Where do I begin? I am a professional videographer and have a newly-purchased Phantom 2 Vision + which I bought in Philadelphia, PA. I calibrated it, took it out flying twice, and it gave me solid performance. It was truly like having a tripod in the sky. I consistently locked onto 8 or 9 satellites with no drifting in moderate winds. Now here's the kicker... I run a video production company down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (where I currently live), and where I had always intended on using the Phantom.
While I undersatand that a change in location will always require calibration (I calibrate before every outing anyway) I have never been able to get GPS lock down in Haiti. At first I thought it might be the abundance of high and low tension wires all over the place, but ruled that out after going to wide open spaces that were completly wire-free. I've checked apps and websites for the number of GPS satellites available at my location in Haiti, and while there are on average 2 fewer than Philly at any time of the day, there should still be enough for me to get a GPS lock with a rare minimum of 6. I am usually locked into 4, but have even occasionally gotten 6 or 7, but never long enough to establish GPS lock. Being forced to use the Phantom in ATTI mode is out of the question since that will cause me to concentrate solely on flying, rather than taking video (and defeats the purpose of my getting the Phantom in the first place.)
I have read about rerouting the GPS cable and shielding it with aluminium tape, but am very reluctant to open up my Phantom after having it for less than a week. Also, I've seen at least 2 other Phantoms flying around with rock-solid performance (even though I realize they might have been Phantom 2's, which don't have this particular GPS problem.)
Can anyone think of anything else I should look at, before I take the plunge and open up my brand new Phantom? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, and I will keep everyone up to date on my progress.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks!
While I undersatand that a change in location will always require calibration (I calibrate before every outing anyway) I have never been able to get GPS lock down in Haiti. At first I thought it might be the abundance of high and low tension wires all over the place, but ruled that out after going to wide open spaces that were completly wire-free. I've checked apps and websites for the number of GPS satellites available at my location in Haiti, and while there are on average 2 fewer than Philly at any time of the day, there should still be enough for me to get a GPS lock with a rare minimum of 6. I am usually locked into 4, but have even occasionally gotten 6 or 7, but never long enough to establish GPS lock. Being forced to use the Phantom in ATTI mode is out of the question since that will cause me to concentrate solely on flying, rather than taking video (and defeats the purpose of my getting the Phantom in the first place.)
I have read about rerouting the GPS cable and shielding it with aluminium tape, but am very reluctant to open up my Phantom after having it for less than a week. Also, I've seen at least 2 other Phantoms flying around with rock-solid performance (even though I realize they might have been Phantom 2's, which don't have this particular GPS problem.)
Can anyone think of anything else I should look at, before I take the plunge and open up my brand new Phantom? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, and I will keep everyone up to date on my progress.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks!