I start by turning on the control, then the range extender, then the phantom. I grab my phone and look for the wireless network which usually takes about 20 seconds from startup. I connect and open the app and place my phone in the holder. I then start the calibration. usually it works on the first try, sometimes it does not, why would it not work if I am doing the same thing? Is the calibration point the home position? are you supposed to calibrate from exactly where you take off? I calibrate it, it turns green, then back to yellow. At that point I am RTF? or is it at that point I place it in the potion I want to set at home and wait for it to turn green (6 satellites) setting that as the home position? how long does it usually take? I have a lot of trees over 100 feet in my area and the RTH function would in my case, drop the bird to 60 feet. I am very afraid of flicking S1 up and down quickly more then 5 times once in the air to make the RTH altitude higher then the trees. Can you guys confirm this is correct and have you had experience resetting in air? Can someone also point out the difference between Naza and Atti mode? I also want to know experience flying behind dense tree coverage. once you are out of sight is the connection basically dead? is there an antenna that is better if you don't have line of sight? you guys are awesome.
At what point is home position recorded
- Thread starter PhantomDude69
- Start date
This is a cut and paste from another post.
Make sure all the batteries are full. (in the controller, the wifi extender and the Phantom)
Go to an open area to fly.
Turn on the controller, then the wifi extender, then the Phantom.(reverse this order when powering down)
Connect your phone to the Phantom wifi network.
Wait. (relax)
When you see green lights flashing on and off, look at your phone.
You should see more than 6 satellites connected. (satellite icon)
Now calibrate the compass. (you ONLY need to do this once. IF YOU MOVE to another location, do it again from that location)
Flick the right hand switch down and up 5 times or more (finish in the upright position). You should see solid yellow from the lights.
Pick up the Phantom and rotate it horizontally, the light will go from yellow to green. Point the nose to the ground and rotate it on it's vertical axis, the light will go out.
Put the Phantom down.
Watch the lights start to flash green again.
Both sticks down and together.
Motors start.
Left stick up with confidence. (don't be too soft, it will fall over).
Stop, let it hover a couple of meters off the ground.
Watch the Phantom for 1 or 2 minutes.
If it hovers without drifting more than a meter or so, you can continue.
Relax.
Fly it around slowly, get a feel for what the sticks do.
When you start to think you'll send it off into the distance, DON'T. Bring it back to you.
Hover a meter off the ground and slowly land (there's no hurry).
You have now completed a successful flight.
From now on, you can repeat ad nauseam, until you feel you're ready to go further.
RTH will keep altitude if it's above 20m. If RTH happened at 10m, it would go up to 20m before coming home.
Make sure all the batteries are full. (in the controller, the wifi extender and the Phantom)
Go to an open area to fly.
Turn on the controller, then the wifi extender, then the Phantom.(reverse this order when powering down)
Connect your phone to the Phantom wifi network.
Wait. (relax)
When you see green lights flashing on and off, look at your phone.
You should see more than 6 satellites connected. (satellite icon)
Now calibrate the compass. (you ONLY need to do this once. IF YOU MOVE to another location, do it again from that location)
Flick the right hand switch down and up 5 times or more (finish in the upright position). You should see solid yellow from the lights.
Pick up the Phantom and rotate it horizontally, the light will go from yellow to green. Point the nose to the ground and rotate it on it's vertical axis, the light will go out.
Put the Phantom down.
Watch the lights start to flash green again.
Both sticks down and together.
Motors start.
Left stick up with confidence. (don't be too soft, it will fall over).
Stop, let it hover a couple of meters off the ground.
Watch the Phantom for 1 or 2 minutes.
If it hovers without drifting more than a meter or so, you can continue.
Relax.
Fly it around slowly, get a feel for what the sticks do.
When you start to think you'll send it off into the distance, DON'T. Bring it back to you.
Hover a meter off the ground and slowly land (there's no hurry).
You have now completed a successful flight.
From now on, you can repeat ad nauseam, until you feel you're ready to go further.
RTH will keep altitude if it's above 20m. If RTH happened at 10m, it would go up to 20m before coming home.
so already 2 different answers on GPS fix. One says before calibration, the other says once motors start.
Doono, you sure above 20m RTH it will keep altitude? others have said you have to set home off the ground to get RTH to be above 20m. I am certainly calibrating before I even look to see how many satellites I have. Anyone else have an opinion on that?
Doono, you sure above 20m RTH it will keep altitude? others have said you have to set home off the ground to get RTH to be above 20m. I am certainly calibrating before I even look to see how many satellites I have. Anyone else have an opinion on that?
PhantomDude69 said:
Calibrating the compass is ONLY to calibrate the compass for your geographic location (due to magnetic declination...the earth's magnetic field varies in different areas), so that the Phantom knows which way it is heading. You do NOT have to calibrate your compass every flight! Only if you have traveled a long distance from your previous location. The Phantom will tell you when you need to recalibrate, via the lights, and also with an on-screen warning in the Vision+ app.
The GPS is how the Phantom knows where it is on Earth. You are NOT ready to fly until the GPS locks on six or more satellites and determines your Home Point. If your launch point has an obscured horizon, and it sounds like your's does, it may be difficult to achieve a lock. In this case, I would recommend finding an area with a more open view of the sky. The Home Point is actually recorded when you start the motors with 6 or more satellites locked.
If you are only able to get a lock on 4-5, there is an alternative, but you need to understand your Phantom's controls, and be adept at handling your bird. Lets say you get a lock on only 5 satellites due to the trees or buildings obscuring the horizon. You may take off, but you will be taking off in ATTI mode...your Phantom will hold altitude, but NOT position. It will drift with the wind, so you need to be on top of things. Once you get above the objects obscuring the satellites, you will achieve a lock. Your Home Point would then be set when you lock six satellites, as the motors are already running. One locked, the aircraft will enter GPS mode, holding altitude & position. What you want to do in this case is hover directly above where you want to land, climb to the height of the tallest object you need to clear, and flip S2 (the LEFT switch) top-to-bottom 5-6 times. You will see the Phantom's rear lights flash rapid green, confirming the new Home Point (and altitude) has been recorded. If you set the Home Point @ 100' and a RTH occurs at <100', the Phantom will climb to 166' (20 meters above what you set as the Home Point) before returning home. If you are at or above the height at which you set the Home Point, she will maintain that altitude and return home.
If you are new, I highly recommend finding a location where you get a lock ON THE GROUND before trying this. Your Phantom can disappear from sight very quickly on a windy day!! If you are inexperienced, I do not recommend taking off without a lock. If you see any color but green flashes on those rear LEDs, stay on the ground!
PhantomDude69 said:
Don't mix compass calibration with GPS fix.
I said: home position is recorded when motors are started, if phantom has GPS fix. Independent when you have calibrated your magnetic compass, 10 seconds ago or last year.
If you start flying before GPS fix, you fly in NON-GPS mode and home position is undefined. If in the air, you get 6+ satellites and GPS fix, you can reset home position by switching S2 five times, but I have not succeeded that to record new home positions altitude, LAT and LON only. Test it.
PhantomDude69 said:
I am sure. Resetting home point in the air, will make RTH land back to that point. It will not "land" in mid air, it will know where ground level is.
Dirty Bird said:
Very good advice,
My understanding is that this information is correct IF you are in Phantom mode, flying in Naza mode the S2 switch toggled from Course Lock to Home Lock, and back to Course Lock quickly 3 to 5 times. Not top-to-bottom.
DO NOT toggle the switch between Off to Home Lock, since it may change the recording of the Forward Direction of Course Lock.
If the "Phantom icon" and the "My Location" dot are side by each on the map screen of the Find My Phantom feature, is this a good indication of a "home Lock" before leaving the LZ?
Yes it is. However, if you follow procedure and don't rush, you'll be fine. When sitting there waiting to take off, and you've got more than six satellites, the home point WILL set when you start the motors and ascend.ChuckMRN said:
cougar said:
That is very correct.
Left Toggle IOC:
There are 2 type of Locks - Course Lock and Home Lock.
Flicking from top to second position rapidly will give it a new direction course lock. Whereever the nose is facing will be the new fwd direction.
Flicking from mid to lower position rapidly will lock in the new home position. This will be the failsafe/return to home.
Its easy to confuse these as the confirmation is the same, both will flash green rapidly.
And lastly, you shouldn't rely on fail safe. I find it best to flick HL on and pull back with the right stick. This is also the best way to confirm the Home position is correct. And as noted, it will flick back to course direction lock when its within 10m of its home position.
Dirty Bird said:
If only the manual explained it so well! From the manual:
So, reading this I never was sure just what constituted a "different location". From front yard to back yard? From one town to the next?? New York to New Jersey???
Now OTOH, the concept of magnetic declination I'm familiar with. Thanks for clearing this up for me.
Actually, the authors of the Phantom + manual could learn a LOT from reading the many informative posts here!
Also, learn to use the Radar feature. It will show how far away and the orientation of the Phantom. If you lose visual site of the aircraft, you can watch the radar to make sure it is pointing at you and just push the right stick forward and fly it back. The radar is probably the single biggest unused feature and can be a real life saver if you lose sight of your Phantom.
ok guys, took all your advise, I think I was taking off too quickly before thinking it was ok to take off with yellow. today I did a calibration and had 9 satellites before I turned on the motors. there was some wind, but the thing was out of control. what sort of wind speed are you guys seeing this thing not being controllable under? I stopped flying it because I nearly lost it in the wind. In the standard mode, with 6 or more satelites is it not supposed to hover in position? Someone please confirm the modes for me. are Phantom modes and ATTI modes then same? so two modes, phantom mode and Naza m mode?
PhantomDude69 said:
I have flown in 25+ mph winds and she flies just fine. If you look at my videos from last weekend in the "Let's See Some Videos" thread, all four videos the winds were 20 mph. She bobbed a bit, but was perfectly controllable. When you first lift off, let her hover for a bit and she should be relatively stable in altitude & position. If its really windy, she will just bob and you will hear the motors altering speeds as they maintain position. I've never had mine "out of control" as you describe.
Like the earlier post as I am never too sure what constitutes " a different location" I calibrate the compass every time. As most of my flying takes place almost on the prime meridian the declination will be very small. It also gives me time to make sure I have followed all the instructions.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
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