Update on P-OPTI crash

It's easiest to use the radar at the bottom, left of the DJI GO app to follow the orientation. Your iPhone's compass should not lose calibration often. But, if it does not match the direction the radar is indicating, then you should recalibrate it.

I tried this today, Msinger, with his instructions, and it stuffed my compass up...north kept changing directions, don't know what that was about.
On the iPhone, should one have True North active in the Settings tab?
 
That is a stunning image, Meta4, just beautiful...but I thought you're not supposed to fly over water? Whereabouts was this taken?
Thanks : )
There's no rule about over water. DJI just have a couple of over conservative notes in the manual.
Over water is probably safer than where a lot of people fly - no trees.
Shot up in Queensland at Stradbroke Island.
 
I think part of why I've been scared of going up high is lack of confidence, paranoid that it might drop out of the sky or something...it's such a long way up for such a tiny little contraption ;)

Try and get some time into the simulator (GO app). It's pretty basic and gets boring quick but it helps quite a bit, including orientation. And you'll feel safe enough to pay attention to detains and start to get a feeling for the AC orientation, like the radar mentioned by @msinger and other app features. In actual flight you can use the lights, the battery or the camera but only if the AC is in line of sight (LOS) and close enough... Quads are like that, we need to adapt.

With copters we have it easier to get the orientation because it has the tail and you're always in LOS, and we usually have lots and lots of flying hours under our belt when we start flying solo. Anyway with time you'll get confident, the P3 is a pretty safe and easy AC to fly. Just take it easy for some time, play around as safe as you feel, study the features of the app and the AC and you'll be fine.
 
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Thanks : )
There's no rule about over water. DJI just have a couple of over conservative notes in the manual.
Over water is probably safer than where a lot of people fly - no trees.
Shot up in Queensland at Stradbroke Island.

Oh wow...your images are spectacular! This is the reason I got this thing, to be able to do this kind of photography. I'm a stock photographer with Dreamstime but also work as an Editor for them (meaning I'm one of the reviewers who reviews contributor's work and decides whether it's good enough to be accepted into our collection.)

I will bury myself in your portfolio for a while, it's delightful :)
 
Try and get some time into the simulator (GO app). It's pretty basic and gets boring quick but it helps quite a bit, including orientation. And you'll feel safe enough to pay attention to detains and start to get a feeling for the AC orientation, like the radar mentioned by @msinger and other app features. In actual flight you can use the lights, the battery or the camera but only if the AC is in line of sight (LOS) and close enough... Quads are like that, we need to adapt.

With copters we have it easier to get the orientation because it has the tail and you're always in LOS, and we usually have lots and lots of flying hours under our belt when we start flying solo. Anyway with time you'll get confident, the P3 is a pretty safe and easy AC to fly. Just take it easy for some time, play around as safe as you feel, study the features of the app and the AC and you'll be fine.

Thanks again Alex, I appreciate everyone's input - very glad I joined this forum, learning a lot. I have played with the simulator a bit and you're right, it did get a bit humdrum after a while, LOL. But good to practice on, I agree.
 
Meta4, just looking at your lovely work...how do you get away with flying over populated areas, like towns and cities? I thought that was...well, illegal?
 
I've been lurking on and off so I'm not sure of the status. But, if you have the P3, and you want to know what the VPS says then that data can be retrieved from the .DAT file. The VPS sensor is always on and recording. This is independent of the VPS switch that controls if the VPS info is being used for flight control.

@Luap
 
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I've been lurking on and off so I'm not sure of the status. But, if you have the P3, and you want to know what the VPS says then that data can be retrieved from the .DAT file. The VPS sensor is always on and recording. This is independent of the VPS switch that controls if the VPS info is being used for flight control.

@Luap

I don't have it at the moment, I returned it to the distributor as advised by DJI, and will wait to hear more, hopefully tomorrow. But yes, it's the P3 Advanced.
 
Once you become comfortable with the basics of controlling the aircraft, the next thing you need to do is become thoroughly familiar with the Go app & the wealth of information & features at your command. Even if you can't see your Phantom at all, assuming you have GPS lock & sufficient altitude to avoid any obstacles, everything you need to pilot the Phantom & return home is right there on your screen. You know how high she is, how far away, how fast she is moving, & which direction the nose is pointing. You have FPV so you can see what's ahead.

Unlike a normal fix-wing RC aircraft, you can pause and get things together at any time by simply releasing the sticks & she will stop & hover. If you become confused about orientation just flip the switch to F-mode, enable Home Lock, pull the right stick back and regardless of which way the bird is facing she will come towards you. With the appropriate RTH altitude set, you can simply click to have her return home on command. All just a matter of become comfortable with the controls & knowledgeable about the features.

Not if it's drifting quickly away and out of sight...some people fly so high their drone is a speck, they can't even see it?
 
Another update...I was advised by email this morning that they had tested and calibrated the P3A and though they were still waiting on analysis from DJI, I could come and collect it as they'd successfully flown it without issue.

So back I go...it's a 4 hour round trip for me, so 4 hours driving yesterday to drop it off, another 4 today to pick it up. In 44C weather. I asked the tech to give it a test while I was present, before I took it home, and he was most obliging. Flew for a few minutes, GPS and home locked, and I asked him to perform RTH, and it started to descend but not to the home point. He said that wasn't right, it shouldn't have done that...then he looks at the screen and it says COMPASS ERROR, so he goes through another calibration. Sends it up again for a couple minutes, looks at the screen and says GPS signal weak - he says, "That's not right, it shouldn't be doing that, we have good coverage here...you'd better leave it here until I can report to DJI and they might have to replace it."

To add insult to injury, they're now advertising the Professional for $1400 AUD, $300 less than I paid for the Advanced. Right now I feel like asking for a refund and getting the Pro and still have $300 left over...or get them to replace with a Pro instead of another Advanced.

Not happy at all, the whole thing has been a nightmare. I had to take two days off work (loss of income for me), 8 hours driving/petrol and I'm still empty-handed.
 
If you become confused about orientation just flip the switch to F-mode, enable Home Lock, pull the right stick back and regardless of which way the bird is facing she will come towards you. With the appropriate RTH altitude set, you can simply click to have her return home on command. All just a matter of become comfortable with the controls & knowledgeable about the features.

Thanks Dirty Bird...just a question though...why flip it into F mode and then use RTH, as opposed to just tapping the RTH in the current flying mode? Or do you mean you get back it back quicker because you're controlling the speed with the right stick?
 
I asked him to perform RTH, and it started to descend but not to the home point. He said that wasn't right, it shouldn't have done that...then he looks at the screen and it says COMPASS ERROR, so he goes through another calibration.
How far away was the Phantom when he initiated RTH? If less than 20 metres, it will just descend rather than fly home.
I'd also be cautious about that compass error.
It usually doesn't mean there is a problem with the compass.
It almost always means the compass has detected a problem with the local magnetic environment (like it's just landed on a concrete surface and detects the steel reinforcing underneath.
The remedy is not to re-calibrate, but simply move away to a clean area.

To add insult to injury, they're now advertising the Professional for $1400 AUD, $300 less than I paid for the Advanced. Right now I feel like asking for a refund and getting the Pro and still have $300 left over...or get them to replace with a Pro instead of another Advanced.
Don't worry ... you've been confused by DJI's new P34K for $1400 - not the Pro which is still A$2199.
Official DJI Online Store | DJI Store
The new model is confusing lots of people and is going to disappoint some too.
Several threads on the forum explaining the differences.
 
Thanks Dirty Bird...just a question though...why flip it into F mode and then use RTH, as opposed to just tapping the RTH in the current flying mode? Or do you mean you get back it back quicker because you're controlling the speed with the right stick?
Using home Lock is just another way to get your bird back. There are several alternatives.
 
You don't need to switch to F-mode to trigger RTH. The F-mode opens the IOC mode selector (assuming you have multiple flight modes enabled in settings) giving you access to features like Home Lock, Course Lock, Follow Me, & POI.

Thanks Dirty Bird...just a question though...why flip it into F mode and then use RTH, as opposed to just tapping the RTH in the current flying mode? Or do you mean you get back it back quicker because you're controlling the speed with the right stick?
 
You don't need to switch to F-mode to trigger RTH. The F-mode opens the IOC mode selector (assuming you have multiple flight modes enabled in settings) giving you access to features like Home Lock, Course Lock, Follow Me, & POI.

I know you don't need to flip it, I've tried it in p-GPS. I just wondered why you *would* flip it into F and then use RTH? Why not just tap RTH without changing flight modes?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
How far away was the Phantom when he initiated RTH? If less than 20 metres, it will just descend rather than fly home.
I'd also be cautious about that compass error.
It usually doesn't mean there is a problem with the compass.
It almost always means the compass has detected a problem with the local magnetic environment (like it's just landed on a concrete surface and detects the steel reinforcing underneath.
The remedy is not to re-calibrate, but simply move away to a clean area.


Don't worry ... you've been confused by DJI's new P34K for $1400 - not the Pro which is still A$2199.
Official DJI Online Store | DJI Store
The new model is confusing lots of people and is going to disappoint some too.
Several threads on the forum explaining the differences.

Okay, I was under a misunderstanding about the price drop :)

Re: his test, he may have been around 20 metres away or so...and what you're saying may be correct but it still doesn't explain why after getting a good GPS, it just drops off like that. I mean, he's a tech who works with these things, he has his own at home, he certainly would know a lot more than I do. I'm just not comfortable getting the same unit back, it's too unreliable.
 
You wouldn't change to F-mode to issue an RTH. I referenced F-mode for engaging Home Lock. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I know you don't need to flip it, I've tried it in p-GPS. I just wondered why you *would* flip it into F and then use RTH? Why not just tap RTH without changing flight modes?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
You wouldn't change to F-mode to issue an RTH. I referenced F-mode for engaging Home Lock. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Ah, now I understand. And how does one engage home lock at that point? Do you tap on the blue icon with the H on it?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Ah, now I understand. And how does one engage home lock at that point? Do you tap on the blue icon with the H on it?
There's RTH and there's also Home Lock
RTH operates when you use the button on the controller or the screen, or your battery runs low, or your Phanyom loses the Tx signal.
Home Lock is a different way to come home.
Switch to F mode and follow DB's instructions here Update on P-OPTI crash | Page 4 | DJI Phantom Forum
 

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