Yep! My first bird, the controller gimbal wheel has a kink in it. I just bought another one so I can fly when I get around to sending the first one off for repair lol!!Me, too! Couldn't have done it without you guys! If I had sent it off to DJI, I would have missed out on the next 6-8 weeks of flying!
P3P Instability Problems Clarified After 1.2.6 Update
- Thread starter GadgetGuy
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Anyone know how to force a recalibration of the compass on the iPad, given it does not have a native Compass app?
I got the iOS calibration screen the other day when launching the Pilot app... but since then, the nose direction has been off.
I got the iOS calibration screen the other day when launching the Pilot app... but since then, the nose direction has been off.
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Snerd, That's what I did, too, when the first one crashed, losing the camera. I knew I didn't want to wait 6 weeks before flying again, so I bought another. Every professional photographer has two camera bodies, and their camera bodies never leave even leave the ground! Stuff happens, and you need backups!
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Actually, the iPad does have a native Compass app. Just do a spotlight search for Compass and it will come up. Roll the ball around the circle a few times, and a compass replaces the rolling ball. That means it was successful.
Yep, I have a 5D3 and a 7D1.Snerd, That's what I did, too, when the first one crashed, losing the camera. I knew I didn't want to wait 6 weeks before flying again, so I bought another. Every professional photographer has two camera bodies, and their camera bodies never leave even leave the ground! Stuff happens, and you need backups!
Odd. My iPad Air 2 (running iOS 8.3) does not have one. I've tried Spotlight, and looking in the folder that I throw all my native Apple apps into. Since you can't delete Apple Apps, something's not right here..
Relevant: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5709466?tstart=0
I calibrate the compass on my iPhone 6+ and my P3P before every flight with no metal anywhere near me, and my red pointer is never pointed in the same direction as my camera. The P3P flys perfect, so I don't worry about it. I normally just move the sticks a little to figure out which way the P3P moves to figure out which way it's pointing. The few times that the red pointer was pointing the same way the camera points at take off, it changed during flight, so that little red pointer is just about useless to me. The bird flys perfect, and hovers perfect, so it's not that big a deal. I don't know why these compasses are so dam delicate. The compass on my Garmin GPS, that sits in my truck, (which is 99% metal) works perfect, and never needs calibration.
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When I was having issues, the misalignment of the arrow with the aircraft nose was the only reliable predictor of an unstable flight. After resolving my stability issues, it is now aligned properly every time. I'll be paying attention to it, mostly because I also rely upon it in long range flight. I would not want to fly with it being off, even if it was stable. That's just me!
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I'm a Nikon shooter. D7100, D300, D7000 for telephoto, D700 with 14-24 f/2.8 for wide angle. P3P is my Aerial 20mm f/2.8! Tripod in the sky!
Well, I would like to fix it, but I have tried everything, and the read arrow is still not lined up with the camera. Only thing I haven't tried is another tablet or phone. So far all my flights have been perfect, so it doesn't look like it effects anything else. Next time out, I'll try my wife's phone and see if it works with hers.
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Any chance there is metal underneath your P3P while warming up?
That's what was throwing mine off. It always helps to try a different tablet/phone.
Quite a difference now between the iPhone 6+ and the iPad Pilot displays, with the iPad now using the extra real estate more effectively.
There is always a possibility of a pipe buried in the ground that I don't know it's there. I normally take off from grass in parks. This last time I went out, I emptied my pockets of any metal, calibrated my compass on my phone and P3P. The red arrow pointed in the same direction as the camera. I took off and went to 400 feet and flew over a lake. Somewhere in the middle of the flight, the red arrow changed and it started pointing in a different direction. There where no power lines around and I was mostly at 400 feet. Luckily the gps maps show my home point and the green line of where I have flown, so I can find my way back to where I took of from, once I figure out which way the camera is pointing. RTH works just fine and I have tested that many times. I don't have any of the firmware problems that others report, the only problem I have is the red arrow pointer. I'll do more testing to see if I can figure out whether it's the phone, the quad, or something else. Thanks.
Could someone explain to me why the tablet compass is relevant. The first time I used the app my iPad had me do an iPad compass calibration. I just can't figure out why the orientation of the iPad matters.
So, there isn't any reason to expect that an uncalibrated tablet compass will have a negative impact on the bird's flight dynamics?
It does no harm to practice getting the aircraft to return home without FPV. Simon Newton (@Pull_Up) did a video on YouTube once about how to do this.
Can't find the link now, but it went something like this;
Watch the aircraft in the distance and fly it right stick up (ie forward). Now, because it's a speck in the distance, you won't know which way forward is. What you do then is to momentarily give it a bit of yaw and let go but continue with forward motion. Eventually, you will see it flying off to the right (or left, depending upon which way you yawed in the first place. Then you give it a few more seconds of yaw and it will turn towards you.
I practice that sometimes to keep ready for if there's ever a loss of FPV. Of course this only works if you can actually see the phantom!
Can't find the link now, but it went something like this;
Watch the aircraft in the distance and fly it right stick up (ie forward). Now, because it's a speck in the distance, you won't know which way forward is. What you do then is to momentarily give it a bit of yaw and let go but continue with forward motion. Eventually, you will see it flying off to the right (or left, depending upon which way you yawed in the first place. Then you give it a few more seconds of yaw and it will turn towards you.
I practice that sometimes to keep ready for if there's ever a loss of FPV. Of course this only works if you can actually see the phantom!
I saw the video where the guy uses the radar in the Pilot app to get home after losing sight of Phantom. If it's set up correctly, you get the bird pointed back to the center of the radar screen and moving towards the center. I've had this happen twice and it worked great! When you get totally disoriented and lose sight, it's a procedure that will help you get back safely. You should practice it for sure. Of course, using RTH will solve most problems.................. this is just another method to keep in mind, especially if you discover the home point didn't get recorded before flying off!!
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The radar saved me, too, when It started sprinkling, and I was 1,500 feet away, and wanting to get her back ASAP! However, if the Home Point didn't get recorded correctly, the radar center point won't exist or be correct either, or am I missing something? I think they both use the Home Point.
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