Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-3-4 07:09
Thanks Suren for your reply.
I do not wear any jewelry or watches - so i can tick that off.

Why not send it back to Drone World, I am also from SA(not sure why it is showing USA) and have dealth with drone world in the past, they will make good on the repair.

Suren Posted at 2018-3-4 07:13
Why not send it back to Drone World, I am also from SA(not sure why it is showing USA) and have dealth with drone world in the past, they will make good on the repair.

Two weeks ago i sent it back to droneworld cape town.

They say they tested it and consequently replaced the entire gimbal and ribbon.
Got it back with no invoice one week later - double thumbs up

But i still got the same problems. first day i flew was not so good - second day, yesterday was awesome. At the start of the flight i got some washout problems but after that and for the next 2 batteries - no issues - awesome flight and great fun capturing undamaged footage of speed boats ect

Today flight from the start was bad, got worse and in the end i was flying by watching my drone in the sky - pretty much no usable footage.



i have written to them about sending it back again n friday and will follow that up this week.
My 1 year warentee expires next saturday.

The Antennas are in the front legs.
When you remove the 3 screws, you then need to slide out a little board(this is the antenna) from the leg.
The antenna wire attaches half way down the board.

When you put it back together, make sure the wire presses back into its slot.
Careful, there is a little plastic thingy(like a reflector?) that will slide out of the leg while you aren't looking, make sure it goes back ;)

Don't break or mark anything!

Mavdude Posted at 2018-3-4 12:15
The Antennas are in the front legs.
When you remove the 3 screws, you then need to slide out a little board(this is the antenna) from the leg.
The antenna wire attaches half way down the board.

Ok thanks - i got access to another guys remote - gonna try hook up with him tomorrow to test it out first then see about opening the leg antenna to check that out.
when i got the screws out the round part that fits into the arm would not come completely loose - looks like a white thing that was keeping it in place and i did not want to disconnect that - will check you tube to have a better look how they do it - thanks again - will let you know out comes of other remote and antenna inspection

For any users interested in this thread - i am lucky to have access to a retired radio frequency specialist (40 years RF specialist with marconi - now retired) who is kindly helping to trouble shoot my problem.
It took just one email explaining my issues for him to arrive at the same thoughts/ possibilities it has taken me a year to get to.
For those who are interested in a little bit more advanced RF trouble shooting - this might be interesting to you.
This post does not contain solutions but shows some insight in how to trouble shoot the issue.
His email back to me is below: My outgoing email is not included - it is not nesesary to include here or this post would be too long and anyway everything said in the outgoing email is already in this thread somewhere.

Greetings and salutations Mr Dean,

Unfortunately there is nothing worse than the intermittent type problems as they are always the most difficult to isolate, which I am sure you didn’t want to hear!  It’s about a process of elimination really.

A very thorough and clear explanation of the problems…you sure have been doing your homework and super impressed with your reasoning.

Solar flares are only really relevant at much lower frequencies and local interference such as boats and cars etc is only very localised to a very short distance, but as you rightly say you may have two different problems.

It easy to say, but the obvious thing to do is to determine if it is a data or RF problem

Will sit down and give it all a good think through tonight, but my gut feeling is that at least one of the problems is something to do with the way the controller is talking to the “device”.   

I will have to do a bit of homework as I don’t remember too much about the setup, but as I remember you connect a mobile phone or tablet to the controller so therefore it is the phone / tablet that is giving the erroneous display etc.  On the face of it there seems to be some sort of problem between the controller and the device….lack of memory, synchronising/ dater transfer or just sheer overload problem or whatever.

It would certainly narrow down the options an enormously if you could try a good known “device” as to my mind this has to be eliminated before delving any deeper. What to do about it however is not easy as there is no point in shelling out for a new one if there is no improvement.  If it were here I’d go to Argos, buy one try it and if it was no improvement just take it back and say you’ve changed your mind…easy peasy!!   As an old time RF engineer, computers and RF are totally incompatible and there should be a law against them having anything to do with each other!! The interference from digital equipment is incredible and spreads all sorts of horrible noise and muck across a large frequency spectrum… a curse upon the lot of them!

If it is a mobile /tablet it is very important that there are no other programmes or software running in the background and that all the memory is made available as if the ram gets overflows it can cause all sorts of time lags and delays. The screen is pretty well down the pecking order as the software does all its “sums” first before thinking about updating screen but if memory is shortage the video could well pixelate.

Is there any way you can turn the video / camera resolution down to a lower level. Are you using the full 4K mode? Obviously the higher the resolution the greater the greater the information being processed, so lowering the resolution to see if it makes any difference might at least narrow things down.

I would certainly try changing the receive / transmit frequencies if you can.  If its anything like wi-fi, the 2.4 gb frequencies have longer range, but the 5GB frequency has shorter range but faster transmission rates so would be worth experimenting with.

Couple of points if you can clarify for me…

Can let me know what the “device” is and how it connects to the controller…is it hard wired or via Bluetooth or whatever

Am I correct to say this problem has existed from day one in one way or another.

Did it have to go back to China to be checked out, or did the dealer check it out for you?

Deano, let me give it a bit of thought and will try and find the information on the device on the web.. give me a day or so to get my brain back into gear as it sort of switched off this sort of thing since retirement!!

going to try and flight with frequency change to 5.8ghz tomorrow. - will report back on out come

Lamplighter55 Posted at 2018-3-2 14:29
Solar flares - joking not.

hey lamplighter - i got an update you may be interested in regarding solar flares.

Apparently solar flares do have effect but more so on lower range frequencies like audio. I picked that up in 2 places. I place stated it out the box and another source said so by implication - although they did not exclude higher frequencies their work specifically covered audio range and there it is a factor.

i am a longstanding, almost daily watcher of ben davidson channel -  a very recent post of his seems to open a new can of worms - check it out maybe from 1.36 seconds to conclusion at 2.14 seconds

I'm not entirely convinced that this is a problem with your screen/phone.
If data was corrupted during the transfer to your phone from the remote, you would most likely notice lag and chunky screen updates(slow movement). But worth a shot anyway.

For the antenna inspection, perhaps get Drone World to disassemble and inspect it so you don't end up with warranty troubles.

Hopefully the other remote helps you determine the fault..

Mavdude Posted at 2018-3-4 17:41
I'm not entirely convinced that this is a problem with your screen/phone.
If data was corrupted during the transfer to your phone from the remote, you would most likely notice lag and chunky screen updates(slow movement). But worth a shot anyway.

i am convinced it is not my screen or phone because some days it works almost perfectly and then other days with same kit and same location its abysmal.
going to try the other remote tomorow - hopefully sheds some light

Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-3-4 17:05
hey lamplighter - i got an update you may be interested in regarding solar flares.

Apparently solar flares do have effect but more so on lower range frequencies like audio. I picked that up in 2 places. I place stated it out the box and another source said so by implication - although they did not exclude higher frequencies their work specifically covered audio range and there it is a factor.

Thanks for the link - fascinating subjects covered too. One other thing that comes to mind is atmospheric electrostatic discharge due to temperature differentials - basically similar to what creates thunderstorms but on a larger scale and at altitude. Atmospheric static charge essentially creating shifts in magnetic flux. In theory this should not be strong enough to affect drone flying - but there is even such a thing as clear air lightening - so just because there are no obvious convection clouds around it does not mean there's no static build-up in the air above. Having said all of that, with your own setup, it may just be a faulty internal connection with either the RC or Mavic. Hopefully trying out another RC will get you closer to an answer.

Lamplighter55 Posted at 2018-3-5 05:53
Thanks for the link - fascinating subjects covered too. One other thing that comes to mind is atmospheric electrostatic discharge due to temperature differentials - basically similar to what creates thunderstorms but on a larger scale and at altitude. Atmospheric static charge essentially creating shifts in magnetic flux. In theory this should not be strong enough to affect drone flying - but there is even such a thing as clear air lightening - so just because there are no obvious convection clouds around it does not mean there's no static build-up in the air above. Having said all of that, with your own setup, it may just be a faulty internal connection with either the RC or Mavic. Hopefully trying out another RC will get you closer to an answer.

i tell you lamplighter, considering all the ways and conditions that could cause interference its a wonder as miraculous as the mavic itself, that we ever even get off the ground. especially to think that we have probably overcome those counter productive obsticles.
i was so lucky to be able to try another rc today. A friend bought a mavic a long time ago, still in the box. He was kind enough to do a belated unboxing with me today and let me try out his remote on my drone.
Same problem persists - but finally thats a good thing  - at least i can rule out RC problems. A big relief.
I also tested something else and had a good flight - i think i might know what the problem is but must do another test or more if i can before i can be sure - but accessing the equipment, whilst probably easy for most, is really tough where i live.
gonna keep you posted.

Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-3-3 16:18
I have the problem in multiple locations.
the intersting repetetive observations are that it occurs a lot especially when i am flying close to me, also sometimes when i am further but definately less and often more so when i am flying quite low but sometimes also when i am 60m up or more.
It is this inconsistency that makes trouble shooting so hard.

I had my screen begin to occasionally wash out after dropping the remote on a rock. It also affected transmission range a bit.

Ebeard4 Posted at 2018-3-5 11:01
I had my screen begin to occasionally wash out after dropping the remote on a rock. It also affected transmission range a bit.

what devise are you using? do i understand correct that it only started happening after you dropped it on the rock?

Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-3-3 13:27
hey samavic - thanks for your post - your first paragraph lists some valid and real/ physical and observable issues which i will add to my list.
Your second paragraph information caused me to spend the afternoon researching papers on RF interference - wow what a trip. here are a couple of links you may find intersting in relation to the tv camera interference issue and also a pic below.

Tanks for the extra research - I shall follow those links up.

Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-3-5 11:07
what devise are you using? do i understand correct that it only started happening after you dropped it on the rock?

I am using an iPad 2 Mini and a iPhone 5S. Yes, it only happened after I dropped it, but yours could possibly somehow have a loose connection somewhere. I’ve not had problems before that, and still don’t have any now that I returned it for DJI Care Refresh and got a new drone and remote.

Ebeard4 Posted at 2018-3-12 07:41
I am using an iPad 2 Mini and a iPhone 5S. Yes, it only happened after I dropped it, but yours could possibly somehow have a loose connection somewhere. I’ve not had problems before that, and still don’t have any now that I returned it for DJI Care Refresh and got a new drone and remote.

thanks - yes i really do think it is my dji hardware more than a problem with my phone - a loose or weak connection makes perfect sense - but how to show or prove that unless i open the drone and find it and show them.?
like when you take a car to the mechanic, the problem goes away. Same as my drone - when they tested it they said they picked up no issues - i am sure they did not test it very long.
And thats the problem - it is sometimes there (mostly) and sometimes not - if you test on a good day then it could appear to be without fault but i know that it is problematic because i have issues frequently.

good to hear you have a new drone and no problems.

Bekaru MP UAV Posted at 2018-3-12 10:34
thanks - yes i really do think it is my dji hardware more than a problem with my phone - a loose or weak connection makes perfect sense - but how to show or prove that unless i open the drone and find it and show them.?
like when you take a car to the mechanic, the problem goes away. Same as my drone - when they tested it they said they picked up no issues - i am sure they did not test it very long.
And thats the problem - it is sometimes there (mostly) and sometimes not - if you test on a good day then it could appear to be without fault but i know that it is problematic because i have issues frequently.

Yikes. Really sorry Bekaru. Could you provide a video of the malfunction when/if you send it in again to repair?

Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-3-3 03:50
its become standard preflight procedure for me to turn on airplane mode on my devise during preflight setup.
i am a bit knowlagable about cell towers and their local location and relay paths - that cant be the issue for me.
Funny thing worth mentioning though is that a few months ago i purposfully flew around a cell phone tower just to see what effects it might have but i picked up no issues or anomolies.

You are not so knowledgable about spelling the word device.

A.J. Williams Posted at 2018-3-14 08:02
You are not so knowledgable about spelling the word device.

i admit my spelling is pretty poor - it is not intentional, does that make it worse - i hope not.

Ebeard4 Posted at 2018-3-14 07:04
Yikes. Really sorry Bekaru. Could you provide a video of the malfunction when/if you send it in again to repair?

yes if i do send it in again i will send a video.
In fact i believe i did send an example clip or at least a link to a video showing the issue - not sure if they watched it.
Anyway when they got it they immediately replaced the gimbal and sent it back to me.
I was hoping to chat to them about it first, but they 'fixed it' and sent it back before me before i could speak to them about it.
I am still trying to trouble shoot the problem - so far all the leads i have looked at seem to be dead ends.
Now my warentee has expired so when i build up the courage i may open it up and have a look at the boards to if maybe there are poor solder joints or any other apparent irregularities.
Opening it up though takes a bit more courage than i have right now.

A.J. Williams Posted at 2018-3-14 08:02
You are not so knowledgable about spelling the word device.

Do you think maybe my poor spelling could cause rc interference?

"please list all things that can/will cause rc interference"

Your Significant Other , jealous of attention your DJI drone is getting.  

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-14 09:00
"please list all things that can/will cause rc interference"

Your Significant Other , jealous of attention your DJI drone is getting.

maybe i need a babycam to keep an eye on my mavic when we are not together