Need help - REALLY weird issue with phantom - Will not hover AT ALL

[anthonyp]

Not really sure that description is the best (as in the headline)... this problem seems to be pretty unique as I've yet to find anyone describe something similar.

My DJI Phantom 1 (P330D) powers up, reads no errors, gets GPS signal, and acts like it's totally fine (When put next to my other P1, I wouldn't be able to tell one has a problem and the other doesn't based on lights). But when I take off... there is no altitude hold/hover whatsoever... if I throttle up the throttle goes up and if I release it the aircraft stops spinning its props and falls hard. It acts like a cheapo $20 drone but is even harder to fly.

This seems to be the only symptom. I've connected it to the software, calibrated everything, updated everything, and it doesn't give me any errors... and the "Cut off type" setting in the software is set to "Intelligent".

I'm really not sure where to go from here I was hoping someone here might have dealt with a similar issue in the past.

EDIT: Not sure if this is relevant - when I did an advanced IMU calibration I kept getting errors for temperature too high. Now.. my room was hot as hell that night. I set it in front of the airconditioner and it finished first try.

 

[ChrisRL]

Okay Anthony
Here's the deal.
The IMU is the thing that provides all of the instrumentation to keep your drone steady in flight.
There's quite a few very sensitive instruments inside the IMU - a compass, barometer, accelerometer, etc.
All of them are VERY sensitive to magnetism, temperature, etc.

So.
To calibrate an IMU, or your compass for that matter, you have to make like Homeland Security.

1) take your drone outside, not indoors

2) take it to where THERE IS NOTHING METALLIC for at least 10-15ft ALL AROUND - including cars, old tractors, underground metal pipes or power lines, metal fences, old containers, ploughs, anything at all that might make your instruments read falsely.

3) take EVERYTHING metallic off you. Keys, knives, wallets, watches, rings, belt buckles, just like taking an airplane trip.

4) Make sure your drone is cold and the battery cold too.

5) Power on your remote, then your iPhone, then your laptop/computer (you do have a 15ft USB cable, don't you? if not, get one or an extension - remember, your computer is also metallic)

6) Power on your drone, make sure everything is connected up right and registers on your Assist app/program.

7) IMMEDIATELY do your Advanced IMU calibration. The battery will start to heat up as soon as the drone is powered up, and you want it to be as cold as possible. This is because, if you don't do what I say and leave the battery to get hot before you calibrate, the drone remembers the IMU temperature at time of calibration. The hotter it was at calibration, the longer you will have to wait (for the battery to reach the same temperature) before your flights.

That's about it.

Don't forget to do the same for your compass calibration as well. The battery temp doesn't matter for that, but the lack of anything metallic around ABSOLUTELY does matter. Nothing metallic within 15ft of your drone when you calibrate your compass.

Check on your Assist program that everything is still copacetic, then disconnect, reboot, and try it.

I'll pretty much guarantee that your P1 will lock in and hover properly, no toilet-bowling, etc.

Redo an IMU calibration every time you have a hard landing, drastic change of weather.

Redo compass calibration every time you take off more than 250ft or so from where you last took off, or when RTH is critical where you're flying.

This is all in the manuals, but a lot of people don't bother with those any more.

JM2c
HTH
YMMV etc
but I did have a P1 that I repaired for a friend, and it did behave well after I calibrated properly.

 

[anthonyp]

Okay -- due to the heat issue would it be beneficial to have the battery outside of the drone during calibration?

 

[anthonyp]

Alright back from attempting this outdoors as instructed with about 10+ feet of USB extension cable.

I was getting temperature errors again so I let it sit for about 10 minutes and fired it up again... and i was VERY fast about getting the test started (probably 15 seconds) and I immediately (not even like a minute or two into the test... IMMEDIATELY) got a temperature error again.

Weather.com reads the temperature here as 68f (or 20c)... maybe i'll wait til it's dark and colder outside and go try again.

 

[Monte55]

Okay Anthony
Here's the deal.
The IMU is the thing that provides all of the instrumentation to keep your drone steady in flight.
There's quite a few very sensitive instruments inside the IMU - a compass, barometer, accelerometer, etc.
All of them are VERY sensitive to magnetism, temperature, etc.

So.
To calibrate an IMU, or your compass for that matter, you have to make like Homeland Security.

1) take your drone outside, not indoors

2) take it to where THERE IS NOTHING METALLIC for at least 10-15ft ALL AROUND - including cars, old tractors, underground metal pipes or power lines, metal fences, old containers, ploughs, anything at all that might make your instruments read falsely.

3) take EVERYTHING metallic off you. Keys, knives, wallets, watches, rings, belt buckles, just like taking an airplane trip.

4) Make sure your drone is cold and the battery cold too.

5) Power on your remote, then your iPhone, then your laptop/computer (you do have a 15ft USB cable, don't you? if not, get one or an extension - remember, your computer is also metallic)

6) Power on your drone, make sure everything is connected up right and registers on your Assist app/program.

7) IMMEDIATELY do your Advanced IMU calibration. The battery will start to heat up as soon as the drone is powered up, and you want it to be as cold as possible. This is because, if you don't do what I say and leave the battery to get hot before you calibrate, the drone remembers the IMU temperature at time of calibration. The hotter it was at calibration, the longer you will have to wait (for the battery to reach the same temperature) before your flights.

That's about it.

Don't forget to do the same for your compass calibration as well. The battery temp doesn't matter for that, but the lack of anything metallic around ABSOLUTELY does matter. Nothing metallic within 15ft of your drone when you calibrate your compass.

Check on your Assist program that everything is still copacetic, then disconnect, reboot, and try it.

I'll pretty much guarantee that your P1 will lock in and hover properly, no toilet-bowling, etc.

Redo an IMU calibration every time you have a hard landing, drastic change of weather.

Redo compass calibration every time you take off more than 250ft or so from where you last took off, or when RTH is critical where you're flying.

This is all in the manuals, but a lot of people don't bother with those any more.

JM2c
HTH
YMMV etc
but I did have a P1 that I repaired for a friend, and it did behave well after I calibrated properly.

IMU cal doesn't need to be done outside.
There is nothing to require an I Phone for.
There is no need to redo compass cal every time you move 250 ft away. Where are you getting this info?

 

[ChrisRL]

Anthony
Your heat issue is very unusual. Probably an indication that a tech should look at your drone.

Monte
Good morning. D'you see at the end of my post, where I say..

HTH - hope this helps
JM2c - Just my two cents
YMMV - your mileage may vary, etc?

I'm not the be-all and end-all of DJI drones. However, I've repaired, and flown, 1,2,3,and 4's (currently repairing a dunked P4P) plus I1s, so this is my experience only talking. Sorry if you thought I was representing otherwise.

Because there's usually magnetic and electronic things indoors, taking it outside means that many potential variables are eliminated from the diagnostic equation. It's the fastest way I know to remove them so if there's something else going on, as there seems to be in Anthony's case, one can get to the core of the matter quickly.

And I don't know how you do it, but I always do my IMU and my compass calibrations outside, usually very early in the morning (in SoCal, things usually heat up quickly, depending on the time of year), and away from anything metallic, including cell phones, laptops, what have you.

No, there is no need to do any calibration whatsoever - but then if the drone doesn't fly right, then what?

 

[Monte55]

Anthony
Your heat issue is very unusual. Probably an indication that a tech should look at your drone.

Monte
Good morning. D'you see at the end of my post, where I say..

HTH - hope this helps
JM2c - Just my two cents
YMMV - your mileage may vary, etc?

I'm not the be-all and end-all of DJI drones. However, I've repaired, and flown, 1,2,3,and 4's (currently repairing a dunked P4P) plus I1s, so this is my experience only talking. Sorry if you thought I was representing otherwise.

Because there's usually magnetic and electronic things indoors, taking it outside means that many potential variables are eliminated from the diagnostic equation. It's the fastest way I know to remove them so if there's something else going on, as there seems to be in Anthony's case, one can get to the core of the matter quickly.

And I don't know how you do it, but I always do my IMU and my compass calibrations outside, usually very early in the morning (in SoCal, things usually heat up quickly, depending on the time of year), and away from anything metallic, including cell phones, laptops, what have you.

No, there is no need to do any calibration whatsoever - but then if the drone doesn't fly right, then what?

 

[N017RW]

Anthony
Your heat issue is very unusual. Probably an indication that a tech should look at your drone.

Monte
Good morning. D'you see at the end of my post, where I say..

HTH - hope this helps
JM2c - Just my two cents
YMMV - your mileage may vary, etc?

I'm not the be-all and end-all of DJI drones. However, I've repaired, and flown, 1,2,3,and 4's (currently repairing a dunked P4P) plus I1s, so this is my experience only talking. Sorry if you thought I was representing otherwise.

Because there's usually magnetic and electronic things indoors, taking it outside means that many potential variables are eliminated from the diagnostic equation. It's the fastest way I know to remove them so if there's something else going on, as there seems to be in Anthony's case, one can get to the core of the matter quickly.

And I don't know how you do it, but I always do my IMU and my compass calibrations outside, usually very early in the morning (in SoCal, things usually heat up quickly, depending on the time of year), and away from anything metallic, including cell phones, laptops, what have you.

No, there is no need to do any calibration whatsoever - but then if the drone doesn't fly right, then what?

I appreciate your SOPs but it's important to understand things rather be superstitious. The IMU is not effected by nearby items or magnetism. It is gravity and motion.
Again you do what you feel is necessary but don't be sure it all matters.
Maybe your 250ft compass cal mention was a typo but what happens when you fly 3-4 or more times that distance away?

I last cal-ed my pP2 over 2 years ago and have travelled 600 miles away (and back) during that time including subject or exposure to airport scanners (another often suspected issue).

 

[Monte55]

Magnetic issues have nothing to do with IMU calibration. Can be done inside on a level still surface. Compass calibration should be done outside away from magnetic influences. You do not need to strip down to do this. Watches, keys, wallet, peaches, pears, fruit baskets in general do no harm. If you want to give info, please make sure it is correct. HTH, YMMV, JM2C does not make up for bad or incorrect info. I have 3 P1s and have been flying them since the beginning of 2014 and kind of know how they work.

 

[ChrisRL]

Thank you for that, Monte.
My experience has been slightly different from yours. Especially the compass calibration part, sorry.

Everybody else:
Yes, Monte is technically correct. There's nothing in the manuals that say you HAVE to remove all metals, etc., and that you HAVE to do the same for the IMU, or indeed that you HAVE to do anything at all that I've mentioned.

I'm saying that that is what I HAVE to do to get to a good setting on MY DRONES asap. By standardizing my calibration procedure across my Cinestars, Splash Drones, Inspires, Phantoms, Mavics and Micro Drones, it becomes a no-brainer to get that done right first time, and also to get to a diagnostic as quickly as possible in the event that something isn't working correctly.

That's the way I do it. I've arrived at this method (and I'm not my any means the only person who does this) after may years of trial and error. (Sometimes this won't calibrate properly, or that. or the other). Sometimes, calibration isn't possible prior to a critical flight due to metal or EM interference at the site or near it.

Thing is, when I'm on a job I'm not thinking about calibration. I'm talking to the client, producer, whomever, trying to get into their heads and get the shots they're after. So I'm not thinking - oh, this drone needs this and not that, etc., I'm thinking "do it all this way" and then make it rote, a part of the pre-flight.

I"m not even suggesting that it's technically correct, but I'm saying that, for me, my way cuts through all of that in one stroke and gets me on the sticks and up in the air as quickly as possible, as safely as possible.

Nobody else HAS to do it my way.

 

[N017RW]

Thank you for that, Monte.
My experience has been slightly different from yours. Especially the compass calibration part, sorry.

Most of the contradictions to your experience are well discussed here and have been for years.

Have you considered your contributing to the experiences?
Or may have hardware issue(s)?

 

[ChrisRL]

N107, may be you're right.

Not likely to be hardware issues, though, over the 8 or so different drone models in my flight line.

 

[Monte55]

The only time I had a compass calibration was ....rather than hold the quad out at arms length like I normally do..I held it close to my body. I had an error. I had a I/4 inch magnetic drill bit in my pocket. I redid calibration at arms length with bit still in my pocket. All went well.

 

[Monte55]

N107, may be you're right.

Not likely to be hardware issues, though, over the 8 or so different drone models in my flight line.

What was the deal with the I Phone. What does that have to do with a P1?

 

[ChrisRL]

Monte, I tried to do an Inspire calibration in what seemed to be a suburban neighborhood with regular front yards, etc. Couldn't get it to calibrate properly for the life of me.
But, since I did the airport thing, it was obvious that it wasn't me or anything on me, but maybe underground pipes, overhead lines, hidden security cam lines, something in the neighborhood itself.
Tried it up and down the street, finally got a good calibration around a block away from my launch site.
But I didn't waste any time thinking "is this because of X or Y that's on me?"
That's the point I'm trying to make, incorrect though it might be. Erring on the side of caution, let's just say.

 

[ChrisRL]

What was the deal with the I Phone. What does that have to do with a P1?

Nothing, save the fact that a lot of people use a cell phone or whatever for their wifi live view.

 

[Monte55]

Nothing, save the fact that a lot of people use a cell phone or whatever for their wifi live view.

Not on a P1. Now I will not have my cell phone on me as I have heard that if the wifi is on it may cause problems but I don't know if it would or not .

 

[ChrisRL]

Not even off a GoPro? The ones I've seen and flown have all had them installed.

 

[N017RW]

Often people do something (anything) and believe 'that was it'.

It's a type of logical fallacy: Correlation = Causation.

It's worse when a combination of things are done without iterative testing cause then you can't be sure what it might have been.

 

[Monte55]

Not even off a GoPro? The ones I've seen and flown have all had them installed.

I never have the GOPRO wifi on either. Heard that could be an issue. The range would be so short anyway to receive, so why bother. I have the Fatshark 5.8 on mine but rarely use it. l