Hi, Recently I receive frequent GPS and compass errors! It is almost impossible to send the AC away since the control has proven unreliable! I have recorded the DAT file here there are a number of errors also appearing that I don't understand!

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aj2CqsM-afk3oifaXNHdnyGBiN6n
The only change which was gone through this failure was upgrade of firmware which I am not sure if that was the cause of this mess up!
I appreciate your help to come over this problem.

It is compass error that is the cause of gps being dropped.
Spark cannot function with conflict data between compass and gps so when you have compass error spark will drop gps and aircraft will go into Atti mode, you will still have control and aircraft will hold its altitude but will drift quite quickly with the wind and can be hard to control but not impossible.

What can cause compass problem , well many things magnetic interference, taking off near metal objects rebar concrete etc, you may need to change area you are flying in and try again.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-2-19 15:52
It is compass error that is the cause of gps being dropped.
Spark cannot function with conflict data between compass and gps so when you have compass error spark will drop gps and aircraft will go into Atti mode, you will still have control and aircraft will hold its altitude but will drift quite quickly with the wind and can be hard to control but not impossible.

Thanks for your reply but the compass error was only once but several gps disconnections before and after compass error. please have a look at the dat file I linked in my query.

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-19 16:10
Thanks for your reply but the compass error was only once but several gps disconnections before and after compass error. please have a look at the dat file I linked in my query.

I can’t open that file as I’m on an iPad one won’t be at a pc for a couple of days you could upload log from app to link below there will be enough information on this log to show what’s happening.
Just click on link and follow instructions come back here and post your link.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-19 16:10
Thanks for your reply but the compass error was only once but several gps disconnections before and after compass error. please have a look at the dat file I linked in my query.

Mine had done the same since the latest firmware and Go app update. Several dozen others on FB pages also having this issue. Not mobile OS specific or mobile brand specific either.

Been like this for a few weeks for me, and weather in NE is kind of crap, but better days ahead. I hope they fix it soon. I've had other GPS drones out and they fly just fine. My Spark was killer up until the last update where they eliminated OTG and messed with other stuff updating.

I guess when they mean updated to be safer, they meant you won't want to go further than a toy drone +txmitter. May as well fly in beginner mode.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-2-19 16:35
I can’t open that file as I’m on an iPad one won’t be at a pc for a couple of days you could upload log from app to link below there will be enough information on this log to show what’s happening.
Just click on link and follow instructions come back here and post your link.

The flight errors

Hi
Above is the link to the flight log

Do you calibrate the compass each flight me at each time i forget to calibrate it they put the drone in atti mode

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-19 16:56
The flight errors

Hi

I think you will see from your log that initially you had compass error followed by yaw error which is a product of compass error. Ie controller trying to go one way and bad compass heading in another direction , you didn’t have any gps connection problems aircraft going into Atti mode is not because of any problem with gps but rather conflict data between compass and gps data I will try to explain below.

Why would a compass error disable GPS?
Orientation (compass data) and position (GPS data) are different but related.
When the Spark is moving and getting position information from the GPS that tells the Spark that it is travelling in a different direction from what it's getting from compass data, The Spark programming can't work with the data conflict.
The solution is to drop data from one source and since the Spark can't fly without a compass but can without GPS, it's the GPS data that gets dropped.

So although you may not have received compass error on the ground you can see from your log very early into flight that you had compass problems and this was as a result of picking up magnetic problem on the ground or the area you were flying in.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-2-19 17:11
I think you will see from your log that initially you had compass error followed by yaw error which is a product of compass error. Ie controller trying to go one way and bad compass heading in another direction , you didn’t have any gps connection problems aircraft going into Atti mode is not because of any problem with gps but rather conflict data between compass and gps data I will try to explain below.

Why would a compass error disable GPS?

Thanks for your reply, But please see below links flights in same day different locations Location1
Location2
It doesn't seem natural that the AC encounter several compass errors in different locations! while I have flown the AC in the same locations previously without any error or problem!

Francois Lagace Posted at 2018-2-19 17:06
Do you calibrate the compass each flight me at each time i forget to calibrate it they put the drone in atti mode

Yes I did before each flight!

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-19 17:27
Thanks for your reply, But please see below links flights in same day different locations Location1
Location2
It doesn't seem natural that the AC encounter several compass errors in different locations! while I have flown the AC in the same locations previously without any error or problem!

Please don’t take me up wrong , I’m not saying you don’t have a problem, but just letting you know how Aircraft works in these situations. I’m sure dji can let you know if you have a problem.

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-19 17:28
Yes I did before each flight!

It may be that your drone has a hardware problem or it could be that you aren't getting a good calibration of the compass.

I'm personally not a fan of calibrating the compass all of the time.  Once the compass is calibrated correctly, it should not need to be calibrated again.

I would recommend going to an area that is wide open and very clear of any potential metal objects.  Leave your keys, knife, cameras, and any other potential metal objects well away from you.  Set your phone and RC (if you have one) down and step away from them while you conduct the calibration.  

Once you have a good compass calibration, if you get a message saying you need to re-calibrate it, it is very likely you are near something that is causing interference with the compass.  Instead of re-calibrating, move away from the object causing the interference before commencing your flight.

If you've done this and continue to experience compass problems while flying well away from any potential interfering objects, then it may be a hardware problem with your aircraft and you may want to think about opening a ticket with DJI support.

Hola, les escribo desde Costa Rica, desde hace dos días tengo el mismo problema. Es imposible que el drone mantenga una conexión estable con el gps y se desconecta lo que impide poderlo volar a una distancia lejana, será debido a la última actualización del firmware??

I looked at this some. At first glance it appears to be a launch-from-geomagnetically-distorted-site type of incident. But looking closer the compass error didn't happen as the Spark ascended which is usual in those incidents. Rather the compass error happened when the Spark rotated. Look at the attached.
Another Spark owner reported the same kind of problems after an update. Look here
https://sparkpilots.zone/threads ... zy.4698/#post-35314

You could try down grading back to a previous FW.

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-19 17:28
Yes I did before each flight!

Hi, there. Did you have the compass error in every flight? Please check if there is any interference around your spark. If not, please export the flight data and the black box for further analysis. You can upload it to dropbox and post the link here. Thanks for your support.

I had the spark from July and I never had any issues until that I updated to the last firmware. From January I have had randomly compass error in  flights until that the last 9th february I am flight normally when my spark begun a displayed multiples error messages (compass Error, yaw error) and the drone begun to accelerate without control and crash a few seconds later. The speed  passed from 12 km/h to 60 km/h in 10 seconds, I was flying in p-mode.
This issue has been reported from more users, the final result is usually a flyaway but I had luck and my incident finished with a arm drone broken. Now my drone is in Netherland and I am waiting to know if the crash is under warranty.

This is very interesting, it seems that a lot of people experience these problems with compass errors, including me. I’m usually going to the same places to fly, and I have to carefully choose where I put the Spark before I switch it on, or I get compass errors. It wasn’t like this in the beginning, when I bought the Spark about 3 months ago. But I’m not sure that it started right after an update, it could be a HW problem too... I’ll probably send it in at some point.

I sent my Spark for repair!
There is no point to fly it with lots of concerns and uncertainity!
Its warranty is still active and DJI should do something about it.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2018-2-21 20:31
Hi, there. Did you have the compass error in every flight? Please check if there is any interference around your spark. If not, please export the flight data and the black box for further analysis. You can upload it to dropbox and post the link here. Thanks for your support.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngEHdAlAh9A

Hi DJI Elektra,
I have already downloaded the flight details and gave a link in my posts above.
Please have a look if you are intrested.

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-2-22 07:15
Hi DJI Elektra,
I have already downloaded the flight details and gave a link in my posts above.
Please have a look if you are intrested.

Sorry that we do not recommend you use the third party software to analyze the flight data. Please provide the data to us so we can help you analyze the problem. Thanks for your support.

I had compass error and lost GPS lost control drone went crazy and went down in a swampy area beyond a dense! Any suggestions?

DJI Elektra Posted at 2018-2-27 03:13
Sorry that we do not recommend you use the third party software to analyze the flight data. Please provide the data to us so we can help you analyze the problem. Thanks for your support.

I have already sent the AC for repair, But this is the link to one of the flight detail with errors:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aj2CqsM-afk3oifaXNHdnyGBiN6n

Hfarahany Posted at 2018-3-1 14:01
I have already sent the AC for repair, But this is the link to one of the flight detail with errors:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aj2CqsM-afk3oifaXNHdnyGBiN6n

Sorry that I failed to open it. Can you upload the data to dropbox and google for further check? Thanks for your support.