understanding the initial gps cali...

[coonasty]

every time i go flying am i supposed to calibrate the gps?

and am i doing it right? i flip that top right switch up and down 6 times. then hold it by the 2 legs and spin around in a circle till the 2 lights go from yellow to green.

then i hold it nose down and turn. that doesnt really seem to do anything. should something be happening to know that the nose down turn is done? btw, my h3-3d gimbal is going nuts at this point and i hope im not messing it up during this part.

after a bit i put it down on the ground. fire up the blades and lift off. 2 are green and 2 are red. TIA

 

[ben]

That's the compass calibration you're doing there.
I believe it needs to be done the first time and if you move away from your regular flying spot.
The gps is fixed when you have the constantly green flashing lights at the rear. (The solid red ones show where the front of the craft is)

 

[coonasty]

i havent flown in the same place yet lol. so i guess im doing right then.

is the nose down turning hurting my gimbal? cause it flips out trying to balance. and how do you know the nose down cali is done? TIA again

 

[Buckaye]

That's the compass calibration you're doing there.
I believe it needs to be done the first time and if you move away from your regular flying spot.
The gps is fixed when you have the constantly green flashing lights at the rear. (The solid red ones show where the front of the craft is)

When you move more than 50 miles away from your last flying point a calibration is a good idea... Anything less than that and you don't really need it unless you crash, do an IMU advanced calibration or you start seeing an odd behavior.

Some people do it every time they fly (as one guy mentioned) others will tell you that is not advised.

Personally, I'd do whatever makes you most comfortable..l but I rarely calibrate unless I travel a substantial distance.

 

[MrC]

To answer your question, you know when the nose down bit is done when it goes back to flashing green or red/green from the solid green.

After that, don't take off until you only have flashing green, no flashing reds. (at the rear. the front will be constant red.)

 

[hemorrhagic flyer]

When you move more than 50 miles away from your last flying point a calibration is a good idea...

Why? What do you base this claim upon?

This should be good...

 

[N017RW]

My experience would suggest it may have more to do with changes in the magnetic declination than distance per se..

The declination at my home is about the same as Murphy, NC some 600 miles north of me.

I have recently been there and back flying at both locations without the need to recalibrate.

Not looking to debate this.

YMMV.

 

[ianwood]

Oversimplified, calibration is for deviation (background magnetic noise), not declination (global magnetic fingerprint). Declination is adjusted for automatically. Deviation is not and can not.

 

[crash1sttime]

should something be happening to know that the nose down turn is done?

Yellow lights > hold quad straight > rotate > rear lights go solid green > nose down > rotate > rear lights flash green.

Ive found that i have to turn slightly more than 360 degrees to get the lights to change color, but ultimately they must flash green (in Phantom mode) before the calibration is complete, other wise the behaviour of the quad could (and i state could) be erratic.

I accidentally flew the very first time without calibration as i didn't realise you had to flip the switch to put it into calibration mode, and it flew fine, however after realising what i had done i had nightmares of it flying away.

 

[Buckaye]

When you move more than 50 miles away from your last flying point a calibration is a good idea...

Why? What do you base this claim upon?

This should be good...

Yes fun. When I asked DJI what they meant by "completely different field" in the manual. In the discussion they suggested fields within a short drive of one another (less than an hour or so) a recalibration would not be necessary... However more than 50 or so miles they would recommend.

They only reasons they stated was something about the magnetic declination and different electromagnetic situation. If you look the declination map for florida, for example...there is a declination line that goes just to the left of the center of the state and another that goes just on the east coast... Which is (granted) more like 80 to 100 miles... But I think DJI was just giving me a general guideline. I have actually forgotten to recalibrate when I returned from a trip 1000 miles away and didn't notice a problem... But like I said... It was a suggestion.

As was mentioned above... My trip was almost directly north on nearly the same declination line so maybe that was why?

I'd also not be surprised if DJI weren't just covering their bases with a low 50 mile suggestion.

 

[N017RW]

Oversimplified, calibration is for deviation (background magnetic noise), not declination (global magnetic fingerprint). Declination is adjusted for automatically. Deviation is not and can not.

Coiol now I know the deviation in Murphy, NC is the same as in S. Fla.

 

[ianwood]

They only reasons they stated was something about the magnetic declination and different electromagnetic situation. If you look the declination map for florida, for example...there is a declination line that goes just to the left of the center of the state and another that goes just on the east coast... Which is (granted) more like 80 to 100 miles... But I think DJI was just giving me a general guideline. I have actually forgotten to recalibrate when I returned from a trip 1000 miles away and didn't notice a problem... But like I said... It was a suggestion.

As was mentioned above... My trip was almost directly north on nearly the same declination line so maybe that was why?

This is wrong. Please read my post only two entries above yours. Declination is automatically adjusted as of FW 3.06 and has nothing to do with calibration.

 

[Buckaye]

They only reasons they stated was something about the magnetic declination and different electromagnetic situation. If you look the declination map for florida, for example...there is a declination line that goes just to the left of the center of the state and another that goes just on the east coast... Which is (granted) more like 80 to 100 miles... But I think DJI was just giving me a general guideline. I have actually forgotten to recalibrate when I returned from a trip 1000 miles away and didn't notice a problem... But like I said... It was a suggestion.

As was mentioned above... My trip was almost directly north on nearly the same declination line so maybe that was why?

This is wrong. Please read my post only two entries above yours. Declination is automatically adjusted as of FW 3.06 and has nothing to do with calibration.

Thanks. Perhaps DJI was telling me this before the upgraded firmware... However, I did get this as part of my conversation with DJI as well as different electromagnetic circumstances in different places (which appears to be the case).

In any case, I have only recaibrate when going to a fairly distant flying area or in a place where I am concerned about electromagnetic circumstances..

 

[coonasty]

should something be happening to know that the nose down turn is done?

Yellow lights > hold quad straight > rotate > rear lights go solid green > nose down > rotate > rear lights flash green.

Ive found that i have to turn slightly more than 360 degrees to get the lights to change color, but ultimately they must flash green (in Phantom mode) before the calibration is complete, other wise the behaviour of the quad could (and i state could) be erratic.

I accidentally flew the very first time without calibration as i didn't realise you had to flip the switch to put it into calibration mode, and it flew fine, however after realising what i had done i had nightmares of it flying away.

will they constant flash green with nose down to let u know are does it flash for a bit then go solid green? is it very obvious when it flashes? ive been doing it and it just seems to stay solid green. eventually i just get tired of turning like a fool and put it on ground and start flying.

 

[ianwood]

Don't calibrate in areas where your phantom is in immediate proximity of very local magnetic influences, e.g. calibrating over rebar reinforced concrete.

 

[dptcalvin]

btw, my h3-3d gimbal is going nuts at this point and i hope im not messing it up during this part.

Same thing happens to me. My H3-3D doesn't like when I hold it nose down. It flips out. Do you guys just deal with this or are we doing something wrong and hurting the gimbal?