Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are tough

Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

krunkcopter said:
TeeJayN said:
Well, that's your opinion. Period.
No. That is his experience. There's a big difference between the two. Period.
No. That's his opinion based on his experience. That doesn't make it fact:

o·pin·ion
əˈpinyən/
a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

You don't know for a fact that only occasional compass alignments will work for everyone. Therefore it's an opinion. See definition above.

krunkcopter said:
TeeJayN said:
The compasses are very delicate and easily affected by proximity magnetism.
Correlation does need equal causation (google it).
No need to. I just showed one possible cause and effect. Other correlations abound. Did you try to put a 6x9" speaker near your quads compass and see the effect? I did.
krunkcopter said:
That is part fact and part opinion. Many folks have flown for a long time on a single calibration. I have three calibrations over 18 months and two Phantoms. No problems.
Good for you! That doesn't make it a fact for everyone. See definition above.
krunkcopter said:
Calibrating before each flight I akin to repeatedly pushing the down button because you think the elevator will get there faster.
Bad example - you attempt to eliminate any variables forcing ALL to get to the same place at the same time. Calibrating the compass before the first flight at each location is more akin to not wearing a motorcycle helmet and proclaiming "Hey were all gonna die someday anyway." I prefer a little extra insurance, wear my helmet, and likely delay my final demise.
krunkcopter said:
It also adds more risk into the equation given the variables at each new location (Ferromagnetic interference)
And in my opinion there is far less risk to new site compass calibration as many unknown ferromagnetic interference factors might have occurred between site locations.
krunkcopter said:
I agree with others. Your problem was not related to the compass.
And I respect your opinion. And in my opinion, the compass could have been a contributing factor.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

Another opinion is to review magnetometer manufacturers' user notes, or installation guides, or similar to see just what compensation does or is for.

You'll find there is a lot of speculation and feel good practices going on. Fine... TEHO

I have traveled 600 miles without the need to compensate.
I have swapped radio receivers and needed to compensate immediately.

Just my experience.

No need to feel compelled to tell someone else what THEY need or don't need to do.

If it makes you happy, do it.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

Meta4 said:
The elevator button allusion is perfect.
The calibrate every time school of thought is based on:
• fear of losing control of the Phantom
• a lack of knowledge of how the Phantom works
• a desire to do something and
• the concept that if something is good then more of something should be even better.....)
You are ignoring the possibility that the compass can be adversely affected during transport between flight locations. It has nothing to do with "fear" or "lack of knowledge" and everything to do with making sure your Phantom hasn't unwittingly been exposed to a potential fatal flaw. It's also called making sure your Phantom is safe as possible to fly.
Meta4 said:
...(snip).. used by the ancient Mayans who sacrificed a virgin......Calibration of the compass is necessary because of magnetic declination,,,,,,,You have to calibrate the compass in your Phantom because it was assembled in Shenzen, China....
Silly virgin analogy aside, you do a great job of explaining earth magnetic properties and why we need to initially calibrate the compass but ignore the the fact that the compass can get messed up and might need another calibration. I live in the Midwest USA, initially never had a compass issue, and rarely calibrated the compass. Then on one first flight it started the TBE. Landed immediately, checked the Assistant and 2 of the compass readings were off (don't remember which ones). I calibrated the compass, readings were within limits, and it flew rock solid. The phantom never indicated that there was a problem with the compass - no Red-Yellow flashing. I don't know for sure what caused this problem but I suspect it was close proximity to a car speaker magnet. I am now careful where I place my phantom during transport. The challenge for the safe pilot is how do we know when this could occur? On your next flight perhaps? And since the Phantom indicated no errors, how would you know before hand?
Many seem to be willing to take the chance. I'm not. If it's the first flight of the day, regardless if the location is new or old, I calibrate the compass before first flight and have had zero compass issues. In my opinion you incorrectly call it Superstition and Ignorance. I call it a safe and worthy flight pre-check. Your mileage might vary.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

Magnetic Declination is not determined, quantified, or otherwise detected by the compass compensation [dance] as implemented by DJI.

The magnetometer itself has no idea where on earth you are thus the difference between magnetic and terrestrial "North" must be done by entering the value [manually] (in some systems or implementations) or in DJI's case by comparing the compass readings with the GPS and IMU readings over time in flight.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

N017RW said:
Another opinion is to review magnetometer manufacturers' user notes, or installation guides, or similar to see just what compensation does or is for.

You'll find there is a lot of speculation and feel good practices going on. Fine... TEHO

I have traveled 600 miles without the need to compensate.
I have swapped radio receivers and needed to compensate immediately.

Just my experience.

No need to feel compelled to tell someone else what THEY need or don't need to do.

If it makes you happy, do it.
I appreciate your experience.
To be fair I've not told anyone that THEY need to do it. I've been careful to say it's only my opinion and experience and that Your Mileage Might Vary.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

Sorry,

TBC, I meant compensate as much as you want. Every flight, every day, whatever!
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

Seems to be a whole lot of people on here trying to justify their own decision for not calibrating. I don't see the need for that debate. If you don't think you need it, don't do it; to argue against a perspective from which you have no experience is infantile. Degrading comments, such as 'not knowing how it works' are unwelcome and off base. IOW, you don't know what another experiences, especially with devices as complex as these.

I have, for example, found the compass to be fiddly. Simply setting the bird down on concrete (re-bar beneath) is enough to get a calibration complaint from the software. Remove the quad from the concrete and the message ceases, however the calibration drifts to a small degree (like 5 degrees). Compass calibration is easy, quick and a cheap alternative to other less desirable methods for discovering you DO need to calibrate. I prefer to calibrate often.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

N017RW said:
Magnetic Declination is not determined, quantified, or otherwise detected by the compass compensation [dance] as implemented by DJI.

The magnetometer itself has no idea where on earth you are thus the difference between magnetic and terrestrial "North" must be done by entering the value [manually] (in some systems or implementations) or in DJI's case by comparing the compass readings with the GPS and IMU readings over time in flight.

With you on that one, IMO the dance with the Phantom is there to determine the orientation of the controller (nose position) in relation to the magnetic compass that's why you have to do the calibration on two axis. My hand held GPS receiver only needs to be calibrated on the horizontal axis for the magnetic North because it has no automated propulsion system that needs to know where the front is :)
Magnetic declination caused the J-hook issue because the unit would be send off in angle and the GPS then telling it to get back here, newest version uses a location database to apply offsets for declination differences.
Nose position being off would result in an increasing circle around the actual point because the controller applies position corrections in an angle. It's kind of like a car tracking in an angle and you'd drive off the road if you hold your steering wheel straight.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

When to calibrate and when not to has been discussed many times. And many times people mistakenly associate it with magnetic declination which is entirely incorrect. Calibration has to do with magnetic deviation.

Heading + deviation = actual magnetic heading.
Heading + deviation + declination = actual true heading.

You don't always want to calibrate your compass. Some guidelines:

DON'T calibrate your compass if:

  • You're in an urban area surrounded by concrete, buildings, and hidden or overhead powerlines/pipes/etc.
  • You're on the beach or on a boat.
  • You're close to large mineral deposits, metallic objects or anything magnetic.

DO calibrate your compass if:

  • You go to a new location that is a good distance (>25 miles) from the last place you calibrated the compass.
  • You change any equipment on your Phantom.
  • You just installed new firmware.
  • You just degaussed your compass (BTW, don't degauss unless you are absolutely positively sure you need to).
  • You have taken all the precautions to make sure there are no localized magnetic fields near you.
 
Re: Now a 'calibrate everytime' believer/ these birds are to

Calibrate before every flight, it takes just some secounds to complete.
 

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