Taking my P2 to the lake this weekend and would like to do some filming while out ON the lake....since this is away from the current home point (my house) should I recalibrate compass for close to the shoreline or how else should I approach?
Recalibrate compass for boat use?
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I would calibrate the compass on shore before leaving on the boat.
Do it somewhere away from metal objects like on the beach rather than on the dock/pier.
Have fun.
Do it somewhere away from metal objects like on the beach rather than on the dock/pier.
Have fun.
How far from house? I wouldn't unless it was significant. But then again, I'm not in the calibrate before every flight group.
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Hmmmmm, good luck with flying from a boat. On YouTube there are a number of very good movies done from a boat, but nearly as many with the Phantom trying to swim.
One guy used a GPS to get the exact position incase he had to use RTH, and ran his boat back to that position to catch his Phantom.
One tip I saw was someone cut floats out of Polystyrene which looked great, and the Phantom was landing on Water a treat...
As for calibrating your compass, remember the outboard will have a magnet in it, so if you do it, do it up the pointy end of the boat me thinks...
Calibrating the compass doesn't set the Home Point thou... You have to wait for the Phantom to set the current launch site position to set that.
One guy used a GPS to get the exact position incase he had to use RTH, and ran his boat back to that position to catch his Phantom.
One tip I saw was someone cut floats out of Polystyrene which looked great, and the Phantom was landing on Water a treat...
As for calibrating your compass, remember the outboard will have a magnet in it, so if you do it, do it up the pointy end of the boat me thinks...
Calibrating the compass doesn't set the Home Point thou... You have to wait for the Phantom to set the current launch site position to set that.
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Flying around water, I put my floaties on. Made out of noodles. They are not for landing. Just for recovery in case of a crash. 3 pieces of the noodle will keep it from sinking completely in a crash. I don't cover the leg with the compass, although I have tested it and it doesn't seem to make a difference. They take about 2 minutes off the flight time.
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ianwood
Taco Wrangler
AndysAdventures said:
Depending on the iron (or other metal) content of the sand, that could be a bad idea.
iResq said:
Miles away, based on previous experience...Thinking that it's not the best idea although I did pick up a GetterBack for exactly this purpose. So compass calibration does just that....powering unit on on shore would establish a new RTH location, right?
Meta4
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So would flying over to a good looking shore location and recording a new home point while hovering there if you are close enough for that to be workable. You didn't say how many miles away the lake is. The whole calibration thing is to adjust for magnetic variation. If you are only say 20 miles away, the difference in magnetic variation would be zero to negligible. If you are driving 500 miles to the lake the difference would be more (but probably still not much).
The comments about magnetic effects of the boat are missing the point that you want your compass to work while you are flying - not on the boat. Any calibration should be done on the shore.
And last thing ... hand catching is probably the way to go on a boat unless it's very big with a large, open flat area.
The comments about magnetic effects of the boat are missing the point that you want your compass to work while you are flying - not on the boat. Any calibration should be done on the shore.
And last thing ... hand catching is probably the way to go on a boat unless it's very big with a large, open flat area.
Meta4 said:
It's about 90 miles away. Appreciate the insight....i keep thinking CC is tied to marking home location....what's best way to ensure that's done correctly?
I have done several boat launches from a boat and have only done the calibration on the boat at anchor NOT on the beach. Our boat is small and we have to launch and retrieve by hand. I have had many successful flights but you only have ONE LAST FLIGHT! We were in Islamorada, Fl (late June 2014) at a sandbar and flew my Phantom version 1.2 and took some great photos and one last video. Here are some photos and the last video that has ever flown. I was able to salvage the motors.
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR THE LAST SECONDS OF PHANTOM LIFE
http://www.jimandsusan.com/last-phantom-flight.html
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR THE LAST SECONDS OF PHANTOM LIFE
http://www.jimandsusan.com/last-phantom-flight.html
ianwood said:
Hmm..ok. So maybe do the calibration on a grassy area near the beach instead.
Thanks. I'm planning on taking my Phantom to Hawaii later this year, so I'll keep that in mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp3TqA7Pv64 Here are some tips from some one thats done a lot of boat shots.
Tip number 4 is an especially important tip and should not be over looked if you can at all help it. Tho I could also see tip #4 making a lot of people crash on purpose. Or make it hard to keep your eye in the phantom when its flying. BUT still a very important tip if you are going to mix boating with flying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp3TqA7Pv64
Tip number 4 is an especially important tip and should not be over looked if you can at all help it. Tho I could also see tip #4 making a lot of people crash on purpose. Or make it hard to keep your eye in the phantom when its flying. BUT still a very important tip if you are going to mix boating with flying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp3TqA7Pv64
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I fly with my jetski sometimes, just calibrate on shore and set your home point on shore so if it goes into RTH mode it will land on land, not water. If you change batteries out on the lake your home point will reset so keep that in mind. Hand catching from a boat is easy.
Last time I flew on the lake I reached my set distance limit of 2000 meters and it wouldn't go any farther than that from the home point. So if you want to fly it long distance you will need to set your distance limit accordingly in the software.
Last time I flew on the lake I reached my set distance limit of 2000 meters and it wouldn't go any farther than that from the home point. So if you want to fly it long distance you will need to set your distance limit accordingly in the software.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Biggest risk on a boat is IMU initialization. You need to keep it in a consistent orientation and free from vibration during the first 10 or so seconds after startup so the IMU can stabilize properly.
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