Improved GPS reception?

[robinb]

Thats from this website

http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com

 

[Cocoa Beach Kiter]

Thats from this website

http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com

Unfortunately it requires flash player and will not run on android or IOS, at least mine... Good to look at when home on computer though...

 

[robinb]

yes

on the iPhone i use GPS plan which is a prediction app (Free)

 

[karmakazi]

I completed the foil mod last night and went out first thing this morning to see if my GPS reception had improved and in under a minute of flying I had 12 satellites synced. People may be getting mixed results but I'd say it's worth the try.

 

[DBeard]

I did this mod last night. Sat lock in under 30 seconds in my postage stamp of a back yard, poor LOS of the sky. I got all 8 sats that were available according to Sat Predictor. However I still dropped one when I started recording, on the ground. I do imagine that it is worse when sitting on my hard case as there would be some reflection occurring. I hope to put her into the sky later today or tomorrow for a true test. I'm happy as it is, that it home locks faster than I can get setup and ready.

 

[burritocmdr]

Hmm. I just did the mod, but only tucked the wire underneath. Before the mod I could get 7 sats in my backyard. Now I'm only getting 4-5, satnavpredictor says I should be getting up to 8. Not looking good for me.

 

[Onezerosix141]

Have you tried put foil or aluminum vent tape right above the gimbal? Or open it up and foil wrap the gps connecting wire?

 

[burritocmdr]

I will have to do something like that. I thought just tucking the wire underneath would give an improvement. If anything it seems worse than before.

Edit: Well, results are inconclusive I think. Took her out again and this time got the usual 7 sats on the ground and 8 in the air. Must be the condition at the time.

 

[Onezerosix141]

I just got done testing could of different setup. I tested aluminum tape to GPS, GPS wiring, both, and nothing on it.
To put it in place with hell of interference, I set my quad up on my roof outside of my bonus room window. When I scan the area for WiFi, I get about 8 or 9 pop up immediately.
With nothing on it, I get about 5 to 6 going up and down the first minute then settled on 6. With aluminum to GPS, I stated of at 7 then goes between 7 and 6 but never dropped below 6. Sometimes it goes up to 9. Aluminum tape to write didn't do so hot. It was about the same without aluminum tape. Putting tape on both, didn't perform that great either. So tape to GPS works the best.
Then I tried single to double layer and that didn't make huge difference.
I think by putting aluminum with copper is creating barrier from emi. I think if you can find copper tape, it'll work better than aluminum

 

[rrmccabe]

When I scan the area for WiFi, I get about 8 or 9 pop up immediately.

Not sure what you are referring to. What does WIFI have to do with it?

 

[Onezerosix141]

I have a WiFi scanner. I wanted to be in an area with interference. I tried to make it harder for the GPS.

It seems like instead of using a big sheet of aluminum, putting in strips to cover the GPS unit insulation is working better for me.

 

[varmint]

Just throwing this out there, but you could always do what I did and purchase a combined GPS/Compass from a Naza "Lite" and mount it externally. It's 100% compatible and there's simply no interference this way. Just remove the internal GPS and compass and plug in the puck. The assistant may ask for an IMU calibration, and you obviously need to do a compass calibration, but after that it's all smooth sailing.

GPS locks are fast, tight and stable, and the compass works beautifully. As you can see, I have an aftermarket landing gear which I modified to fit a P2V+, but there's no need to worry about compass mounting on the leg because it's all part of the combined GPS unit.

I went the elaborate route by snipping off the stock molex on the puck's cable, shortened it, and ran it through a grommet in the rear of the top shell, and then soldered on a new molex. That's much more elaborate than necessary though, as one could simply make a small cutout in the top shell and use the entire stock, intact cable without modification.

On the vision (original) there's only the one GPS port. On the Vision+ there are separate compass and GPS ports, but the GPS port still accepts compass signals through the GPS port, so it works fine on either flavor and probably works fine on a non vision as well.

Naza GPS/Compass Puck $100: http://www.banggood.com/DJI-NAZA-Lite-V ... 86239.html
Perfect GPS locks - priceless.

 

[N017RW]

The puck in the link is not a step up.

Look back to page 11 for a link to an RC Group thread describing all the mods being done to those as well.
In addition the puck's PCB lacks the GPS Saw filter that the P2's have.

 

[dpdpkpcom]

Fwiw, I've tried without any mods, with wire behind stock shielding, with wire behind stock shielding and aluminium foil tape, and wire behind stock shielding with copper tape.

Hands down the best solution for me has been the last option which has been better (for me) increasing my number of satellites by 2 to 3.

This morning I did a flight which was wavering between 4 to 6 satellites (whilst video'ing). This was with the wire behind the stock shielding (no foil)

Have just put some copper tape in place and then some insulation tape on top of that (to prevent any short circuits) and done another flight (2 hours later) and the minimum satellites was 7, going upto 9. It was windy or I would have gone higher and probably got more satellites.

Hth others.

dp

 

[Mac_Guy]

I live in a mountainous area so the GPS satellites that are low on the horizon are tough to pick up. I use the on-line GPS satellite predictor site http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com to plan the best time for maximum satellites. (I also use "GPS Plan" app from the iTunes Store https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gps-pla ... 49032?mt=8 on my iPad and iPhone which is easier to use than the on-line predictor site since you can store your location.) I haven't had much problem having at least 9-11 satellites which I felt "safe" with.

I was aware of this GPS mod and didn't consider it a must-do because of where and how I was flying.

Yesterday I had some spare time, and had never opened the P2V+, so I thought I'd take a look inside and do the GPS mod figuring it shouldn't make the GPS worse. I moved the GPS cable under the existing DJI insulation mat, wrapped some aluminized duct tape around the remaining unshielded cable, and insulated that with some electrical tape, and closed things up.

Did a quick test yesterday in my driveway surrounded by tall trees, and mountains all around blocking GPS signals, and picked up 4-5 satellites which I had never seen before!

Today I flew at the predicted max satellite time in my usual spot down in a valley with fewer mountains blocking GPS, and seemed to get one to two more satellites than "normal." But without direct side-by-side comparisons of mod vs. unmoded who knows because of the way the satellites move in and out of "view."

But the real surprise to me was when I brought the P2V+ home and inside the house to my kitchen to download the pictures and videos I had shot. I had 4-5 satellites inside my house! Had never seen that before.

SO I'M A BELIEVER THAT THIS MOD WORKS, AND IS WORTH DOING IF ONE IS AT ALL "HANDY," AND IS CAREFUL!

 

[varmint]

The puck in the link is not a step up.

Look back to page 11 for a link to an RC Group thread describing all the mods being done to those as well.
In addition the puck's PCB lacks the GPS Saw filter that the P2's have.

You're missing the point. It's not the GPS, it's the placement. You can tell me it's "not a step up" all day long, but that doesn't change the fact that it's now 20cm away from the electronics and works far better that the OEM GPS sitting inside the body. Do the mod and then detract, not before.

 

[robinb]

The puck in the link is not a step up.

Look back to page 11 for a link to an RC Group thread describing all the mods being done to those as well.
In addition the puck's PCB lacks the GPS Saw filter that the P2's have.

You're missing the point. It's not the GPS, it's the placement. You can tell me it's "not a step up" all day long, but that doesn't change the fact that it's now 20cm away from the electronics and works far better that the OEM GPS sitting inside the body. Do the mod and then detract, not before.

20 CM ?

The puck only comes with a short tube.

I have the puck and waiting on new top shell to come so I can fix puck to that, easy then to swap between the 2 to do a comparison.

 

[N017RW]

Yea. I agree and posted the 'gain' was likely from separation.
I would never tell you not to do it.
I was however surprised at the omission of the filtering network.

TEHO

 

[akbardotinfo]

yesterday I quite dissapointed by the result of allumunium foil cover of the gps module (last night 5-6 sat for 5 minutes), but after read this thread, I reopen my phantom and get the gps cable covered by alluminium foil tape, just now I put the phantom on the same place, and HOAAAAAA!!! got 7-8 sat in 20-30 second!!!!

THANKS A TONS TO THIS THREAD!!!

 

[flyNfrank]

If your quad gets 6 or more satellites once you are in the air, why not cover your launch pad instead with aluminum foil, rather then in your quad.

Or try using a satellite dish as your launch pad?