Update on my Crash

[xxx]

I almost crashed in a narrow canyon last week, due to tripod mode ending in mid flight. Had no gps. Has this been fixed in the latest firmware? Last time I updated was in September 2017.

If not, then I'll need to try litchi. Will ltichi be a working solution?

 

[OOO]

I almost crashed in a narrow canyon last week, due to tripod mode ending in mid flight. Had no gps. Has this been fixed in the latest firmware? Last time I updated was in September 2017.

If not, then I'll need to try litchi. Will ltichi be a working solution?

Tripod mode and other intelligent fly modes need GPS. In tight spots where GPS is not available ATTI mode is the only option to fly.

 

[xxx]

Thanks. But what about litchi? I flew in a Canyon over a whitewater river without gps and without bottom sensors (sensors don't work over water). Can I fly slowly in that situation with litchi?

 

[andy_k]

Sensors do work over water
GPS might not work in canyons where visibility of the sky is limited
Tripod work doesn't work with no GPS
Atti mode is Atti mode whether you use Go4 or Litchi (vastly overrated)

To answer your first question, Litchi will not be a working solution to no GPS

 

[xxx]

Since when do bottom sensors work over running water? There's nothing to track. I flew over white water with bottom sensors on and the drone freaked out, wobbling all over the place.

 

[xxx]

So litchi offers no slow speed without gps?

 

[andy_k]

So litchi offers no slow speed without gps?

No you need the special 'talent update' applied to human mk1 to get that feature

 

[andy_k]

Since when do bottom sensors work over running water? There's nothing to track. I flew over white water with bottom sensors on and the drone freaked out, wobbling all over the place.

it will hold height over water but they have a tendency to try and follow slow moving currents - flying/wobbling over white water is probably as much about air turbulence as sensor issues but if there is any doubt, just turn them off

 

[xxx]

ok, thanks! No reason for me to get litchi then! Only thing I can do now is update my flying talent...

 

[Lindsaybev]

This thread is showing a big lack of understanding of GPS and atti mode.
I'll try to clarify some of it.

When you have no GPS satellites, atti mode isn't a friend, it's your only option.
Your Phantom is in atti mode whenever it has insufficient GPS satellites for a GPS position fix regardless of the position of your flight mode switch.
Less than enough sats = Atti mode.

LOL indeed ... you may have flown for a while but you haven't learned anything about GPS.
In a cave there is no way to receive GPS satellite signals.
His Phantom didn't lose GPS .. it never had GPS but mysteriously it never spun out, hit the rocks and crashed into the water.
Perhaps it had something to do with the pilot knowing what he was doing with the controls and there being no wind in a cave?

Your Phantom flies in the house with one sat because it is in atti mode.
Being in atti mode doesn't mean you automatically crash.
It just means you don't have the benefit of GPS position holding.

You are in your house and the Phantom is outdoors where it can receive GPS sat signals as you'd see on your screen.
Your controller indoors doesn't need GPS.

Ground-based satellites ??? What does that even mean?
If you'd asked them they would have also told you that DJI sell striped paint and left-handed screwdrivers or that submarines have screen doors and helicopters have ejection seats.

With your handheld GPS you need to receive signal from 4 sats to get a proper 3D fix.
It was easy to understand GPS sat numbers with the earlier models like the Standard because they only received one kind of satellite (the US GPS system).
Because it's possible to get a poor fix with on;y 4 sats, DJI programmed the Phantom to only consider a fix good when it came from 6 or more sats.
That's no problem up in the sky where your Phantom will usually find more than 6 sats anyway.
With Phantoms after the Standard it gets confusing because they receive US GPS sats and Russian Glonass sats.
However they need at least 6 sats of one type before a fix is considered valid.
You could have 5 GPS sats and 4 Glonass sats for a total of 9 sats but still be in atti mode until you find a 6th GPS sat.
This isn't often a problem unless you fly from a location where your Phantom only sees a part of the sky.

You won't get the green GPS acknowledgement until you get enough sats for a GPS fix.

Holy Cow! You are a GREAT instructor! Awesome, informative post, Meta4!!