Looking for some help

[DattaGroover]

I unpacked my P2 in Alberta, to take some footage in the Rockies, first time in Canada. I had updated everything. All showed good on the DJI assistant.

I calibrated the compass. Less satellites than in the States - only 6 or 8. When I launched it went wildly the wrong way, and then started taking off into the wild blue. I barely had control. Had to keep the throttle ALL the way down just to bring it down - but it still wants to fly away.

ONLY rough landings where it flips over, due to just barely being able to control it (just ran it a 12-18 feet off the ground since I had no control)

On start up it gives the rapid green flashes, but then still alternates between green & red. Does this mean it just doesn't have enough satellite contact?

Any ideas? I'm at the end of my rope here.

Thanks.

 

[OI Photography]

If you've travelled with it, even packed in a case, you'll probably need to do an IMU calibration once you unpack it...I've had to do that on a few occasions even though the Phantom was in a case that never went anywhere other than the trunk of the car.

 

[DattaGroover]

If you've travelled with it, even packed in a case, you'll probably need to do an IMU calibration once you unpack it...I've had to do that on a few occasions even though the Phantom was in a case that never went anywhere other than the trunk of the car.

Thanks, for that suggestion. I forgot to mention that earlier. I did both the basic and advanced " just in case" even though the values seemed to be normal. I was wondering later if that's what set everything off.

After my first post, last night I tried it again in a more controlled environment. After waiting for all- green (long after the fast green flashes) I was able to fly it, but it was overly responsive. TOO sensitive. I set all the settings on the assistant back to default- but that doesn't seem to solve it.

Any other ideas?

 

[OI Photography]

The only other relevant factor I can think of is maybe the change in air density at a different altitude. I haven't flown from higher elevations so I can't speak to what behavior you might see as a result (other than a general lack of overall lift), but tweaking the gains is where I would probably start.

It may not be in time for this trip, but DJI's new 9450 props are designed to give an extra measure of lift compared to the stock 9443's, and I hear stories from those in high elevations saying they make a noticeable improvement there.

 

[DattaGroover]

The only other relevant factor I can think of is maybe the change in air density at a different altitude. I haven't flown from higher elevations so I can't speak to what behavior you might see as a result (other than a general lack of overall lift), but tweaking the gains is where I would probably start.

It may not be in time for this trip, but DJI's new 9450 props are designed to give an extra measure of lift compared to the stock 9443's, and I hear stories from those in high elevations saying they make a noticeable improvement there.

That's a great suggestion. Though normally I fly starting at 5,000 feet in Colorado, and here it's close to that- around 4800'

Where can I order those props?

Thanks for the help.

 

[OI Photography]

http://www.extremeuas.com/products/dji- ... ning-props

It's a small shop but he always ships fast and takes good care of customers.

 

[DattaGroover]

http://www.extremeuas.com/products/dji-9450-thrust-boosted-self-tightening-props

It's a small shop but he always ships fast and takes good care of customers.

Thanks!

 

[DattaGroover]

UPDATE Re: Looking for some help

UPDATE:
By adjusting the settings in the Phantom Assistant, I was able to get it so it is mostly controllable and flyable, however, it randomly pulls hard to the right (in relation to the forward direction). I can counteract this most of the time, but at the end of the flight it went right and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

It should full satellite lock (blinking green) and via the iOSD mini showed 7 satellites. I reset the IMU, and calibrated the compass.

Does this mean I have to send it in for warranty repair?

Any ideas?

 

[Buckaye]

UPDATE:
By adjusting the settings in the Phantom Assistant, I was able to get it so it is mostly controllable and flyable, however, it randomly pulls hard to the right (in relation to the forward direction). I can counteract this most of the time, but at the end of the flight it went right and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

It should full satellite lock (blinking green) and via the iOSD mini showed 7 satellites. I reset the IMU, and calibrated the compass.

Does this mean I have to send it in for warranty repair?

Any ideas?

What firmware are you on? Is it possible you are experiencing the hooking effect?

 

[DattaGroover]

UPDATE:
By adjusting the settings in the Phantom Assistant, I was able to get it so it is mostly controllable and flyable, however, it randomly pulls hard to the right (in relation to the forward direction). I can counteract this most of the time, but at the end of the flight it went right and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

It should full satellite lock (blinking green) and via the iOSD mini showed 7 satellites. I reset the IMU, and calibrated the compass.

Does this mean I have to send it in for warranty repair?

Any ideas?

What firmware are you on? Is it possible you are experiencing the hooking effect?

3.06
What's the hooking effect?

 

[Buckaye]

Shouldn't be an issue with 3.06... It was a problem that was being caused by magnetic declination and making the phantom hook even when you tried to go straight. But 3.06 fixes it.

 

[DattaGroover]

Shouldn't be an issue with 3.06... It was a problem that was being caused by magnetic declination and making the phantom hook even when you tried to go straight. But 3.06 fixes it.

Thanks.
It may just be a hardware problem. I'll contact DJI when I get back to the States and see what they say.

 

[ianwood]

Flight Control Problems Traveling with the Phantom

First, make sure you're on the latest firmware. When you travel a long distance, you will need to recalibrate the compass and then allow the Phantom to "learn" the local declination. It may hook and TBE for during the first minute of flight in a new area. You need to use the right stick to move it so it can adapt. It should clean up after a couple of passes. It's a one-time effort and once calibrated and adapted, it should be fine for each subsequent flight in that area.

As for the IMU, if it goes through a relatively bumpy journey (even in a case), you should recalibrate it. Do this with a "cold" Phantom (off for an hour) so the IMU will be close to start up temp. Do the calibration on a level surface and don't touch it or anything near it while it calibrates.

My Phantom and I are doing some traveling lately so it's going in as checked luggage every once in a while. God knows what's happening to it behind the rubber flaps. Probably something like this:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=749iU2Zv1kw[/youtube]

P.S. Title of the thread could be a little more descriptive and that might help to get the right people to answer your questions.

 

[DattaGroover]

Re: Flight Control Problems Traveling with the Phantom

First, make sure you're on the latest firmware. When you travel a long distance, you will need to recalibrate the compass and then allow the Phantom to "learn" the local declination. It may hook and TBE for during the first minute of flight in a new area. You need to use the right stick to move it so it can adapt. It should clean up after a couple of passes. It's a one-time effort and once calibrated and adapted, it should be fine for each subsequent flight in that area.

As for the IMU, if it goes through a relatively bumpy journey (even in a case), you should recalibrate it. Do this with a "cold" Phantom (off for an hour) so the IMU will be close to start up temp. Do the calibration on a level surface and don't touch it or anything near it while it calibrates.

My Phantom and I are doing some traveling lately so it's going in as checked luggage every once in a while. God knows what's happening to it behind the rubber flaps.

P.S. Title of the thread could be a little more descriptive and that might help to get the right people to answer your questions.

Thanks for the video. That's a good one, and yes, sometimes it's that or worse. Good suggestion regarding the title. I'll try that next time.

After flying my P2 in a very safe area (and having done all you suggest), it did as you say, and finally stabilize. Then about 8 minutes into flight it just took off sideways, completely unresponsive to the sicks, and collided with some very solid trees. In hindsight, maybe I should have kicked it into failsafe mode, but I don't know if that would have worked, either.

If not for the last wildness, I'd feel better about it, but for now I'm at a loss.

Any other ideas?

 

[ianwood]

That sucks. From your description, it sounds like an IMU issue where it thinks it needs to tilt to get level but it's already level which will send it off in one direction. Only manual mode would save you in that case. I'm guessing at this point. Have you checked the mod values? Maybe the IMU is damaged or getting stuck. Check the mod for the compass as well.

There are other possibilities but let's start with mod values.

 

[DattaGroover]

That sucks. From your description, it sounds like an IMU issue where it thinks it needs to tilt to get level but it's already level which will send it off in one direction. Only manual mode would save you in that case. I'm guessing at this point. Have you checked the mod values? Maybe the IMU is damaged or getting stuck. Check the mod for the compass as well.

There are other possibilities but let's start with mod values.

I checked carefully, and all mods are well within the prescribed tolerances. I calibrated again and re-checked to make sure.

That is a good possibility regarding the IMU, though I believe I made sure it was level when I calibrated it. By manual mode, do you mean the right-hand switch on Atti.?

What is most worriesome to me is that after a while it was working fine for 8-9 minutes then made a wild dash to the right, even though I had the stick held 100% to the left. In other words, it became totally unresponsive.

Any other ideas?

 

[DattaGroover]

UPDATE Re: Looking for some help

That sucks. From your description, it sounds like an IMU issue where it thinks it needs to tilt to get level but it's already level which will send it off in one direction. Only manual mode would save you in that case. I'm guessing at this point. Have you checked the mod values? Maybe the IMU is damaged or getting stuck. Check the mod for the compass as well.

There are other possibilities but let's start with mod values.

When I got back to Colorado, all worked perfectly. Very strange.

 

[DattaGroover]

The only other relevant factor I can think of is maybe the change in air density at a different altitude. I haven't flown from higher elevations so I can't speak to what behavior you might see as a result (other than a general lack of overall lift), but tweaking the gains is where I would probably start.

It may not be in time for this trip, but DJI's new 9450 props are designed to give an extra measure of lift compared to the stock 9443's, and I hear stories from those in high elevations saying they make a noticeable improvement there.

Tried those 9450's. They are great. Give my P2 a little extra oomph, which is important, especially starting at 5K ft.

 

[DattaGroover]

Re: UPDATE Re: Looking for some help

That sucks. From your description, it sounds like an IMU issue where it thinks it needs to tilt to get level but it's already level which will send it off in one direction. Only manual mode would save you in that case. I'm guessing at this point. Have you checked the mod values? Maybe the IMU is damaged or getting stuck. Check the mod for the compass as well.

There are other possibilities but let's start with mod values.

When I got back to Colorado, all worked perfectly. Very strange.

Next stop: Japan. But first, I'm going to switch over to my FrSky Taranis.