hello all.

i've had my P3P for several weeks now and i've had 61 long range flights and they were all perfect!
then, i updated the firmware to v1.3.20. ever since then, i've been getting Compass Errors AFTER i take off!
i can do a compass calibration and it will go thru like normal.
it will go thru the "Aircraft Warming Up" and and i'll get the "safe to Fly GPS" green light.  
i'll power up the motors and about 5 to 10 seconds in the air, i'll get the flashing  red "Compass Error"!
i'll panic and throw the function switch to A mode and bring it back down.
also, when this happens i'll see the display will sometimes say radio signal is poor and a few seconds later it will say good and then back to poor!
it seems to happen about 1 out of every 3 or 4 flights.
also since the update, it takes anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes for the aircraft to warm up, instead of the 20 or 30 seconds it took prior to the update.
none of this happened the first 2 weeks of flying everyday several flights a day.  it only started happening AFTER the update!

i updated the unit, the radio and all of my batteries.

is anyone else having this problem?

thanks.

Did you recalibrate EVERYTHING after doing the update?

Rigworker Posted at 2015-9-5 22:46
Did you recalibrate EVERYTHING after doing the update?

i just did the IMU and compass calibrations.

should i have done more?  i'm pretty new to quadcopters.

thanks.

jwatts2344@aol. Posted at 2015-9-5 21:18
i just did the IMU and compass calibrations.

should i have done more?  i'm pretty new to quadcopt ...

After upgrade, i do the IMU first. Then the gimbal and compass. Also recheck all settings you have made with the app to make sure nothing has been forgotten/changed.I also always check the sensor values each time before I take off. Just to make sure everything is OK. I dont calibrate compass before every flight but that is my choice.

Rigworker Posted at 2015-9-6 01:13
After upgrade, i do the IMU first. Then the gimbal and compass. Also recheck all settings you have  ...

ok.

i will check my sensor values. i think i read somewhere that the values should average around 1500? i can remember but i will research and get that done.

thank you guys for all of your replies!  

Did you do a "cold" IMU calibration. There is a really good YouTube on how to do this. There is also a lot of posts on the PhantomPilots forum about this, as well as a lot of mis-information. Don't put your P3 in the refrigerator. I'll look for that YouTube.

As for the compass error I'll speculate that the newer firmware may have tighter constraints on what it considers to be a compass error. Sounds almost like the it starts out flying OK when in the immediate vicinity of where you calibrated. But then encounters a problem once it gets away from that from that spot.  Can you try going to a different location (free of any sources of geomagnetic distortions), calibrating, and then flying.

BudWalker Posted at 2015-9-6 09:38
Did you do a "cold" IMU calibration. There is a really good YouTube on how to do this. There is also ...

that's what i'll do. when i get these errors, i'll quickly switch to atti mode and bring it down and go to another location.  the really weird thing is, later on that day or the next day, i'll go back to that same local and fly without any problems!  these places that i'm getting the errors are the same places that i've flown from dozens of times before! but ever since the update, i've been having these issues.

when the errors occur, i only have to go up 50 feet or so before i get the flashing red error.  but again, it only happens once every 3 or 4 flight attempts.

it's very stressful having to constantly look at your radio display to make sure this potentially fatal error warning isn't flashing.   
prior to the update, i was stress free!   

jwatts2344@aol. Posted at 2015-9-6 07:21
that's what i'll do. when i get these errors, i'll quickly switch to atti mode and bring it down an ...

Just to be clear. Do you calibrate in the new location and then fly from there?

BudWalker Posted at 2015-9-6 10:41
Just to be clear. Do you calibrate in the new location and then fly from there?

typically no, i don't calibrate each location because these are the same 8 or so locations that i always fly from.  before the update, i always got the green light because either i've calibrated the compass at those locations before and/or it's close to a location that i've done a recent compass calibration.

i was told that a compass cal is not required each time you fly as long as you're not in a new location that you've never flown at.  before the update, as long as i've flown there before and i got the Ok to FLY GPS" green light, i would just start the flight and i've never had an issue until this latest update.

jwatts2344@aol. Posted at 2015-9-6 08:19
typically no, i don't calibrate each location because these are the same 8 or so locations that i a ...

The Phantom doesn't remember the locations that it's been calibrated. The last time it was calibrated is the only calibration it has.

I'm supposing that you have a calibration that is "marginal". And, I'm further supposing that the new firmware has tighter constraints and is more likely to complain. A bad calibration could come from ferrous material (next to a pickup, concrete rebar, etc.) close to where the calibration is done. Where are you doing your calibration. We can eliminate this possibility by calibrating in a location that is free of geomagnetic distortions and then flying form that location. Check out http://www.phantompilots.com/thr ... plete-primer.32829/

BudWalker Posted at 2015-9-6 15:26
The Phantom doesn't remember the locations that it's been calibrated. The last time it was calibra ...

It's funny that u mention it becaue I usually take off around my truck but sometimes I can be in an open field and get the same error.

I notice that the further away from metal objects,the less 8 seem to get the errors.

I does look like they tightened up on the parameters for the compass.
I will again go out into an open field away from everything and do another compass calibration and see how it goes.

Thanks again for all of your replies!

same here older firm was fine until i put 1.3.2 and started having gps error flying not and south is fine but west and east i get the warning so annoying and scary at times

It just happened to me. I was loosing and lost a GPS signal at 89 meters - I couldn't take the drone up any higher. I flew it back and landed it using ATTI mode.

I re-calibrated the compass and as soon as it took off, there was the Compass Error, exit P-GPS Mode on my screen again. Landed it safely and went home.


[Page 51 - how to deal with Compass Error]
http://download.dji-innovations. ... _Manual_v1.4_en.pdf

oksxen Posted at 2015-9-7 00:40
It just happened to me. I was loosing and lost a GPS signal at 89 meters - I couldn't take the drone ...

ok jeffreyqaunaq and oksxen, i thought i was the only one that was having this problem since updating to the latest firmware!  i thought maybe it's just something in my immediate vicinity that was causing it and everyone else's P3P was just fine.

my machine flew 61 flights without a hiccup with the old version!

i hope more people with this problem steps forward and bring this problem to light!

i hate flying around with my finger on the flight mode toggle and focusing on my radio display waiting for critical error messages instead of watching my aircraft.  

Space Weather may have something to with it.

http://forum.dji.com/thread-30129-1-1.html

Oks Xen Posted at 2015-9-7 07:38
Space Weather may have something to with it.

http://forum.dji.com/thread-30129-1-1.html

I too had a "compass error" today after take off. I was out about 500ft maybe 70ft off the lake. I have the last update 1.4. The craft switched to ATTI mode and I continued to fly thinking it was an intermittent fault, thinking it might self correct. I ended up landing in ATTI mode I never recovered the fault. I recalibrated the compass and flew without encountering a further error but it did seem to wander more than normal. Kp Index today is 3.

mostxclent Posted at 2015-9-10 01:03
I too had a "compass error" today after take off. I was out about 500ft maybe 70ft off the lake. I ...

I haven't had an error in the last 5 flights or so.  I'm still really nervous to take it too far up or out

I haven't upgrade to 1.4 yet. Waiting to see if are any major bugs with it first.

mostxclent Posted at 2015-9-10 01:03
I too had a "compass error" today after take off. I was out about 500ft maybe 70ft off the lake. I ...

I haven't had an error in the last 5 flights or so.  

jwatts2344@aol. Posted at 2015-9-7 08:04
It's funny that u mention it becaue I usually take off around my truck but sometimes I can be in an ...

The P3 is definitely more prone to compass errors starting with the previous firmware update.  I can no longer calibrate the P3 compass at two locations where I had previously launched from dozens of times without any issues whatsoever.  Both locations have concrete with rebar in it.  It appears the sensitivity of the compass electronics to magnetic interference from metallic objects has been increased.   Even if I calibrate the P3 compass successfully over a nearby grassy area, I still cannot then take off from the concrete areas without the P3 drifting significantly immediately after takeoff and/or getting Compass Error messages,  However. if I take off from a grassy area 10 feet or more distance from the concrete areas, then the P3 is very stable after takeoff and I don't get compass errors after takeoff.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-9-10 01:15
The P3 is definitely more prone to compass errors starting with the previous firmware update.  I ca ...

wow!

this sounds just about the experiences i've been having since that last update!

i'm probably going to update to the 1.4 firmware later this evening.

i hope they backed off of the compass sensitivity... i'm a nervous wreck when i'm in the air!

CONTROL FREQ Posted at 2015-9-10 06:59
wow!

this sounds just about the experiences i've been having since that last update!

You don't need to be a nervous wreck. In my case the compass sensitivity and resultiing aircraft drifting and compass errors ONLY occur if I attempt to either calibrate the P3 compass while standing on concrete surfaces containing rebar or if I attempt to take off from these concrete surfaces, such as my driveway or the concrete helipad at my local model aircraft park.  If I take off from a grassy area 10 feet or more distance from these concrete surfaces, the P3 performs very reliably, and I can then fly over, hover over and land on these same concrete surfaces with very stable flight performance (stable hover, no drifting) and no compass errors.  The increased compass sensitivity to magnetic interference is only an issue during aircraft calibration and when choosing a take-off location.

I had the same problem when i first got min did it a few times,
i saw a post somehwhere regarding apps in the background still in use ,
i closed all the apps down apart from dji go and fixed it straight away i did a quick test to see if it did it again with apps running in the background and yep it did it again.
try it see if it works hope this helps

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-9-10 16:58
You don't need to be a nervous wreck. In my case the compass sensitivity and resultiing aircraft d ...

it was nice before the update because i've launched from my rebar filled driveway a few dozen times without an issue.  only after updating to 1.3 did i get these errors.

i have been taking off in grass now (i hate the grass because it doesn't allow for gimbal rotation when the Phantom starts up) and i haven't had any compass errors as of late.

i thank all of you guys for your input.  i learn so much here!  

CONTROL FREQ Posted at 2015-9-11 06:08
it was nice before the update because i've launched from my rebar filled driveway a few dozen time ...

For launches from grassy areas, I have a perforated circular plexiglass helipad with 5 plastic 5-inch legs, which I bought from reseller UAV Bits on Amazon.com.  Looks great, is light weight, and is easily transportable.  In addition to getting the camera out of the grass, the helipad also keeps tall grass from interfering with with the props during take-offs and landings.

The helipad is too small for my Inspire 1, so I use a 2' by 2' piece of plywood, instead.

Helipad Link: http://www.amazon.com/UAV-Bits-Q ... 42097853&sr=8-4

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-9-12 18:48
For launches from grassy areas, I have a perforated circular plexiglass helipad with 5 plastic 5-i ...

i may look into that, thanks!

quick question... do you totally like your Inspire better than your Phantom?

what do you like most and least about it?

does the IInspire have issues like the stress cracks that the Phantoms do?

i ask this because i LOVE my P3P but because of these "stress cracks", i don't think i want to keep worrying if my copter is going to fall out of the sky one day.   :

Well sure enough I went out to fly tonight. Never an issue before... not even with new firmware.  Same issue. I landed... re calibrated the compass... took off ... same thing. Moved locations to one of my usuals and same thing... compass error. Very strange that multiple people are experiencing this. Obviously in the same boat... dont feel comfortable going too far out.