First flights after months of shut-down..........
All good at take-off,  but within about 60/90 seconds the display shows ATTI mode.  As this was in a new location and quite remote,   I didn't retry again until days  later at a familier site.
So today I went to an area where I have flown heaps of times,  (absolutely no chance of magnetic or other interferance)  All seems perfect prior to and at launch,  but within a very short period I get the ATTI mode message again.   I bring the drone back to take-off point in the hope that it will hook up to GPS satelites again - but no.
I continued to fly visually but soon lost even the 'Tracking Map' on the screen,  well I say I lost it.  What I mean is that it froze at it's last position.
During this time the drone is reacting perfectly to the control input - so the link between the RC and the drone is good,   however the GPS/satelites are gone.
To my mind this sounds like possibly an electronic component is breaking down after a short 'warm-up' period ????  

Other than that I have no idea and welcome any advice...  

hI mAX !! sad to hear that .... how much time did the AC pass without turning on ??

I start my 4 devices at least once a month

JetSam Posted at 9-18 02:29
hI mAX !! sad to hear that .... how much time did the AC pass without turning on ??

No more than 4 weeks between turning both the RC and drone on.
I always 'cycle' the batteries even when not flying.

PS:   I cycle the RC battery also

During this time the drone is reacting perfectly to the control input - so the link between the RC and the drone is good,   however the GPS/satelites are gone.
To my mind this sounds like possibly an electronic component is breaking down after a short 'warm-up' period ????  
Another possibility might be a loose connection?
Your recorded flight data might give some extra clues.

Labroides Posted at 9-18 04:38
During this time the drone is reacting perfectly to the control input - so the link between the RC and the drone is good,   however the GPS/satelites are gone.
To my mind this sounds like possibly an electronic component is breaking down after a short 'warm-up' period ????  
Another possibility might be a loose connection?

Your recorded flight data might give some extra clues.

Thanks Labroides,  what is the easiest way to access the data ?
(I am none too bright in the IT department !)

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/.  Go here, follow directions, then come back and post the link.

Mmmmm,  what I get is pages of heiroglyphics !  I don't think that's what we want.  


Ÿ     
                                                                                         (údàPCç†y$¡oCòxTà}ÿ(éªf˼>W¿èVòÙdu
ÿ(py[ý‚‹ˆAfJýé13[jÿ(è„H
ԁT½-@Hr õ"¼`ÿ3`†h #ù£±Á‡h #ù£"ÿ
9ÆÊ–hþf~0àmlhUºœÏL
œÑ©"~pP
…ѪÜWqVÝѤ,~pLœÑ¨<ñl^
œÑ©Ú·ÿÀ{`eÛ§Éí{±ÅÙ8½ì{¥ÿ
pÀ(¦‰u(±OLtàÏ7±J6 á¿v&àiB×ä¯V+`‘­&TîcCÖäHà0¥v&Ù[l¥v&±:BtàµD±I6 –´v&±:M|”ÌFÔ!0¥v&±<Wqàº"²J6
—Ãv&µÿz²Yr2 ’8ÕX[>
š:Ë_sZþ<ÊWV"È
Ës0’>£ö[r2 ’xÚ/Yb ŒÊ~rXþŸ<ÊW"'œ,íIU2»<¡öQr2 ž/ÊöPr2 ›jÅv}=Zb6ÊY2œ<êYr7=Úöšÿ8`ö>ÿ
>jGo°" [¨ K} k©Wa
¨yrl®g
¥wngç_AChop³^.
¹ty"°tBß{aw³oDÑtÿl×À˜¢! Ëýg‹ãÎHÿiá´c+iá´Þ‰ªD
´‘ÿ^ÂM%ÝQ60ÕÃW;Ý#“ÃD©³ÿ
9 £‘æÚ'xhÉsé˜ÿ‡DDoÉ 8XDvÉþ49^”ÿÉ8DEnÉ’$VDoÉôâ9ÿÏ&««Éñ&«Œ°©Väð&«Iÿ_DT¸S<’„EU‘_=šOR¹?–›IZœd:ˆ™KƹQ®”ö·V¸S<Ò‹nT¨t<±›Ys¸=–›IZÜC†¼IDŸS,;–ô·]¸S<À”F{·\gâÃÿÔûÚ`BÍ´d÷Œ:ßõaWâaÿ—ëüЄel)ëüÐ…ÚŽí)ÆÐÿº½%1á¥Ø‚^¼2áÖñ£Œ¼!+ÿ{äíñ~‚Â{䕸óáöÃ{äOÿ
9Ç93:
^Q?^.oŠmîmÀrA71‘vnA.1’ˆ¦~h‘§1œxr@51h c`A71‘p·ÿ*¤‹FÑ›a‚}×Ò‘u+•‡ßÂÑA;§mêÒ‘u+—}¿Ù‘u+—}Aÿ_Ù=›š–ì(¼</—›žî6¶;ëd™è7°3"¬œ™ö5²¯™™êFN?›š–¬'—=¼šˆÏ7 éd›è7°3b‹½˜ø°-!›Š¿èDN4›šŸ8¿        ”Æfÿ Ÿaú¸ŠŸaú¸ƒc %ú¸Š!bu¸‚ÿ¤€c¼$5NÇ£à t&Â}ˆÿK²@£šØÂE‹BÝ=œñúi½:µúwJB•' ÷¾
bõ \÷³b‹òâö]¶aŠ \þ³=UÁF嶃=P»2än÷³
[ŸPèÿ
9Hl!‚yoú÷ÎVWò\E1#¦I Ý÷Ž?¿I¤#ޏ9Ë6I­Ó÷Ž#¥I¡Ãx’1¦I 1Çÿy@RG
”?=@RG <à¾=l¾G}ÿH3
l÷ݍI´6ÄÍõB÷o3
VÿYñô+[ã6Hçðã["€)ððš2ÿs³Se–~÷w?±ƒÓä60QÍÿ_2gGU¹¾ªf!K]»  a        3áZ½¡¦i,pZ££¤õ        EZ¿ÔXeGUù±g`Kš¡¶@1áX½¡¦ilW8[­†¦w/G|½ÖXnG\K®©HHB¥þÿ
9ÉM æ(X>ûmâ{t¤k’NœÑ—û-RœÈ”çÒ,TLAšû-NÕ–t1\œÑ—ççÿ\xlQ—Øžû€xlQ–Âvz€T€QÈÿ’
¥J¥$¢ãÚ™X觻ó
¥‹ÿÈ»[€â\èɬG€n"É¿Õ ÿ_í"«—‡å2짠       Ÿ…û8ë#Óö˜ƒú>㜘ø<#©š˜ƒÀï"«—Çêí2Œ‰¤ú.Ê"Ñöšƒú>ãF»/™“Ý>ý«¾ƒÀä"«žuõ1Â-¤Vg®ÿRRóÐþêO.5q‚ff\o0Ñì˜ÿ
9BuÏÉLÁœ?GžýÁò#cÀkۍ|»wÛ”|

u¥sص&UQÑ‚Þº)ƒ¬uÿ‰ý¢wÈ$]ilÞÄÌMD‚(i~¬ªÿnôÊÌ°ÀÇ¿ðÂ5̱L¸=ðùÛÌÁÿ
9¢ûɆÁø4«Ôj@"xÛ‹I+f»QAžì«”ðDqAí­•Êk€A>«”Æ»·B0
$ˆÔ»_1ýT7ÿPϨJ°è,ú¨9œ˜
?hÈÿ/˜®.2 [&¢^íc…Íö˜®Sÿ÷»†/>j½‰ ¡á4ÿ`jíÐÒ
§ëãIj»Xxªæéååÿ|òJ8õð
Áĵ8ôëqŒÁù[8Šÿ
9áÅ¡ö"7µ?ƒQµJ
Ý|
åLQm?ÄõÂLÞl9°Ú7Lñ’?ü
OÿŒ°ß®
§Rþ®?!ÿq«1
ÈÚŒª(
»úIƒªº‹ÿÒ&ðj¬±rÙà[LHoš&òÿR8êx«5«hùîëhŒ4µKèÙÍy×ˤléÉä\s#¤´ÿÈú_ª%‚m”7èx«5«(ùîêhŒ5µKéÙÍxÕ˦léÉ以|ÎÉú_«%‚l–7£ÿkžý˜hÄ’½â AyÓÓ
Š¤ÿ
9o!²"›\
¯ÓxL¨»ãèPßc½yý„
ïCœ™yr…îs³oy]{
ïcVzSe…ómcÿgRm

Manxmann Posted at 9-18 16:17
Mmmmm,  what I get is pages of heiroglyphics !  I don't think that's what we want.  

The txt file will look like garbage if you try to read it directly.
But if you post the whole file, it will be readable to the right people.

Labroides Posted at 9-18 18:31
The txt file will look like garbage if you try to read it directly.
But if you post the whole file, it will be readable to the right people.

Tried that,  the file is too big for posting.
Is there a way I can post a "link" to what is stored up in the Cloud somewhere ?

Manxmann Posted at 9-19 01:20
Tried that,  the file is too big for posting.
Is there a way I can post a "link" to what is stored up in the Cloud somewhere ?

Yes .. you could do that.
Or go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions.
That will give a report you can post a link for the report here.

Labroides Posted at 9-19 01:53
Yes .. you could do that.
Or go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions.

That's where I have been going.
But I must be missing something somewhere.
Will have another go in the morning

https://1drv.ms/t/s!ArTmm4QqfqDbl3v5IhzmoEj9_1f7?e=MdCGwr
Hopefully this link will work ????

This is what that data looks like:
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/YYR8UR0UTALYTHKLE68D/

So today I went to an area where I have flown heaps of times,  (absolutely no chance of magnetic or other interferance)
There may well have been magnetic interference at the launch spot.
Your flight data shows, a Yaw Error at 4:25.2 and compass errors at 5:26.2, 7:33.2, 7:56.6, 8:18.2, 9:27.6, 9:28.8, 9:31.2, 9:38.9 & 10:10.5.
This was probably unrelated to the lost GPS issue but without seeing data from the previous flight at a different location, I can't be certain.

You are lucky the yaw error was only a small one.
Most yaw errors are unrecoverable and end badly.

What direction was the drone facing at the launch spot?
What was the surface you launched from?

All seems perfect prior to and at launch,  but within a very short period I get the ATTI mode message again.   I bring the drone back to take-off point in the hope that it will hook up to GPS satelites again - but no.

I continued to fly visually but soon lost even the 'Tracking Map' on the screen,  well I say I lost it.  What I mean is that it froze at it's last position.
During this time the drone is reacting perfectly to the control input - so the link between the RC and the drone is good,   however the GPS/satelites are gone.
To my mind this sounds like possibly an electronic component is breaking down after a short 'warm-up' period ????
Your satellite numbers dropped from 13-14 to zero and jumped back to 13-14 at:
0:31.3, 0:33.4, 0:51.4, 1:01.8, 1:04, 3:55.9, 4:07.6, 4:08.7, 4:11.8, 4:14.1
They dropped to zero again at 4:28.5 and stayed at zero until the end of the flight, which is why the tracking appeared frozen.

This looks a lot like an intermittent (at least for the first half of the flight) hardware problem.
Either a faulty GPS unit or a poor connection.

If you power up outdoors now, does the drone find satellites?

Labroides Posted at 9-19 20:04
This is what that data looks like:
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/YYR8UR0UTALYTHKLE68D/

What direction was the drone facing at the launch spot?   Compass direction ?  A tad N of W

What was the surface you launched from?   Was sitting on top of the DJI foam box on a dirt/grass surface.

If you power up outdoors now, does the drone find satellites ?  Yes,  just tried it 9 satellites almost immediately and HP updated.   When the weather here (which is absolutely foul) clears up a bit I'll power the thing up and let it sit on the ground for a few minutes to see if the satellites drop out without actually flying ?

Gees,  the 'Log Viewer" makes the data look more intelligible !  

Manxmann Posted at 9-19 22:35
What direction was the drone facing at the launch spot?   Compass direction ?  A tad N of W

What was the surface you launched from?   Was sitting on top of the DJI foam box on a dirt/grass surface.

What direction was the drone facing at the launch spot?   Compass direction ?  A tad N of W
The data shows a heading of 309° so that's about right.
The yaw error is a concern, it's usually caused by launching close to something made of steel, eg from reinforced concrete surfaces.

What was the surface you launched from?   Was sitting on top of the DJI foam box on a dirt/grass surface.
On the foam box would probably give enough separation (unless there's something steel inside the box).

Yes,  just tried it 9 satellites almost immediately and HP updated.   When the weather here (which is absolutely foul) clears up a bit I'll power the thing up and let it sit on the ground for a few minutes to see if the satellites drop out without actually flying ?
OK .. because the last loss of GPS went until th eend of data, I was just curious about whether it had stopped working completely.
I'd keep an eye on how it's operating and wouldn't do any adventurous flights until it's fixed or the problem goes away.
Losing GPS won't crash the drone, but it could make it difficult to retrieve if it's out of sight.

I just put the machine outside on the gtround,  turned on,  but not running.   After about 7 minutes we still had GPS signal.  So I gently tapped the top of the drone and voila !   Immediate ATTI mode.  A couple more taps and we are back with GPS.  Another tap or two and ATTI again.
So it's pretty conclusive in my mind that we have a lose connection somewhere.
Now I have to find somewhere to get it fixed as I am not game to start taking it to pieces !
Thanks for your help Labroides - much appreciated  

Manxmann Posted at 9-20 01:14
I just put the machine outside on the gtround,  turned on,  but not running.   After about 7 minutes we still had GPS signal.  So I gently tapped the top of the drone and voila !   Immediate ATTI mode.  A couple more taps and we are back with GPS.  Another tap or two and ATTI again.
So it's pretty conclusive in my mind that we have a lose connection somewhere.
Now I have to find somewhere to get it fixed as I am not game to start taking it to pieces !

Now I have to find somewhere to get it fixed as I am not game to start taking it to pieces !
Good idea.
With the Phantom 3 series, opening the case and checking the GPS connection were both easy tasks.
With the P4 series, that's all changed.
Finding someone who is experienced with working on the P4 will be able to do it much easier than you would, trying to learn how as you go.

Labroides Posted at 9-20 02:45
Now I have to find somewhere to get it fixed as I am not game to start taking it to pieces !
Good idea.
With the Phantom 3 series, opening the case and checking the GPS connection were both easy tasks.

I'll likely end up sending it back to DJI in Melbourne,   there is no local branch in WA.  
There are others that claim to be Repairers - but who knows their experience.

Thanks again for your input - much appreciated  

I did find a service agent in WA - recommended by the DJI State Distributor.  So I called them and was very disappointed to be told they are current soooo busy they are not taking any more repair bookings for 2 weeks !!
So the answer is "Ring back in a week or two"
Oh well,  I suppose the up-side is that if they are so busy,  they must be good at their job.   

As the song goes .........  "Don't worry,  be happy"  ;)

Manxmann Posted at 9-29 01:55
I did find a service agent in WA - recommended by the DJI State Distributor.  So I called them and was very disappointed to be told they are current soooo busy they are not taking any more repair bookings for 2 weeks !!
So the answer is "Ring back in a week or two"
Oh well,  I suppose the up-side is that if they are so busy,  they must be good at their job.   

I did as instructed by the shop and a couple of weeks ago made the 400k round trip to deliver the wee beastie to the repairers....
I called them today only to be told they do not have the necessary test equipment to check for the faults as reported.
Tomorrow,  we will again do the 400k round trip to collect the machine & then decide if or not to send it across to the Eastern States (Melbourne) for repair at DJI's workshop.
I feel a bit "GGGGRRRRRR"  at the moment - just wish there was an easy way out.

Well Manxmann take this with a grain of salt but some users report good results from https://www.camzilla.com.au/drone-service-repairs/ and in Melb https://www.uavwholesale.com.au/repair-centre.html BUT you'd need to check through the forum and good old Face B for feedback.
I'm sure some of the locals will be in contact to provide advice.
Hmm maybe it's covid restrictions or seceding that's caused it

sky wombat Posted at 10-21 17:26
Well Manxmann take this with a grain of salt but some users report good results from https://www.camzilla.com.au/drone-service-repairs/ and in Melb https://www.uavwholesale.com.au/repair-centre.html BUT you'd need to check through the forum and good old Face B for feedback.
I'm sure some of the locals will be in contact to provide advice.
Hmm maybe it's covid restrictions or seceding that's caused it

Seceding ?  Oh,  have you heard of WAXIT then ?

Manxmann Posted at 10-22 01:08
Seceding ?  Oh,  have you heard of WAXIT then ?

yep we're having a quick whip round to help

sky wombat Posted at 10-22 02:00
yep we're having a quick whip round to help

No cash.  What we need are Concrete Blocks to keep the border secure !!  

Well that's it,  one P4P+ in the post for Keysborough,  Vic.
Let's hope they receive it quickly (I sent it Aust Post Express for $55 !!)  Fix it quickly and get it back to me quickly  ?
Nothing to do now,  but wait .........................  ;)