So since December I've been having this issue that my Vision+ loses GPS signal when up in the air - no obstacles in sight - and it starts drifting away, sometimes very fast. When I got the quadcopter in October I was skeptical about its reliability, but my trust quickly grew and before I knew it I was flying at great distances or with Ground Station without any fear at all. I knew it would always return. Now, I'm scared every time and more often than not something bad does happen.
What could be the reason for these sudden GPS signal issues? I have a few theories. What are your thoughts, and which one do you think is most likely?
1) I don't always do the GPS calibration. I *always* have a good GPS signal before take-off (at least 6 satellites). But I read somewhere that you don't need to do the thing where you hold the quadcopter out and spin it as described in the manual before every time you fly, so I don't. As long as it gets the slow green blinking light before starting. RIght?
2) Bad weather. When I flew in October and November it was still sunny. In December and January, almost all my flights have been on very cloudy (though not too windy) days. Can clouds affect the signal? Since there are usually no obstacles remotely near the quadcopter when it's up there, I can't think of anything else that would block the signal. The weather theory is not always true - I once lost signal on a Ground Station flight on a fairly clear day. It wasn't, however, a perfectly clear day so the weather could still be relevant.
3) Damaged wires. I've crashed into a tree, and it was about the same time that the GPS issue started. On a visual inspection I can't find anything wrong, though, and I always have a good signal (at least 6 satellites) prior to take-off. Could something still be glitchy?
4) Bad flight locations. I've used hand-held GPS devices a lot and know that some places on earth - no matter how clear the surroundings are - simply aren't good. Satellite reception is always bad in those areas. This is my least likely theory, though, as on several occasions I've experienced these GPS signal failures when flying on locations where in October and November I had no issues at all.
So what do you think?
What could be the reason for these sudden GPS signal issues? I have a few theories. What are your thoughts, and which one do you think is most likely?
1) I don't always do the GPS calibration. I *always* have a good GPS signal before take-off (at least 6 satellites). But I read somewhere that you don't need to do the thing where you hold the quadcopter out and spin it as described in the manual before every time you fly, so I don't. As long as it gets the slow green blinking light before starting. RIght?
2) Bad weather. When I flew in October and November it was still sunny. In December and January, almost all my flights have been on very cloudy (though not too windy) days. Can clouds affect the signal? Since there are usually no obstacles remotely near the quadcopter when it's up there, I can't think of anything else that would block the signal. The weather theory is not always true - I once lost signal on a Ground Station flight on a fairly clear day. It wasn't, however, a perfectly clear day so the weather could still be relevant.
3) Damaged wires. I've crashed into a tree, and it was about the same time that the GPS issue started. On a visual inspection I can't find anything wrong, though, and I always have a good signal (at least 6 satellites) prior to take-off. Could something still be glitchy?
4) Bad flight locations. I've used hand-held GPS devices a lot and know that some places on earth - no matter how clear the surroundings are - simply aren't good. Satellite reception is always bad in those areas. This is my least likely theory, though, as on several occasions I've experienced these GPS signal failures when flying on locations where in October and November I had no issues at all.
So what do you think?
