Does the humid air and little wind make the drone drift?  It happened today and I had a crappy landing where the drone fell over. Thanks
Rob

Hi, thanks for reaching DJI Forum. We do apologize if you had some issues with the aircraft. Definitely yes it will affect the aircraft's behavior especially humid. A quantity representing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere and get into the propellers and motors may affect and damage the aircraft's propulsion. Please let us know if you still have concerns and issues. We're here to help you. Thank you.

Not sure what you're flying, but if it's a P3S, and if you're in a hilly area or with lots of trees, sometimes you'll lose GPS at the moment of landing and a little gust of wind will play havoc.  

Yes, a high humidity dampens the signals from the GPS satellites. It may actually be so bad that there is not enough signal that the GPS receiver can provide a stable position and your quad goes into ATTI mode. This can also applies if there are thick black rain clouds over your head. But even in ATTI mode your quad does not tip over during landing assuming it came straight down. Driftede the quad much, it can easily tip over.

Regards Leif.

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-6 16:54
Yes, a high humidity dampens the signals from the GPS satellites. It may actually be so bad that there is not enough signal that the GPS receiver can provide a stable position and your quad goes into ATTI mode. This can also applies if there are thick black rain clouds over your head. But even in ATTI mode your quad does not tip over during landing assuming it came straight down. Driftede the quad much, it can easily tip over.

Regards Leif.

Yes, a high humidity dampens the signals from the GPS satellites. It may actually be so bad that there is not enough signal that the GPS receiver can provide a stable position and your quad goes into ATTI mode. This can also applies if there are thick black rain clouds over your head.
This is complete rubbish and totally untrue.
GPS is an all weather navigation system.

Despite the nonsense some others have posted, a little humidity and gentle winds make no difference to GPS or the Phantom.
Your Phantom can hold position in 20+ knot winds.
The humidity in the air makes no difference at all.

What drifting did you notice?
Are you sure you had GPS at the time?  (trees. terrain etc can block satellite reception)

I had a crappy landing where the drone fell over.

Did it tip over when you stopped the motors?
If you weren't already doing it, try stopping the motors by holding the left stick down for 3 seconds rather than using the CSC command with both sticks.
That can cause the Phantom to tip over.

fans without knowing what the topography was it's difficult to say why the drone fell over. I've had the craft till back on itself on what I thought was reasonably level land.
At one stage my P3A went through a couple of flights where it drifted when landing but seems to be Ok now. No explanation but if it consistently happens then is a issue that Labroides et al may be able to work out.
Presume you have flight mode switch  in 'P' position?

GPS is not all weather.   Being a sailor I can tell you that GPS signals can be blocked by heavy cloud cover, Snow and hail.
I have been in many storms and lost GPS signal on navigational equipment.
Worse things happen at sea.

Odan Posted at 2018-8-6 18:39
GPS is not all weather.   Being a sailor I can tell you that GPS signals can be blocked by heavy cloud cover, Snow and hail.
I have been in many storms and lost GPS signal on navigational equipment.
Worse things happen at sea.

Despite the myths that are so common in this forum, the whole purpose of GPS is to provide an all weather navigation system.
It is not affected by rain, cloud or snow.
It wouldn't be much use if it was affected by clouds etc.

Thanks for all the input. There were trees in the area but not where I was flying or landing. Before I took off, a message popped up for a second about magnetic force in the area but it disappeared. As far as I know I had GPS the whole time but might have lost it while I was bringing the drone back to land. The drone wasn't damaged, thank goodness during landing.

GPS can lose signal...Not a myth.  Heavy cloud cover, and snow can block signal.
I have many logs on my plotter that shows loss of signal. Radar doesn't work in heavy snow or rain.  Same with GPS signal.
That is a fact.  
Worse things happen at sea.

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-6 18:11
Yes, a high humidity dampens the signals from the GPS satellites. It may actually be so bad that there is not enough signal that the GPS receiver can provide a stable position and your quad goes into ATTI mode. This can also applies if there are thick black rain clouds over your head.
This is complete rubbish and totally untrue.
GPS is an all weather navigation system.

New, no no, it's not rubbish at all. The small GPS antennas that sit in your quad have a very small gain versus those you use professionally in ships. Therefore, the attenuation of the radio waves between the satellite can easily be so great that the signal disappears from your quads GPS receiver but not from a professional GPS receiver.

Here is a link to some reading material for self-study in honor of the all-knowing Mr. Labroides:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_wave   

Regards Leif.

Odan Posted at 2018-8-7 07:57
GPS can lose signal...Not a myth.  Heavy cloud cover, and snow can block signal.
I have many logs on my plotter that shows loss of signal. Radar doesn't work in heavy snow or rain.  Same with GPS signal.
That is a fact.  

Yes, it's a pity Mr. Labroides must always blame with his lack of knowledge. Hope the link I gave in my last post to Mr. Labroides gets him on better thoughts.   

Regards Leif.

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-7 08:06
New, no no, it's not rubbish at all. The small GPS antennas that sit in your quad have a very small gain versus those you use professionally in ships. Therefore, the attenuation of the radio waves between the satellite can easily be so great that the signal disappears from your quads GPS receiver but not from a professional GPS receiver.

Here is a link to some reading material for self-study in honor of the all-knowing Mr. Labroides:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_wave   

I've only been using GPS professionally for as long as affordable GPS units have been available (>20 years) and seriously flying Phantoms for four years so what would I know about it ???
The real pity is that there are so many myths spread on this forum and so many people that haven't a clue.
Don't be mislead by them.

The GPS antenna in a DJI Phantom is quite good.
High humidity will have zero effect on GPS use.
Thick black rain clouds will have zero effect on GPS use.

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-7 08:23
I've only been using GPS professionally for as long as affordable GPS units have been available (>20 years) and seriously flying Phantoms for four years so what would I know about it ???
The real pity is that there are so many myths spread on this forum and so many incorrect opinions.
Don't be mislead by them.

When you think there will be scattered technical rubbish here at forums, I would suggest you do not pretend to be the leading person.

Sorry, but I've been a captain on a bigger tugboat before GPS was released for civilian use. Before that time, we used radio navigation with directional antenna for "precise" navigation. And I've been through the whole development until 6 years ago, so the subject is not unknown to me.

Regards Leif.

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-7 08:06
New, no no, it's not rubbish at all. The small GPS antennas that sit in your quad have a very small gain versus those you use professionally in ships. Therefore, the attenuation of the radio waves between the satellite can easily be so great that the signal disappears from your quads GPS receiver but not from a professional GPS receiver.

Here is a link to some reading material for self-study in honor of the all-knowing Mr. Labroides:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_wave   

As there is a vast spectrum of radio waves with different properties, your generic article about radio waves is irrelevant.
For your education here's something specifically about GPS and the frequencies it uses.
They were chosen particularly to provide a genuine all-weather navigation system.
Because a navigation system that breaks down when i's cloudy or raining isn't a navigation system.
Something that a few here just don't understand.

https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/9780784411506.ap02

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-7 08:57
When you think there will be scattered technical rubbish here at forums, I would suggest you do not pretend to be the leading person.

Sorry, but I've been a captain on a bigger tugboat before GPS was released for civilian use. Before that time, we used radio navigation with directional antenna for "precise" navigation. And I've been through the whole development until 6 years ago, so the subject is not unknown to me.

the subject is not unknown to me
If you think that rain clouds will block GPS signals, you haven't learned much.
I've also navigated foreign going vessels from back when I had to use a sextant and later used Transit Satellite navigation systems before GPS.

QUOTE:  There may be some attenuation in dense cloudy weather or when passing through the ionosphere but its never really blocked completely. This is also due to the fact that the satellite frequencies are transmitted on 2 different frequencies which attenuate differently and high end receivers are capable of receiving both these frequencies & they are put through a comparator to obtain a corrected signal & thus data input to provide accurate positioning info at all times.

Rain, snow etc can weaken the signal but generally do not affect it enough to stop it from working. Thats  what ive always beleived, i have never known my sat nav in my phone (use it for waze sat nav) to stop working during rain, snow, fog, storms etc, always worked fine, thats my experience, YMMV

In my opinion I can't see how humidity can really affect the drone. I've been flying for about 4 years in Florida without any issues that I believe were related to how incredibly humid it is here. One crash awhile back and into a lake but somehow I think that damage had more to do with water than humidity. ;) Cheers.

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-7 09:09
As there is a vast spectrum of radio waves with different properties, your generic article about radio waves is irrelevant.
For your education here's something specifically about GPS and the frequencies it uses.
They were chosen particularly to provide a genuine all-weather navigation system.

That's because you need to be able to learn about the attenuation of radio waves from the start, I linked to the page Mr. Labroides. You have to click further by yourself.

Everything you do not understand yourself, you deny it. It's from RAW images from your camera or someone else's use of an map when Mr. Labroides can not figure it out.

By the way, you should read the Copyright in the left hand side of the APPENDIX document, you downloaded from ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) library and link to, which is copyright and only for Mr. Labroide's personal use !!!   

Good luck, regards Leif.

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-8 00:08
That's because you need to be able to learn about the attenuation of radio waves from the start, I linked to the page Mr. Labroides. You have to click further by yourself.

Everything you do not understand yourself, you deny it. It's from RAW images from your camera or someone else's use of an map when Mr. Labroides can not figure it out.

You're correct, facts don't matter any more.
Thank you for doing your bit to spread ignorance on the forum.
Good luck flying on those cloudy days.

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-8 00:08
That's because you need to be able to learn about the attenuation of radio waves from the start, I linked to the page Mr. Labroides. You have to click further by yourself.

Everything you do not understand yourself, you deny it. It's from RAW images from your camera or someone else's use of an map when Mr. Labroides can not figure it out.

Should you or I tell these guys that they have it wrong about GPS?
https://www.gps.gov/applications/recreation/
highly accurate all-weather positioning information using GPS receivers helps outdoor adventurers with safer exploration anywhere in the world.

https://www.gps.gov/policy/funding/2011-civilfundingpaper.pdf
GPS provides a precise, common location and time reference to a limitless number of users in all weather, day and night, anywhere in the world

https://www.gps.gov/multimedia/presentations/2016/07/maps-camp/kim.pdf
Global coverage, 24 hours a day, all weather conditions

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/techops/navservices/gnss/gps/
providing users with accurate information on position, velocity, and time anywhere in the world and in all weather conditions

Who is gps.gov anyway and what would they know about GPS**  ??
It's going to be a big job correction all these websites, google shows hundreds that have it all wrong.

ps  re the copyright thing, you are as ignorant about copyright matters as you are GPS but I'll give you 1/10 for at least trying

**  Since they spent $12 billion putting the sats in place and have an annual budget of $750 million you'd think they would at least know how things work

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-8 00:37
Should you or I tell these guys that they have it wrong about GPS?
https://www.gps.gov/applications/recreation/
highly accurate all-weather positioning information using GPS receivers helps outdoor adventurers with safer exploration anywhere in the world.

Now I thought you had to control yourself. You can link to all the articles Google can find with your magic words. But it does not change the fact you clearly do not understand what you are reading. I'm trying the last time.

There is a big difference if you have an antenna of -3 to -6 db on the receiver as in your Phantom, or you have +10 to + 15 db db that is typical of a professional receiver. Everything you read refers to the professional recipient and not the little ones in your quad. Be friendly and realize the facts before you start complaining you.

You can also download a GPS APP to your phone / tablet (if it contains a GPS module) that can display the signal strength from the satellite networks. If you monitor your receiver when it is located outdoors, you will notice there is a big difference in signal strength that reaches the receiver in clear sky and cloudy weather, even between day and night there may be a big difference.

Regards Leif.

Landbo Posted at 2018-8-8 02:29
Now I thought you had to control yourself. You can link to all the articles Google can find with your magic words. But it does not change the fact you clearly do not understand what you are reading. I'm trying the last time.

There is a big difference if you have an antenna of -3 to -6 db on the receiver as in your Phantom, or you have +10 to + 15 db db that is typical of a professional receiver. Everything you read refers to the professional recipient and not the little ones in your quad. Be friendly and realize the facts before you start complaining you.

As I told you, I've been using GPS professionally for >20 years outdoors in all weather and I've never noticed any difference or heard any credible reports of any difference.

Until I came here, I've never heard any one spouting this nonsense about GPS difficulties with cloud or rain.
And despite your fevered fantasies, the reason I've not encountered these problems is because they don't exist.
If you're not just trolling, perhaps you need to reconnect the antenna in your GPS or get out of the steel wheelhouse of your boat and then you can enjoy the all-weather experience that the rest of the world has.

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-8 03:05
As I told you, I've been using GPS professionally for >20 years outdoors in all weather and I've never noticed any difference or heard any credible reports of any difference.

Until I came here, I've never heard any one spouting this nonsense about GPS difficulties with cloud or rain.

Yes, that's amazing, so little technical insight you have. I gave the answer, that is in technical aspects correct, in this thread's post number 4 to fans3d93b29c and is being assaulted by the troll Mr. Labroides.

I do not want to spend more time on such a technically illiterate person and troll as Mr. Labroides, Leif.

Leif, with all due respect, I think you will find that Labroides is the most intelligent person on this forum.  His phantom expertise is exceptional  in all aspects.  Not that he needs defending, but I really am disappointed with anyone who attacks him.  Countless pilots have benefited from his advice. Yes, he can be blunt, but most folks want correct answers and not just someone guessing  how to solve their problems.