what i do i fly strate up high to get beter sats then cum down wait for green flases then ready to go

Sounds to me more like a plan to encourage a fly-away.
Zooming straight off into the air before obtaining a solid home point is a very bad idea, in my opinion.

johnwarr.email Posted at 2015-1-28 17:12
Sounds to me more like a plan to encourage a fly-away.
Zooming straight off into the air before obta ...

maybe explane better i go up very high not left not rigt not back not fourward so get satelites see home positin below

I understand what you are saying, but flying high with no GPS lock leaves you exposed to a fly / blow-away.
Fine for people who fly in Atti mode a lot and understand how the Phantom works, but not recommended for new pilots.
If you cant get a home point set on the ground then I would move to a more open area and try again.  

johnwarr.email Posted at 2015-1-28 17:27
I understand what you are saying, but flying high with no GPS lock leaves you exposed to a fly / blo ...

Evn wen strate up then down no go fly arond

motnahp Posted at 2015-1-28 17:33
Evn wen strate up then down no go fly arond

Can you say "bye, bye birdie"?

steadystickrick Posted at 2015-1-28 18:24
Can you say "bye, bye birdie"?

Yes but do not now what it meen

It means, "Do not do it" Wait until you have GPS lock.

motnahp Posted at 2015-1-28 18:35
Yes but do not now what it meen

Aren't you the member that posted you crashed your first Phantom and DJI would not pay for it?

I suggest that you read the manual and and pay attention to the information posted by members that know what they are doing.

bjr981s Posted at 2015-1-28 18:57
Aren't you the member that posted you crashed your first Phantom and DJI would not pay for it?

I  ...

first one in a tree not fly off

bjr981s Posted at 2015-1-28 18:57
Aren't you the member that posted you crashed your first Phantom and DJI would not pay for it?

I  ...

still home point only hier

motnahp Posted at 2015-1-28 19:08
still home point only hier

Read the manual, the Phantom records the home point at takeoff ground level.  If you do not have 6 sats minimum, at takeoff, you will not set your home point.

Gerry1124 Posted at 2015-1-28 19:12
Read the manual, the Phantom records the home point at takeoff ground level.  If you do not have 6 ...

yes that is wy i come back down after satelites see me

motnahp Posted at 2015-1-28 19:15
yes that is wy i come back down after satelites see me

You would have to shut back down and that resets everything, and when you come back down, the chances you would be blocked again from the sats like you were the first time.

A better idea would be fishing line tied to the legs = I tease.

Actually, it's not a bad idea to get the GPS lock and then lift off to 10 meters or so and hover for 30 seconds or so....IMHO....to get even more Sats locking in. But I think the Phantom probably does this itself anyway as you fly along...that is, updates when it has more Sats.

Any conservative flying should involve staying nearby for the first 30 seconds of the flight just to assure all systems are go. It's somewhat like airline pilots who always try to stay in the glide ratio area of an airport when taking off. In fact, I think a lot of real aircraft pilots try to always be within glide ratio of an airport (if possible).

If quad flyers took precautions they'd hold onto their birds a bit longer. As it stand, though, DJI gets to sell us each about 4 of these things until we run out of $$$.
(this is what we do when one crashes)

Thats very sound advice and is what I do, the OP was suggesting flying up in order to get the GPS lock in the first place,  surly that can only lead to tears in the end.

Can you do that somewhere close to my house please?  Maybe it'll flyoff and land in my yard.  :-)

ive done this several times, in atti mode your bird wont just 'fly off' unless you are in tornado winds.  flying straight up and getting a lock (which ive done at as low as 30ft off the ground) is DEFN a method you can use if:

1.  YOU CANT GET A LOCK ON THE GROUND
2.  YOU WANT TO FLY IN GPS MODE RATHER THAN ATTI

i hear everyone's concerns but how i mitigate is this... i take off and keep it close and low JUST to get a lock.  then i have a homepoint that is basically the same as where i took off.  then im flying and having fun in gps mode.  IF i cant get good locks low and close, then i might just land and decide i dont want to take a longer and farther flight in atti mode.

that middle ground approach, TO ME, is better than just saying im never going to fly without locks AT LAUNCH.  

Why would you get GPS lock xx feet up in the air but not on the ground? Unless of course you're trying to get sats in a forest.

markus, my neighborhood has lots of inclination blockage (trees, houses, etc).  i live in a very hilly area so it is not uncommon to get 5 or 6 sat locks AT MOST when on the ground unless i get in my car and drive somewhere.  i obviously dont want to do that just to test a camera setting or try out a control gain setting etc.  so how did i solve that?

well, i certainly didnt adopt the 'never fly without sat locks or you likely will have a flyaway' mentality.  i solved it by taking off and keeping it CLOSE AND LOW AS POSSIBLE to where i know i can control in atti wiht little chance of flyaway and then BOOM without fail i can get as many as 10-15 sat locks just 50ft off the ground.

if people tell you that 50ft off the ground you are LIKELY to have a flyaway in atti mode and low wind conditions, i dont think that is factually based, but thats just my opinion.

again, im not saying that my method GUARANTEES no flyaways, im just saying that after doing it 10 times without a single issue, it is certainly one tactic you can use IF you live somewhere that has inclination blockage low to the ground.

markus2015 Posted at 2015-1-29 02:10
Why would you get GPS lock xx feet up in the air but not on the ground? Unless of course you're tryi ...

Picture a vertical pole 100' high with a GPS satellite sitting on top.  Place your quad at the base of the pole...now imagine a straight line out from your quad on the ground 1 mile away with a GPS satellite positioned there...in essence two points from your quad at 0-90 degrees.  

It's likely that you have a much better chance catching the signal from the bird above you than the bird horizontal your position at the base of the pole.  Especially, if you have terrain, buildings etc...in your path.

Now, if you elevate your copter let's say to 50' up the pole....your LOS to the horizontal satellite a mile away is 45 degrees which gives it a much better chance to lock on.

There are many good GPS satellite locators on the web for you to check to see what SAT's are in your area at any given time....I've read here that many pilots won't rely on SAT's that are too low to the horizon for their count (under 20-30 degrees).  Obviously, going up in altitude gives you a better chance to lock on to any available SAT...

As a novice, I think this is right..please anyone correct me if my thinking is off here. (for quad purposes)

steadystickrick Posted at 2015-1-29 02:28
Picture a vertical pole 100' high with a GPS satellite sitting on top.  Place your quad at the base ...

GPS satellites fly in medium Earth orbit (MEO) at an altitude of approximately 20,200 km (12,550 miles).
If the phantom is 60 feet high or on the ground, this would not make any difference (obviously if there are no high obstacles around you (hence my "forest" comment). I guess I'm lucky, I get 11/12 sats basically every time within 15 seconds.

markus, just because the sats are 12k miles up doesnt mean that are anywhere close to straight up.  when i am in a soccer field a mile from my house, i get 12-15 sat locks in 15 secs just like you.  so it is obviously the houses and trees around me that are blocking the sats.  i can assure you i dont live in a forest... .nor do i live in the flats of oklahoma...

I guess I do live in a forest....

yes, df, and id bet that there is certainly a possibility that in the front yard shown below someone could easily get <6 sat locks.  however, ill bet at tree level or maybe even slightly below you'd see that number rise dramatically.  great pic by the way.