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satellites drop slightly when recording video - SOLVED
- Thread starter smokiespliff
- Start date
Well done Mr Drone Bandit glad this worked for you , this fix seems like a 50% chance it will work from reading the posts on here and other forums but for the folks which have had no sucess its a pain .I might try Ferrite rings round the cables as these do reduce rf but its getting one's small enough might be an issue.
fastsmiles said:Guess I'm off to buy aluminum tape
Copper tape worked for me. Aluminium tape didn't help me. Still dropped whilst recording.
And ensure you wrap it around the exposed part of the GPS cable.
Obviously ensuring you insulate all metal tape with a relevant insulation tape.
Copper is better at stopping emi apparently, presumably why DJI use it in their shielding.
Hth
Well we had another person say just the aluminum worked better than copper. Aluminum worked fine for me.
Not sure if I would call this solved. This may help some people and I would say it definitely helps with the speed and overall satellite reception but this is what I found. I had this same issue, I would lose about 60-75% of my satellites the moment I started recording. Another V+ I had, had no issues while recording. First I tried the foil trick using the tape from Home Depot on both Phantoms. It increased the number of satellites both got while not recording. The Phantom that works perfectly would have about 11 satellites while the other would have 7-8. The moment I would start recording, the perfect one would stay at 11, the other would drop to 3-4. Swapped the GPS between units to see if it fixed it to no avail. Swapped the Wifi module between units and it also made no difference. I also did the tin foil mod during these swaps to keep the tests the same.
Called DJI... 4-6 weeks for a repair. Not exactly satisfactory.
As much as I don't want to return the quad, I feel like I should - shoddy manufacturing on a $1200 copter isn't good business.
As much as I don't want to return the quad, I feel like I should - shoddy manufacturing on a $1200 copter isn't good business.
Going back to the idea of externally mounting the GPS.
The cable as it is is too short to reach outside the shell easily,is there a extension available or is it a case of cutting into it and extending it with some normal wire?
Also would it be possible to mount a Naza type puck GPS onto the Phantom?
The EXP port on the flight controller has a connection in it already which I assume is the existing GPS connection even though it comes from the main board rather than the GPS unit itself.
It looks to me like the GPS "data" and compass "data" (coming from the compass unit on the leg) are combined on the main board before going into the flight controller given the proximity of the connection ports and wires etc.
The Naza puck is a combined GPS/compass so I was wondering if it could just be plugged into the flight controller once the current cable was removed,the cable would fit,but would you also need to disconnect the existing compass unit on the leg?
I know this isn't the Vision Plus 2 but the connections I am referring to are the same.
The cable as it is is too short to reach outside the shell easily,is there a extension available or is it a case of cutting into it and extending it with some normal wire?
Also would it be possible to mount a Naza type puck GPS onto the Phantom?
The EXP port on the flight controller has a connection in it already which I assume is the existing GPS connection even though it comes from the main board rather than the GPS unit itself.
It looks to me like the GPS "data" and compass "data" (coming from the compass unit on the leg) are combined on the main board before going into the flight controller given the proximity of the connection ports and wires etc.
The Naza puck is a combined GPS/compass so I was wondering if it could just be plugged into the flight controller once the current cable was removed,the cable would fit,but would you also need to disconnect the existing compass unit on the leg?
I know this isn't the Vision Plus 2 but the connections I am referring to are the same.
I'm attempting this mod right now, and after scanning all 35 pages on the topic I'm still unclear about one thing. Are the people that are getting good results covering the entire gps cable before folding it under the original shielding, or just the part that's exposed after finishing the new layer of aluminum?
I only covered the cable +a few mm that was showing after i tucked it under the sheilding .Some type of filter is required i think to cure this problem ferrite rings round the camera cables might work ! but it will be a pain as the cables are flat and it would be better if they were round .
Mounting the gps 50ft away might also help
Mounting the gps 50ft away might also help
Dji might be using your quad as a tester to try and resolve the problem which they know exists .queue said:
saltire said:I only covered the cable +a few mm that was showing after i tucked it under the sheilding .Some type of filter is required i think to cure this problem ferrite rings round the camera cables might work ! but it will be a pain as the cables are flat and it would be better if they were round .
Mounting the gps 50ft away might also help
Can you clarify just a little more? You covered the cable + a few mm.... does that mean you covered all the cable that you tucked under the shielding + a few mms more?
I placed the cable under the existing shield, using no additional cable shielding. Then I added sticky-back aluminum tape, making sure that electrical continuity between pieces of the tape was ensured, (two were needed to get the width necessary), as per the original plan, in the top shell. I covered the exposed aluminum tape with clear packing tape, ensuring all was insulated, to keep the aluminum metallic side from shorting out other components.
Prior to the mod, sat count always dropped when the video recorder was activated. After the mod, that problem has not shown up, anymore. As far as actual satellite count, no improvement was measurable. I pretty much don't receive any sats indoors, and outdoors, (in a clear area), I get about 6-8 on the ground, and about 10-12 when flying above, say, 50 feet. My sat count always increases when the Phantom gets airborne.
-Dale-
Prior to the mod, sat count always dropped when the video recorder was activated. After the mod, that problem has not shown up, anymore. As far as actual satellite count, no improvement was measurable. I pretty much don't receive any sats indoors, and outdoors, (in a clear area), I get about 6-8 on the ground, and about 10-12 when flying above, say, 50 feet. My sat count always increases when the Phantom gets airborne.
-Dale-
saltire said:I only covered the cable +a few mm that was showing after i tucked it under the sheilding .Some type of filter is required i think to cure this problem ferrite rings round the camera cables might work ! but it will be a pain as the cables are flat and it would be better if they were round .
Mounting the gps 50ft away might also help
Me too. Just the exposed bit after the rest is hidden under DJI shielding.
No more dropping of SATS for me when videoing. I used copper tape throughout.
The cable that was left exposed i covered up along with another 5mm i did not see any point doing the whole cable as it was now under the sheilding and also under the additional sheilding that i fitted .Just for your info i did not cure mine and i also has sheilding on top of the camera .robinbuzios said:saltire said:I only covered the cable +a few mm that was showing after i tucked it under the sheilding .Some type of filter is required i think to cure this problem ferrite rings round the camera cables might work ! but it will be a pain as the cables are flat and it would be better if they were round .
Mounting the gps 50ft away might also help
Can you clarify just a little more? You covered the cable + a few mm.... does that mean you covered all the cable that you tucked under the shielding + a few mms more?
Gotcha... thanks for the help. Gonna go with "cover up just the dangling exposed part" after tucking under the rest. :shock: :lol:
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