Urgent Help/Advice Needed !

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Colleague Pilots, I'm in a situation where I need everyone's assistance/advise very urgently... So thanks in advance to everyone who can shed any light on this.
Quick overview: I'm traveling across Chile/Argentina and still have week of amazing pictures ahead, but my P3A went completely MAD yesterday; contacting dealer or DJI is not an option at this stage as it's time critical and I need to try fixing the issue ASAP...
So far I've done quite a lot flights without any problems and logged over 300km in flight distance here in Chile.
Yesterday, in the middle of the flight I started getting "Compass Error, Exit P-GPS mode" that intermittently appeared on the App, didn't notice anything until brought P3A closer; it was twitching and making very sudden moves to it's right which looked like it going to tip over, then message above appeared briefly, drone stabilized for about 5 seconds and whole process again until I landed: it was 7 most nerve wracking minutes.. When I landed drone on the ground and tried to shut down motors it twitched again and hit ground breaking one propeller, not a big deal I've taken few spare sets with me...
Now what happened today is completely unexplainable and scary... After reading messages on the forums from users who suffered similar GPS errors I've done everything that reportedly fixes the problem. IMU Calibration, Gimbal Calibration, Compass Calibration... All FWs are up to date.
So first flight this morning, about 20up and 50 meters away in plain desert everything seemed promising, although motors sounded that they are struggling and drone wasn't happy trying to stabilize itself all the time, the sudden moves to right the right seemed to dissapeared and I was going to gently test it over longer distances... THEN message on the tablet appeared: SIGNAL LOST and drone initiated RTH: This happened in plain line of sight less than 50 meters, bear in mind application was still working fine, live video signal was ok, except controller sticks had no effect.
After drone landed itself I have done all above re-calibration again: message on the screen: Safe to fly GPS mode, 18 satellites in view, home point set, live video working: BUT the motors wouldn't start using RC, then I tried to initiate Takeoff via app: Message came up - Takeoff Failed.
After rebooting drone several times I have managed to start motors and liftoff for 5 seconds to 2m in the air, SIGNAL LOST message appeared, and phantom landed itself... That's how it is at the moment, after several reboots it lifts off in plain line of sight 5m from controller losses signal and lands... I cant even seem to do IMU calibration anymore....

So anyone with any idea or suggestion how and if this can be fixed in the field, and what I need to do, please let me know... The P3A will have to be replaced upon my return to UK, but for now I need to try fix it so many more amazing footage/pictures still can be captured on my trip...

Thanks Again !!!!
 
Have you tried flying in Atti mode?

Was your IMU calibration done in a cooler temp that what you typically run?

Have you moved away from the location where you got the compass error?
 
Colleague Pilots, I'm in a situation where I need everyone's assistance/advise very urgently... So thanks in advance to everyone who can shed any light on this.
Quick overview: I'm traveling across Chile/Argentina and still have week of amazing pictures ahead, but my P3A went completely MAD yesterday; contacting dealer or DJI is not an option at this stage as it's time critical and I need to try fixing the issue ASAP...
So far I've done quite a lot flights without any problems and logged over 300km in flight distance here in Chile.
Yesterday, in the middle of the flight I started getting "Compass Error, Exit P-GPS mode" that intermittently appeared on the App, didn't notice anything until brought P3A closer; it was twitching and making very sudden moves to it's right which looked like it going to tip over, then message above appeared briefly, drone stabilized for about 5 seconds and whole process again until I landed: it was 7 most nerve wracking minutes.. When I landed drone on the ground and tried to shut down motors it twitched again and hit ground breaking one propeller, not a big deal I've taken few spare sets with me...
Now what happened today is completely unexplainable and scary... After reading messages on the forums from users who suffered similar GPS errors I've done everything that reportedly fixes the problem. IMU Calibration, Gimbal Calibration, Compass Calibration... All FWs are up to date.
So first flight this morning, about 20up and 50 meters away in plain desert everything seemed promising, although motors sounded that they are struggling and drone wasn't happy trying to stabilize itself all the time, the sudden moves to right the right seemed to dissapeared and I was going to gently test it over longer distances... THEN message on the tablet appeared: SIGNAL LOST and drone initiated RTH: This happened in plain line of sight less than 50 meters, bear in mind application was still working fine, live video signal was ok, except controller sticks had no effect.
After drone landed itself I have done all above re-calibration again: message on the screen: Safe to fly GPS mode, 18 satellites in view, home point set, live video working: BUT the motors wouldn't start using RC, then I tried to initiate Takeoff via app: Message came up - Takeoff Failed.
After rebooting drone several times I have managed to start motors and liftoff for 5 seconds to 2m in the air, SIGNAL LOST message appeared, and phantom landed itself... That's how it is at the moment, after several reboots it lifts off in plain line of sight 5m from controller losses signal and lands... I cant even seem to do IMU calibration anymore....

So anyone with any idea or suggestion how and if this can be fixed in the field, and what I need to do, please let me know... The P3A will have to be replaced upon my return to UK, but for now I need to try fix it so many more amazing footage/pictures still can be captured on my trip...

Thanks Again !!!!
Try downgrading the firmware and then doing all calibrations again. If it is still wonky, upgrade the firmware and calibrate again. Make sure you aren't holding anything electronic or metal while you do the compass calibration. Also you need to check the kp index at your location, I use the "hover" app for that
 
Have you tried flying in Atti mode?

Was your IMU calibration done in a cooler temp that what you typically run?

Have you moved away from the location where you got the compass error?

I can't even try ATTI mode, I got drone on my patio in the hotel now and as soon as I start motors about 5 second later it says signal lost and shuts them down without being able to lift off.

IMU was calibrated at coldest possible temperature this morning about 13 degrees Celsius.

yes phantom was moved from the place it started experiencing compass error, we are now about 350km from that area.
 
Try downgrading the firmware and then doing all calibrations again. If it is still wonky, upgrade the firmware and calibrate again. Make sure you aren't holding anything electronic or metal while you do the compass calibration. Also you need to check the kp index at your location, I use the "hover" app for that

What would be best choice for downgraded FW from 1.6.40 ?
Is everytiing else needs to be downgraded including App and RC ?
 
Colleague Pilots, I'm in a situation where I need everyone's assistance/advise very urgently... So thanks in advance to everyone who can shed any light on this.
Quick overview: I'm traveling across Chile/Argentina and still have week of amazing pictures ahead, but my P3A went completely MAD yesterday; contacting dealer or DJI is not an option at this stage as it's time critical and I need to try fixing the issue ASAP...
So far I've done quite a lot flights without any problems and logged over 300km in flight distance here in Chile.
Yesterday, in the middle of the flight I started getting "Compass Error, Exit P-GPS mode" that intermittently appeared on the App, didn't notice anything until brought P3A closer; it was twitching and making very sudden moves to it's right which looked like it going to tip over, then message above appeared briefly, drone stabilized for about 5 seconds and whole process again until I landed: it was 7 most nerve wracking minutes.. When I landed drone on the ground and tried to shut down motors it twitched again and hit ground breaking one propeller, not a big deal I've taken few spare sets with me...
Now what happened today is completely unexplainable and scary... After reading messages on the forums from users who suffered similar GPS errors I've done everything that reportedly fixes the problem. IMU Calibration, Gimbal Calibration, Compass Calibration... All FWs are up to date.
So first flight this morning, about 20up and 50 meters away in plain desert everything seemed promising, although motors sounded that they are struggling and drone wasn't happy trying to stabilize itself all the time, the sudden moves to right the right seemed to dissapeared and I was going to gently test it over longer distances... THEN message on the tablet appeared: SIGNAL LOST and drone initiated RTH: This happened in plain line of sight less than 50 meters, bear in mind application was still working fine, live video signal was ok, except controller sticks had no effect.
After drone landed itself I have done all above re-calibration again: message on the screen: Safe to fly GPS mode, 18 satellites in view, home point set, live video working: BUT the motors wouldn't start using RC, then I tried to initiate Takeoff via app: Message came up - Takeoff Failed.
After rebooting drone several times I have managed to start motors and liftoff for 5 seconds to 2m in the air, SIGNAL LOST message appeared, and phantom landed itself... That's how it is at the moment, after several reboots it lifts off in plain line of sight 5m from controller losses signal and lands... I cant even seem to do IMU calibration anymore....

So anyone with any idea or suggestion how and if this can be fixed in the field, and what I need to do, please let me know... The P3A will have to be replaced upon my return to UK, but for now I need to try fix it so many more amazing footage/pictures still can be captured on my trip...

Thanks Again !!!!

So after trying to start everything again I have continuous red on from and fast flashing yellow on the back of the phantom: first one means critical error, second remote controller signal lost... Nexus 7 is connected to cotroller and has Safe to Fly (GPS) message, RC has green LED... even when I move left stick it does control gimbal which suggests everything is fine... All other vitals are normal
 
To fix this issue, you will need a dead chicken and a small cocktail straw. Make sure everything is powered up. Turn on video recording, stand in front of the camera, and then swing that dead chicken above your head in a counter-clockwise direction. Make ten complete rotations. Upload your video to this thread. While the video is uploading, go into the GO app and select "linking remote controllers". Take the cocktail straw and insert it into VPS unit to bind to your controller.
 
To fix this issue, you will need a dead chicken and a small cocktail straw. Make sure everything is powered up. Turn on video recording, stand in front of the camera, and then swing that dead chicken above your head in a counter-clockwise direction. Make ten complete rotations. Upload your video to this thread. While the video is uploading, go into the GO app and select "linking remote controllers". Take the cocktail straw and insert it into VPS unit to bind to your controller.


DaGunn are you representing some sort of CLOWN association on this forum or you're a **** in general ?
 
You are not a Monty Python fan? Seriously, re-link your controller to the phantom. Then recalibrate IMU, gimbel, and compass calibration.
 
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OK, there's no sand in motors... RED LEDs are constantly on, suggesting critical error that does not show up in the app or any other diagnostics.

DaGunn - controller is linked and everything seems to work fine, I've tried re-linking it but made no difference...

Now the latest and weirdest in ABOUT section on the app FIRMWARE VERSION in NOW 1.5.30 how the f...k did that happen, it was 1.6.4 since the day it was released... it's gone back to 1.5.30 by itself? - I have not tried downgrading it yet...
 
OK, there's no sand in motors... RED LEDs are constantly on, suggesting critical error that does not show up in the app or any other diagnostics.

DaGunn - controller is linked and everything seems to work fine, I've tried re-linking it but made no difference...

Now the latest and weirdest in ABOUT section on the app FIRMWARE VERSION in NOW 1.5.30 how the f...k did that happen, it was 1.6.4 since the day it was released... it's gone back to 1.5.30 by itself? - I have not tried downgrading it yet...

What are the sensor readings?
 
OK, there's no sand in motors... RED LEDs are constantly on, suggesting critical error that does not show up in the app or any other diagnostics.

DaGunn - controller is linked and everything seems to work fine, I've tried re-linking it but made no difference...

Now the latest and weirdest in ABOUT section on the app FIRMWARE VERSION in NOW 1.5.30 how the f...k did that happen, it was 1.6.4 since the day it was released... it's gone back to 1.5.30 by itself? - I have not tried downgrading it yet...

it's probably 1 of 2 things
firmware issue (why are you waiting? downgrade now)
or hardware failure.. not much you can do about that in your hotel.. soooo downgrade the firmware then re calibrate everything.
 
it's probably 1 of 2 things
firmware issue (why are you waiting? downgrade now)
or hardware failure.. not much you can do about that in your hotel.. soooo downgrade the firmware then re calibrate everything.
Well as noted above... FW somehow miraculously 1.5.30 without even trying downgrade it... How that even possible...
 
Waiting for gyroscope sensor readings from grybaz. At least upload your last flight records to healthydrones for that analysis, and provide a link. Many people here enjoy deciphering the details.
 
I got the humour, didn't find it amusing but he did offer you a suggestion that I understood solved his close in connection issue which seems to be one of your issues. Has there been anything in earlier flights that may have caused an issue now, ie exposure to water, hard landing, rough treatment in transit. If your recording an earlier firmware version as loaded now I could go for the complete update followed by cold IMU cal and remind to Tx. Hope all goes well.
 
Waiting for gyroscope sensor readings from grybaz. At least upload your last flight records to healthydrones for that analysis, and provide a link. Many people here enjoy deciphering the details.
I got the humour, didn't find it amusing but he did offer you a suggestion that I understood solved his close in connection issue which seems to be one of your issues. Has there been anything in earlier flights that may have caused an issue now, ie exposure to water, hard landing, rough treatment in transit. If your recording an earlier firmware version as loaded now I could go for the complete update followed by cold IMU cal and remind to Tx. Hope all goes well.

So, managed to downgrade to 1.5.30 and calibrate, then upgrade to 1.6.40 and calibrate... The red lights are still on indicating critical error.
 

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