RTH Issue, Distance Issue, and more...

[Meta4]

I actually deduced from post #1 what happens. Its obvious the controller will indicate a loss of signal, since it cant know anything else. Its far from obvious what the phantom would do in this scenario and I dont see it anywhere in the manual. Or did I miss somewhere where they explain a "control link lost" indication may in some cases actually mean the control link isnt lost and it wont initiate RTH by itself?

I can't understand the what's confusing.
The manual states: Failsafe RTH will be automatically activated if the remote controller signal is lost for more than three seconds.
If the Phantom isn't receiving any signal from the controller for three seconds it goes to RTH.

 

[Vertigo]

I can't understand the what's confusing.
The manual states: Failsafe RTH will be automatically activated if the remote controller signal is lost for more than three seconds.
If the Phantom can't isn't receiving any signal from the controller for three seconds it goes to RTH.

How does that explain the OP's situation and explicit question? Are you saying he could not possibly have had a red LED on his transmitter because he still had control ? Or are you saying a red LED does not always mean a loss of control and does not always trigger a RTH, although its not in the manual?

I rewrote my post a little, Ive tried to make it as clear as possible. If after rereading it, you still dont understand the difference between a loss of control and a loss off RSSI telemetry that triggers a (possibly incorrect) loss of control message and red LED, but will apparently not trigger an automatic RTH, well, I can only hope the OP and other people can understand it now.

 

[Meta4]

How does that explain the OP's situation and explicit question? Are you saying he could not possibly have had a red LED on his transmitter because he still had control ? Or are you saying a red LED does not always mean a loss of control and does not always trigger a RTH, although its not in the manual?

I can't see what it is that you are finding so confusing, you are making it more difficult that it really is.
Post 9 explains it quite well.

 

[Vertigo]

Post 9, which states " If the LED is red however, you've lost your control signal and the AC should then self initiate a RTH based on the settings you have programmed in advance." is almost certainly incorrect for all the reasons Ive written; post 6 actually had it correct, be it without going in to any detail. And with that, I give up on your reading comprehension skills.

 

[Meta4]

Post 9, which states " If the LED is red however, you've lost your control signal and the AC should then self initiate a RTH based on the settings you have programmed in advance." is almost certainly incorrect for all the reasons Ive written; post 6 actually had it correct, be it without going in to any detail. And with that, I give up on your reading comprehension skills.

This is correct.
If the LED is red however, you've lost your control signal and the AC should then self initiate a RTH based on the settings you have programmed in advance

 

[Vertigo]

This is correct.

No, its not! Sigh. Have you read anything I wrote?

Tell me, what do you think triggers that red led? how do you think your remote controller knows the phantom is no longer receiving your radio signals?

You can not know that unless you receive telemetry data from the phantom indicating that it no longer receives you. Thats the first, most common scenario. But If you dont receive anything at all, so if you lose telemetry, you can only guess that it doesnt receive you either, but you wouldnt know, its perfectly possible it still receives you, and thus you did not lose the control link. There is no orange light for lost telemetry, the red one works for both telemetry loss and confirmed signal loss with working telemetry. Easy to test, just turn your phantom off. It turns red, not orange or pink or blue. The same color when you actually lose control link with working telemetry.

 

[ucla996]

Hello Everyone!

So today I had three problems with my P3P at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale.

1) Return to home did not function.
You need to verify all RTH options before going for a long flight. Check you settings. I've seen the option to "hover" when signal is lost. It's very important to check your RTH settings every flight. Do not assume.

2) I am not getting enough distance.
You're in the city. You should not expect much. Reduce the video bitrate to 4Mbs instead of 6Mbs.
Get the $10 parabolic antenna from amazon. This should help get a little more distance.

3) The DJI Go App is turning off my Samsung Galaxy s6.
Can't help you there. Get the Ipad or iPhone 6s Plus

 

[mxx408]

My best guess's, RTH is done through the aircraft, its stored in the aircraft, you should be able to turn off the controller and if no connection is made at a period of time, the craft itself will initiate the RTH, but, if you are connected even for a split second my experience it will not RTH, each reconnect resets the time.
Next time, go out 500 feet or so, decent altitude over bare land and turn off the remote, the drone should RTH.

I looked up the baylands park, did you fly over that bay? the water area? its extremely congested from what google maps show, make sure you bring altitude up a little for each time you drop signal, a bar goes down, craft goes up, it's what I do.
If you're looking for that challenge, then yes you will need to invest into a nice panel and go boosted, then find the most deserted area with flat ground and no to little interference. These distant records you will see all the flight paths, its over the sticks lol.

As for your GS6, I've learned the hard way, make sure when you plug in the phone, you select midi device as the usb type, not transferring files. and make sure the phone holder isn't pressing up against the power/volume buttons

Yeah, I did fly over the bay. It was my first time flying over water, which was very scary, since I had VPS turned on (although I was flying at almost 400 feet).

I've taken your advice to select midi device as the USB type. We'll see how it works out tomorrow (I'm planning to go up to Lick Observatory tomorrow).

 

[mxx408]

What options have you set for RTH? Ensure that it is indeed return to home, and not 'hover'.

It was set to "Return to Home" and not "Hover".

 

[mxx408]

1) Do you have RTH set on RC signal loss? You'll find that in advanced settings. You might have it currently set to hover. The RC does not tell the AC to come home on signal loss. The AC will automatically do what it is programmed to do during signal loss.
2) Do you have the latest FW on the AC and RC? That may be causing the short range. I have a P3P and can go over 2 miles on flat surface with windsurfers on. Haven't tried to push it beyond that. I'm sure it would go farther. Key is, you have to have good LOS.
3) Not sure why your phone keeps resetting. Maybe reinstall DJI GO will fix it. When you get your iPad Air 2 you should be golden. I have it and never failed me with either DJI GO or Litchi.

Btw I live in the East Bay so looks that you are not so far from me.

Yeah I have the latest firmware all the way around. I may reinstall DJI Go if the midi thing doesn't fix the issue.

 

[mxx408]

mmx408 and Flipsonic, we should get together sometime. I'm in East Bay too. (San Ramon)

I'm down. Maybe mobbing as a group will help me focus on flying more instead of constantly looking over my shoulders for law enforcement.

 

[mxx408]

As @Vertigo noted, you likely did not lose control signal which is almost certainly why RTH did not self initiate. I say that because we see this exact question asked many times, so chances are it's the same in your case.

The FPV (video) signal and the control signal are separate from each other. Full control is still possible (within range) even if you've completely lost your video signal. You can in fact turn off your mobile device and still have a strong control signal. This concept is very commonly misunderstood with newer pilots. I think it's because the messages in the app are confusing at first.

What we have noted here on the forum many times is to check the far left LED on the RC. If it is green, you still have control even if you have no FPV or even if you have no mobile device at all. Your AC will be sitting out there somewhere waiting for you. It has no reason to RTH. If the LED is red however, you've lost your control signal and the AC should then self initiate a RTH based on the settings you have programmed in advance. I hope that makes sense!

Good luck sir!

The far left LED was red when this occurred. What I forgot to mention was that as I was watching the drone hover in place, I was walking towards it to try to regain signal. Then I held the RTH button, and even though the LED was still red, the phantom came back. While I waited for it to come back, I restarted the controller, which finally allowed me to reconnect with the aircraft and land it manually.

 

[mxx408]

1) Return to home did not function.
You need to verify all RTH options before going for a long flight. Check you settings. I've seen the option to "hover" when signal is lost. It's very important to check your RTH settings every flight. Do not assume.

2) I am not getting enough distance.
You're in the city. You should not expect much. Reduce the video bitrate to 4Mbs instead of 6Mbs.
Get the $10 parabolic antenna from amazon. This should help get a little more distance.

3) The DJI Go App is turning off my Samsung Galaxy s6.
Can't help you there. Get the Ipad or iPhone 6s Plus

I'm thinking of getting this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Bestmaple-Co...eywords=phantom+3+professional+range+extender

Any thoughts?

 

[Vertigo]

Then I held the RTH button, and even though the LED was still red, the phantom came back.

Did you also see the phantom status led's ? They would almost certainly have been green flashing, situation B:

 

[Meta4]

Yeah I have the latest firmware all the way around. I may reinstall DJI Go if the midi thing doesn't fix the issue.

It sounds like there is no issue to fix.
Your Phantom was acting quite normally.

Rather than guessing, go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record and you'll see the actual data which will show exactly what happened.

 

[ucla996]

I'm thinking of getting this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Bestmaple-Co...eywords=phantom+3+professional+range+extender

Any thoughts?

I have one! It works!

 

[donniepolly]

I'm thinking of getting this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Bestmaple-Co...eywords=phantom+3+professional+range+extender

Any thoughts?

Not much help at all in WI-FI rich areas. I am using the FPVLR available from Drone Nerds. Now the only limiting factor is the aircraft battery pack. donnie