with the problem. Why are the other 3 not displaying the j-hook or TBE whatsoever? The only explanation I've heard people give is that you probably just didn't notice it before. For me, that is just not the case. I am very in tune with my copters and how they behave and respond to my controls.
So I'm still baffled as to why some units do fine and some do not, in the same area, with all other things apparently being equal. I realize that in a forum like this when the objective is to move a company to action, it's not popular to talk about why some units appear not to be affected, but I think it's worthy of consideration and debate, and IMHO doesn't take away from what Drunken Sparrow (for whom I'm very appreciative) is trying to accomplish. Rather, by recognizing that for whatever reason some units do seem to operate without the effects of MD, ultimately we may learn even more about the root cause of the problem or quite possibly causes (plural) of the problem.
