hi.i have a question pertaining to magnetic field or compass error problems that i have read a lot about on the forum. if the Drone goes off on its own what would be the best course of action should this happens to me?  will it regain control on its own?  will it work its way out of the magnetic field?  i will loose my mind if i see my inverstment going away.
thank you in advance.

Hi, thanks for the inquiry. If the compass experiences interference, the aircraft will revert to the ATTI mode, during this mode the vision system in unavailable and the aircraft can easily affected by it's surroundings. We would recommend landing the aircraft to the safe zone during this situation to avoid the mishap. If the home-point was successfully recorded, GPS signal is strong, and the compass is functioning, Failsafe RTH will be automatically activated if the wireless signal is lost for a specified amount of time ( 3 seconds when using the remote and 20 seconds for wi-fi) The failsafe RTH function can be override once the RC regain the signal to remote controller.

Hi Peter

When you say “ magnetic RFI “ do you have a specific example to prompt your concern? I have flown my Spark, and many other GPS/Magnetometer equipped drones, in what some would consider harsh RF environments without encountering any issues. These environments include MF and VHF broadcast installations, cellular and microwave installations, etc. As with any drone with GPS/Magnetometer hardware calibration of the compass should be carried out in an area free of any significant metal structures. If you are worried about the area you are doing the calibration in a simple orienteering compass can be used to check first.

Even when the onboard compass is grossly out of alignment it should not cause the drone to become totally unresponsive. I’ve flown an APM equipped drone where the compass was 180degrees off true alignment resulting in its inability to hold a position ( toilet bowling ) but it was still easy to control and pilot back to the point of takeoff.

The Spark is a bit of a puzzle. You will have read reports by many that the user is alerted to magnetic interference, then very quickly that GPS reception is very poor or lost altogether and that the Spark has reverted to ATTI mode. This has happened in very remote areas far away from any interference, magnetic or electromagnetic (EMI or RFI). DJI has not been forthcoming with a reason for this behaviour even though they have exonerated the user of any blame and compensated them for their loss  when this has happened. We are left to just make our own speculations - faulty hardware, bad batch of components used during the manufacture, etc.

All of the above being said the Spark has been a very popular little drone with user numbers in the hundreds of thousands out of which a very low number, compared to the total in use, have reported problems. As long as you follow the manufacturers recommendations and maintain the proper preflight checks then hopefully you should have a good experience with the Spark.

Regards

Nidge.

First, don't panic.
Second. don't try to turn the drone around. You know which way it was facing.
Third, if there are obstacles in the way, go up.
Fourth, pull the drone toward you with the right stick. Wait till it is close enough to see clearly to turn it around.

Tentoes Posted at 9-24 11:15
First, don't panic.
Second. don't try to turn the drone around. You know which way it was facing.
Third, if there are obstacles in the way, go up.

There is a small problem: These compass errors are often crashes, disconnections that make it impossible or very difficult to control.
If it weren't for that then there would be nothing to talk about now, because it would be just a tiny glitch and not a fatal mistake.
I have been reading these cases for years and not the real mistake of entering ATTI mode is losing control.
And that's not the only problem with Spark. Mine crashed due to battery loosening. He escaped with a few scratches, but recently landed unwanted in a yard and smashed all his propellers. This is the crazy Nyut-Nyut problem, also known as Hoppy Spark. During takeoff she jumped strangely then everything was fine after getting off and I couldn't prevent it. Here again the loss of control became the result and the accident.
I no longer trust Spark or DJI anymore (because it hasn't provided any solution or explanation for years ...)
I'm switching to Parrot ANAFI.

Jakab Gipsz said “I’m switching to Parrot ANAFI”.

That’s a good decision. My wife bought me the Anafi as a Birthday present 10 months ago and I’ve been enamoured with it ever since. So much so I acquired a second Anafi as a backup.

In my mind the pro’s are.

Better camera and gimbal.
Much longer flight times so you’re not so rushed in getting the shot.
More flight options.
Better and more reliable range.
It’s soooo much quieter, great for filming wildlife.

Parrot have recently introduced an FPV option which uses your existing mobile device and cheap VR headset which, for what it is, is quite effective. I was able to follow and film a large and fast  scale 3D model, the one in my avatar, with no discernible latency issues.

DJI have, for all intents and purposes,  retired the Spark. There have not been any updates or upgrades for it in nearly two years, even the issues the original poster has expressed concern over have not been formally addressed, other than the usual “copy and paste” responses seen in this forum.

The Spark has very capable hardware which I believe DJI may  have purposely limited the function of, which could be part of the reason why we sometimes see the compass error -> Loss of GPS -> ATTI MODE -> Bye Bye Spark scenario, so as to artificially inflate the value of the next model in the range.

I’ll now remove my tinfoil hat.

Nidge.