I’m a total newbie/novice
1. Right hand joystick on RC seems to do its own thing? I thought this P3A had automatic headless mode?
2. My RC came with a lanyard, but it’s a joke, the weight of the phone just keeps tilting it forwards?
3. The compass calibration only seems to work in the horizontal plane and if boredom hadn’t set in, I’d still be turning it in the vertical plane now.
4. Warnings now to update everything except the RC?

Is this all normal? Would really appreciate some help/feedback

Thanks, Coxy

Well, I'm on a Phantom 3 Standard here. So, I'll think of what answers I can, For the joystick solution, read the manual (if you already haven't) a few times. That should answer any common questions with what the sticks do, The phone will often tilt them forward, the lanyard is often more than not just there to keep it suspended so you can take your hands off the controller and not have to set it down somewhere. Compass calibration, I'm not entirely sure about, I'll do some reading into it. Yeah, typically when they're new they need some firmware updates. Everything (except for the compass which I have no idea of yet) is normal.

Welcome to the forum and DJI family. Hahaha

Time for you to RTFM, and get onboard... ;-)

Enjoy your drone, and time well spent while in the forum.


RedHotPoker

Welcome Is your P3A new ?

Suggest: Do a cold drone, IMU calibration, then the gimbal calibration.

Always calibrate the compass outside, in a clearing, away from any electrical or ferrous metal.


Thanks for participating on the forum. ;-)


RedHotPoker

No it’s not new, it’s secondhand. I did RTFM but it’s certainly not written as an instruction to a complete novice and makes assumptions that the reader will understands things.
Same with replies, what’s a cold drone? What’s IMU?

Coxy Posted at 2018-3-24 11:00
No it’s not new, it’s secondhand. I did RTFM  but it’s certainly not written as an instruction to a complete novice and makes assumptions that the reader will understands things.
Same with replies, what’s a cold drone? What’s IMU?

Coxy IMU = Inertial measurement unit  it reports the drones specific force using accelerometers and gyroscopes and gps so that the ac/ uav ( aircraft ) can fly a steady course .
I think what RHP means by a cold drone is one at room temp ?  ( not one from the freezer ) at factory default not one that has just been flying .
With ref to TFM the more you use it the easier it is to understand , just be mindful that this tech is very tech and  some of the answers to your questions you may only find on the forum , there are alot of very clued up folk here   

Coxy Posted at 2018-3-24 11:00
No it’s not new, it’s secondhand. I did RTFM  but it’s certainly not written as an instruction to a complete novice and makes assumptions that the reader will understands things.
Same with replies, what’s a cold drone? What’s IMU?

Start with a full reset to factory settings so that the manual makes sense, you have no way of knowing what has been changed from default!

Welcome to the forum - the manual is indeed your best friend in the first days of your first drone. Take some time out to read it thoroughly.

If you find you can fly the drone, and it does more or less what you expect (taking pix and video, flying where you point it) etc, don't consider doing ANY updates until you're aware of the potential pitfalls of doing so.  The'res a wealth of information, and tales of woe, from people who have done so and lived to regret it.........  RTFM again (AND again) and good luck.

I think rhp was refering to a cold drone as one that is new to this particular owner.

Well its what i would do if i bought a new drone or second hand drone anyway.

It did fly ok, when I tried it in beginner mode. But after the 1st successful flight, the 2nd flight came up with the warning triangles saying I needed to update several things. Rightly or wrongly and only time will tell, Ive downloaded the latest firmware onto the SD card and I assume it’s now in the AC?
Regarding the very 1st post - item 1. The headless thing, the AC didn’t go in the direction I moved the right joystick, but the left one did.
I also noticed - although it wasn’t really an issue - that when I pressed the RTH it actually only came within 20ft of the take off point. With all this super hi tech GPS wizardry it has, I thought it would have got to within a foot maybe 2 at the outside?

I must also add thanks for the welcomes from you - it’s nice to know you’re there to help and advise

Welcome Coxy, I would do as suggested above (read the manual several times) ask questions in the forum about anything you do not understand.
You might check out the videos on the DJI web site (or on YouTube) for your Phantom model, they explain a lot, even walk you through some procedures.
A bunch (probably most) have flown RC planes and/or RC Helicopters and it is a transition to the high tech of these birds!
I made my fair share of mistakes, and still learning. Most have had some degree of frustration in the updates, as things do not always go as planned.
Good luck and again welcome to the forum.

Coxy Posted at 2018-3-24 19:00
It did fly ok, when I tried it in beginner mode. But after the 1st successful flight, the 2nd flight came up with the warning triangles saying I needed to update several things. Rightly or wrongly and only time will tell, Ive downloaded the latest firmware onto the SD card and I assume it’s now in the AC?
Regarding the very 1st post - item 1. The headless thing, the AC didn’t go in the direction I moved the right joystick, but the left one did.
I also noticed - although it wasn’t really an issue - that when I pressed the RTH it actually only came within 20ft of the take off point. With all this super hi tech GPS wizardry it has, I thought it would have got to within a foot maybe 2 at the outside?

There is no headless mode on any of the Phantoms that I am aware of....course lock and home lock are probably the only 2 options close to headless mode.  I agree with you about the lanyard. I would suggest what is called a zero gravity harness, you can take your hands off the controller with absolutely no tilting, you can find them on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bestem-BT ... ero+gravity+harness