Calibration of compass

[Miniflexalex]

Hello Folks,

I'm a new Phantom owner and this is my first post.
I got the Phantom today, put it together as described in the manual, charged the batterie and took it out for its maiden flight.

I tried to calibrate the compass by toggling the S1 button 10 times from full up to full down. Unfortunately the LEDs kept blinking green (ready to fly with GPS).
The manual says that once the Phantom is in calibration mode, the LED will turn into a solid yellow, no flashing.....I can't get it to go into this mode.

I tried the toggle procedure several times, pulled batterie and restarted the Phantom....no luck.

I did download the software for the RC to see if the toggle switch gives the proper signals and yes, it does.....

What did I do wrong?


I had nothing on me which would represent a magnetic field, I even took my wrist watch off. I was staying in the middle of a big field, no houses, power lines etc. remotely close.

I did fly the drone but it was hovering in circles which indicates that the compass was not calibrated correctly, so I stopped after a few minutes.
While I was flying, the rear two LEDs kept slowly blinking in green, the front LED were solid red, no blinking.


Well, any advice or hints what I should do differently?


Thanks folks, can't wait to take this toy out and fly it like it's supposed to.




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[Buk]

While you had the laptop/computer connected did you notice if everything was updated and current?
Did you perform an advanced calibration?
Did you notice whether you were in Phantom 2 mode or NazaM mode?

 

[Miniflexalex]

While you had the laptop/computer connected did you notice if everything was updated and current?
Did you perform an advanced calibration?
Did you notice whether you were in Phantom 2 mode or NazaM mode?

I did all updates for the Phantom, the RC and the Gimbal while I had the laptop connected to the Phantom.
I did do a basic calibration, shall I repeat and do an advanced calibration?
I'm not quite sure what you mean with P2 mode or NazaM mode?

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[goldfishrock]

Try to toggle only five times and slow down the speed you toggle the switch, one switch cycle every half to one second should be fine . I found with mine that if I went over five toggles the green indicator LEDs came back. Also make sure you are toggling the correct switch.... I know this sounds like really stupid thing to say but S1 is on the right, not the left as I first presumed.... that'll teach me for not reading the manual properly!

Also check the mode. Plug your P2 into the DJI Assistant software and run it up. You should see on the top of the window on the right hand side of centre it says either 'Phantom' or 'Nazam'. If it says Nazam, just click it and set it back to Phantom for now.

Hope this helps?

 

[ericos]

Also check the mode. Plug your P2 into the DJI Assistant software and run it up. You should see on the top of the window on the right hand side of centre it says either 'Phantom' or 'Nazam'. If it says Nazam, just click it and set it back to Phantom for now.

Huh... I noticed that my compass calibration stopped working too. I didn't have any lights indicating that it needed calibrating, but I thought it strange. My phatom 2 software is set for "Naza-M" and not "Phantom" because I wanted to be able to enable atti mode. Are you saying that if you set for "Naza-m" instead of "phantom 2" that you lose the ability to calibrate the compass?

 

[Miniflexalex]

Try to toggle only five times and slow down the speed you toggle the switch, one switch cycle every half to one second should be fine . I found with mine that if I went over five toggles the green indicator LEDs came back. Also make sure you are toggling the correct switch.... I know this sounds like really stupid thing to say but S1 is on the right, not the left as I first presumed.... that'll teach me for not reading the manual properly!

Also check the mode. Plug your P2 into the DJI Assistant software and run it up. You should see on the top of the window on the right hand side of centre it says either 'Phantom' or 'Nazam'. If it says Nazam, just click it and set it back to Phantom for now.

Hope this helps?

Thanks for the tip, I did toggle the switch quite fast. Once I'm home tonight I will do it again much slower.
Yes, I did use the right switch and I agree, its odd why the left switch is called s2 and the right one s1....missleading.

My phantom is set at phantom mode and not nazam, I verified this last night.

The leds do not indicate that I have to calibrate the compass, they flash in green, however, since I never calibrated th machine I still would like to do so....I don't want to have one of those flyaways.

My Phantom is moving about 2 feet vertical and about 6 feet horizontal while hovering without any stick movement.
What could I expect once the compass is calibrated correctly?


Thanks a bunch


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[madirect]

i did six times the S1 switch and sometime it takes me more than just one try to get into compass calibration mode.

once u do your "dance" with your P2, it should just hover very steadily. at least that's how mine does. it doesn't move around at all without stick input.

btw, i do compass calibration at very new location that i fly, even if it's only 10 mins away by car. don't want P2 to fly away from me!

 

[Miniflexalex]

i did six times the S1 switch and sometime it takes me more than just one try to get into compass calibration mode.

once u do your "dance" with your P2, it should just hover very steadily. at least that's how mine does. it doesn't move around at all without stick input.

btw, i do compass calibration at very new location that i fly, even if it's only 10 mins away by car. don't want P2 to fly away from me!

Thanks,
So it seems like that the movement during hovering is a bit excessive.....
Can't wait to get the craft calibrated correctly.

Three more hrs of work, then its playtime again


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[madirect]

btw, i comepleted the six cycle within 3-4 sec.

enjoy your flight this evening!

 

[Miniflexalex]

Hello all,

I was just home for lunch and did try to get the craft into calibration mode, this time it worked after the second trial.
I moved S1 much slower and stopped after six toggles. As said before, on the second trial it went into solid yellow to indicate that the calibration mode is activated.
I did the P2 dance, once done, the craft started flashing green, so all good to go.

I did a quick flight but it seems like it's still moving about 6 feet horizontal and about 2-3 feet vertical....well, I'm going to burn they two batteries tonight, maybe it's getting a bit better over time?


Thanks a bunch for your help, my craft is now officially calibrated



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[havasuphoto]

Hello all,

I was just home for lunch and did try to get the craft into calibration mode, this time it worked after the second trial.
I moved S1 much slower and stopped after six toggles. As said before, on the second trial it went into solid yellow to indicate that the calibration mode is activated.
I did the P2 dance, once done, the craft started flashing green, so all good to go.

I did a quick flight but it seems like it's still moving about 6 feet horizontal and about 2-3 feet vertical....well, I'm going to burn they two batteries tonight, maybe it's getting a bit better over time?


Thanks a bunch for your help, my craft is now officially calibrated



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The "limits" in GPS mode are; 2.5 meters horizontally and 0.8 meters vertically. So, if it moves around a bit, in that range-it's normal. I know it bugged me the first few times, in GPS mode-that it wouldn't hold perfectly still-but that's just the normal error range with 6 or more satellites.
If there is no wind-try Atti mode, it seems to be smoother than GPS mode. But, wait til you have some experience first.

 

[ianwood]

I did a quick flight but it seems like it's still moving about 6 feet horizontal and about 2-3 feet vertical....well, I'm going to burn they two batteries tonight, maybe it's getting a bit better over time?

I don't think the Naza has any adaption capabilities which would be needed to improve over time. Someone correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, that seems a lot. Are you getting a good GPS fix >6 satellites? Is there a lot of wind? Is it moving in a consistent pattern such as going in circles? Is this happening in the same place each time or anywhere you hover? Could be that there is some EMI in that specific area interfering with the compass.

If it is circling, try to steady it as much as possible and switch to ATTI mode briefly and see if it will stop circling. Note that in ATTI, any control movement will continue to drift (like being on ice) when you let go whereas GPS mode counteracts when you release the controls. Also note that ATTI mode only works if you enable Naza mode in the Assistant which you should read up on first if not familiar.

 

[Miniflexalex]

Alright, got home, hooked the craft to the laptop and did an advanced calibration.
Went out did again the P2 dance to recalibrate the craft and it is now much mor stable even though it was a bit more windy compared to three hrs. ago. I was moving maybe 1 meter horizontal and maybe 30-40 cm vertical....I'm super happy now.

I tried a few minutes ATTI mode but I switched back to GPS, did not feel comfortable yet with the floating once I let go the stick.
I will rake in more flight hrs and try ATTI again.
Tomorrow I'm going to try the fly home mode, hopefully I get my home position recorded correctly
I never noticed the rapid flashing light once I lift the craft in the air which, as I've read, means home position set....I will pay more attention tomorrow.
Is there a manual mode to set the home position as well just to be sure? I've read that with the latest software update it's possible but I could not find an tutorial on how to do it.

Thanks a bunch, battery is on the charger another hr. once fully loaded, I'll do the first night flight

Btw. Great forum



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[havasuphoto]

Alright, got home, hooked the craft to the laptop and did an advanced calibration.
Went out did again the P2 dance to recalibrate the craft and it is now much mor stable even though it was a bit more windy compared to three hrs. ago. I was moving maybe 1 meter horizontal and maybe 30-40 cm vertical....I'm super happy now.

I tried a few minutes ATTI mode but I switched back to GPS, did not feel comfortable yet with the floating once I let go the stick.
I will rake in more flight hrs and try ATTI again.
Tomorrow I'm going to try the fly home mode, hopefully I get my home position recorded correctly
I never noticed the rapid flashing light once I lift the craft in the air which, as I've read, means home position set....I will pay more attention tomorrow.
Is there a manual mode to set the home position as well just to be sure? I've read that with the latest software update it's possible but I could not find an tutorial on how to do it.

Thanks a bunch, battery is on the charger another hr. once fully loaded, I'll do the first night flight

Btw. Great forum



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

OK, that's good. Going to give you some "sage" advise;
Don't even say the word-"manual mode"....just forget that even exist until you get around 100 successful flights in-maybe more.

Have fun in GPS mode for at least 10 flights...maybe more.
There's no rush to fly in Atti mode or Manual mode...get used to the aircraft and the whole R/C thing for awhile and have fun.

Now, for the home point thing...put the battery in, do the compass dance, sit down, and watch the rear LED. When you see green..green..green....wait for it. You'll see a rapid flash of green lights-that's just recorded home point-you can now take off, and once you are more than 30 feet away-you can engage Home Lock. To test it out-fly out about 50 or 60 feet, and stop and hover(keep it high-the ground has an unusual magnetic attraction to Phantoms and can cause serious damage if you hit it hard),
flip the switch from off to H/L...now just pull back on the stick-and no matter which direction the nose is pointed, the aircraft will return to you(within 30 feet). You can yaw, while heading back...go left or right-doesn't matter which way the nose is pointed-it will be your left or right.
Learning Home Lock will save you a ton of grief. IF/When the aircraft is far away from you-and you don't know which way the nose is pointed, just flip into Home Lock, pull back and wait. Once you can tell which way the nose is pointed-hover, and rotate the nose so it's pointed away from you-that way, you can more easily control the aircraft.

To "record" a new home point-flip the switch from off home lock quickly about 4 or 5 times and look for the green flash.

Course lock is basically the same as home lock-however, it can only be activated after 30 seconds of flight(dunno why). Once your headed in the direction you want as a straight line-hit Course Lock. Now, you can yaw about that course, while still moving forward.
I've not used C/L a lot. But, I have used Home Lock a whole bunch!!! Trust me-it will save you.

One more thing; Phantoms bite!!! They will lull you into a false sense of "I got this..."...then, you will become disoriented, and it may crash!!! Don't get too low, or far away.

Also-if it helps, log your flights and number them. That way, you have a record of how much flight time you have. Also-you can make notes as to what you want to try for the next time you fly, and, what you learned from that day's flights.

Last-read this and other forums. Learn from the mistakes of others, and never be afraid to ask any question(s). Chances are-the question has already been answered. But, if you can't find the question/answer using the search function-then ask.

There are a lot of very experienced pilots on here(I'm not one of them-I just get lucky, a lot). You have a lot to learn-take it slow and easy....and, have fun.

 

[Miniflexalex]

Alright, got home, hooked the craft to the laptop and did an advanced calibration.
Went out did again the P2 dance to recalibrate the craft and it is now much mor stable even though it was a bit more windy compared to three hrs. ago. I was moving maybe 1 meter horizontal and maybe 30-40 cm vertical....I'm super happy now.

I tried a few minutes ATTI mode but I switched back to GPS, did not feel comfortable yet with the floating once I let go the stick.
I will rake in more flight hrs and try ATTI again.
Tomorrow I'm going to try the fly home mode, hopefully I get my home position recorded correctly
I never noticed the rapid flashing light once I lift the craft in the air which, as I've read, means home position set....I will pay more attention tomorrow.
Is there a manual mode to set the home position as well just to be sure? I've read that with the latest software update it's possible but I could not find an tutorial on how to do it.

Thanks a bunch, battery is on the charger another hr. once fully loaded, I'll do the first night flight

Btw. Great forum



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

OK, that's good. Going to give you some "sage" advise;
Don't even say the word-"manual mode"....just forget that even exist until you get around 100 successful flights in-maybe more.

Have fun in GPS mode for at least 10 flights...maybe more.
There's no rush to fly in Atti mode or Manual mode...get used to the aircraft and the whole R/C thing for awhile and have fun.

Now, for the home point thing...put the battery in, do the compass dance, sit down, and watch the rear LED. When you see green..green..green....wait for it. You'll see a rapid flash of green lights-that's just recorded home point-you can now take off, and once you are more than 30 feet away-you can engage Home Lock. To test it out-fly out about 50 or 60 feet, and stop and hover(keep it high-the ground has an unusual magnetic attraction to Phantoms and can cause serious damage if you hit it hard),
flip the switch from off to H/L...now just pull back on the stick-and no matter which direction the nose is pointed, the aircraft will return to you(within 30 feet). You can yaw, while heading back...go left or right-doesn't matter which way the nose is pointed-it will be your left or right.
Learning Home Lock will save you a ton of grief. IF/When the aircraft is far away from you-and you don't know which way the nose is pointed, just flip into Home Lock, pull back and wait. Once you can tell which way the nose is pointed-hover, and rotate the nose so it's pointed away from you-that way, you can more easily control the aircraft.

To "record" a new home point-flip the switch from off home lock quickly about 4 or 5 times and look for the green flash.

Course lock is basically the same as home lock-however, it can only be activated after 30 seconds of flight(dunno why). Once your headed in the direction you want as a straight line-hit Course Lock. Now, you can yaw about that course, while still moving forward.
I've not used C/L a lot. But, I have used Home Lock a whole bunch!!! Trust me-it will save you.

One more thing; Phantoms bite!!! They will lull you into a false sense of "I got this..."...then, you will become disoriented, and it may crash!!! Don't get too low, or far away.

Also-if it helps, log your flights and number them. That way, you have a record of how much flight time you have. Also-you can make notes as to what you want to try for the next time you fly, and, what you learned from that day's flights.

Last-read this and other forums. Learn from the mistakes of others, and never be afraid to ask any question(s). Chances are-the question has already been answered. But, if you can't find the question/answer using the search function-then ask.

There are a lot of very experienced pilots on here(I'm not one of them-I just get lucky, a lot). You have a lot to learn-take it slow and easy....and, have fun.

Thanks a bunch, that's some great advice and written so that even a noob such as myself understand. It seems like that the home lock is something to try early on since I can see that it will get me out of a 'lost orientation' situation.
I have to say, I had no idea that the P2 is SOOOO addicting.....the battery charger is running non stop




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[Miniflexalex]

Alright, got home, hooked the craft to the laptop and did an advanced calibration.
Went out did again the P2 dance to recalibrate the craft and it is now much mor stable even though it was a bit more windy compared to three hrs. ago. I was moving maybe 1 meter horizontal and maybe 30-40 cm vertical....I'm super happy now.

I tried a few minutes ATTI mode but I switched back to GPS, did not feel comfortable yet with the floating once I let go the stick.
I will rake in more flight hrs and try ATTI again.
Tomorrow I'm going to try the fly home mode, hopefully I get my home position recorded correctly
I never noticed the rapid flashing light once I lift the craft in the air which, as I've read, means home position set....I will pay more attention tomorrow.
Is there a manual mode to set the home position as well just to be sure? I've read that with the latest software update it's possible but I could not find an tutorial on how to do it.

Thanks a bunch, battery is on the charger another hr. once fully loaded, I'll do the first night flight

Btw. Great forum



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

OK, that's good. Going to give you some "sage" advise;
Don't even say the word-"manual mode"....just forget that even exist until you get around 100 successful flights in-maybe more.

Have fun in GPS mode for at least 10 flights...maybe more.
There's no rush to fly in Atti mode or Manual mode...get used to the aircraft and the whole R/C thing for awhile and have fun.

Now, for the home point thing...put the battery in, do the compass dance, sit down, and watch the rear LED. When you see green..green..green....wait for it. You'll see a rapid flash of green lights-that's just recorded home point-you can now take off, and once you are more than 30 feet away-you can engage Home Lock. To test it out-fly out about 50 or 60 feet, and stop and hover(keep it high-the ground has an unusual magnetic attraction to Phantoms and can cause serious damage if you hit it hard),
flip the switch from off to H/L...now just pull back on the stick-and no matter which direction the nose is pointed, the aircraft will return to you(within 30 feet). You can yaw, while heading back...go left or right-doesn't matter which way the nose is pointed-it will be your left or right.
Learning Home Lock will save you a ton of grief. IF/When the aircraft is far away from you-and you don't know which way the nose is pointed, just flip into Home Lock, pull back and wait. Once you can tell which way the nose is pointed-hover, and rotate the nose so it's pointed away from you-that way, you can more easily control the aircraft.

To "record" a new home point-flip the switch from off home lock quickly about 4 or 5 times and look for the green flash.

Course lock is basically the same as home lock-however, it can only be activated after 30 seconds of flight(dunno why). Once your headed in the direction you want as a straight line-hit Course Lock. Now, you can yaw about that course, while still moving forward.
I've not used C/L a lot. But, I have used Home Lock a whole bunch!!! Trust me-it will save you.

One more thing; Phantoms bite!!! They will lull you into a false sense of "I got this..."...then, you will become disoriented, and it may crash!!! Don't get too low, or far away.

Also-if it helps, log your flights and number them. That way, you have a record of how much flight time you have. Also-you can make notes as to what you want to try for the next time you fly, and, what you learned from that day's flights.

Last-read this and other forums. Learn from the mistakes of others, and never be afraid to ask any question(s). Chances are-the question has already been answered. But, if you can't find the question/answer using the search function-then ask.

There are a lot of very experienced pilots on here(I'm not one of them-I just get lucky, a lot). You have a lot to learn-take it slow and easy....and, have fun.

Thanks a bunch, that's some great advice and written so that even a noob such as myself understand. It seems like that the home lock is something to try early on since I can see that it will get me out of a 'lost orientation' situation.
I have to say, I had no idea that the P2 is SOOOO addicting.....the battery charger is running non stop




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[havasuphoto]

Pace yourself
You don't want to end up flying 1 flight too much. There's a time when you need to stop flying and just take a break.
It's very mentally demanding.
1 more thing; avoid flying on windy days for awhile. You don't want the added challenge of trying to take off and land when it's windy-it's just no fun at all.
Take things slow and easy....don't be tempted to fly over water(the Phantom also has a strong magnetic attraction to Water-so it's best to avoid, at all costs).

 

[Miniflexalex]

Pace yourself
You don't want to end up flying 1 flight too much. There's a time when you need to stop flying and just take a break.
It's very mentally demanding.
1 more thing; avoid flying on windy days for awhile. You don't want the added challenge of trying to take off and land when it's windy-it's just no fun at all.
Take things slow and easy....don't be tempted to fly over water(the Phantom also has a strong magnetic attraction to Water-so it's best to avoid, at all costs).

Yes, I noticed that a few flights in a row drain your internal batteries, lack of awareness and focus sets in.... I thought it's because I'm getting old
I flew 6 times today and that's about all I can handle for now.
Still no crash (knock on wood), the only little mishap was a 1/4 roll forward during initial takeoff. The craft was sitting in the grass, no no damage at all.

Can't wait to test tomorrow the home lock and course lock....I also want to try the automatic fly home function (s2 switched all the way down).... Exciting weekend ahead of me....


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[Miniflexalex]

Sorry double post

 

[havasuphoto]

Pace yourself
You don't want to end up flying 1 flight too much. There's a time when you need to stop flying and just take a break.
It's very mentally demanding.
1 more thing; avoid flying on windy days for awhile. You don't want the added challenge of trying to take off and land when it's windy-it's just no fun at all.
Take things slow and easy....don't be tempted to fly over water(the Phantom also has a strong magnetic attraction to Water-so it's best to avoid, at all costs).

Yes, I noticed that a few flights in a row drain your internal batteries, lack of awareness and focus sets in.... I thought it's because I'm getting old
I flew 6 times today and that's about all I can handle for now.
Still no crash (knock on wood), the only little mishap was a 1/4 roll forward during initial takeoff. The craft was sitting in the grass, no no damage at all.

Can't wait to test tomorrow the home lock and course lock....I also want to try the automatic fly home function (s2 switched all the way down).... Exciting weekend ahead of me....


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6 batteries would be a lot for me(I'm old too)..I usually call it at around 4 or 5.....