Hi!

During flying, when i record a video, i see the gps signal decrease (5 satellites). And when i stop recording, signal GPS is good (11 satellites).

What's the solution for repair this problem.

ps : I've Dji Phantom 2 Vision +
Cordialy

I just got my P2 vision+ two days ago and have noticed very poor GPS signal which gets worse with the camera on. I've found countless posts and comments about the GPS problem along with some home remedies like improving the shielding and/or rerouting the GPS cable. My solution; I'm returning it for refund because it's just to scary to fly when it doesn't know where home is and there are endless fly-a-way stories. I guess I'll just wait until the Phantom 3 comes out and hope it's not plagued with GPS signal strength and fly-away problems. I figure that if I keep this unit much longer the odds are it will get lost due to a fly-a-way and I'll be waiting for version 3 anyway.

Oh, to answer your question, look at these;

Check out these threads, I was having the same problem: http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... =809&page=1#pid3956 and http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... &extra=page%3D1

Thank You, i don't want open my phantom because I may lose the guaranty ...
I've send an Email to dji (Europe) :

Product name / number
DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus

Serial number
Date Code : BI17************
Phantom S/N : BI17************

Date of purchase
06 Octobre 2014

Dealer name
Studiosport.fr (France)

Description of fault
Hi!

During flying, when i record a video, i see the gps signal decrease (5 satellites). And when i stop recording, signal GPS is good (11 satellites).
What's the solution for repair this problem without losing the guaranty ?

Cordialy

Photo or Video of fault, if applicable
I’ve upload the video in YouTube :

cristol.bardou@ Posted at 2014-10-12 17:58
Thank You, i don't want open my phantom because I may lose the guaranty ...
I've send an Email to dj ...

Great job in contacting DJI! Please keep us posted on what they have to say and how then plan to resolve your problem. Great video documenting the problem by the way. I have a fair amount of experience in flying RC aircraft, over 15 years. Something tells me the satellites that drop out without warning when video is engages is making many pilots think there are experiencing a flyaway. Why? Because lets say someone is flying and they drop satellites and there Phantom starts to drift in the wind because it goes into ATTI mode which can catch an unseasoned pilot off guard. I am looking forward to hear DJI's response to your correspondence.

cristol.bardou@ Posted at 2014-10-12 17:58
Thank You, i don't want open my phantom because I may lose the guaranty ...
I've send an Email to dj ...

I just shared your video and post with the 3,811 members of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision - Plus Owners Group on Facebook. If you are not a member I recommend you join it is a great group to be part of. Here is the link if you are interested: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ ... 72642/?notif_t=like

I bought my vision plus last week, yesturday I bought my 2 vision plus because of a fly away. I was on my 4 flight in a big open field. I decided it would be fun to record this flight as I was going to be learning how to fly just going back and fourth learning to turn going up and down so flying became second nature. On the ground it was bouncing between 6 or 7 sats . lifted off starting flying 20 - 30 feet off the ground, no farther then 150-200 away turned on video and noticed went down to 5 sats. Next thing I know 0 sats and loss of Fpv and it went behind a tree and I never saw it again. I'm buying a separate GPS tracker and I'm scared to death about lossing a second one. I can't afford to be buying these every week.

Sjsfiveo Posted at 2014-10-12 21:08
I bought my vision plus last week, yesturday I bought my 2 vision plus because of a fly away. I was  ...

Steve thanks for sharing your story with a little luck DJI will respond to the various posts within several threads that are ongoing regarding the GPS issue. As much as there apparently is an issue with the GPS unit in the Phantom 2 Vision Plus I still love the products DJI produces. I would like to think in time things will only get better. See you around on the DJI Owners Page on Facebook. With a little luck other members of our group will share there experiences on this site.

josephbobowicz@ Posted at 2014-10-12 19:51
I just shared your video and post with the 3,811 members of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision - Plus Owners ...

thank you very much for your help, I will join the group
Hoping that my email will be seen by DJI ...

Also check here
A know issue since the beginning of the P2V+,  some units seem to be more affected than others. The higher the recording quality the worse the interference on GPS reception gets. Only P2V+  units are affected due to the location of the V+ 2.4Ghz FPV Wifi module which other P2 models don't have.

I lose about 3-4 GPS satellites when I turn my camera on and I know about the DYI foil solution I’ve seen on 3 or 4 youtube videos. My question is; what is the best material to use. Yes, I know I can use hvac foiltape or tin foil/ paper but it seems to me that a material made for EMI would be the best solution but…there are so many choices and I don’t know enough to choose the perfect material. Please take a look at the following link and helpme make a choice. Thanks in advance.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Electronics_NA/Electronics/Products/Product_Catalog/~/Electronics-Markets-Materials/EMI-EMC-Materials/EMI-Absorbers?N=7234538+4294286184+4294309444&rt=c3

First just try rerouting the GPS cable behind the existing shielding without adding any additional foil.

Agree try just re routing the cable but if you need  to add more then any quality copper  /alloy emi  tape will do. The fact that dji do not ground the copper sanwich pad  seems like they did not anticipate this problem  would plague so many pv2+. I have the same issues and i am going to attempt to fit very small ferrite clamps to the camera cables as this is where the issue stems from.
As you alter the camera settings it gets worse at 1080@60fps  so this frequency  is  causing the issue and needs to be isolated.easier said than done and dji dont seem bothered.

swomilan Posted at 2014-10-13 02:04
First just try rerouting the GPS cable behind the existing shielding without adding any additional f ...

Rerouting helped a little (still unacceptable), it got me up to 6-7 (from 4-5) satellites while not recording. While recording it still dropped to 0-4. I noticed a big difference when I dropped the camera resolution down to 480. I got 7-8 satellites both recording and not recording.

This is ridiculous; DJI knows what the problem is….why don’t they spend a dollar ($1) and mail each of us a fix kit. I guess they’d rather have us complain about their product and their 6-week repair time. Meanwhile all of us DIYers are speculating about the cause and using various home remedies. I’m beginning to think (speculating again) the problem is two-fold; 1) EMI and 2) power drop to the GPS when the camera is in high resolution.

Sorry for the inconvenience.
It is suggested to ask for dealer and send it back for maintenance to our repair center if you still can not fix it.
Here is our support center info: http://www.dji.com/support
pls contact your dealer first if you have one and ask them help arrange the repair service for you.

If Dji know there are issues with this then just tell us how it can be fixed and I will do it myself .

DJI-Blair Posted at 2014-10-13 10:17
Sorry for the inconvenience.
It is suggested to ask for dealer and send it back for maintenance to o ...

Blair, thanks for getting involved. The cable rerouting didn't work for me, I still lose 3-4 satellites when I turn the camera on.  

I bought direct from DJI online so there is no "dealer".  I don't know if I'm blind or if DJI has done an exceptionably good job hiding the official direct sales website service hotline phone number referred to in the refund and exchange process flow. Can you provide that number?

thanks,

Craig

DJI-Blair Posted at 2014-10-13 10:17
Sorry for the inconvenience.
It is suggested to ask for dealer and send it back for maintenance to o ...

Blair,

I'm pretty sure I found the number, is DJI NORTH AMERIC +1 (818) 235 0789 the right number? If so I'll call them at 9:00 when they open.

thanks

xzgraham@btinte Posted at 2014-10-13 22:26
If Dji know there are issues with this then just tell us how it can be fixed and I will do it myself ...

I'm thinking DJI has identified a GPS signal problem that can't be fixed at home by rerouting the cable or adding more EMI shielding and that is why they recommend it be sent in. It seems that DJI has put more effort into covering up this problem than addressing it. I suspect that if they revealed the cause of the problem it (the cause)  would provide proof that flyways are caused by this defect too. And that's too big a can of worms for them to deal with which will distract from their efforts in getting out their Phantom 3.

I just shared the link of this thread with the 3,831 members of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus Owners Group on Facebook. For those of you are not members of the group you are welcome to join. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ ... tif_t=group_comment

swomilan Posted at 2014-10-13 00:24
Also check here
A know issue since the beginning of the P2V+,  some units seem to be more affected  ...

Thank you all, this problem is amazing ...

josephbobowicz@ Posted at 2014-10-14 00:57
I just shared the link of this thread with the 3,831 members of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus Owners ...

Thanks for posting this on the Facebook group.

DJI-Blair Posted at 2014-10-13 10:17
Sorry for the inconvenience.
It is suggested to ask for dealer and send it back for maintenance to o ...

In my opinion all the individuals that invested in a Phantom 2 Vision Plus expected it to perform as marketed. If it performed the way it should out of the box end users should not have to fix it or send it in for service. Dropping satellites unexpectedly more than likely is one of the major causes of what is being called a flyaway. There obviously is a fault within a significant number of Phantom 2 Vision Pluses. Clearly it needs to be corrected. Are there any plans in the works at DJI  to address the issue that a significant amount of users clearly are experiencing? I would like to remain a loyal customer for years to come. Please give me a reason to do so.

DJI please explain the cause and solution effecting hundreds of P2V+ owners. This problem has been identified and explained numerous times on this forum and related facebook groups. There are over 10 youtube videos showing various home remedies shielding the GPS antenna and cable. We all know you know about the problem. What’s your position?

josephbobowicz@ Posted at 2014-10-14 01:24
In my opinion all the individuals that invested in a Phantom 2 Vision Plus expected it to perform  ...

I created a new thread; http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1014&extra=page%3D1&lang=en

Trouble is there are also many of us who have no problem at all with the GPS signal.
But I am sure they will be looking into the problem that effects some users more than others.

johnwarr@live.c Posted at 2014-10-14 01:56
Trouble is there are also many of us who have no problem at all with the GPS signal.
But I am sure t ...

So you think they don't know what the problem is? I'd still like to hear it from them
Do a google search on "phantom 2 vision plus gps signal loss"

You have to love the comment from Dji {if you cant fix it}.so you spend a grand  and they say  this!!!!
So i spend 1k on a new telly and  it has interference issues Dixons expect me to fix it ha ha ha.

I wonder how many are really due to signal loss and not simply a lack of satellites in the sky. My area has up to 14 sats available in the morning. This drops to 7 or 8 in the late afternoon. This satellite peak "travels", meaning every day it's a few minutes earlier than the day before. After a few weeks, sat peak is at midnight. Etc.

I know this from the sat tracker on http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com/

But if you don't know that the number of satellites overhead varies, you may blame Phantom's GPS receiver. After all, your buddy got 12 sats in your local spot and you're in the exact same spot a few hours later, but you're barely getting 6 sats.

Mind you, I'm not concluding there is no GPS receiver issue at all. That would be presumptuous of me. But yes, as johnwarr mentioned, I'm sure DJI is testing the issue as we speak.

Sorry for the inconvenience.We are analyzing this problem.It's recommended to ask for dealer and send it back for maintenance to our repair center if you still can not fix it.
Here is our support center info: http://www.dji.com/support

Sorry for the inconvenience.We are analyzing this problem and please pay close attention to our official website.
It's recommended to ask for dealer and send it back for maintenance to our repair center if you still can not fix it.
Here is our support center info: http://www.dji.com/support

Sorry for the inconvenience.We are analyzing this problem.After we get the phantom with this issue, we will do a careful checking on it.You can contact with any number below Support Center Contact Info and they will arrange the repair issue.

Hi Craig,

We are working on the GPS signal problem.
The number is the right one.Auctually, you can contact any one in the Support Center Contact Info.
http://www.dji.com/support

And they will arrange the repair issue.

Best regards

@insitb  I take it you have never seen any of the video's showing the sat drop out  when hitting the record button .4/5 Sats  do not disappear from the sky in a second .
The issue is not so much with the gps its a camera issue mostly at 1080p poor shielding is causing interference  thus causing the gps signal to drop nothing to do with how many  sats are in the sky .
When I get home I will try and fit small ferrite  to the camera ribbon cables  and see what happens  .
Dji now acknowledge  there is an issue  !!!!!

DJI-Blair Posted at 2014-10-14 16:23
Hi Craig,

We are working on the GPS signal problem.

Hi Blair,

Is there any ways that we can DIY?
Rather then asking us to buy any foil, can DJI choose the foil and update us or send it to us FOC? (since you already earn us on our products)

Sending back doesn't sounds like an option to me.. I always have 3-5 Satellites only.. & Yes, it will drop when I tap on recording.. Not as much as the rest.. But mine will drop 1 or 2 which makes it to Non GPS mode.. Because I will always have 6-7 Satellites after letting it sit there for minutes.. (could take up to 10min at times) But good days = 8 Satellites found within 1 minute...

insitb@singnet. Posted at 2014-10-14 09:50
I wonder how many are really due to signal loss and not simply a lack of satellites in the sky. My a ...

Turn camera on, lose 3-5 satellites. Turn camera off regain 3-5 satellites. In the 30 seconds it takes to turn the camera on, off and on again I doubt 3-5 to satellites have moved out of range then back into range.

See my link below, It's exactly what is happening. I can be at 8 satellites, I turn the camera on and lights go from green to yellow and satellite level drops to 3. Turn camera off, lights turn from yellow to green and satellite count goes back up to 8.

When camera resolution is set to 480 I only lose 1 satellite instead of the 3 to 5 I lose when camera resolution is 1080p/30fps.

http://youtu.be/_ahgbDKGHwA

I really would like to be able to use the Camera and the GPS at the same time.

insitb@singnet. Posted at 2014-10-14 09:50
I wonder how many are really due to signal loss and not simply a lack of satellites in the sky. My a ...

Check out this video, it is not my video however it documents satellites dropping out when video record is engaged: http://youtu.be/_ahgbDKGHwA I track my satellites at home using the same website you use: http://satpredictor.navcomtech.com I also use: http://www.spectraprecision.com/ ... 876.kjsp?RH=PRUFWMP which in my opinion is more accurate. Additionally when I arrive at my flying sites I use an app on my mobile phone to track satellites. I have an Android mobile and use an app called GPS Status & Toolbox. I was dropping satellites for no apparent reason and then realised when I engaged video in particular in 1080p I would drop satellites. I am sure there is an issue with the WiFi module / Camera Gimbal setup in a fair amount of P2V+'s. I opted to reroute my GPS cable under the copper factory shield. I then installed a layer of foil in the upper part of my shell covering the copper shield extending partially into the arms. This was then covered with thin non conductive tape to eliminate the possibility of an electrical shorts should the foil come into contact with any electronics that it shouldn't. Turning on my video record no longer has an impact in regards to dropping satellites. Is there a problem in some P2V+'s. It is a safe to say yes. I just wish DJI would offer there advice on the best way to address the issue should you choose to deal with it yourself. I was reluctant to send my Phantom in for service considering from what I understand the process can take 6 to 8 weeks. On a positive note DJI has announced they are working on the GPS signal problem. Hopefully they will share what the ultimate solution to address the issue is.

crc2004 Posted at 2014-10-13 23:45
I'm thinking DJI has identified a GPS signal problem that can't be fixed at home by rerouting the c ...

Good if they really did identify the problem but in that case they should also come forward with it.  Lack of transparency  worries existing and potential future customers. DJI moved from the enthusiast to the Joe consumer segment with the Phantom which certainly increases sales but also demands more attention by DJI.
As for the can of worms,  well imagine if someone finds technical proof that there is a major flaw that is a potential hazard, the can of worms could get much bigger then.
Most owners registered their P2V+  with the serial number and their E-Mail so DJI can be proactive and advise owners to check for this potential issue and ask them to send their unit for inspection/repair if they get the Sat drop when recording in high quality.   

On the lighter side....My P2V+ is returning to home (China I assume) via UPS instead of GPS. My bad...I should have done better research before spending $1,200.

Added after initial post:

I do want to say that the P2V+ is an amazing device and has lots of potential…It just needs to mature a bit more. I’ll definitely be interested in the next version.

My experience with customer support wasn’t too bad and apparently much improved compared to other posts. First call hold time was 34 minutes; the helpdesk person was very nice but apparently new and said they would send me a return shipping label. Next I got an email saying that they had made a mistake I would have to fill out a form before they would send a shipping label.  I filled it out and sent it in. About an hour later I received a return shipping label via email.