HELP in diagnose

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As same may recall, my first P2v+ has rapped by a seagull and went for a dive.

air compressed, dipped in rice... and still didn't make it.
Since I was in the middle of a big job, I had to buy another P2v+ to finish the job.

And came the time to see if I can revive the rapped Phantom.

- The camera didn't make it (the gimbal arm crushed some electronics.)
- After the rice, it turned it self ON.
- wifi was intermittent. I now seam to have wifi connection if I connect the broken gimbal/camera to the phantom, but with no image, and no on screen data: (battery, gps signal, etc)
- since I could turn the phantom ON, but it could not start, and when I connected it to the computer app the GPS didn't appear, I suspected the GPS was gone, and order a new one.

- New GPS arrived today. I plugged it in... and BLING! all motors start and spin fine. Just for piece of mind, I plugged the old GPS too and... IT WORKED! (at least I can start the motors too).

So I assembled it (minus the gimbal/camera) and went to the field for testing.
Did an IMU calib at home, and in the field did the compass calibration with no problems.
But... still no GPS lock.
Since I couldn't get wifi connection at the time, or when I can, I still read no on screen info on the dji app, I don't know if GPS shows zero, or just under 6 sattellites. But I was in a wide open field for half an hour and no fix..

I manage to take off and fly it with no GPS signal just fine (as fine as atti flight can be in a windy day)

So now comes the questions I hope some of you can help with:

- does the wifi module only connects with the gimbal/camera connected to it? I removed the cover on the wifi module, and the green light only connects if the gimbal is connected too. once I remove the gimbal, no green light.
Can I bypass this and get only the onflight data with no camera image?

- any thoughts why I can start the motors with the GPS connected but I can't get a GPS lock?

Thanks in advance
 
You can do the half hybrid H33D mod.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213815&page=17
This is all reversible. Open up the P2VP. There are 3 cables that come down from the phantom to the gimbal board. The 2 widest cables act like to a bridge to power the camera/gimbal. You need to split the cables up if you have the P2VP V2. Take the widest cable that is still plugged into the wifi module and redirect it into the CAM port on the main board. This will power on the wifi module and give you telemetry.
The hardest part of this mod is pulling up the 3 cables as its pinned down by the USB mounts and double sided tape.

Secondly... the GPS module... I think you Pucked-up badly. Good news that the GPS module is working and hence your motor starts. Bad news is that the ceramic antenna puck is cracked. Good news is that the ceramic puck is cheap from DIGI KEY (get a few). You should take advantage and upgrade to a 4dbi puck (thicker). This will pick up an extra satellite and probably quicker.
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THanks, I know of that mod, and I've wanted to do it for some time. If I get this thing to fly, I do wanna get a zenmuse and a gopro and go that way.
In the meanwhile, I followed this photo on that post, and the just those 3 jumper cables between the 2 connectors brings power to the wifi module again:
a7439738-96-2222-danillll.jpg


But since I don't have telemetry yet, I can't check the number of satellites. I'm waiting on the cables so I can do the full connections.

But I now notice a new problem.
When I power the phantom ON, it blinks the code for needing compass calibration. I do the calibration, and right after it bliks red very fast forever. 2nd low level voltage alert?
It does this with every battery fully charged.
So.. I thought it could be some bad connection between the COM pins to the battery, so I unplugged those...
strangely enough, without the battery COM pins connected, the phantom turns ON without asking for compass calibration, and no 2nd low level voltage alert too. it just blinks green-red-red-red, meaning its ok, but satellites are under 5 (i'm inside and its 1 in the morning so I can't take it outside and see if this changes if it gets more satellites.

any thoughts?
 
THanks, I know of that mod, and I've wanted to do it for some time. If I get this thing to fly, I do wanna get a zenmuse and a gopro and go that way.
In the meanwhile, I followed this photo on that post, and the just those 3 jumper cables between the 2 connectors brings power to the wifi module again:
a7439738-96-2222-danillll.jpg


But since I don't have telemetry yet, I can't check the number of satellites. I'm waiting on the cables so I can do the full connections.

But I now notice a new problem.
When I power the phantom ON, it blinks the code for needing compass calibration. I do the calibration, and right after it bliks red very fast forever. 2nd low level voltage alert?
It does this with every battery fully charged.
So.. I thought it could be some bad connection between the COM pins to the battery, so I unplugged those...
strangely enough, without the battery COM pins connected, the phantom turns ON without asking for compass calibration, and no 2nd low level voltage alert too. it just blinks green-red-red-red, meaning its ok, but satellites are under 5 (i'm inside and its 1 in the morning so I can't take it outside and see if this changes if it gets more satellites.

any thoughts?

Don't power the wifi module as pictured. Do it as per page 17 on RCgroups. Just redirect 1 cable that is already attached to wifi module to the cam port.
With this on, you can now see the warnings and telemetry.
 
this pic is on page 17. witch cable are you referring too? RCgroups forum is a mess, page 17 is full of people taking on differente stuff :S
 
this pic is on page 17. witch cable are you referring too? RCgroups forum is a mess, page 17 is full of people taking on differente stuff :S
Pitcher8811's comments.
You don't need to purchase any cables unless you are doing the full mod.
For telemetry, look for the wifi module, on the back end is the widest cable. follow that cable down to the gimbal board. This is the cable you need to pull back up and plug into the CAM port. This will power the wifi module.
 
OK i got it. I just connected the wifi cable to tha CAN port and I have telemetry. Thanks

the screen says it needs compass calibration.
after I calibrate it, if just flashed quick reds forever... and it does not react to a new calibration :S
 
The "pages" on that group won't mean a thing if you don't have the default page view selected. What's on one persons page 17 may be on another persons page 23.

I'm keeping tabs of all this excellent information. I've flown things for quite some time and fully expect to be playing about with ribbon cable interconnections at some point in the (hopefully) distant future.

You fly, you crash, you pay. It's a lot like owning a damned boat.
 
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OK i got it. I just connected the wifi cable to tha CAN port and I have telemetry. Thanks

the screen says it needs compass calibration.
after I calibrate it, if just flashed quick reds forever... and it does not react to a new calibration :S

Are you out in an open field with low or no magnetic influence? If so then the compass dance is sticking.
Try to start motors without props. If motor don't start then the rapid reds = dead gps puck.
 
I'm inside now, its 2am in here. Motors start fine with both GPS units


That means it's time to go flying!!!

;)

Hope you get it figured out. Please report back with any progress!
 
Ok I'm finally back from a couple of days on a dance festival.
UPDATE:
I went to a remote location and turned it ON. It asked for compass calibration, and I did the dance...
It didn't worked. the leds flash fast red for eternity after that.
On screen the message compass calibration required does no change.
If the problem is just Compass, I've ordered a new one, and its cheap, still waiting on it.

The problem is, during this, I get ZERO gps with both GPS units I've tried...
I can start motors and kind of fly it (its to windy to tell if its just a normal atti flight, or if the compass is failing causing erratic flight)

Any thoughts?
thank you people! :)
 
I think you may need to have a laptop onsite. Here's what I would personally do in this situation. You can do this in an open field or in your home. As long as you have the ability to have the GPS module connecting to Sats. In my home, I can connect to 7 Sats inside the house, 9 in my garage and typically, 12 outside. Ensure your TX, WiFi extender and Phantom batteries are all properly charged. Have your Phantom located such there are no metal objects near it, not even the controller. The surface your Phantom is sitting on MUST be a close to level as you can make it. I used everything from cardboard pieces down to business/playing cards with a digital level to get my surface table within .05" of level in both directions.

Remove the props. Install a good battery into the Phantom and then, proceed with the following.

Power up the various things as shown in these instructions.

1. Have a laptop/desktop with DJI Phantom 2 Vision Assistant 3.8 available. You should have already updated your Phantom to the latest firmware and software. If using older firmware/software, these directions should still apply for our type Phantom. Do not open the software just yet.
2. Turn on TX and WiFi module.
3. Connect the USB cable that came with your Phantom to the Phantom itself. It is crucial you use the ORIGINAL USB cable that came with your Phantom and no other. Then, connect the USB Cable to your computer.
4. Power on your Phantom. WAIT until it achieves a GPS lock and the lights are flashing green. If the lights do NOT consistently flash green, but there is some yellow and/or red thrown in, no worries at this point. However, if they are flashing green, then you know the GPS puck has a lock and the GPS signal is good as well as the compass is good. If you have different colors flashing, then just proceed. If you do not get a flashing green situation, just wait five minutes. This ensures you've given the bird every chance to orient itself through GPS and making a Home Lock point.
5. Open the DJI Phantom 2 Vision Assistant software. It should almost immediately detect the bird and go into the software without waiting too long. If you get an immediate message that says something like, "Compass Calibration Required", just click OK or whatever button that allows you to continue.
6. If the loading software page stays the same and there's no option but to "skip" to get the software running, I'm not sure what to do at this point besides making SURE you've got the original USB cable plugged into the Phantom itself and to a working USB port on your computer.
7. Open the DJI App on your smartphone or tablet. See if you're getting video. Also, make note of how many Sats the Phantom is seeing, if any. If the App doesn't report any Sats, then check all cabling going to the Puck/Module in the top half of your shell. The "puck" is the GPS antenna itself. Ensure the cable is properly plugged into the mainboard inside the shell. If any problems were noted, correct the cables and then, start this set of instructions over to include shutting down the TX, WiFi module and the Phantom. You should have shut everything down simply to fix any cabling issues. ;) If you still do not get a GPS signal, you need to troubleshoot the GPS puck and module in the upper half of the shell. It might be damaged or not working at all. Also check the cable wiring to ensure nothing is damaged and the connectors are not bent. If you aren't able to get video, then the WiFi module connections need to be checked. This is the module inside the bird mounted to the mainboard. It will have a MAC Address sticker on it. Ensure everything is connected. If no picture on your phone, then the WiFi module or the WiFi antenna may be bad.
8. At some point, the TX may start beeping. This is to let you know that no inputs via the sticks or switches has been made and the TX is about to automatically shutdown. Simply move the right stick a little to clear this.
9. You may have had the software set to NAZA-M mode in the upper, right hand area of the software. Change this to Phantom mode and then do a complete restart of everything following the directions above. This will reset everything to the original Phantom settings.

Assuming the Assistant software opened, then observe the "View" Tab. Move the sticks on your controller. Look at the channel monitor in the lower, left hand section of the software. Channels A, E, T and R should all result in either a -1000 reading or, a 1000 reading. If they do not, then you need to calibrate the TX controller sticks and switches. Be aware the left stick needs to be locked in the lower area to get the -1000 value. The S1 and S2 switches will not be +1000 or -1000 like the sticks. Just make sure the values change when moving the two switches. The camera dial isn't on this page, so don't worry about that one at this point.

If your values aren't resulting in either -1000 or 1000 for the sticks, then proceed to click on the "Basic" tab and then, the "RC" sub tab. In the middle of the screen there will be a "Calibrate" icon. Click this to calibrate the TX sticks and switches. Move both sticks in their extreme six points of travel. Full left, right, up and down and then upper right, lower left, upper left, lower right. Do this four times completely. Once finished with the sticks, move the switches to each of their three positions and also, move the camera Tilt wheel full up and down. I cycle them four times just like the Sticks. Click on the "Finish" icon to complete. A, E, T and R should all have Black Arrows that line up with the Red middle line on this page.

At this point, I would recommend you remain in Phantom mode. You can change to NAZA-M mode and redo all the calibrations once your bird is flying correctly in the most basic of configurations.

10. Click on the "Tools" tab. Under IMU calibration, you will want to look at the "Compass(raw)" values. X, Y and Z should be between + or - 300. "Mod" should be between 750 and 1750 IMO although, if you hover over the ? mark, it will tell you to have X, Y and Z between -/+500 and Mod from 750 to 2250. I've found that creating an environment that allows for these tighter numbers results in a more stable aircraft.

10.1 WHAT are you X, Y, Z values and the Mod value? If the Compass isn't working, these will either not be reported at all or, highly off values.

11. If you compass is reporting values but they are badly off, then do the following.
11.1 Click on Check IMU status. It might be grayed out as well as the Basic Cali Icon. You may also get the occasional "Non-DJI battery detected" pop up. Just move the TX right stick a little and that will go away. If both the IMU Status and Basic Cali icons are grayed out, then click on the Reset BTU, Icon. This Blue Tooth Unit has nothing at all to do with the compass, however, it forces the Phantom into an Advanced Calibration Required state. Close the DJI Assistant program on your computer and then, turn off the Drone, the WiFi module and then, the TX. Then, restart everything and the software will force you into an Advanced Calibration once everything is started back up via the directions above. ENSURE you're in a good area with minimal metal objects within 5' of the drone. Anything closer and the Advanced Cali will not complete. If for some reason, the advanced Cali doesn't complete, then shut everything down, insert a fully charged battery into the drone and start it over. For some reason, My Advanced Cali wouldn't complete with a less than 90% charged battery.

12. Once you get everything completed and you have a good Advanced Cali done, take your drone to a known good site with no metal or magnetized objects. Keep your phone, car keys, so on and so forth, at least 5' away from the drone. Do the DJI Compass dance. Shut down the drone, power it back up and see if you come up all green.

13. Do a flight in Phantom mode and then go back into the Assistant software and change over to the NAZA-M mode. It has worked best for me to be onsite, with my laptop, to change it over to NAZA-M. Once changed over, ensure your sticks are calibrated properly and also, your Compass values are between X, Y, Z at +/-300 and Mod between 750 and 1750. Once you have that set right, you should be good to go. Otherwise, please leave a detailed post regarding your results and observations.

I hope this fixes you up because I just spent the last hour typing all of this out! LOL!
 
Starting motors = GPS module is detected and working. Getting zero sats means the antenna is cracked or not soldered on properly or not making contact.
Also check in the phantom assist to see if the GPS is detected in the firmware page.
 
GPS unit works together with Compass. You replaced GPS unit... no worked so lets check the other side: The compass or compass-Gps cable. Disconnect and re-connect the cable from compass unit. Then re-try Compass Calibration.
 
Ok folks,
THank you very much for all your efforts, especially BlackHawk388, for taking the time to right such a complete set of instructions.

I will try to resume all the events, because i understand you may not read all the messages before, and this way you have more information when trying to help me:

The bird crashed on a slope by the river, and then fell in the river. If was swimming for 10 min.
I got home, disassembled it, cleaned it with compressed air and alcohol, and left it in a big bag of rice for one day. I know if should of stayed there longer, but I was on the middle of an important gig, and I needed to know if if still worked, or if I needed to get a new one to finish the job. I did get a new one. Now I'm trying to save to swimmer one.

The gimbal arm bent and crashed into the gimbals electronics, so no change for the gimbal and camera.
Since I have no video, I connected one of the gimbal cables to the port on the bird so I could still get telemetry, and I do have telemetry.

RC control works.

wifi module works.

The GPS seamed dead. motors would not start, and when connected to the PHANTOM app on the computer, if showed nothing on the GPS hardware ID field. So i bought a new GPS puck.

The new GPS puck arrived, and now it shows an hardware ID on the computer app, and I can start motors and fly. Strangely enough, the old GPS works again.. or at least does the same as the new one, and the motors start too.

I already did IMU leveled calibration, and BTU resets.

I can start motors and kind of fly it (its to windy to tell if its just a normal atti flight, or if the compass is failing causing erratic flight)

The biggest problem is.. I read ZERO gps on the telemetry, with either GPS pucks.
AND... the phone app shows the need for compass calibration. but when I do so, the message does not change "compass calibration needed" AND the bird starts a Fast Red Flash loop that only stops if I turn the unit Off.

NEW UPDATE JUST NOW: when I connect to the computer app I get the following error message:
"ERROR 27: GPS not calibrated, or magnetic field interferance. Please calibrate GPS again in good condition."
- How do you calibrate a GPS? does it calibrate when you do a compass calibration?


I haven't tried a new compass yet, but it should be arriving soon.


Compass raw data: X: -7 to -12 Y -1 to -8 Z: -1 to 7 MOD: 594 to 630

Thank you again for all your help.
 
NEW UPDATE JUST NOW: when I connect to the computer app I get the following error message:
"ERROR 27: GPS not calibrated, or magnetic field interferance. Please calibrate GPS again in good condition."
- How do you calibrate a GPS? does it calibrate when you do a compass calibration?


I haven't tried a new compass yet, but it should be arriving soon.


Compass raw data: X: -7 to -12 Y -1 to -8 Z: -1 to 7 MOD: 594 to 630

Thank you again for all your help.

Your compass values look to be off on the MOD reading. The X, Y and Z axis readings are almost better than I would believe possible. MOD readings are off though. Should be at least 750 and no more than 2250. I would assume that as close to the middle as possible is best and so I've tried to get mine as close to 1500 as possible.

You could try using one of the many Youtube videos to degauss the compass. However, with your new compass coming in soon, I'd likely use that instead of trying the Degaussing process which seems to be very hit or miss in success.

Calibrating GPS isn't something YOU have to do so to speak. What it does require is a good compass calibration. I've received the same message twice before and both times, I didn't realize I had something metal within 5' of the compass. Once were some aluminum cans and my cell phone while I was doing a BTU reset and Advanced Calibration. The other time was a bit more complicated.

The second time this happened, I was trying to get a tighter X, Y and Z axis reading using my laptop and an open field. Since I also had my AT Pro metal detector with me, I became curious. I could finish an Advanced Calibration, but the DJI dance wouldn't complete properly and I had the fast red lights flashing as you describe here. I noted the compass readings in DJI Assistant as being X 310, Y -518, Z at 410 and MOD at 250. What cured it was using my metal detector. I found that where I was trying to do my compass dance was within 15' of a 36" electrical conduit buried in the ground going to the school I was behind. The MD found the metal in the ground but it took me asking the school super what was buried there. I had an idea since there are power lines about 200m away yet nothing leading to the school itself. Back in the wood-line, there's a large green box and then, near the school, there are multiple green distribution boxes. So I assumed underground utilities. Having spoken with the super before while flying my powered gliders, I knew him to be a fellow hobbyist.

Once I moved 100' away from the buried utilities and my vehicle, it was amazing how quickly the Advanced Calibration completed even with my laptop and wooden table within USB cord range. Then, I moved 50' further away from the table and laptop to perform my DJI Dance. No keys in my pocket and phone left on the table. Low and behold, it was the fastest one I've ever seen and GPS locked in, gave me the ten green flashes and then, within another 15 seconds, gave me the second set of green flashes that indicates a Home Lock being established. Next thing I noticed was 12 Sats locked in on my smartphone. The most I had seen until then.

I've not had the GPS Calibration required notification since then. This is a screen grab of my current readings.

Z2WiZST.jpg


As you can see, I'm very tight on the readings and she now hovers quite exactly. Even in a 20mph steady wind, she remains within 2' of vertical and 4' of horizontal space.

Good luck to you! If we were located close together, I'd do all I could to help you out in person.
 
This was my secondary screen grab after having performed a second DJI Dance. I hovered over the ? mark symbol to display the overall readings one should see.

zNREXec.jpg
 

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