Today I flew my 204thflight with my wonderful P3A.  It is a great flying camera, but something confusing sometimes happens. When I lift off, I always let it sit for a few seconds at 5’ or so and watch it to see if it stands still.  About a quarter of the time, it slowly drifts (once, not so slowly!). When it happens, I land it, turn it off and on again.  That always fixes it.  Is this common?  As long as it goes away, it really doesn’t bother me and I have perfect control in flight every time.

Hello there, we're sorry for the inconvenience and trouble caused. May I know if the firmware of your drone is updated to the latest version? Also, could you please try to calibrate your compass and IMU? For reference, you may watch the video tutorial below. Should you have further question, please let us know. Thank you.

I have no re-calabrated either for some time.  I will today.  I have no updated either for some time, mostly because my drone works so well and this forum is FULL of folks who have trouble after updating.  I will repost in a few weeks if it fixed the problem.  Thanks for the advice.  

bob37 Posted at 2018-8-16 10:57
I have no re-calabrated either for some time.  I will today.  I have no updated either for some time, mostly because my drone works so well and this forum is FULL of folks who have trouble after updating.  I will repost in a few weeks if it fixed the problem.  Thanks for the advice.

Hello, thanks for the response. If the issue persist, please let us know. Thank you.

Check your satellite count of both starts.   I have had to do this lots of times.  Just a quirk.

When I lift off, I always let it sit for a few seconds at 5’ or so and watch it to see if it stands still.
Despite Natalia's suggestion, this has nothing to do with the compass and probably nothing to do with the IMU.
(The moderators here are about the last people to ask for advice. - I doubt any of them have actually flown a Phantom)


I wouldn't bother re-calibrating anything.
It would be better to work out what the issue really is rather than unnecessarily recalibrating things that aren't involved.

The most likely cause is your VPS having trouble with the surface you are hovering above.
The VPS has trouble if the surface has no distinct pattern or texture so if hovering over featureless grass or concrete, it might drift.
The same in poor lighting conditions.
Try disabling the VPS and see if that makes a difference.
Or next time you see drifting, climb beyond VPS range (10 metres) and see what difference that makes.

You should look at the specs and compare them to your experience.  

I believe horizontal drift is +-1.5 meters w/o VPS and +-.5 meters w/ VPS.  

From the description in your OP, I suspect you don't have a problem.

Good luck

DJI Natalia Posted at 2018-8-16 10:53
Hello there, we're sorry for the inconvenience and trouble caused. May I know if the firmware of your drone is updated to the latest version? Also, could you please try to calibrate your compass and IMU? For reference, you may watch the video tutorial below. Should you have further question, please let us know. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WGZUl5n1fA

I just did all three:  Update both App and Drone, calibrated compass and IMU.  Then i tried it 10 times (Take-off, hover, land, off repeat) - and it never drifted more than a foot or so.  It is quite windy (~20 mph) so took my bird up a bit into it and it held perfectly steady.  Looking' good!  Thanks.  

bob37 Posted at 2018-8-16 15:46
I just did all three:  Update both App and Drone, calibrated compass and IMU.  Then i tried it 10 times (Take-off, hover, land, off repeat) - and it never drifted more than a foot or so.  It is quite windy (~20 mph) so took my bird up a bit into it and it held perfectly steady.  Looking' good!  Thanks.

Hi, Awesome! That's good to know that its now working. Should you have any further concerns don't hesitate to reach us. We're here to help. Thank you and have a safe flight always.

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-16 14:29
When I lift off, I always let it sit for a few seconds at 5’ or so and watch it to see if it stands still.
Despite Natalia's suggestion, this has nothing to do with the compass and probably nothing to do with the IMU.
(The moderators here are about the last people to ask for advice. - I doubt any of them have actually flown a Phantom)

Both times it happened recently, it was on smooth surfaces with very little character (dusty, smooth dirt and concrete).  I will try raising it up.  SinceVPS does not work above 10 meters, why leave it on at all?

bob37 Posted at 2018-8-16 16:46
Both times it happened recently, it was on smooth surfaces with very little character (dusty, smooth dirt and concrete).  I will try raising it up.  SinceVPS does not work above 10 meters, why leave it on at all?

I just offered two ways to confirm whether it was the source of your problem or not.
VPS is of very little use and you could disable it permanently or not.

bob37 Posted at 2018-8-16 16:46
Both times it happened recently, it was on smooth surfaces with very little character (dusty, smooth dirt and concrete).  I will try raising it up.  SinceVPS does not work above 10 meters, why leave it on at all?

My Phantom 3 Pro has no VPS, and I’ve never missed it... ;-)


RedHotPoker

I turned the VPS off on my P3P long ago.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-8-17 03:03
I turned the VPS off on my P3P long ago.

I don’t fly over water with vps on and most of the time I have it turned off anyway to save battery % I’m not sure how much battery it saves though. I have read on forms where people have crashed into the water with vps on, not sure why either but I don’t want to be another statistic   

Sayhelloforme Posted at 2018-8-17 20:12
I don’t fly over water with vps on and most of the time I have it turned off anyway to save battery % I’m not sure how much battery it saves though. I have read on forms where people have crashed into the water with vps on, not sure why either but I don’t want to be another statistic

Much of what you read on forums is misleading.

VPS won't cause a crash over water.
Just don't fly low and trust the VPS indicated height.

The VPS on the P3 - needs contrast and solid articles below it and in fact is virtually useless above 3m ... not 10m.

Grass that's moving ... water that is still .... water that is rippled / waved ..... bushes ..... smooth single pattern floors ..... they all are not good for VPS.

As others say - it can be better to switch it off. It is advised to switch off if you plan low level over water. But if you are staying above VPS range - makes no difference.

Nigel

Labroides Posted at 2018-8-17 23:12
Much of what you read on forums is misleading.

VPS won't cause a crash over water.

Thanks for the info