P4P+ Misbehaving - Help - Solved Remove gimbal guard

[Jonathanr007]

I recently upgraded from the Mavic Pro (series 1) to the Phantom 4 Pro+. The Mavic was extremely easy to learn to fly and extremely stable, even in relatively high wind situations. However, the Phantom is much more difficult to fly. It drifts ALL THE TIME, even in Tripod Mode when there is no wind at all. It makes me very nervous to fly this drone. I've gone through all the calibrations that are required as well as the firmware updates. What could I be doing wrong?

I also get a warning every time I fly about wireless interference. I'm not flying in any new locations, and I never got this warning with the Mavic. Again, what am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Jonathan

 

[LarBear360]

I don't have a P4 but drifting is indicative of lack of GPS (ATTI MODE) on my P3. Sounds elementary, but check your settings.

 

[Meta4]

However, the Phantom is much more difficult to fly. It drifts ALL THE TIME, even in Tripod Mode when there is no wind at all. It makes me very nervous to fly this drone.

Your Phantom should not be drifting at all.
There are a few possible explanations but more info is needed to zero in on a possible cause.
Can you describe the drifting in more detail? .. what exactly are you seeing?
Where are you seeing this drifting? How high are you and what is the ground surface below the Phantom?
And of course just to eliminate the obvious .... you are operating it outdoors with a good view of most of the sky?

I've gone through all the calibrations that are required as well as the firmware updates. What could I be doing wrong?

You shouldn't need to recalibrate anything.

I also get a warning every time I fly about wireless interference. I'm not flying in any new locations, and I never got this warning with the Mavic. Again, what am I doing wrong?

You are flying in an area with interference - most urban areas are full of it.
The Mavic only operates on 2.4 GHz but your Phantom gives you a choice of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz.
If interference is a problem, try swapping to the alternative frequency band.

 

[Jonathanr007]

I don't have a P4 but drifting is indicative of lack of GPS (ATTI MODE) on my P3. Sounds elementary, but check your settings.

Thank you. I usually fly in GPS mode (p) option using the toggle switch on the controller

 

[Jonathanr007]

Your Phantom should not be drifting at all.
There are a few possible explanations but more info is needed to zero in on a possible cause.

Agreed.

Can you describe the drifting in more detail? .. what exactly are you seeing?

The drone tends to drift backwards. I have to constantly correct by flying forward to maintain position.

Where are you seeing this drifting? How high are you and what is the ground surface below the Phantom?

The most recent instance was this evening. I was taking pictures of the roof of my apartment building (we are putting on a new roof). I was about 60 feet off the ground. The ground surface is concrete and asphalt, along with normal housing roof tops.

And of course just to eliminate the obvious .... you are operating it outdoors with a good view of most of the sky?

Yes.

You shouldn't need to recalibrate anything.

I was having trouble landing, it would not descend at more than a snails pace. DJI suggested recalibrating the downward VPS. I have done that, but the drone still descends painfully slow. I have never experience descent problems with the Mavic.

You are flying in an area with interference - most urban areas are full of it.
The Mavic only operates on 2.4 GHz but your Phantom gives you a choice of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz.
If interference is a problem, try swapping to the alternative frequency band.

Will do for next outing tomorrow, I need progress photos of the roof. If the 2.4GHz operates so well, what is the point of the 5.8GHz?

Again, thank you for your help!

 

[Meta4]

The drone tends to drift backwards. I have to constantly correct by flying forward to maintain position.

Are you saying it wants to go backwards and keep going backwards ... or just wander around a little?
If it's steadily trying to go back and keep going, the RC controller calibration is an obvious area to look into to make sure the joystick input is zero-ed properly.
How high above teh roof are you having this problem, what kind of roof and does the Phantom drift out in open air away from the roof?

I was having trouble landing, it would not descend at more than a snails pace. DJI suggested recalibrating the downward VPS. I have done that, but the drone still descends painfully slow.
Cleaning and recalibrating the sensors may be what's required.
Otherwise, do you have a gimble guard fitted that could be blocking the downward view of the sensors?

If the 2.4GHz operates so well, what is the point of the 5.8GHz?

The point is that in an environment that's got a lot of interference on one band, you have an alternative band that might get you away from the problem.

 

[Jonathanr007]

Are you saying it wants to go backwards and keep going backwards ... or just wander around a little?
If it's steadily trying to go back and keep going, the RC controller calibration is an obvious area to look into to make sure the joystick input is zero-ed properly.

I have tried calibrating the controller, but the problem persists. I will try again. Are there any tips to make sure that I'm properly zero'd out? It may be operator error during calibration.

How high above teh roof are you having this problem, what kind of roof and does the Phantom drift out in open air away from the roof?

Approximately 40 feet above the roof, I've attached a photo i took this evening. Its a flat roof, rolled on (not shingle, wood shake, or spanish tile). Yes, it drifts away from the building, but no because the obstacle sensors see anything in front of it.

Cleaning and recalibrating the sensors may be what's required.
Otherwise, do you have a gimble guard fitted that could be blocking the downward view of the sensors?

I will clean and recalibrate. Also, I do have a gimbal guard attached. I have it directly below the gimbal. I'll try landing without it attached and see if there is a difference.

The point is that in an environment that's got a lot of interference on one band, you have an alternative band that might get you away from the problem.

That makes sense.

 

[Techcop50]

That gimbal guard is probably messing with your downward VPS. Get rid of it.

 

[Jonathanr007]

Thank you all. The gimbal guard was indeed the problem. I removed it and it flew just fine. I was stable in light wind and positioning was pretty solid after it stopped and hovered for a about 10 seconds. I think I might need to adjust my braking speed a little, but it's flying as expected now.

Again, thank you all.

 

[AirMan05446]

Thank you all. The gimbal guard was indeed the problem. I removed it and it flew just fine. I was stable in light wind and positioning was pretty solid after it stopped and hovered for a about 10 seconds. I think I might need to adjust my braking speed a little, but it's flying as expected now.

Again, thank you all.

Glad you got it sorted. I learned the hard way about putting stuff underneath and messing with the VPS system.