Old Man Learning

Yeah, ain't that hell?

Thanks for those added instructions. They are pretty well ingrained into my brain by now because I must have watched Colin's turorials about 20 times by now. I was confused, at first, by his mentioning several times to keep the throttle stick all the way down. My left throttle stick centers itself as does my right one. I then found out that I have one of the newer transmitters. Acually I like this newer one better.

Another interesting thing was that I read the Amazon customer reviews by many Phantom buyers who were miffed because there were no instructions in the box. The first thing that fell out of my Phantom package was an Instruction Book so I guess I got the latest version of the machine.
 
Couldn't check out my Phantom today because for the first time in many, many days here in sunny California it became cloudy. So I didn't think my bird would be able to see many satellites and allow me to calibrate my compass.

While I wait for the clouds to roll by, let me throw out a question. When I power on my Phantom I get a steady, flashing yellow light. I wait for it to do something else to indicate that it may be warming up, but all it does is produce that flashing yellow light. Is that because the compass isn't calibrated? Or is that normal? When I get it to where it can see some satellites will it react differently? what should I see when I power up inside the house?
 
clouds will have no bearing on satellite signal acquisition so don't let that stop you flying
wind is another mater Beaufort 3 max ie 10mph is too much wind
Compass calibration does not rely on any of the above so go ahead and do that asap
The lites flash yellow on mine for 2 or 3 minutes before settling in and giving you an indication of the phantom's status
 
Thanks Halfpipe. I'm going out in about an hour or two to try and calibrate my compass and fly my Phantom. I will post the results after I do or die. :roll:
 
O.K. I have determined that I cannot attain the GPS Mode in the area in back of my house. There is not enough room and too many trees for my Phantom to see enough satellites, if any at all. I will have to go farther back on my daughter's property to find an open area. I cannot do that today because I have no one to assist me and I cannot do it alone.

I did, however, fly my Phantom in Attitude Mode, so I know it flies well, if nothing else. That is, unill I crashed it into a tree :oops: (There's that 'not enough room' I was talking about). I was prepared for the worst, but there was absolutely no damage to the Phantom. Knock on my wooden head.

The one thing that still bothers me is the fact that when I power up I get that slow flashing yellow light that I still can't seem to get a real explanation about.
 
The yellow blink has 2 meanings:

1) Just powered... the phantom IMU is warming and initializing all the electronics.
2) After warming, that means you have stick in ATTI mode.
 
Jumanoc, you said, "Just powered... the phantom IMU is warming and initializing all the electronics ". Yes, that was my understanding, but I have let it warm and initialize for as long as forty minutes and it does nothing but flash the yellow light.

Is that because it cannot see any of the satellites or does that signify a defect in the electronics?
 
When no satellites lcked, the flash leds are RED not YELLOW. So my tought is that it is in ATTi mode. Can you start the motors ?
 
jumanoc said:
When no satellites lcked, the flash leds are RED not YELLOW. So my tought is that it is in ATTi mode. Can you start the motors ?

Yes, I can start the motors and, as I already said, I can fly it in Attitude Mode.
 
halfpipe said:
the compass needs to be calibrated before you get greeen lites

Yes, but my major problem is that I can't calibrate the compass. I get nothing but the slowly flashing yellow light.

SO, I ask once more, is that because the Phantom cannot see any satellites? :|
 
Definitively nop... No satellites gives RED leds not YELLOW.
Did you tried to activate manually moving 10 times right stick from GPS-ATTI ? Start in GPS position and ends in GPS position too.
 
jumanoc said:
Definitively nop... No satellites gives RED leds not YELLOW.
Did you tried to activate manually moving 10 times right stick from GPS-ATTI ? Start in GPS position and ends in GPS position too.

C'mon guy! Give me credit for being able to read the simple, basic directions in the manuals. I may be 84 years old, but my mental faculties are not completely gone. I appreciate the fact that you are sincerely trying to help me, but you don't do that by insulting my intelligence. I was building rubber band powered airplanes when your grandmother was in diapers. :cry:
 
It took me numerous attempts as well
keep repeating the compass calibration until you're successful and get the lite colors as indicated in the manual and reboot between each attempt by 1st unplugging the battery then switching off the transmitter.
Satellites DO NOT have anything to do with compass calibration. The electronic compass wants to find magnetic north for orientation purposes. "Think gold rush prospector with a compass in his hand" no satellites back then but compass to find North were used.
After the reboot do as the poor fellow you just tore a strip off suggested. Flick the switch multiple times to tell tthe system you are attempting a compass calibration . Large metal objects close by or even buried in the ground underneath you WILL give you problems when calibrating so may be move to an open field
 
Chris,

This is what works for me, at least so far, turn on transmitter in GPS mode and set it down. For the first battery of a set of flights, place it in, power up Phantom and set it down and Phantom pointed away from the transmitter to establish IOC flight direction, thinking ahead to what makes a safe return to home flight path. Walk away and leave it alone until it has warmed up and found sufficient satellites. Don't touch it until that happens and the blinking LED is consistent. Now flick the switch and enter calibration mode and get the proper LED indications of a successful compass calibration. For me, this clear cut two step process isolates the functions and aids in troubleshooting.

Most of the whipper snappers here will not insult your intelligence, most.....

They will, however, question your experience and ability to read ChinaEnglish manuals. This is a good thing. It means less tree trimming incidents, less hitting the groom of the wedding party in the head and no unnecessary flights to China, joyfully called "flyways".

Have a great day.
 
halfpipe said:
It took me numerous attempts as well
keep repeating the compass calibration until you're successful and get the lite colors as indicated in the manual and reboot between each attempt by 1st unplugging the battery then switching off the transmitter.
Satellites DO NOT have anything to do with compass calibration. The electronic compass wants to find magnetic north for orientation purposes. "Think gold rush prospector with a compass in his hand" no satellites back then but compass to find North were used.
After the reboot do as the poor fellow you just tore a strip off suggested. Flick the switch multiple times to tell tthe system you are attempting a compass calibration . Large metal objects close by or even buried in the ground underneath you WILL give you problems when calibrating so may be move to an open field

Thank you halfpipe. For telling me something practical and not just repeating something basic from the manuals and then effectively asking the "old man" if he has enough brain cells left to follow that basic information. I didn't mean to get "cranky", but the information I wanted and can't seem to get is what does the slowly flashing yellow indication I get mean? The only reference I can find seems to say it means, "Transmitter signal lost", but since I can fire up the motors and even fly the machine, it can't mean that.
 
Buk said:
Chris,

This is what works for me, at least so far, turn on transmitter in GPS mode and set it down. For the first battery of a set of flights, place it in, power up Phantom and set it down and Phantom pointed away from the transmitter to establish IOC flight direction, thinking ahead to what makes a safe return to home flight path. Walk away and leave it alone until it has warmed up and found sufficient satellites. Don't touch it until that happens and the blinking LED is consistent. Now flick the switch and enter calibration mode and get the proper LED indications of a successful compass calibration. For me, this clear cut two step process isolates the functions and aids in troubleshooting.

Most of the whipper snappers here will not insult your intelligence, most.....

They will, however, question your experience and ability to read ChinaEnglish manuals. This is a good thing. It means less tree trimming incidents, less hitting the groom of the wedding party in the head and no unnecessary flights to China, joyfully called "flyways".

Have a great day.

Hi Buk,

You say, "Walk away and leave it alone until it has warmed up and found sufficient satellites. Don't touch it until that happens and the blinking LED is consistent." I have done that for as long as forty minutes and nothing happens but the slowly flashing yellow light.
 

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