Hey there,

I have a new Phantom 3 Standard.  Controller is communicating with the aircraft, and I am getting a picture on my iPhone.  Am able to operate the gimbal.  Aircraft goes through its self check until the status lights are slowly blinking green.  Everything going as expected until I try and power up the motor for the propellers.  I move the joy sticks down and in, and the green blinking lights suddenly blink red 3 times and then go back to slowly blinking green.  Nothing happens to the motors.  Tried auto take off as well.  Nothing.

Please help me understand what is going on.  Thanks in advance for any and all assistance.

Try calibrating the compass.

Sorry for this inconvenience. May you please confirm if the aircraft involves in a crash or hard landing? Have you tried updating the firmware of the aircraft? Thank you.

Have you activated the drone?

Your P3S might be on older firmware that doesn't work with the current app.
Check this 'very old' thread. It's as 'old' as your bird (and mine) ;-)
https://forum.dji.com/thread-45222-1-1.html

WD9EON Posted at 2018-6-23 12:48
Try calibrating the compass.

Why would you recommend calibrating the compass?
Calibrating the compass won't "fix" anything, especially when the compass is not related to the issue.
Even if it was a compass problem, calibrating still won't fix anything.

Unless someone is modifying their Phantom, there should never be any need to calibrate the compass.

Labroides Posted at 2018-6-23 13:14
Why would you recommend calibrating the compass?
Calibrating the compass won't "fix" anything, especially when the compass is not related to the issue.
Even if it was a compass problem, calibrating still won't fix anything.

He said it was "New".  Just out of the box.  I'm sorry you are the only person on here that should make "any" suggestions as to how about fixing anything.  Forgive me for trying to help.

WD9EON Posted at 2018-6-23 14:12
He said it was "New".  Just out of the box.  I'm sorry you are the only person on here that should make "any" suggestions as to how about fixing anything.  Forgive me for trying to help.

I think the point that Lab was trying to make was that caibrating the compass even if it was new is irrelevant to the issue the op is having.
We have had many people come on this forum with try calibrating the compass answer. This answer is simply incorrect 99% of the time and many times it can be down right dangerous to perform this action. Even if the app requests a compass calibration you should not perform it unless you are absolutely sure you need to.The main reason your drone will ask you to perform a compass calibration will be because your drone is picking up magnetic interference from some form of metal in its vicinity.
I remember one person in a different forum had his drone on a glass top table with a metal frame he calibrated as requested, took off all seemed great flew 10 mtrs out then lost controll and the drone smashed through his next door neighbors window.
I know that this is not what this thread is about but if ever you see a request to calibrate your compass you should first shut everything down then move to a new location if that doesnt work then move even further away.
NEVER FLY IF YOU SEE A COMPASS CALIBRATION ERROR.

I just wanted to clarify that point.

WD9EON Posted at 2018-6-23 14:12
He said it was "New".  Just out of the box.  I'm sorry you are the only person on here that should make "any" suggestions as to how about fixing anything.  Forgive me for trying to help.

He said it was new?
I fail to see how that's at all relevant.
There's no need to ever calibrate the compass of anyone's Phantom  ..  (eceept for the exception I mentioned in post #6).
Not when it's new, not when you've travelled any distance you care to nominate from where you last flew, not on days that end in a Y, etc, etc,

There's a whole lot of myth and superstition about calibrating the compass and it would be a good thing if people who imagine it "fixes" things found out what calibrating the compass actually does, what it doesn't do and when it is/isn't necessary.

What does the little oblong box say at the top of the App?  Does it say something like, "aircraft Warning Up", or  "firmware update needed"? Can you give us a screenshot of the face of the app?

I suggest you download and read the manual.   

Labroides Posted at 2018-6-23 15:00
He said it was new?
I fail to see how that's at all relevant.
There's no need to ever calibrate the compass of anyone's Phantom  ..  (eceept for the exception I mentioned in post #6).

Why is it you only reply to put someone's suggest down and never reply to the original poster with a solution?  

WD9EON Posted at 2018-6-23 17:37
Why is it you only reply to put someone's suggest down and never reply to the original poster with a solution?

I replied to your comment because it is perpetuating the myth that calibrating the compass is worth trying to fix everything.
I didn't reply to the OP because I don't have an answer for him.

You can check this out in the on-line manual for the aircraft. I don't have a standard, but for the P3 Pro, the lights flashing red indicate your battery is too low. It won't let you take off if the battery is too low to permit safe flight. And that should also be on the display screen too.

Brantley,
do you have a screen shot of the <overall status<" so we can help the right way??

maybe in a no fly zone

Rene Jensen Posted at 2018-6-24 02:52
maybe in a no fly zone

That makes very good sense!!

Any luck with this problem???

djordan2 Posted at 2018-6-28 05:24
Any luck with this problem???

It needed a IMU calibration.  Once I did that, it worked fine.  Would have been nice to get an error message to that effect.  I had to figure it out by noticing that when I dumped the joy sticks, the aircraft status lights blinked red three time quickly, and then went back to green.

WD9EON Posted at 2018-6-23 12:48
Try calibrating the compass.

It needed a IMU calibration.  Once I did that, it worked fine.  Would have been nice to get an error message to that effect.  I had to figure it out by noticing that when I dumped the joy sticks, the aircraft status lights blinked red three time quickly, and then went back to green.

Brantley Posted at 2018-6-29 10:46
It needed a IMU calibration.  Once I did that, it worked fine.  Would have been nice to get an error message to that effect.  I had to figure it out by noticing that when I dumped the joy sticks, the aircraft status lights blinked red three time quickly, and then went back to green.

My bad, I've run into that before.  Glad you got it sorted.

Labroides Posted at 2018-6-23 15:00
He said it was new?
I fail to see how that's at all relevant.
There's no need to ever calibrate the compass of anyone's Phantom  ..  (eceept for the exception I mentioned in post #6).

I don't understand why you say to never calibrate the compass when the manual says this:

IMPORTANT: Always calibrate the compass in every new flight location.  The compass is very sensitive to eletromagnetic interference, which can produce abnormal compass data and lead to poor flight performance or flight failure.  Regular compass calibration is required for optimal performance.

Your statement is a direct contradiction to what I read in the user manual so I'm just trying to learn why you say Never calibrate the compass.  I'm just trying to understand, I'm not trying to step on anyones toes.

Chuck McNamee Posted at 2018-10-11 05:02
I don't understand why you say to never calibrate the compass when the manual says this:

IMPORTANT: Always calibrate the compass in every new flight location.  The compass is very sensitive to eletromagnetic interference, which can produce abnormal compass data and lead to poor flight performance or flight failure.  Regular compass calibration is required for optimal performance.

Because DJI has put incorrect information about compass calibration in their manuals for years causing a lot of confusion about what compass calibration does and when it might be necessary.
Users have worked it out over time and DJI finally updated the compass calibration section of some of their new manuals.
Check the manual for the P4 pro and on p57 you'll see this:
   Only calibrate the compass when the DJI GO 4 app or the status indicator prompt you to do so.

I explained what compass calibration actually does here:
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=168704&pid=1603893
When you understand what it really does, the reason it is not necessary to recalibrate it makes sense.

Labroides Posted at 2018-10-11 06:04
Because DJI has put incorrect information about compass calibration in their manuals for years causing a lot of confusion about what compass calibration does and when it might be necessary.
Users have worked it out over time and DJI finally updated the compass calibration section of some of their new manuals.
Check the manual for the P4 pro and on p57 you'll see this:

Okay, thanks for the information.  I guess reading and following the instructions in the manual can be dangerous.  I was calibrating the compass everytime I changed locations and could have really screwed it up if I was unknowingly around some kind of metal I didn't know was there.

Thanks again for the information, learn something new everyday.

Chuck

Chuck McNamee Posted at 2018-10-11 06:38
Okay, thanks for the information.  I guess reading and following the instructions in the manual can be dangerous.  I was calibrating the compass everytime I changed locations and could have really screwed it up if I was unknowingly around some kind of metal I didn't know was there.

Thanks again for the information, learn something new everyday.

Let me ask you this, I have a replced metal hip, some metal rods in my spine and a couple metal clips in my head.  Should I get someone else to calibrate my compass one more time and leave it alone after that or are body implants ok?  Titanium I believe.

Thanks,
Chuck

Chuck McNamee Posted at 2018-10-11 05:02
I don't understand why you say to never calibrate the compass ...

Nobody said "Never calibrate the compass."  Every once in a blue moon, you might need to calibrate the compass.  What some do is hover the AC for a few secs before flight.  If it's steady, the compass is fine.  If it rotates around (Toilet Bowl Effect), compass needs to be calibrated.

The last time I had to calibrate my compass, I couldn't even remember how to do it.  I had to look it up in the manual.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-10-11 06:46
Nobody said "Never calibrate the compass."  Every once in a blue moon, you might need to calibrate the compass.  What some do is hover the AC for a few secs before flight.  If it's steady, the compass is fine.  If it rotates around (Toilet Bowl Effect), compass needs to be calibrated.

The last time I had to calibrate my compass, I couldn't even remember how to do it.  I had to look it up in the manual.

Yes, I do practice the hover at about 15ft for a min or so to see that everything is steady and acting as I think it should before I fly it anywhere.  Just seems like a good idea before it's to far away.

Thanks.

Chuck McNamee Posted at 2018-10-11 06:50
Yes, I do practice the hover at about 15ft for a min or so to see that everything is steady and acting as I think it should before I fly it anywhere.  Just seems like a good idea before it's to far away.

Thanks.

Yes, I think that's a good idea.   And 15 ft would be high enough so that the VPS won't interfere with the possible TBE...

Maybe you are near a no fly zone

Chuck McNamee Posted at 2018-10-11 06:45
Let me ask you this, I have a replced metal hip, some metal rods in my spine and a couple metal clips in my head.  Should I get someone else to calibrate my compass one more time and leave it alone after that or are body implants ok?  Titanium I believe.

Thanks,

1.  If your Phantom hovers in place without slowly roatating, it's fine and the compass is calibrated properly.
You should only ever need to recalibrate the compass if you modify or rebuild the Phantom.
I've been flying mine in hard professional use for almost two years now and still haven't calibrated anything on it.
We've traveled great distances and it runs perfectly.

2.  Although the manual and forum users talk about metal, it's only ferro-magnetic metals (iron & steel) that will have any effect on your compass.
I would be surprised if surgical stainless has a magnetic field and I know titanium definitely doesn't.
You can check with a magnetic compass and get someone to see if the needle is deflected when moved around your implants.

could it be in a restricted zone?

Chuck McNamee Posted at 2018-10-11 06:45
Let me ask you this, I have a replced metal hip, some metal rods in my spine and a couple metal clips in my head.  Should I get someone else to calibrate my compass one more time and leave it alone after that or are body implants ok?  Titanium I believe.

Thanks,

Much of the current an older implants are Titanium  and wont affect the compass as others have mentioned. If you have persistent compass errors while you handle the p3, have someone else try at the same location to rule out your implants as the cause.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-10-11 06:46
Nobody said "Never calibrate the compass."  Every once in a blue moon, you might need to calibrate the compass.  What some do is hover the AC for a few secs before flight.  If it's steady, the compass is fine.  If it rotates around (Toilet Bowl Effect), compass needs to be calibrated.

The last time I had to calibrate my compass, I couldn't even remember how to do it.  I had to look it up in the manual.

hey mark the droner.i have a question for you.i have different brands of drones other than my p3p this other brand flys as you stated as toilet bowl effect. in a hover its flies around in a 3ft radius while staying on same heading. it just starting doing that out of the blue,even different locations. i was thinking compass cal.  what do you think?

repairman Posted at 2018-10-16 06:55
hey mark the droner.i have a question for you.i have different brands of drones other than my p3p this other brand flys as you stated as toilet bowl effect. in a hover its flies around in a 3ft radius while staying on same heading. it just starting doing that out of the blue,even different locations. i was thinking compass cal.  what do you think?

I think you're right!

IMU calib was on my P3 more effective than a compass calib.