I've seen a lot of posts on this forum about Home Points being way off, and Drones just flying away to a new location. The general consensus is that it is a DJI Firmware or Go App problem. Well, that may be. But let me tell you of a problem I'm having with GPS in general that sounds very much like the problem us done flyers are having. In my work I use a smart phone with GPS navigation to locate my customers when I revieve a service call. It is part of our program. I get an address, and then a Radio Button that says "Map". I select map and it takes me to Google maps and plans my route by the shortest way. We have used it for years now without problems.
But in the last few months I have noticed errors in location by as much as 10 miles. Generally it is only about 1 mile off. Twice in the last week I have been directed by GPS to a supposed customer location. In one case I ended up going as directed down a muddy dirt road south of Olancha California looking for the fire station. When the GPS said, "You have arrived", I found myself looking at open desert with a lone fence post and a big hole in the ground. I continued on down the road until I reached payment and then asked directions from a local man standing in his yard. I was on the correct street, but just 1 mile short of my destination. And I should have come in on a different paved road through the town of Olancha.
And then today, it happened again. I was being directed by GPS to an address on 67th street West in Mojave California. I was directed 10 miles south of town and then told to turn west and go 8 miles to 67th Street West. I did as directed. I was then told to turn left on 67th street and go 1/4 mile. I did! Again, I ended up in open desert in the middle of nowhere.
I ended up calling the customer for directions, only to find out that GPS took me 10 miles to the south of where I needed to be. If our drones used the same GPS system, that might explain some of the Return to Home problems being posted on this forum. I don't know that it make a difference, but my phone is an Android phone. Two bad locations in one week now makes me very suspicious of the directions when using GPS.
But in the last few months I have noticed errors in location by as much as 10 miles. Generally it is only about 1 mile off. Twice in the last week I have been directed by GPS to a supposed customer location. In one case I ended up going as directed down a muddy dirt road south of Olancha California looking for the fire station. When the GPS said, "You have arrived", I found myself looking at open desert with a lone fence post and a big hole in the ground. I continued on down the road until I reached payment and then asked directions from a local man standing in his yard. I was on the correct street, but just 1 mile short of my destination. And I should have come in on a different paved road through the town of Olancha.
And then today, it happened again. I was being directed by GPS to an address on 67th street West in Mojave California. I was directed 10 miles south of town and then told to turn west and go 8 miles to 67th Street West. I did as directed. I was then told to turn left on 67th street and go 1/4 mile. I did! Again, I ended up in open desert in the middle of nowhere.
I ended up calling the customer for directions, only to find out that GPS took me 10 miles to the south of where I needed to be. If our drones used the same GPS system, that might explain some of the Return to Home problems being posted on this forum. I don't know that it make a difference, but my phone is an Android phone. Two bad locations in one week now makes me very suspicious of the directions when using GPS.