P3 Compass Calibration

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Just curious if anyone felt it was completely necessary to do a CC before every flight as the manual says on page 44/45. I'm not sure if the P2V+ indicated the same or not but I believe it was pretty well accepted that it was probably better NOT to do a CC before every flight unless you were say a 100miles or more from the last place you did one. That an unnecessary risk of performing a CC before every flight introduced some level of risk such as not being totally aware of the Phantom picking up some magnetic source nearby and had you skipped CC it would have been just fine and flown correctly.

Does the same train of thought apply to the P3?
 
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Everytime I complete the 2 step calibration the calibration notification box disappears and the status lights blink green twice. But at the top menu there is a orange question mark next to calibration, does this mean I didnt do the calibration right?
 
Just curious if anyone felt it was completely necessary to do a CC before every flight as the manual says on page 44/45. I'm not sure if the P2V+ indicated the same or not
Here's what the manuals say for P2V+ and P3
i-c3cKq7w-L.jpg

Not much difference. DJI have once again avoided explaining what constitutes a new location but have definitely NOT suggested calibrating every flight..

Reading the Inspire forum, there are Inspire flyers happily flying without calibrating every flight and given the way calibration works, this makes sense. The P3 should tell you if it detects that the local magnetic field is significantly different from what it is used to - the same way the P2 does..
 
Not a P3'er and don't have OSD but I 'test the cal' before every flight.
Full throttle Up, hover at 10-15ft., fly a box or similar snappy pattern, test for hover.
If it moves as it should, good to go!

When I swapped Tx/Rx to Futaba I did not cal the compass after the Rx swap. I wanted to see the effect(s).
It was obvious immediately upon take-off that it was not behaving normal.

Landed, calibrated, all good!
 
DJI have once again avoided explaining what constitutes a new location but have definitely NOT suggested calibrating every flight..


Not to dispute what your saying but I'm not sure what you mean by saying they have "Definitely NOT suggested every flight. This is taken from page 45.

P3CC.JPG


I agree they have definitely avoided explaining what constitutes a new location and I like what you said about the Inspire 1 owners not having to CC before each flight so I may stick to the same 100miles radius rules I did with my P2V+.

N017RW's suggestions seem pretty sound advice as well.
 
To me it's clear when it says "every new flight location". Meaning, if I'm at a different field, any different field, I'm doing a CC. It has always worked for me in the past anyway, so I'm sticking with it. The time it takes to do a CC beats the possible "oh sh!t" feeling of me wishing I had done it, IMHO.


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Hmm ... my quote above was from the P3 manual page 43.
Here's what they have on P45
i-gtmGqCg-L.jpg

DJI should sort this out as it's very confusing for flyers that don't understand compass calibration.
By saying every new location, they have people wondering if that means 50 metres away or 50 miles. And too many without understanding re-write the rules so they think every flight (even after just a new battery) is even better.

Experience has shown that for the P2, you can travel 100 miles or so without needing recalibration and that you can go for weeks or even months without re-doing it.
When my P3 arrives, I'll be cautious but check to see if the compass cal thing is similar to the P2.
The main thing is that your compass understands the earth's local magnetic field where you are flying - not on the ground where you launch, but up in the air where it will be flying. This doesn't change over small distances.
 
+1. Esp, the last paragraph.

That's been my case too.

I actually travelled 600 miles, one way, (but it was nearly along the same declination line) and back including airport scanners with no probs. while away or after returning home.

YMMV
 
I've never calibrated for every flight. I only do it if I move more than say 100 miles or it doesn't fly straight. Since the jhook firmware fix maybe 9 months ago i really only calibrate after a big move. That's 350 flights on 3 continents, 4 countries and several US states.
 
Dear Members,
I calibrate my compass one time before I fly anywhere.
I live in Florida and the weather conditions change everyday along with the satellite interference.
I do this as a habit.
My question is can calibrating so much cause any harm to the Phantom?
Best Regards,
William E. Burrows Jr.
 
Just check your sense mods before each flight. I like my compass mod to be between 1475-1525 . The only time I recalibrate is if it's not in that range and after all firmware updates I calibrate everything . Each time you calibrate you run the risk of introducing a bad compass calibration into your phantom. So always check your sensors before each flight and calibrate accordingly.
 
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Dear Members,
I calibrate my compass one time before I fly anywhere.
I live in Florida and the weather conditions change everyday along with the satellite interference.
I do this as a habit.
My question is can calibrating so much cause any harm to the Phantom?
Weather and GPS are unrelated to the compass.
Calibrating the compass so often is unnecessary and does nothing to make your flying any safer.
If you do it properly in a good location, it doesn't cause a problem - but frequent unnecessary calibration introduces the risk of getting a bad calibration from doing it in a bad location.
That can be dangerous to your flying.

Read this for some understanding of what compass calibration is all about and when it is important.
Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer | DJI Phantom Forum
 
I agree. I used to calibrate every time but a few times weird things happen such as unstable landings and RTH had to be overridden. Now I do it only if I'm a long way from my normal home area. I haven't had any problems since. I suspect the compass is easily affected by metal objects such as steel in concrete, screws or nails in decks and electricity wires nearby. Do a CC but only if you are in a big open area.
 
Just check your sense mods before each flight. I like my compass mod to be between 1475-1525 . The only time I recalibrate is if it's not in that range and after all firmware updates I calibrate everything . Each time you calibrate you run the risk of introducing a bad compass calibration into your phantom. So always check your sensors before each flight and calibrate accordingly.
This^^^
 
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