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Spark tend to rotate by itself
4598 18 2017-7-26
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Koppo
lvl.1
Flight distance : 191726 ft
Germany
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Hi,

during my last several flights I observed that my Spark tends to rotate to one side and I have to manually apply counter rotation to keep the recording on a specific spot. Yesterday I turned on my drone and connected via RC and the app and saw that the view from the camera is slowly rotating to one side for a 2 or 3 degrees although the spark was on the ground and not flying!? What is going on? On Airdata UAV I see that all the flight log data is in green zones. I am confused what is going on.

2017-7-26
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OneMatt
lvl.4
Flight distance : 155984 ft
Canada
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Do a compass calibration, make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

The bit of drift you see on camera is the digital image stabilization on the yaw axis (to compensate for being only a 2 axis gimbal)
2017-7-26
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Koppo
lvl.1
Flight distance : 191726 ft
Germany
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Hi OneMatt,

thank you for the reply. I thought the APP will tell me when to calibrate the compass, seems it gives a notification only when it's almost critical?

Regards
2017-7-26
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Thor1
First Officer
Flight distance : 196837 ft
Canada
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OneMatt Posted at 2017-7-26 06:13
Do a compass calibration, make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

The bit of drift you see on camera is the digital image stabilization on the yaw axis (to compensate for being only a 2 axis gimbal)

so the Compass calibration will help with the digital stabilization?
2017-7-26
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OneMatt
lvl.4
Flight distance : 155984 ft
Canada
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Thor1 Posted at 2017-7-26 07:29
so the Compass calibration will help with the digital stabilization?

Yes/no. If the Spark thinks it is yawing, the digital stabilization will act to soften that motion.

If you have a Phantom or Mavic, without starting the motors or taking off, push the yaw control, you will see the gimbal yaw to compensate. Same thing on Spark, but digital.
2017-7-26
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rick bernotas
lvl.4
Flight distance : 194944 ft
United States
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I have noticed this as well but it doesn't happen all the time and only happens with the RC connected.  Doesn't happen with the smartphone only mode.  So I think it's the RC introducing it.  Recalibrating the sticks doesn't affect it.

We'll see if the firmware update helps this any, I haven't applied it yet.
2017-7-26
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DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

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Koppo, do a compass calibration and IMU calibration first. If it is still the same, please post a short video about this issue for better assistance.
2017-7-26
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Koppo
lvl.1
Flight distance : 191726 ft
Germany
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DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-26 22:32
Koppo, do a compass calibration and IMU calibration first. If it is still the same, please post a short video about this issue for better assistance.

Hi, ok will do. Thanks a lot
2017-7-27
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fansd8d75448
Australia
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Mine has started doing the same thing.

It was really gradually at first, but today it was quite noticeable.

I do a compass calibration each location I fly at. I'll try the IMU suggestion.
2017-7-27
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DJI Diana
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Flight distance : 2408 ft

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fansd8d75448 Posted at 2017-7-27 00:08
Mine has started doing the same thing.

It was really gradually at first, but today it was quite noticeable.

If it is still the same after you finished IMU calibration, please also upload a short video or a pic here for better assistance.
2017-7-27
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Dirk52
First Officer
Flight distance : 232995 ft
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Germany
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DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-27 04:44
If it is still the same after you finished IMU calibration, please also upload a short video or a pic here for better assistance.

Normally a calibrattion of the rc sticks should help ?
2017-7-27
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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This has nothing to do with compass, you can do a compass calibration it won't make much of a difference. But drifting like this can usually be caused by IMU , it is basically Imu'S job to keep your AC hovering at a good horizontal. And stable, you never said what height you were at this can also be related to VPS if flying lower than 26 feet.
Your problem also has nothing to do with sticks no need to calibrate those for this problem.

Make sure you calibrate IMU on a very level surface, use spirit level to make sure, below I've left some info I've written about IMU.

IMU "Inertial measurement unit" .

As far as I see it, IMU calibration on a level surface updates a table of values the flight controller software uses as a reference for a level stationary hover. From there the craft responds predictably to flight commands.  It also likely measures any sensor noise and thermal drift so that these technical imperfections are accounted for when using IMU sensor data in flight. - this is likely why there must be no vibrations during the calibration process.


Bad IMU calibration could cause drift and attitude issues as the flight controller fights to hold the craft in what it thinks is the correct attitude as opposed to the correct physical attitude.


The IMU usually has 2 types of sensors – angle and acceleration and in turn 3 sensors of each type measuring in the X,Y and Z axis. These sensors can, through vibration, aging, impact etc, drift in their response over time and thus an IMU calibration will establish a new reference for the IMU’s level/stationary state that the flight controller can work with to restore stable flight.


Think of calibration as the bringing back into line the measured craft attitude with the true physical craft attitude.


As to how often an IMU calibration is needed, Refer to your manual ; certainly after any impact or if there are suspicions the craft can’t hover in a level attitude in a windless environment. Also after a firmware update is a good opportunity just in case the stored values get corrupted or are incompatible with the later firmware.
(After firmware may not be needed as it's never mentioned in new manuals)
2017-7-27
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Koppo
lvl.1
Flight distance : 191726 ft
Croatia
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I calibrated the IMU and Compass. Yesterday I flew again. Although the following video was filmed in Sport mode, the diagonal flight and unintended rotation happens with non-sport mode too. Also I observed some vibrations in the video. As far as I can remember, those were not there when I flew the first couple of times.
Check the video:

2017-7-31
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DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

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Koppo Posted at 2017-7-31 23:36
I calibrated the IMU and Compass. Yesterday I flew again. Although the following video was filmed in Sport mode, the diagonal flight and unintended rotation happens with non-sport mode too. Also I observed some vibrations in the video. As far as I can remember, those were not there when I flew the first couple of times.
Check the video:

Sorry for the delay, just saw your reply.  According to this video, sorry to say that it may hard to locate the issue. Could you please provide a short video which is recorded in the GPS mode? Besides, make sure the gimbal is in the Follow mode. Should you have any questions, please click on 'reply', so I can get a reminder.
2017-8-14
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Markspark
New
Flight distance : 1804 ft
Australia
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I get this slow rotation too. Recalibrated IMU a couple days ago.
2018-2-6
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Strobing_NYC_Spark
First Officer
Flight distance : 3866470 ft
United States
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I think you are expecting a little to much from your $399 drone. If you want perfect stabilization go with a high end model. The spark has zero redundancy so I think these small issues are going to be more present as people start looking for them.
2018-2-6
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Jerry Shu
lvl.1
Flight distance : 66424 ft
Indonesia
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Why my spark keep turning left and right, does anyone know?
2018-7-27
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S.J
Captain
Flight distance : 322454 ft
Kuwait
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Jerry Shu Posted at 2018-7-27 10:41
Why my spark keep turning left and right, does anyone know?

Do IMU and compass calibration.
Also check the props for any defects.
2018-7-27
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DJI Tony
Administrator

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Jerry Shu Posted at 2018-7-27 10:41
Why my spark keep turning left and right, does anyone know?

Hi, sorry for the inconvenience, please try to re-link the RC to the AC afterward re-calibrate the IMU and compass of the drone. I would recommend flying the aircraft in an open area in which there are no interferences to avoid interruptions to the connection, kindly ensure that you're getting enough GPS signal 18 or more is recommended. Please keep us posted for further updates.
2018-7-28
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