Oh boy! another dummy question

[hey_moe]

How often do you guys calibrate your compass. When you are at the same location and you change the battery is it necessary to do it again and also when changing the battery is it necessary to redo the Home Lock again..

 

[msinger]

You need to read page 26 of your DJI manual. (Read the rest of it too.)

1.2 When to Recalibrate
(1) When compass data is abnormal, the rear LED flight indicator will blink red and yellow.
(2) Flying in different location to last flight.
(3) Mechanical structure of the Phantom has changed, i.e. changed mounting position of the compass.
(4) Severe drifting occurs in flight, i.e. Phantom does not fly in straight lines.

also when changing the battery is it necessary to redo the Home Lock again

Unless you want your Phantom to fly away, you should never take off before it has a lock on the home position.

FYI, it would be helpful if you chose your thread titles more carefully. For example, why not title this "When should I recalibrate my compass?".

 

[Meta4]

DJI is extra conservative with 2 above but they are right on 1,3,4.
I calibrated my compass back in May and I'm considering doing it again soon.

 

[huppe]

I Always wait for the fast flashing green lights and keep away for 30 feet ,check my radar for the green circle.And fly away in GPS mode.Once in the air I switch to Home or Course lock.Calibration is not Always needed in my case.I move around and stay in a circle of 10 miles.But if you go further away Always do a calibration.It's just a simple thing to do.And the App is giving me a warning for a calibration.If you stay at the same location and change battery,you don't have to calibrate again.Just wait for the fast blinking green lights and you're ok

 

[Jetfixer]

Be aware of your surroundings when you calibrate. I almost lost mine once after calibrating on a concrete boat ramp that was full of steel re-bar. Stay away from all steel structures.

 

[paulajayne]

Never had a problem - I do mine every time, even after a battery change at the same location.

Better to be safe.

 

[rbhamilton]

I like to calibrate my compass every 3 hours just to be extra extra safe. I set my alarm to wake me up a few times in the night even if I'm not planning on flying for a week.

Just kidding. If something big changes, you are having problems or if you are a long way from your normal flying spots do it. Otherwise leave it alone.

 

[Meta4]

As for doing it every flight in the same location .. if it was important DJI would have advised it.
Calibrating every flight is like pressing the button 10 times to make the lift get there faster.
Calibrating every time is a superstitious ritual and introduces the risk of getting a bad calibration.