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Brand new Phantom 3 Advanced Compass erros & Problems
1974 10 2017-4-21
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MrMaik
lvl.3
Flight distance : 315348 ft
Netherlands
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Hi guys,
After selling my P3S which I had a great time with for over a year I decided to do a small upgrade and bought a new P3A.Out of the box, I flew it in a spot at the beach where I allways flew my P3S to test it after changing firmware etc.

It was on older firmware and it flew excellent, except it didn't fly in a straight line and later on in Healthy Drones it showed that it lost Data Downlink for a few seconds. I didn't notice this while flying.
I figured it would hurt to update the firmware to the most recent version. The update for both the remote and the P3A whent fine, no errors or problems.
To fix the not straight flying issue i recalibrated the IMU, afterwards the camera gimbal and then on the beach in the open I calibrated the compass.

When I whent back to the same spot to test the updated firmware everything seemed fine at first, until I got a few compass signal errors, where the quad was put into atti mode automatically.
The locations I got these errors had nothing to do with metal or magnets I believe, I have flown here many times previously without any errors. Also, I got an error just flying over the beach, not even close to the harbour you can see in this video.

What I also noticed, is that together with the compass error, the gimbal starting acting weird, not staying level at all.
Furthermore, the compass generally seems to be working fine, I checked the mod values and even during the compass errors they seemed to constantly be around 1500.
Besides that, HD still shows data link lost, even at these really short distances?

I have attached a link to the HD info, and a youtube video where you can see the gimbal acting weird.

Is there anything I can do to try to fix this? I prefer not to send it back to DJI if possibile...

I would really greatly appreciate your help!  Getting thrown into atti mode with compass errors is not really confidence inspiring when trying to get difficult shots...

http://app.airdata.com/main?share=JyTwZb




2017-4-21
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MrMaik
lvl.3
Flight distance : 315348 ft
Netherlands
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Anybody from DJI with some help?
2017-4-24
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Johnnyv
lvl.4
Flight distance : 2798707 ft
Canada
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My P3 4K did the same thing. Lost all GPS signals as well. I eventually crashed and sent it in 2X. First time they fixed the physical damage and I immediately sent it back after testing it and discovering it still was not flyable. They were pretty good though. Sent expedited shipping labels and replaced some internal parts and it seems fine. I'm keeping it as a spare and fly my P3 Pro pretty much all the time with no issues.
2017-4-24
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Aardvark
Captain
Flight distance : 384432 ft
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United Kingdom
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I would try recalibrating your compass in another open area. A badly calibrated compass can produce errors in open areas. Do not have RC beside aircraft when calibrating compass (at least 15 feet away), no watches or bracelets on wrist when calibrating. The status indicator lights change pattern to indicate when to change from holding aircraft level to horizontal when calibrating compass (detail in page 44 of manual). And check compass error reading after calibration, should be low values. Compass' on my P4 typically show a reading of about 50 or so, and that's indoors.
2017-4-24
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SimonH78
Captain
Flight distance : 1452408 ft
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United Kingdom
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I'd just re calibrate the compass a couple of times in  a clear area - your 1500 compass reading is just like mine P3A so no problems there - or shown on your data ether.... was it windy ? - I'd also update your app to 3.1.5 as there was an issue with one version where it would just reset RTH while in flight. - ALSO Not wise to take off with a low lipo especially over water.
2017-4-24
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MrMaik
lvl.3
Flight distance : 315348 ft
Netherlands
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SimonH78 Posted at 2017-4-24 04:17
I'd just re calibrate the compass a couple of times in  a clear area - your 1500 compass reading is just like mine P3A so no problems there - or shown on your data ether.... was it windy ?

Hmm I'll give it a shot, but really don't believe that that is the issue. I allways calibrate with empty pockets, no watch etc. and with my p3s I have never had any issues calibrating in this area.
Is there a way to reinstall the 1.10.09 firmware, or downgrade?

Thanks for the replies so far!
2017-4-24
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SimonH78
Captain
Flight distance : 1452408 ft
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United Kingdom
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MrMaik Posted at 2017-4-24 04:20
Hmm I'll give it a shot, but really don't believe that that is the issue. I allways calibrate with empty pockets, no watch etc. and with my p3s I have never had any issues calibrating in this area.
Is there a way to reinstall the 1.10.09 firmware, or downgrade?

I'm on 1.10.9 and 3.1.5 works perfectly for me.... so far!! - 4.2km range!!! STOCK out of the box... I only calibrate after a firmware upgrade or only if the app says its having an issue - I dont do it everytime I fly.
2017-4-24
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MrMaik
lvl.3
Flight distance : 315348 ft
Netherlands
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Allright, I recalibrated the compass but am still getting major issues. I have constant compass errors during flight, allthough for some reason they don't show up in Healthy Drones? The quad is also drifting in circles, and often turning on its own, so the compass is definitely messing the quad up.

I am thinking that this must be either a faulty compass, or a firmware problem.

Here is a link to the latest flight, which shows no compass errors, but it does show data downlink errors, which I have not experienced.

Could I please get some help from someone from DJI? I bought the quad a few weeks ago and have not been able to properly fly it....
http://app.airdata.com/main?share=iHmQbu
2017-5-2
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MrMaik
lvl.3
Flight distance : 315348 ft
Netherlands
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Bump, anyone from DJI?
2017-5-4
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PaulSouthport
Second Officer
Flight distance : 1448799 ft
United Kingdom
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My 1st P3S had constant compass errors, I could induce it simply by rotating anti-clockwise, it would show up at the same heading as the compass calibration finished.
Rather than send to DJI I replaced the compass, took 1 hour and cost £10 and never had another issue.
My P3A has only had a few compass errors, always on the ground, never in flight. Sorted by moving a few feet and restarting.

If possible, I'd reject the Phantom for a replacement by the retailer, waiting for DJI takes way too long. If that's not possible, replacing it is fairly easy.

2017-5-4
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DJI-Jamie
DJI team
Flight distance : 112405 ft
United States
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MrMaik Posted at 2017-5-4 04:32
Bump, anyone from DJI?

I would recommend resetting to factory defaults via the Assistant 2 software. After that, try performing an IMU, then gimbal calibration to make sure the unit reads as level accordingly. Once that's done, try another compass calibration and see if this helps alleviate the issue. Worse case, you may want to look into getting an exchange through your dealer.
2017-5-4
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