Compass calibration every time?

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Hi Everyone,

I just recently got my gimbal all set up and am wondering if you guys all still do your compass dance every time you fly or just every now and then. I ask this because it seems like a pain to keep unplugging and replugging the battery in order to get the gimbal to power up again after doing the dance. Am I just being paranoid for wanting to calibrate before every flight?

Thanks!
 
I had a few flights today and each time I power up and wait for GPS lock (quick green flashing light) before I take off. For no good reason in particular, I put the phantom on the top of my pick up bed cover when I powered up. The lights flashed red/yellow alternately. This indicated a compass problem (see http://www.dji.com/faq/phantom-faq/). I picked the phantom up and put it on the ground and it went back to yellow lights until GPS lock and then went to green. If it had continued to blink red/yellow, that would have indicated it was time to do a compass calibration dance.

I don't think it hurts anything to do the calibration every time, but in general it is unnecessary.
 
The red/yellow flashing LED indicates there's a compass error. It was probably all the steel from your pick-up truck that was interfering with the compass.

I had the same problem when trying to take off from a deck that was supported by steel beams and got the red/yellow warning. Relocating the Phantom to a nearby table top immediately fixed the problem.
 
I have version 1.1.1 and I calibrated the compass before my first flight....since then, I've had 75-80 flights and never did it again and it still works like a charm. According to a service tech at DJI, you only need to re-calibrate when you change locations a great distance....his words were " for example, a time zone".
 
These are the guys that organize their sock drawer with a protractor....nothing you can say to change their mind.
 
Most DJI Phantom PDF's say this:
Calibrate the compass before the first flight or when flying in a different area.
(My question would be, "First flight ever or first flight of a session".)

The DJI Wiki says,
When Recalibration is Required
▪ (1)When Compass Data is abnormal, the LED flight indicator will blink alternating between red and yellow.
▪ (2)Last compass calibration was performed at a completely different flying field/location.
▪ (3)The mechanical structure of the aircraft has changed, i.e. changed mounting position of the compass.
▪ (4)Evident drifting occurs in flight, i.e. the aircraft doesn’t fly in straight lines.
Compass Calibration is very important, otherwise the system will work abnormal.


Yes, I'm a forum biddy, although not of the gender most associated with biddies. However, if prefaced with "old" that might apply. I feel most comfortable when I calibrate the compass at the start of each session. I would have to search for my sock drawer, let alone a protractor.
 
Buk said:
Most DJI Phantom PDF's say this:
Calibrate the compass before the first flight or when flying in a different area.
(My question would be, "First flight ever or first flight of a session".)

The DJI Wiki says,
When Recalibration is Required
▪ (1)When Compass Data is abnormal, the LED flight indicator will blink alternating between red and yellow.
▪ (2)Last compass calibration was performed at a completely different flying field/location.
▪ (3)The mechanical structure of the aircraft has changed, i.e. changed mounting position of the compass.
▪ (4)Evident drifting occurs in flight, i.e. the aircraft doesn’t fly in straight lines.
Compass Calibration is very important, otherwise the system will work abnormal.


Yes, I'm a forum biddy, although not of the gender most associated with biddies. However, if prefaced with "old" that might apply. I feel most comfortable when I calibrate the compass at the start of each session. I would have to search for my sock drawer, let alone a protractor.

Please don't take offense...I was just trying to inject a little humor into the discussion. What you said is the most important thing...if you feel more comfortable re- calibrating every time you start to fly then that's the right thing for you to do. I took the DJI statement to mean when you first took it up after getting it set up, not every time you fly it. I have in excess of 100 flights, within a 50 mile radius, and I have never re-calibrated and I won't until I get some indication that I should, like weird hovering or indicator lights. IMHO, unless something happens to change the original calibration then it will remain good until something happens to change it. Last month, I had occasion to speak to a DJI tech about another situation and I specifically ask him about this and he basically said the same thing with two caveats..if you move a far distance from the original point of calibration or there are things in the new location that might affect the compass, such as ferrous metals or a large amount of metal near by, power lines or microwave towers, etc. When I pressed him on the distance issue his statement was " for instance, a time zone ." According to your location, that could be as much as a thousand miles. But the basic point remains...to each his own ! BTW, I'm an old fart of 66 so I know where you're coming from...and I don't think biddies is the right term for either of us ! Have fun flying your Phantom, that's the most important thing.
 
I don't have this problem with my Vision. But my Phantom 2 Zenmuse/GoPro is another story. I have to recalibrate every time. Even from the same location. Plus today, although I had solid greens and little wind...it tended to drift to the left ( as viewed from the default position). It barely missed a tree 8 meters away as it was hovering. I'm going to put my controller on the computer and recalibrate the sticks.
 

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