Fixing DJI's Compass Problem

JamesD · May 1, 2014

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I read somewhere a post that questioned DJI's use of its customers as "beta tester's" - The more I read, the more I agree.

It seems they are rushing product to market / releasing product for sale that probably shouldn't be.

I think Ian has done more research on this compass issue than perhaps DJI has.

Jimmy

Lenny7118 · May 1, 2014

JamesD said:
.
I read somewhere a post that questioned DJI's use of its customers as "beta tester's" - The more I read, the more I agree.

It seems they are rushing product to market / releasing product for sale that probably shouldn't be.

I think Ian has done more research on this compass issue than perhaps DJI has.

Jimmy

I agree but DJI just came out with a firmware 3.02 and it's not a fix for the compass.
Doesn't look promising from DJI to fix this quickly , IF They can !!

sxmdrones · May 2, 2014

I am having the same issue here as well with my Phantom 2 circling without any type of input after taking off. I have done the compass calibration once since i received the phantom. This is making me nervous of hitting it against any object unintentionally.

Watch the video of this compass issue right here, beginning of the video showing phantom went crazy and almost hit the building before i used the throttle to left it up. I am waiting on my prop guards to arrive before attempt to fly again.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6CVy833zw[/youtube]

This is my magnetic declination readings from magnetic-declination.com
Simsons Bay, Netherland Antilles
Latitude: 18° 1' 60" N
Longitude: 63° 6' 0" W
Magnetic declination: -14° 13' WEST
Declination is NEGATIVE
Inclination: 42° 0'
Magnetic field strength: 36680.3 nT

landonkk · May 2, 2014

sxmdrones said:
I am having the same issue here as well with my Phantom 2 circling without any type of input after taking off. I have done the compass calibration once since i received the phantom. This is making me nervous of hitting it against any object unintentionally.

Watch the video of this compass issue right here, beginning of the video showing phantom went crazy and almost hit the building before i used the throttle to left it up. I am waiting on my prop guards to arrive before attempt to fly again.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6CVy833zw[/youtube]

This is my magnetic declination readings from magnetic-declination.com
Simsons Bay, Netherland Antilles
Latitude: 18° 1' 60" N
Longitude: 63° 6' 0" W
Magnetic declination: -14° 13' WEST
Declination is NEGATIVE
Inclination: 42° 0'
Magnetic field strength: 36680.3 nT

That was very severe and although you no doubt have some effect from this j-hook issue, I would do an advanced calibration in the P2 assistant. It looks as though you may have additional issues with your Phantom.

obiwan_pierogi · May 2, 2014

I discovered something odd, during a flight yesterday.. I currently have my compass rotated 30 degrees clockwise.. Anyways, within a minute of taking off, I flew at a high rate of speed in a SE direction.. The copter drifted left, when I let go of the toggle.. I then turned the copter 180 degrees, and instantly went back in the direction I had come from (NW).. Interestingly, I noted that the copter now drifted right, upon stopping.. By about the same amount.. I'm just wondering now if the amount of left drift changes, if the direction of the copter changes?

Dozer · May 2, 2014

Hello Ian,
I have 2x Phantoms, one P2 with H32D, and one P2V+. Both exhibit this, The P2V+ is on the latest firmware and is worse.
My magnetic declination is nearly -12.

So, add another 2 to your list. My friend Mimo has a P2, I'll check it out this weekend.

golgotha · May 3, 2014

Add me to the users affected with this problem.

After giving full speed forward and seeing it slowly hook left, I let go of the sticks and the initial toilet bowl effect does a left, wide arc that covers a 50' diameter before settling into a GPS position.

I'd like to try it again while in ATTI mode instead of GPS to see if the problem remains.

malimish · May 4, 2014

same issue here in Los Angeles, CA area.

Here is an example:
http://instagram.com/p/nj-I1SnIHP/

ianwood · May 5, 2014

Over 100 people in this forum have reported this issue. That is a pretty sizable number. DJI is continuing to investigate the issue and requesting more data. They've indicated that they have seen something in the data but they haven't provided any details yet.

In the meantime, I have with a lot of help from others decoded much of the CAN bus data. I am now able to process the Mark II OSD .DAT file into a .CSV file that can be used in Dashware or some other visualization tool. As well as all the raw sensor data, I now have access to stick positions, motor speeds, even the individual voltages of each cell in the battery.

I am working on some further visualizations that will highlight the issue and make it irrefutable. Showing the stick inputs along with the course over ground vs. a properly declination adjusted heading makes it very obvious that something is very off.

I am still working on some remaining issues. My haversine distance formula is not working. And I am still a few degrees off on the compass tilt compensation algorithm. Stay tuned... A telemetry laden video will be coming soon.

nugget · May 5, 2014

yep same problem the left j hook. hit a tree the other day not happy....

BigBadFun · May 5, 2014

ianwood said:
I am still working on some remaining issues. My haversine distance formula is not working. And I am still a few degrees off on the compass tilt compensation algorithm. Stay tuned... A telemetry laden video will be coming soon.

Ian - DJI should be hiring or paying you! Seriously, I do wonder how a company with obviously such brilliant hardware technicians can fail so badly in customer support. I really hope a fix comes soon.

lucianopacheco · May 5, 2014

Wow... Awesome Job Ian. I seriously hope DJI will reward you for doing the job they were not able to do.
Thanks for everybody that contributed in any way. Hope we get this fixed soon.

Sonarking · May 5, 2014

Tom3holer I am on the Cape. Can you contact me at [email protected]?

riblit · May 5, 2014

ianwood said:
I am still working on some remaining issues. My haversine distance formula is not working. And I am still a few degrees off on the compass tilt compensation algorithm. Stay tuned... A telemetry laden video will be coming soon.

Looking good Ian, I can see a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

rasimpson · May 6, 2014

I am seeing my Phantom 2 Vision Plus hook to the left. I am using Naza m. I live in the SF Bay area.

EskimoPie · May 6, 2014

My P2V+ hooks, although not quite as bad as the video. I'm in Tucson, AZ.

Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

mntnbike · May 6, 2014

I live in NE PA and have the same problem,,,,,,this is really bad DJI should understand that it needs to be fixed..

Erwan · May 6, 2014

it's **** frustrating ! got the 3D the gimbal works awesome but impossible to made a straight pan ! with balancing the stick

TKFive · May 6, 2014

Hey Ian thanks for all your work

I just recently got my P2 and took it on some test flights and seems like I'm hooking alil bit. I'm located in the LA area too.

shawnskinner · May 10, 2014

Thanks Ian for taking this on I am fairly new into DJI and quadcopters. I live in Cape Town & Durban South Africa. I have flown my Phantom Vision in the USA and since arriving in South Africa have never received the same flight stably, it would alway do a little toilet bowl, and drift from where it was supposed to hold, when I took my hands off the sticks. Down in Cape Town its worse. 3 crashes probably haven't helped but it seem everything I do doesn't help. If I knew all this there is no way I would have started this addictive hobby in the first place. Thanks