Randomly looses GPS lock. Help needed!

[Cole T]

Hey there! I recently bought a phantom 2 vision+ and I have had a very hard time achieving GPS lock. I have flown it about 10 times, and every time, I have been forced to take off without GPS signal. It usually says it has 3-5 satellites. Then, once I gain about 100' I usually get a GPS lock for about a minute, and then suddenly it looses it for a few minutes, and from there, it goes in and out of GPS lock. I have tried it in 2 different locations; a large parking lot, and a frozen lake. Every flight has been under 25 degrees F. Any ideas? Its really scary because the second it looses GPS lock, a light breeze will send it flying in any given direction.

Would cloud cover or wind make a large difference? Even so, only 4 of those flights were on cloudy days.

I appreciate any input!

 

[J Dot]

hello,
We've had issues with the plus not getting good sats, due to internal wifi module
Causing RF interference,
Most are taking this route: ( or something similar copper foil mod, ect. )


Link to eBay auction
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=251887316481

This is a nice review, from a notable source: Simon Newton
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qp2Xdc4DfQ[/youtube]

Hope this helps,
Your friend,
J Dot

 

[Cole T]

I just did that same thing with 2 layers of tin foil and it worked!! In a place where I originally had 3-5 satellites, I'm now getting 8-10!! Thanks for the link!

 

[Francis Roy]

hello,
We've had issues with the plus not getting good sats, due to internal wifi module
Causing RF interference,
Most are taking this route: ( or something similar copper foil mod, ect. )


Link to eBay auction
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=251887316481

This is a nice review, from a notable source: Simon Newton
[youtube]

Hope this helps,
Your friend,
J Dot

I am new Phantom 2 vis plus ver 3
And never Fly whith it....
But I get gps booster
Is it dangerous to Instal it because I have ver 3?
DJI have significantly improved the GPS module shielding on the Phantom V3.0 leading many to associate this with the issue of fly aways and slow GPS lock. Improve your Phantom 1/Phantom 2 shielding with a GPS Booster

 

[msinger]

Here are a few things you can do:

1) Install your own copper shielding:
HOW TO: Install copper foil shield (fix low satellite count) | DJI Phantom Forum

2) Install the Buzzcam GPS Booster.

3) Wrap the exposed section of the GPS cable with copper foil if you have a P2V+ version 2. The cable is already wrapped in the version 3.

4) Clip 5mm or 7mm ferrites on the camera/gimbal cables. Both sizes of ferrities are needed since the cables are different sizes. This is not necessary for the P2V+ version 3 since DJI already did it.

5) While your Phantom shell is off, it's a good idea to tighten the GPS cable:
A fix for GPS loss during video recording | DJI Phantom Forum

Note: While the P2V+ version 3 does have better shielding over the GPS module, some have seen improvement by adding another layer of copper and/or installing the Buzzcam GPS Booster

 

[andrew]

I was having a hard time getting GPS signals in my yard... I put a couple layers of foil as per the video and now I'm getting 7-8 SAT locks very quickly. This was an easy mod and extremely helpful!

 

[cjmwales]

I've just fixed the very same issue with my phantom - I started out with the foil mod but that made little difference; then I went for the upgraded GPS receiver block (twice as thick!) and yesterday I was flying around with 11 sats, which is downright nuts, with or without video recording.

If I were you I wouldn't fly your P2 until you have the GPS issues sorted out. It's good to practice in ATTI mode out of choice, but you may find that you're hovering somewhere, you get distracted, the sat lock is lost & your UAV is drifting away calmly. It only takes a few seconds for things to get out of control. When I fly ATTI I'm aware that I have to correct for wind or inertia myself.