IMU Initulising (may spelled wrong) Help

[rickybobby2189]

Sometimes I have a 10 15 minute fight with my drone to get it in the air. For instance, sometimes it has a fit trying to get a live video feed. I will have to close the app, restart the app and if that doesn't work I'll restart the drone itself and if that doesn't work I'll reset the controller itself, Lastly if none of the above works I normally will Restart Everything and one way or another I eventually get my live feed video. Very frustrating when you trying to get in the air quickly. Would anyone with better experience with these things have a word of advice on what this problem may be? It gets me so pi$$ed sometimes I feel like slinging the freaking thing off a cliff until I remember how much money I have invested in this junker lol.

Hopefully, someone has had this issue before and can tell me what I need to do to correct it.


My next issue is just as frustrating as the first one, I will get the live video feed I've fought to get, and then it won't let me take off. It then says IMU Intilsiating or however you spell/pronounce it. Says to leave drone alone until complete. Well, the short of a long story is I can turn it upside down and then shake gently or side to side gently and eventually get it to start up the motors. PLEASE tell me there is a fairly simple fix for this problem as well. I love my Phantom 3 Pro as it is my first drone and I am just hooked but it sure is frustrating trying to get a simple flight in

I appreciate any and all advice in advance. Im willing to dig deep into this unit and fix whatever the issues may be, however I just dont want to start throwing costly parts at it not knowing if its going to fix it or not.
Im really hopeful someone has had these same issues before and can give me some friendly advice on where to start. By the way my name is Rick and Im from East Tennessee, I plan to use this drone for mainly hobby footage etc and maybe take a few pictures here and there. Good to meet a club/group with a bunch of likeminded hobbiest!

 

[3rdof5]

First off, never move the aircraft while the IMU is initializing/calibrating.
Second, the P3P is very sensitive to overheating on the camera gimbal board. The aircraft should never be powered on for any length of time without the props running for cooling. Doing otherwise can cause the gimbal board to overheat causing loss of video.
Therefore, place the aircraft on a flat level surface in a cool area with a small fan blowing on the camera/gimbal board and perform an IMU calculation. Do not move it during calibration.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Was going to add to that,,chill the drone down before imu calibration, that way warm up time is lot faster

 

[rickybobby2189]

thats whats funny about it, if i move it it will eventually let me fly but if I leave It alone it will sit until the cows come home lol or the battery goes dead one.

 

[Martin Healy]

thats whats funny about it, if i move it it will eventually let me fly but if I leave It alone it will sit until the cows come home lol or the battery goes dead one.

Hi Rick, In his comments above 3rdof5 is advising you to carry out an IMU calibration. You do this at home so that you have a flat level table top to put the P3 on and you can position a fan to blow on the drone and prevent overheating while it carries out the required IMU calibration. After doing this vital calibration step you will probably find that the IMU initialising problems in the field are cured.

All the best, Martin

 

[Capt KO]

Check all cable connections on the drone. Sounds like something loose or just not tight enough. If not external, might have to open. Hope not but not too hard. Might have had a hard landing in the past. Pretty common

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Rick,
There is a specific sequence you must follow to start the P3 Professional. 1) turn on controller, 2) turn on battery, 3) plug cord from controller to your iPad or iPhone or whatever device you have, 4) turn on DJI GO. Once you get the message that the AC is "Ready to fly," and if you see an image, then you're off. Turn off everything in the reverse sequence after the flight.
As far as upgrades, most P3P pilots will tell you "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I get messages all the time telling me to upgrade this or that. I ignore them, because the AC flies just fine. My advice to you is let firmware upgrades be your very last resort.
As far as the IMU messages goes, others here on the forum will tell you to just do a compass calibration when you get that message. I've done that; it works. The IMU message goes away and the AC flies just brilliantly. The contortions to do a compass calibration are accomplishing what you're doing when you turn it upside down and shake it gently. Maybe what you are doing is just as good as a compass calibration to overcome the IMU problem.
If you must do an IMU, do it just as some of the fellows above advise - on a flat table with a cooling fan if possible.

 

[JC in NH]

I had the very same problem with that "IMU Initializing. Don't move ..." message preventing takeoff and never going away. Recalibrating the IMU manually solved the problem completely, and the P3P is now ready to go in seconds.

That function is NOT in the left hand Aircraft Status menu next to compass recalibration where any logical person would reasonably expect to find it. It's buried in a sub-sub-menu in the right hand settings at Aircraft/Advanced/Sensors/Calibrate IMU. Maybe DJI didn't want neophyte pilots finding it and messing with it.

Others have mentioned that cooling the aircraft before calibrating the IMU speeds up pre-flght initialization. I haven't done tests but it sounds plausible because the IMU has an internal heater to stabilize its temperature. My experience is, no need to go crazy, just do it in the evening at cool temperatures relative to your normal flight conditions.

 

[JC in NH]

Regarding a prior post, I've never seen any difference in the order of setting up for flight and just plug it all together and turn it all on. Works for me. And I have always kept the firmware up to date. I don't apply updates the day they're released - I'd rather let others report the initial bugs, but I do take them all. Your milage may vary.

The compass and the IMU are two different instruments. I wouldn't think that calibrating one will solve problems with the other.

 

[3rdof5]

Regarding a prior post, I've never seen any difference in the order of setting up for flight and just plug it all together and turn it all on. Works for me. And I have always kept the firmware up to date. I don't apply updates the day they're released - I'd rather let others report the initial bugs, but I do take them all. Your milage may vary.

The compass and the IMU are two different instruments. I wouldn't think that calibrating one will solve problems with the other.

Yes the compass and IMU are completely different things and calibrating one has no affect on the other. As far as startup sequence goes, I always mount my phone to the remote first, connect the USB cable, wake up the phone then turn the remote on which always auto starts DJI GO. Once GO is running I power up the aircraft, GO switches to the Phantom Professional and I tap the camera icon. Ready to go. This sequence works every time.

 

[rickybobby2189]

THANKS Very much guys for trying to help me figure this thing out. Im going to try the manual IMU calibration and see if that helps...Once I get that problem solved the only other issue ill have is the hit and miss live video feed, I appreciate you fellers a lot!!