Compass calibration

[cactus683]

Whats the story with compass calibration.Should it be done before each flight no matter what?Or if you move 100 miles away to another spot etc.All different answers dont know what to do.

 

[Oso]

Whats the story with compass calibration.Should it be done before each flight no matter what?Or if you move 100 miles away to another spot etc.All different answers dont know what to do.

You can start with reading this post:
Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer

There are many differing opinions, so do some research and decide for yourself. As for me, I don't do it every time. Only if I have traveled a significant distance away (dozens of miles).

 

[msinger]

I recommend following this guide.

 

[cactus683]

Thanks im so frigging nervous as this will only be my third flight tomorrow im definitely within a 5 mile radius of my last takeoof point,ill see how the compass mod reads also.

 

[lonjsnyder]

A simple solution is to always be ready to change the flight mode from GPS to ATTI should you ever have seemingly erratic GPS flight behavior.
I've seen recommendations between 60 to 100 miles. Calibrating before every flight carries its own risk of getting a bad calibration.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Meta4]

Thanks im so frigging nervous as this will only be my third flight tomorrow im definitely within a 5 mile radius of my last takeoof point,ill see how the compass mod reads also.

Relax ... once you have a good compass calibration, just stick with it.
You can safely fly for months without recalibrating the compass and unnecessarily recalibrating it introduces the risk of a bad calibration which is much worse.

 

[sonof40]

Also read this one:
10 things that could save your drone | Paul Joy – Freelance Filmmaker

 

[cactus683]

Relax ... once you have a good compass calibration, just stick with it.
You can safely fly for months without recalibrating the compass and unnecessarily recalibrating it introduces the risk of a bad calibration which is much worse.

Now if my mod is around 1200 i just checked here in the house,i should just double check it tomorrow before getting airborne?

 

[cactus683]

A simple solution is to always be ready to change the flight mode from GPS to ATTI should you ever have seemingly erratic GPS flight behavior.
I've seen recommendations between 60 to 100 miles. Calibrating before every flight carries its own risk of getting a bad calibration.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks alot!As i have no experince in atti i guess its really not that hard just some correction with wind and stuff

 

[ryantrax]

I only calibrate if I go about 50 miles away from my previous calibration location or if I see a little wandering in the yaw.

 

[cactus683]

I only calibrate if I go about 50 miles away from my previous calibration location or if I see a little wandering in the yaw.

SInce i started flying i always do a flight control test before going a long way,best thing to do i guess

 

[CaptainDrone798]

Here is my experience... Having a compass not properly calibrated is not the end of the world. Your Phantom will still hover in place, although it may move around a bit more. It will still fly, although it will not fly in a straight line even when you do Home Lock. What won't happen is... Your Phantom won't fly away, won't suddenly start flying 500 feet in every direction even though you're not touching the controls and it won't head off looking for the nearest lake to go for a swim.

What I'm getting at is that you will 100% know when you take-off if your compass is not properly calibrated which is then your signal to land and calibrate.

How often do I calibrate my compass? Only when it seems like it needs it (i.e., it does not hover correctly, appears to not fly straight). Sometime's your Phantom will tell you before you take off that the compass needs to be calibrated. If you had calibrated not so long ago and everything has been fine, then there is a very good chance that your Phantom is sitting near or on metal objects. In such a case my advice is DO NOT CALIBRATE YOUR COMPASS, but rather just move the Phantom however many feet away to a spot where it no longer tells you the compass needs calibrating. If you try and calibrate a compass that is being thrown off by metal objects, then your Phantom is going to fly as if you didn't calibrate the compass at all.

As noted at the start, the above has been my experience and I've not had any issues.

 

[cactus683]

Here is my experience... Having a compass not properly calibrated is not the end of the world. Your Phantom will still hover in place, although it may move around a bit more. It will still fly, although it will not fly in a straight line even when you do Home Lock. What won't happen is... Your Phantom won't fly away, won't suddenly start flying 500 feet in every direction even though you're not touching the controls and it won't head off looking for the nearest lake to go for a swim.

What I'm getting at is that you will 100% know when you take-off if your compass is not properly calibrated which is then your signal to land and calibrate.

How often do I calibrate my compass? Only when it seems like it needs it (i.e., it does not hover correctly, appears to not fly straight). Sometime's your Phantom will tell you before you take off that the compass needs to be calibrated. If you had calibrated not so long ago and everything has been fine, then there is a very good chance that your Phantom is sitting near or on metal objects. In such a case my advice is DO NOT CALIBRATE YOUR COMPASS, but rather just move the Phantom however many feet away to a spot where it no longer tells you the compass needs calibrating. If you try and calibrate a compass that is being thrown off by metal objects, then your Phantom is going to fly as if you didn't calibrate the compass at all.

As noted at the start, the above has been my experience and I've not had any issues.

Thanks alot ! I will find out in the morning!!!