Satellite positioning off after P3A shell replacement

[robbie4200]

So yesterday I replaced my P3A shell after not flying for 6 months because I noticed hairline cracks on one of the motor arms. After getting all internal parts into the new shell, I turned it on and got a message saying " satellite positioning off. Fly with caution." I have had my p3a since February of 2016 and have never seen this message before. The weird thing is, I was still picking up satellites. I was inside when doing this and had six satellites. I took it outside and got 17 satellites. But the message still remained on my screen. Home point was never recorded. Anyone know what that's about? I currently cannot start the motors because I damaged the compass wire during the shell replacement so I'm unable to find out if I will get a green "safe to fly" and home point recorded when motors start.
And speaking of the damaged compass wire, what a pain!! So i get the high electromagnetic field message now and all 0's on sensorsWhy on earth did they design the landing leg for the compass wire like that? Everything else about the shell replacement went easily except for this part. How in the world are you supposed to get the compass wire tucked behind the antenna without damaging it?

The notch in the plastic for the antenna wire and compass wire needs to go all the way down to the bottom of the channel to allow the wire to ride the bottom of the Channel all the way through. The damage came from snapping the end of the antenna in and rubbing it against the compass wire riding up the plastic to the notch. I ordered a new compass and I think I will use my soldering iron to melt that notch down to the bottom of the channel when I replace it. Hopefully that will work. Anyhow, until I am able to do that and then hopefully get the motors started, does anyone have any idea why I am getting the satellite positioning off message?

 

[robbie4200]

So yesterday I replaced my P3A shell after not flying for 6 months because I noticed hairline cracks on one of the motor arms. After getting all internal parts into the new shell, I turned it on and got a message saying " satellite positioning off. Fly with caution." I have had my p3a since February of 2016 and have never seen this message before. The weird thing is, I was still picking up satellites. I was inside when doing this and had six satellites. I took it outside and got 17 satellites. But the message still remained on my screen. Home point was never recorded. Anyone know what that's about? I currently cannot start the motors because I damaged the compass wire during the shell replacement so I'm unable to find out if I will get a green "safe to fly" and home point recorded when motors start.
And speaking of the damaged compass wire, what a pain!! So i get the high electromagnetic field message now and all 0's on sensorsWhy on earth did they design the landing leg for the compass wire like that? Everything else about the shell replacement went easily except for this part. How in the world are you supposed to get the compass wire tucked behind the antenna without damaging it? View attachment 95876 The notch in the plastic for the antenna wire and compass wire needs to go all the way down to the bottom of the channel to allow the wire to ride the bottom of the Channel all the way through. The damage came from snapping the end of the antenna in and rubbing it against the compass wire riding up the plastic to the notch. I ordered a new compass and I think I will use my soldering iron to melt that notch down to the bottom of the channel when I replace it. Hopefully that will work. Anyhow, until I am able to do that and then hopefully get the motors started, does anyone have any idea why I am getting the satellite positioning off message?

 

[robbie4200]

View attachment 95880

Also, when I try to start the motors I get this on my screen. Is this just because of the compass, or could it also be because of my firmware needs to be upgraded? I've flown with the same firmware up until six months ago. Just wondering if something has changed in those 6 months?

 

[Oso]

Without a working compass, your Phantom cannot hold its position regardless of GPS / Satellite status and it will default to ATTI mode. I'd guess the error message is just generic enough to cover a few different circumstances. In your case, the damaged compass.

 

[Oso]

Also, when I try to start the motors I get this on my screen. Is this just because of the compass, or could it also be because of my firmware needs to be upgraded? I've flown with the same firmware up until six months ago. Just wondering if something has changed in those 6 months?View attachment 95881

I think the last AC FW released (1.11.20) was in July. That doesn't mean you have to update. If I were you, I would make sure that everything is functional first before introducing troubleshooting variables such as changing FW on anything.

 

[sar104]

Without a working compass, your Phantom cannot hold its position regardless of GPS / Satellite status and it will default to ATTI mode. I'd guess the error message is just generic enough to cover a few different circumstances. In your case, the damaged compass.

That's correct. For the FC to operate in P-GPS mode it needs the IMU sensor package (accelerometers, rate gyros and magnetometers) to be functional and the data to be consistent with the GPS position and velocity data. If the compass is disconnected then it defaults (somewhat counter-intuitively) to ATTI mode and ignores the GPS data.

 

[robbie4200]

Ahh, thank you guys. I will replace the compass tomorrow, hopefully without damaging it this time. That should clear up the issue. I'm itching to fly!