My Phantom just started acting up this week. Unti then I consistantly got between 8 and 12 sats and never a drop while filming. Now I do good to get to 6. I've tried the last 4 days and cannot get a good lock with 5 being the norm now. I've had no crashes or even a rough landing ever. I pride myself on the smoothness I can set it down. Pretty frustrating to say the least.
satellites drop slightly when recording video - SOLVED
- Thread starter smokiespliff
- Start date
I've never lost any while recording. Problem is that all this week I haven't been able to get up to 6 satellites. I typically get around 10.
I decided to do the foil mod after my very 1st flight as when I hit the record button my P2V+ went straight into ATTI mode. It was a breezy day and was drifting quickly but thankfully managed to control it back towards me and only had a very minor roll over crash.
Initially I used ordinary kitchen foil which helped a lot but was still losing sats when recording.
Recently I changed to copper foil tape which improved things further and was more stable but still went into ATTI temporally.
Reading through this thread I have just tried placing an anti-static bag cut to size between the gimbal and the body of my P2V+ which seems to have worked.
Bearing in mind that I tested this indoors the results were very good:
Copper tape without anti-static bag: 5/6 satellites
Copper tape without anti-static bag recording in 1080p: 3/4 satellites
Copper tape with anti-static bag: 7/8 satellites
Copper tape with anti-static bag recording in 1080p: 7/8 satellites!
I left the P2V+ in the same position and kept removing and placing the anti-static bag with the same results over and over. As soon as I removed the bag while recording the sats dropped from a steady 7 to 3/4. As soon as I placed the bag back whilst still recording the sats shot back up to 7/8.
It is well worth a try if you have done the foil mod but are still suffering from sat drop when recording in 1080p.
Hope my findings help, and many thanks to all that have posted as I will feel much more confident flying in GPS mode from now on.
Regards, Jeppeson2001
Initially I used ordinary kitchen foil which helped a lot but was still losing sats when recording.
Recently I changed to copper foil tape which improved things further and was more stable but still went into ATTI temporally.
Reading through this thread I have just tried placing an anti-static bag cut to size between the gimbal and the body of my P2V+ which seems to have worked.
Bearing in mind that I tested this indoors the results were very good:
Copper tape without anti-static bag: 5/6 satellites
Copper tape without anti-static bag recording in 1080p: 3/4 satellites
Copper tape with anti-static bag: 7/8 satellites
Copper tape with anti-static bag recording in 1080p: 7/8 satellites!
I left the P2V+ in the same position and kept removing and placing the anti-static bag with the same results over and over. As soon as I removed the bag while recording the sats dropped from a steady 7 to 3/4. As soon as I placed the bag back whilst still recording the sats shot back up to 7/8.
It is well worth a try if you have done the foil mod but are still suffering from sat drop when recording in 1080p.
Hope my findings help, and many thanks to all that have posted as I will feel much more confident flying in GPS mode from now on.
Regards, Jeppeson2001
I used ordinary kitchen foil for 4 layer and added the last layer with (a4) paper for non conduct electricity and i think it will reduce static electricity too. I tested it and it show 8 sat without drop when hit recording. 
jeppeson2001 said:
Interesting results, thanks for posting this. I saw the issue for the first time this morning, and it was dramatic - 10 sats dropped to 4 when I started recording. As I haven't voided my warranty yet, I think I'll try an external anti-static layer by itself & report back after my next flight.
Ok,
Got the Ebay bought camera replacement In to replace my broken original bird..
Much better results then with the new one tried.
Same spot I tested from, 8-10 Sats.. and to 8-7 when on full 1080P 60 stretched record mode.
(Same spot with new out of the box P2+ with newer serial#s only got bearly 6 Sats.. and would drop to 2-3 when in record mode.
I might try moving the Ebay camera replacement on the new P2+.. I bet you it'll be like 8-10Sats too.
It's the whole camera / gimbal unit Folks.. must be a bad batch or a huge bunch of bad batches.
Noticed the camera serial# that has an older less number are the better ones glitch free ones.
Hopefully not all the new cameras jam all P2+ birds.
Can everyone having an issue or was Post the first few digits of your Camera Gimble sticker on top of it?
Got the Ebay bought camera replacement In to replace my broken original bird..
Much better results then with the new one tried.
Same spot I tested from, 8-10 Sats.. and to 8-7 when on full 1080P 60 stretched record mode.
(Same spot with new out of the box P2+ with newer serial#s only got bearly 6 Sats.. and would drop to 2-3 when in record mode.
I might try moving the Ebay camera replacement on the new P2+.. I bet you it'll be like 8-10Sats too.
It's the whole camera / gimbal unit Folks.. must be a bad batch or a huge bunch of bad batches.
Noticed the camera serial# that has an older less number are the better ones glitch free ones.
Hopefully not all the new cameras jam all P2+ birds.
Can everyone having an issue or was Post the first few digits of your Camera Gimble sticker on top of it?
My model is pv331 with ser no ph645367137 v2.0 This issue is a pain in the a**. Dont think its the gimbal because i never moved my gimbal only switched on video and sat drop is worse the higher resolution i use .Its sometimes ok in 480 but i did not buy the thing to record stuff in this resolution.
Mixed results with a single layer of anti-static bag between the gimbal and body; instead of being stuck at 4-5 sats all flight, I bounced back and forth between 5-6. Since that kept the Phantom switching itself between ATTI and GPS, I flipped it to ATTI by hand. No clear evidence that the difference was the static bag rather than than time of day. Next round, I'll make the shield a little bigger with a couple more layers.
The S/N on my gimbal starts with BH2015, and I'm definitely having this problem.
I want to get a Flytrex, but that's a tricky decision; it seems wise to wait and see if the EMI problem is under warranty before cracking open the shell.
The S/N on my gimbal starts with BH2015, and I'm definitely having this problem.
I want to get a Flytrex, but that's a tricky decision; it seems wise to wait and see if the EMI problem is under warranty before cracking open the shell.
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You guys aren't going to believe me but here's what just happened to me; I didn't really have a problem with video interference, but the stories of people getting more satellite reception inspired me to try the foil trick (and looping the GPS cable back under the shielding). I bought foil tape, and taped all over and covered it in packaging tape for insulation.
Here's what happens now: when I start video, my number of GPS satellites would drop! In fact it was so bad I couldn't get a distance read when filming (see screenshot below), it'd just say N/A.
Again I didn't have this problem BEFORE the tinfoil, so...like the opposite of the success story everyone is reporting. For me adding foil actually CAUSED the problem you're all trying to solve.
Anyone know what's going on? I ripped out the tinfoil and it seems back to normal...thanks!
Here's what happens now: when I start video, my number of GPS satellites would drop! In fact it was so bad I couldn't get a distance read when filming (see screenshot below), it'd just say N/A.
Again I didn't have this problem BEFORE the tinfoil, so...like the opposite of the success story everyone is reporting. For me adding foil actually CAUSED the problem you're all trying to solve.
Anyone know what's going on? I ripped out the tinfoil and it seems back to normal...thanks!
Attachments
After loads of messing around/testing last night me and my mate were unable to recreate the problem he had originally.
We removed the copper tape we previously put in and it still worked with just one satelite lost going from 8 to 7 although sometimes it came back again or even jumped to 9.
We tried loads of combinations but just couldn't get it to loose GPS lock like it had before.
Got fustrating in the end as nothing seemed to improve or even worsen the lock we were getting.
We removed the copper tape we previously put in and it still worked with just one satelite lost going from 8 to 7 although sometimes it came back again or even jumped to 9.
We tried loads of combinations but just couldn't get it to loose GPS lock like it had before.
Got fustrating in the end as nothing seemed to improve or even worsen the lock we were getting.
I dont think folks have a clue whats the story with the sat drop out some folks have has sucess and some not you are the first person i have read about it made it worse i presume you covered the foil with a non conductive covering ?.jwegener said:
If i had not spent loads on new antennas i would sell my p2v+ and buy a p2 and fit my own video source or a Walkera Tali h500 , which i might still do if i cant cure this issue as filming in 480 aint what i want.
Can the title of this thread be edited? The " - SOLVED" part makes it seems like the article is about to describe how this problem was, well, "SOLVED." Reading through the postings,however, seems to suggest that "- UNSOLVED," might be a little more accurate.
lakislambrianides said:
Just part of the test process.
It didnt seem to be doing much to be fair,maybe one extra sat but nothing that was causing it to totally loose a GPS lock for all the time we tested.
The biggest improvement came by removing the GPS unit from the top of the shell and just holding it about 3 inches in the air.
Seems to me that mounting it externally would eliminate the need for any other measures.
Been out today and problem persists.
Without any extra sheilding and wifi on all is well,get enough sats for a GPS lock.
As soon as we hit recording on the app it drops to less than 5.
We also tried leaving the wifi on and connected and again all was well,as soon as we started a manual record the lock was lost.
Therefore the problem does indeed seem to be coming from the camera and not the wifi directly.
Without any extra sheilding and wifi on all is well,get enough sats for a GPS lock.
As soon as we hit recording on the app it drops to less than 5.
We also tried leaving the wifi on and connected and again all was well,as soon as we started a manual record the lock was lost.
Therefore the problem does indeed seem to be coming from the camera and not the wifi directly.
Dji will say there is not a problem yet they have told folks to re route the gps cable so they are aware people are getting sat drop out when switching on video.lakislambrianides said:
Its what they do next that shows what type of company they are.
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I did full mod today with aluminium sticky tape and it works - got 11 satellites quite fast. Before with only GPS cable under original DJI shielding and metal foil above gimbal I got +1-2 sats (7-8 instead of 5-7 in my place). As per http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com/
I should get max 12 now in the evening, so it is OK, Phantom was sitting on the ground. Still -1 sat (11 >>10) when recording, but now there is reserve of 5
I used TESA aluminum sticky tape from local shop, cost aprox 6 USD
http://www.tesa.com/consumer/products/tesa_aluminium_tape,c.html
I put 2- layers, then metal foil one layer and then std. sticky brown tape to prevent shorting. I also covered GPS cable.
I should get max 12 now in the evening, so it is OK, Phantom was sitting on the ground. Still -1 sat (11 >>10) when recording, but now there is reserve of 5
I used TESA aluminum sticky tape from local shop, cost aprox 6 USD
http://www.tesa.com/consumer/products/tesa_aluminium_tape,c.html
I put 2- layers, then metal foil
one layer and then std. sticky brown tape to prevent shorting. I also covered GPS cable.
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