Solar Storm warnings for Monday Nov. 2

Some important points:
  • K index forecast is mostly unreliable. Don't use it.
  • Only if you live in an area where you can see the aurora borealis is it worth having any concern for K index.
  • In areas where it can have an impact, it only does when it's very high.
  • If GPS precision was degraded, you would probably barely notice unless you were flying waypoints.
  • Any GPS related issues can be solved by switching to ATTI.
 
Some important points:
  • K index forecast is mostly unreliable. Don't use it.
  • Only if you live in an area where you can see the aurora borealis is it worth having any concern for K index.
  • In areas where it can have an impact, it only does when it's very high.
  • If GPS precision was degraded, you would probably barely notice unless you were flying waypoints.
  • Any GPS related issues can be solved by switching to ATTI.

Funny that we have so many threads discussing this when it's pure snake oil...

Absolutely no evidence that solar activity has ANY impact on the Phantom series.

If anything, we could ask the very nice guy who runs the HealthyDrones site to do a meta-analysis of "satellite count" and KP index on a given day.
Could do a quick ANOVA and put this to bed once and for all.

~~~

And before anyone brings up HAM radios... yes, solar flares/radiation can impact HAM signals... but this is Apples to Oranges.
Some HAM operators bounce signals off of the atmosphere, for very long range communication. This is influenced by solar activity, and a whole host of other factors.

But again, this is as HAM operators are sending signals over very long distances (several orders of magnitude further than a Phantom's range).
HAM operators trying to send a signal over a couple miles also wouldn't care in the slightest about KP index.
 
Last edited:
If anything, we could ask the very nice guy who runs the HealthyDrones site to do a meta-analysis of "satellite count" and KP index on a given day.

Solar events won't necessarily impact satellite count. It will impact the time it takes the signal to reach the receiver which impacts precision. So unless healthy drones is measuring HDOP and computing precision based on timing errors (complicated), they won't be of much use.

Ha, I laugh at flying in Solar storms..........it makes you a better pilot!:D

I will only fly in a K index of 5 or higher!
 
Solar events won't necessarily impact satellite count. It will impact the time it takes the signal to reach the receiver which impacts precision. So unless healthy drones is measuring HDOP and computing precision based on timing errors (complicated), they won't be of much use.



I will only fly in a K index of 5 or higher!

Unfortunately, I don't believe H/V/P/T/DOP are logged anywhere, and on further contemplation, you're definitely right "satellite count" won't help.

The "count" is probably coming from satellite the GPS unit can "hear" well enough to get a timing signal from, which as you say, is too coarse a measure to infer solar interference from.

In fact, if anything, satellite count probably only correlates with location and altitude. Shucks. And thought we could find a good solution right there.

There must be some measurable way of falsifying the solar-index effect... but I can't think of one at the moment.
 
So Monday I think I will rap my phantom in aluminum foil before take off just incase and might as well make a hat for myself. Just kidding around, no offense. ♧
 
And not knowing there was a solar storm on the 2nd - 4th I flew all three days without any problems.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,352
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic