Fixing DJI's Compass Problem

sar104 said:
Your earlier suggestion, that rotating the compass (-2 x declination) might not be curing the problem entirely because the error may be in some, but not all of the Naza programming that uses declination correction, is a compelling hypothesis. If that is the case, however, then it should afflict all units with the affected software version(s) operated in regions of significant declination, but the number of reports, of what looks like a serious and hard to miss problem, still seems to be rather low, which tends to suggest a hardware issue. Very puzzling.

I take the number of reports to be a representative sample. I'd say 90% or higher of P2x forum users in affected areas have reported they have the problem. Let's say 2 - 3% of P2x owners worldwide are on this forum. I have 67 people as of today. Do the math and that works out to roughly 3,000 users who would report it if somebody explained it to them and asked if they have experienced it. My totally unfounded finger in the wind estimate is DJI has sold maybe 10,000 to 15,000 P2x units to date.

Another way to look at it, there's maybe a couple hundred of us P2x users actively participating here currently. Let's say 250 for argument's sake. 67 of 250 actives is 27%. Assuming that's a representative sample, you could argue that at least 1 in every 4 P2x users has claimed this as an issue or would claim it if they were invited to report it.

jduck said:
Count me in!

Two week newbie here and it's been windy in Southwestern Ohio so I was writing it off on that. Tonight there was no wind and I experienced all these behaviors, the TBE, the "J" effect. It got steady after a while but the TBE also came back at times. I have all the latest firmware updates and everything has been calibrated.

And now we wait for a fix. :-\

Thanks for bringing this to the forefront, it didn't seem right that I was having to make so many corrections all the time!

Image of my IMU calibration page...

http://imgur.com/nUfUHBL

Compass mod looks good but declination in your area is pretty low. May 5 degrees. Curious to know if maybe the compass isn't fully aligned or do you have anything close to it?
 
I have what I believe is a related issue I never noticed until I started checking...

when in a perfect hover, no TBE or disturbance of any kind, if I yaw left or right 180 degrees the craft will fly to the rear about4-5 feet before stabilizing then if I go another 180 it will essentially fly back where it was. very strange. I ran out of battery before I could give this a couple tests so I will check again and report back.

I usually fly fairly aggressive and never really noticed the hooking or skewed forward flight since I was automatically self adjusting as I would with an airplane not quite trimmed properly. when paying attention, there is definitely a problem!

my original phantom does not have these issues at all!
 
ianwood said:
sar104 said:
Your earlier suggestion, that rotating the compass (-2 x declination) might not be curing the problem entirely because the error may be in some, but not all of the Naza programming that uses declination correction, is a compelling hypothesis. If that is the case, however, then it should afflict all units with the affected software version(s) operated in regions of significant declination, but the number of reports, of what looks like a serious and hard to miss problem, still seems to be rather low, which tends to suggest a hardware issue. Very puzzling.

I take the number of reports to be a representative sample. I'd say 90% or higher of P2x forum users in affected areas have reported they have the problem. Let's say 2 - 3% of P2x owners worldwide are on this forum. I have 67 people as of today. Do the math and that works out to roughly 3,000 users who would report it if somebody explained it to them and asked if they have experienced it. My totally unfounded finger in the wind estimate is DJI has sold maybe 10,000 to 15,000 P2x units to date.

Another way to look at it, there's maybe a couple hundred of us P2x users actively participating here currently. Let's say 250 for argument's sake. 67 of 250 actives is 27%. Assuming that's a representative sample, you could argue that at least 1 in every 4 P2x users has claimed this as an issue or would claim it if they were invited to report it.

OK - if it is as high as 90% of P2 users in affected areas on this forum then that is quite consistent. I'm surprised that DJI has not issued a firmware revision yet. I have a P2 H3-3D on order, and I'm hoping that it will not have this problem.
 
hook3m said:
ianwood said:
hook3m said:
I'm in Austin TX

Curious, declination there is only 5 degrees. Do you get a slight hook when you first start out and then it cleans up? Or do you get a prominent hook that doesn't go away? Any more information on what you're seeing would be helpful.

There is always a nice hook when I start out. Sometimes it cleans up and other times it does not. I just few and it hooked and cleaned up and I was going. Always starts out with a hook though.

I just ordered a unit with gimbal and live in San Antonio. I never had an issue with my old 450 and 550 using NAZA controllers and I'm under 5 degrees. Hopefully I'll be ok.
 
skypup71 said:
I never had an issue with my old 450 and 550 using NAZA controllers and I'm under 5 degrees. Hopefully I'll be ok.

Yes. I would expect you should be fine. We've had virtually no confirmed reports of issue in areas with declination lower than 8.

nzvideoguys said:
Is it possible that a third party compass would solve this problem?

No, it's not a compass problem. It's a problem (bug) in the flight controller firmware.

cruiser607 said:
any reaction from DJI yet?

Only through entry-level contacts so far and the response there has been predictably dismissive. Paraphrasing but the response I received was "68 people is nothing compared to thousands of units sold" and "we appreciate your concern", "send your Phantom in for an exchange", etc.

This is exactly as I expected which is why I am in the process of identifying higher-level DJI staff who actually have some real contact with the FC development team. Obviously, DJI cannot guarantee a fix nor can they really formally acknowledge the problem from a liability perspective. That's fine. But I wholeheartedly expect an unofficial "don't you worry, we're on it" that I can relay to you guys so we can all take some comfort in knowing it's getting the right attention it needs.

If the mid-level contacts are equally dismissive, then we escalate. There is a "nuclear option" but let's exhaust all diplomatic options first. We have to give DJI the full opportunity to reassure us that they're taking the problem seriously.
 
Does this happen to the people who have swapped out for a Naza V2? Those who wanted to bypass the DJI-only security to be able to use standard Lipo batteries. I know the phantoms is a slightly dumbed down version of the V2.
 
Seattle, wa. 2 weeks flew steady and true, then bam out of nowhere it starts to yah to the left in stick forward. I have done and tried everything. Only luck was on day I adjusted the gains by single digits. Got it to fly straight. Unfortunately, only lasted one day. I have flown in all the NW states and it does the same thing out in the middle of nowhere to in the city. Hopefully there will be an update to fix this soon.
 
I've only read the first page of posts on this topic, but:

Add me to the list.

I'm in the state of NJ, USA. The hooking is to the right, with both my FC40 and my P2 Vision.
 
I live in Cape Town, South Africa. Magnetic Variation here is 22West.

My Phantom 2 exhibits severe TBE, often scribing a circle of 20 meters (approx 66 feet) or more when I try to hover in a stationary spot, even after waiting a full minute after 6+ GPS satellites are found before lifting off. It gradually improves over time, but by then I am running out of battery and when I swap battery, it starts all over again!

I cannot reliably use Course Lock mode, which is my preferred method of flying at substantial distance away from launch.

I thought the recent firmware upgrade would fix this, but it has actually become very noticably worse since I did the upgrade.
Guess what? I am now flying my old Phantom 1 now as the Phantom 2 is just too quirky, though it is in perfect condition.

What I cannot understand, is the cheaper Blade 350 QX has zero compass calibration needs... there is not even a procedure for doing a compass calibration, and no USB port, so no mucking about with weird settings, yet it flies PERFECTLY right out of the box, every time. It has a rock-solid stationary hover, from the moment you start-up. Why does the DJI Phantom have all these problems?

I have never heard of a 350QX flyaway, and there are now more of them flying here than all the Phantom models combined!

Come on DJI, sort out your ****!
 
Massacusetts here, DJI phantom 1, drifts to the right. Guess everyone else drifts to the left. Dont know why I am the oddball but it drives me nutz!
 
Bad TBE here in San Jose, CA on my P2Z.

I'm considering adjusting the GPS puck per the NAZA manual, but I have plans to travel to Hawaii and MN.

I really don't want to have to change it every time I travel.

Should we all start a letter/email writing campaign to DJI?
 
iversens said:
Bad TBE here in San Jose, CA on my P2Z.

I'm considering adjusting the GPS puck per the NAZA manual, but I have plans to travel to Hawaii and MN.

I really don't want to have to change it every time I travel.

Should we all start a letter/email writing campaign to DJI?

Moving the GPS puck won't do anything. It has no physical orientation.

As for a campaign, we need to be coordinated in our efforts to achieve maximum impact. We're not quite at that point yet. I am trying to establish a back-channel contact to get unofficial acknowledgement and assurance that it is being taken seriously. If that doesn't work, then we will all at the same time make a bunch of noise to make sure we get heard.

I will be updating everyone as soon as I get more information. Meanwhile, you're number 74.
 
ianwood said:
iversens said:
Bad TBE here in San Jose, CA on my P2Z.

I'm considering adjusting the GPS puck per the NAZA manual, but I have plans to travel to Hawaii and MN.

I really don't want to have to change it every time I travel.

Should we all start a letter/email writing campaign to DJI?

Moving the GPS puck won't do anything. It has no physical orientation.

As for a campaign, we need to be coordinated in our efforts to achieve maximum impact. We're not quite at that point yet. I am trying to establish a back-channel contact to get unofficial acknowledgement and assurance that it is being taken seriously. If that doesn't work, then we will all at the same time make a bunch of noise to make sure we get heard.

I will be updating everyone as soon as I get more information. Meanwhile, you're number 74.

i appreciate the effort and certainly hope an update can fix it, but what is to say DJi doesnt just tell you to go pound sand, you bought a 500 dollar toy that does a pretty **** good job, if you want something better go buy something better.
 
MILLER4PRESIDENT2020 said:
i appreciate the effort and certainly hope an update can fix it, but what is to say DJi doesnt just tell you to go pound sand, you bought a 500 dollar toy that does a pretty **** good job, if you want something better go buy something better.

There's always that chance. I'd argue that there are cheaper platforms that don't have the issue and that fixing it is really just a matter of debugging a couple lines of their code. It's not a feature they need to add as much as it is a feature they need to debug. we just want it one way or the other. Take out the feature and we can rotate our compasses accordingly. Or fix it so we don't have to do anything. Right now, we can't do either.
 
Add me to the list..NW Montana. I'd noticed it before in the 2 mths Ive had my P2..but today for some reason the TBE was more pronounced than usual (10-15 meter swing, gradually correcting. Normally, half that)

I also had a couple FS's initiated at pretty close range (300-500m) for unknown reasons.. Someone earlier mentioned possibly solar flare effects? I have not updated to FW 2.0 yet from 1.8..
 
terry.one said:
Anybody tried the latest 2.0 firmware? This should help fix the problem.


People have and it doesn't :cry:
 

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