Help for a noob

[Delgado]

Hi there,

Got my P2V+ a few days ago, I've taken it three different places, but can't seem to find more than 4 satellites according to my iOS app.

Obviously the rear LEDs are flashing yellow, so i can only fly it in non-GPS mode, which is a bit hairy for a new pilot.

I've done several compass recalibrations, I've got my antennae pointing upwards at a 45 degree angle (although I have played around with that), and I've tested my iPhone with the GPS status app which always gets an excellent fix.

Am i just being unlucky with the locations i select (mostly wide open spaces, at one point on a wide open cliff) or have I forgotten to do something drastic?

Currently running the latest firmware and software.

Thanks in advance for help!

 

[robinb]

How long are you leaving it to lock on ?
Mine can take sometimes over a minute, sometimes 2
Also have a look at this website and put in your locations, see how many sats are available at different times of day.
http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com

The other thing is to take off the top shell and check the 2 GPS lead is correctly sitting in connector and not popped off in transit to you.

 

[Delgado]

I've had it sat there for fifteen minutes.

According to that site i should have had 11 satellites available today, so unless I'm going a bit crazy, I think you may be right.

Will i void the warranty if i take the top shell off?

 

[srandall25]

ensure you've updated all the firmware as well... many people reporting an increase in satellite locks with the latest firmware.. more than likely, your phantom didn't ship with the latest firmware.

 

[Delgado]

ensure you've updated all the firmware as well... many people reporting an increase in satellite locks with the latest firmware.. more than likely, your phantom didn't ship with the latest firmware.

Got the latest firmware, it was the first thing i did out of the box.

 

[flyNfrank]

robinb is right about opening the top cover and checking the gps plug connections, which btw could probably unplug itself if turned upside down. Not sure why dji puts so little attention to this plug considering how well the rest of the connections are done right and nicely secured.

In the past, before the v3.06 update, I have had instances where I had to wait 7-10 minutes for 6 satellites. But then I would move the quad just a foot from the location and it would begin pulling in the satellites. It acted as if I had it sitting over some metal debree under ground.

Someone will soon advise you to do the aluminum foil mod over the gps in the top cover.

 

[Cocoa Beach Kiter]

Once you lift off, do you get an increase in number of sats? If not, I'd check the connections and if it looks good id say it has a bad gps module. Opening it is not hard. Depending on your situation, it may be easier/better to return it.

 

[Codacious]

How long are you leaving it to lock on ?
Mine can take sometimes over a minute, sometimes 2
Also have a look at this website and put in your locations, see how many sats are available at different times of day.
http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com

The other thing is to take off the top shell and check the 2 GPS lead is correctly sitting in connector and not popped off in transit to you.

Thanks for that website! I haven't seen it before!

 

[robinb]

Its really handy

For me early afternoon is a no no at my location as only a few sats visible.

 

[slothead]

You've gotten a lot of good advice. If you haven't had any better luck with it by now, I would waste no more time with it and return it to where you got it and demand a replacement.

 

[Mori55]

+1 why tKe a chance if it crashing , then your screwed.

 

[ToThePoint]

You've gotten a lot of good advice. If you haven't had any better luck with it by now, I would waste no more time with it and return it to where you got it and demand a replacement.

I second that.
If its not mutch of a hassle to get to the seller of the bird i would get a replacement.
After you have taken of the top lid you will still have warranty but leave the top of just in case you have to do some more tests.
The top lid is were the satellite receiver is located and that module is connected to the main board with a 4 wire connector.
Check it if thats well fitted.
Leave the top lid lose and go outside, startup and check the satellites. Check on that predicter website how many sat you would be able to see.
If it doesn't improve, lift up the top lid as systems are still running. Wait a bit because its could be slow before things change on the app.
If there isn't a improvement yet you have to return that bird.
If it does you have 2 options.
One return the bird or do the alu foil modification.

Let us know how thing evolve.

 

[Delgado]

Bought the bird from DJI directly, which i am now regretting. Gonna try one more site today before i try to send it back to China. I come from an old mining town so it may just be that the sites I've chosen arent the best for possible interference. But i'd agree it looks like it's going to have to be returned.

 

[Delgado]

Managed to get five satellites at the new site, (progress!!!) so i've fired off an e-mail to DJI support. :-(

 

[Delgado]

I second that.
If its not mutch of a hassle to get to the seller of the bird i would get a replacement.
After you have taken of the top lid you will still have warranty but leave the top of just in case you have to do some more tests.
The top lid is were the satellite receiver is located and that module is connected to the main board with a 4 wire connector.
Check it if thats well fitted.
Leave the top lid lose and go outside, startup and check the satellites. Check on that predicter website how many sat you would be able to see.
If it doesn't improve, lift up the top lid as systems are still running. Wait a bit because its could be slow before things change on the app.
If there isn't a improvement yet you have to return that bird.
If it does you have 2 options.
One return the bird or do the alu foil modification.

Let us know how thing evolve.

PS: Thanks for this advice, very helpful, i will try this once i've heard back from DJI

 

[cahutch]

Your location is a major factor in how many satellites you can see.
If you're in a canyon or valley with tall structures or mountains on either side, you probably won't get enough to fly with. You need to be able to see some horizon since most of the satellites are not directly above you.
I say take a trip to find some open ground where you can see sky in all directions and see how many satellites you get there.


If you have a couple of satellites, it's not the connector inside. If the connector was lose you'd have zero satellites.
The Aluminum foil mod is BS. It's an myth unsubstantiated with any hard evidence that it actually works.
You just need a good location where you can see a lot of sky all around you, not just a little right above you.

 

[srandall25]

Actually there is a thread where just about every person who did the aluminum foil mod, including myself, reported faster satellite lock and higher number satellites sooner than later. It's not a myth. It helps better shield the GPS from signal interference from the bird. There is already a recognized need for a shield since there is already one in place. This just provides enhanced shielding.

 

[cahutch]

Actually there is a thread where just about every person who did the aluminum foil mod, including myself, reported faster satellite lock and higher number satellites sooner than later. It's not a myth. It helps better shield the GPS from signal interference from the bird. There is already a recognized need for a shield since there is already one in place. This just provides enhanced shielding.

All reported "results" that I have seen have been subjective and anecdotal.

I certainly understand the concept of shielding, and perhaps it does help a little, but for me it wouldn't be worth the effort since I don't have a problem with GPS reception.
In my experience, simple foil shielding can't do much without being grounded and since there's already a shield there, doubling the shielding will have diminishing value.

I've done some testing myself. Though I haven't done the foil mod, I've tested satellite reception without any mod and have never had any problem that I could blame on rf interference or shielding.
On open ground I get a lock on 8-12 satellites before I can even get the app connected. When I have fewer satellites it's always because of terrain blocking some part of the sky.
Most of the satellites you receive are not above you, but closer to the horizon, so trees, hills, buildings all contribute to blocking some part of the sky and therefore block some satellites.

Many people claim that when they use the camera or start recording, their satellites drop. I can say with certainty that's BS. If you lose satellites when you press record, it's a coincidence. You're just a likely to lose or gain a satellite at any time whether you're recording or not. You can't expect the number of satellites to remain constant since they are always moving and so are you. This makes it very difficult to do any objective testing since you can't count on conditions being constant moment to moment.

MHO, YMMV

Anyway, my point is, that there is no way to be sure the foil is having any effect since any before and after testing is being done at different times and therefore with a different number of satellites in the sky.

 

[Mori55]

Well with my mobius can on my dji 450 I would lose sat lock on record. Had to sheild the camera then all was good. So I know that wasn't BS. I did the foil tape mod and picked up more sats and had a faster lock. So unless you try it , how can you call BS

 

[cahutch]

Well with my mobius can on my dji 450 I would lose sat lock on record. Had to sheild the camera then all was good. So I know that wasn't BS. I did the foil tape mod and picked up more sats and had a faster lock. So unless you try it , how can you call BS

I've heard tale of the Mobius causing interference and yeah, any high speed digital signal can cause wide band interference if it's not properly shielded or otherwise suppressed.
But I did testing on my Stock P2V+. Noting any increase or decrease in the number of satellites as I started and stopped recording. There was no pattern. They come and go when not recording and they come and go while recording. More than once I noticed a satellite dropped when I started recording, but over the entire test I was just as likely to gain a satellite when I started recording as I was to lose a satellite.

My skepticism is based on the fact that there is already a shield there. Adding another shield should have negligible effect if any. It's more likely that moving the GPS cable is what made the difference.
I am considering testing the effect of adding a ferrite bead to the GPS cable to suppress stray RF that might get under the shield through that wire, but honestly I don't know how I could get any objective results since satellites are not constant so results will vary even if there's no mod.