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Spark compass error.
3003 25 2018-9-20
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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My spark is having compass errors every time it flies. It does not ask me to calibrate.
It begins with a green bar and 17 satellites ready to take off. After 30 seconds the bar goes red and it says. “Mode”
In then says something like “exit p”  these error messages make no sense. At first I thought it was interference from concrete with steel, but I tried it in an entirely different location on a wooden pier at the beach and the same problem  occurred. Is my compass fried?

The spark starts flying wherever it wants.
THIS IS DANGEROUS.


How do I get it fixed? When I select Service from DJI Go 4 it takes me to a Chinese page that I cannot read. I need DJI to be better than this.
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2018-9-20
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drewhoover
Second Officer
Flight distance : 323455 ft
United States
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The first thing you should do whenever you power on the Spark and connect it to the remote is to calibrate the compass! This is a very important step in the pre-flight.
Try doing this, and let me know if it works or not!
2018-9-20
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Tentoes
Captain
Flight distance : 6018255 ft
United States
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You're not supposed to calibrate the compass every time you fly, but that's the first thing I'd try.
2018-9-20
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NRRTRAINS 85
Second Officer

United States
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where are you and are you flying with your phone or RC .
2018-9-20
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Flighty
Captain
Flight distance : 1977175 ft
Croatia
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drewhoover Posted at 2018-9-20 17:05
The first thing you should do whenever you power on the Spark and connect it to the remote is to calibrate the compass! This is a very important step in the pre-flight.
Try doing this, and let me know if it works or not!

Definitely not the first thing you must do,, only calibrate the compass when the message prompts you to do so,, However I agree in this case the compass most probably needs to be re calibrated,, and probably the IMU as well!
2018-9-20
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JJBspark
Captain
Flight distance : 12132231 ft
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Netherlands
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Hi,

First to make it clear about doing a compass calibration ; if you do it each time > no problem at all!

Compass calibration doesn`t  harm anything, its just a calibration. If done properly (each flight if you want) its OK to fly.
BUT ; if done not properly (near metal, rebar, cars, etc etc) you will get for sure compass fails when flying.I do my compass cal in an open green field, activate cal in the go app (craft is on the ground 15 meters away). pick the craft up and do a calibration.
(beacuse i do not see the goapp, i turn 360+90 degrees, 360 facing down + some extra turn, put it on the ground and walk to my GoApp. Its finishd on the screen)
Start flying!

I had with my spark some compass errors, i do my compass calibration very very slow....never had a problem again! So try to rotate your craft 360 (plus) degrees in a very slow way, than 360 turn facing down really slow! It did worked for my Spark.

Succes!

cheers
JJB
2018-9-20
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wimherman
Second Officer
Flight distance : 208556 ft
Norway
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Hi,

I would also advice you to calibrate your compass. And yeah in an open field. The compass is very sensitive and i found out that even the screws in my veranda can influence Sparks compass!  If that fails, you could consider a roll back in firmware. And/or reinstall the latest firmware again..

Goodluck!

2018-9-21
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DJI Gamora
Administrator

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Hi, thanks for reaching DJI Forum. We do apologize for the issues you had with your DJI Spark. We'd like to know have you updated the firmware to its latest version? What is the brand or make of your mobile device in which you downloaded the app? Are you near any metal objects such as trucks, cars, huge water tanks etc? Try to calibrate your aircraft to an open space and let us know what happens. Thank you.
2018-9-21
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S-e-ven
Captain
Flight distance : 5910961 ft
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Thailand
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Exit P Mode means either switching to vps or atti. But calibrate the compass one time, in the green, minimum 2-3m away from metal!
2018-9-21
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Tentoes
Captain
Flight distance : 6018255 ft
United States
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Are you flying someplace strange?

Inside the railroad bridge, Sylvester was complaining about compass errors. He seemed to handle normally, so I finished my shot and got out.

2018-9-21
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SirSparksAlot
lvl.1
Flight distance : 36926 ft
United States
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Tentoes Posted at 2018-9-21 07:34
Are you flying someplace strange?

Inside the railroad bridge, Sylvester was complaining about compass errors. He seemed to handle normally, so I finished my shot and got out.

That is a nice video.  
2018-9-21
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markc620
lvl.3
Flight distance : 25269 ft
France
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Hi, I was having the same exact problem. I reprogrammed the IMU and then recalibrated the compass. I’ve gone 4 full batteries since and have not encountered this problem any more. Hope this helps. Good luck. One more thing, when you calibrate the compass, just rotate the drone, do not spin your body and drone in circles. There are some great videos on YouTube about this.
2018-9-21
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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markc620 Posted at 2018-9-21 16:58
Hi, I was having the same exact problem. I reprogrammed the IMU and then recalibrated the compass. I’ve gone 4 full batteries since and have not encountered this problem any more. Hope this helps. Good luck. One more thing, when you calibrate the compass, just rotate the drone, do not spin your body and drone in circles. There are some great videos on YouTube about this.

Hi Anonymous Mark how the hell do you reprogram the IMU?? I haven't got time to hack the mainframe man!
2018-10-4
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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DJI Gamora Posted at 2018-9-21 02:21
Hi, thanks for reaching DJI Forum. We do apologize for the issues you had with your DJI Spark. We'd like to know have you updated the firmware to its latest version? What is the brand or make of your mobile device in which you downloaded the app? Are you near any metal objects such as trucks, cars, huge water tanks etc? Try to calibrate your aircraft to an open space and let us know what happens. Thank you.

I always update. By the way, it'd be awesome if you sent non critical updates out over the air so people didn't get to their flight location and then realise "oh crap, I have to sit here for 15 minutes figuring out how to perform another update, exiting the app, entering the app, exiting the app, re-connecting the wifi..
2018-10-4
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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S-e-ven Posted at 2018-9-21 05:46
Exit P Mode means either switching to vps or atti. But calibrate the compass one time, in the green, minimum 2-3m away from metal!

Exit P means switching to VPS or Atti.. Thanks. I wonder why they couldn't just say that? I also wonder why it started flying away..
2018-10-4
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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JJBspark Posted at 2018-9-20 23:28
Hi,

First to make it clear about doing a compass calibration ; if you do it each time > no problem at all!

Thanks, I'll do a compass recalibration. I would have if I was able to find the menu option. Now I understand that it is no longer available in the menu that appears when you press the menu button, but it appears when you press the bar that doesn't look like a menu!
2018-10-4
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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FlyMeToTheGoon Posted at 2018-10-4 06:22
Thanks, I'll do a compass recalibration. I would have if I was able to find the menu option. Now I understand that it is no longer available in the menu that appears when you press the menu button, but it appears when you press the bar that doesn't look like a menu!

Thanks for all your help everyone. I will try this out when I have time to fly next.
2018-10-4
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S-e-ven
Captain
Flight distance : 5910961 ft
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Thailand
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FlyMeToTheGoon Posted at 2018-10-4 06:19
Exit P means switching to VPS or Atti.. Thanks. I wonder why they couldn't just say that? I also wonder why it started flying away..

flying away or "just" drifting with the wind?
2018-10-4
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spookster
Captain
Flight distance : 419649 ft
Germany
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your phone font is too big for dji go.
there might be some infos missing on your screen.
probably the drone went to atti or optimode but that part is missing.
maybe try to lower your fontsize to something smaller.

i haven't encountered a compass error on any of my 'flying machines' yet, try recalibrating compass outside far away from metal and also keep (smart)watches and your phone/remote away from the quad during calibration.

and yes: updates can be annoying when you just want to fly, better check for updates before you leave home and the stay offline during flights.
2018-10-4
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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S-e-ven Posted at 2018-10-4 06:24
flying away or "just" drifting with the wind?

Like it was possessed, crossing rivers, flying over cars, threatening to land on a main road and yeah flying off into the distance. It did still respond to user controls, but with the Spark's limited transmission power, it can be out of range in seconds.
2018-10-4
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FlyMeToTheGoon
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10515 ft
Australia
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spookster Posted at 2018-10-4 06:26
your phone font is too big for dji go.
there might be some infos missing on your screen.
probably the drone went to atti or optimode but that part is missing.

I didn't program the app - that's DJI! It's an iPhone 5S
2018-10-4
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spookster
Captain
Flight distance : 419649 ft
Germany
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okay i do not know ios devices, but i've never seen such a huge font in dji go 4 so i just assumed you maxed out the fontsize in your phone's settings.
current version of dji go 4 app for ios should be version 4.3.0 and unfortunately iphone 5s is not the list of compatible devices.

from https://www.dji.com/spark/info#specs
iOS V4.3.0
Requires iOS 9.0 or above.
Compatible with iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4.
Optimized for iPhone X.

2018-10-4
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markc620
lvl.3
Flight distance : 25269 ft
France
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FlyMeToTheGoon Posted at 2018-10-4 06:14
Hi Anonymous Mark  how the hell do you reprogram the IMU?? I haven't got time to hack the mainframe man!

Reprogramming the IMU is actually really simple and only takes a couple of minutes. Just search YouTube on how to do it. It’s easier to watch a video than me trying to type it out. I reprogrammed the IMU then recalibrated the compass. After that, no more problems. Remember when you calibrate the compass, turn the drone, not your body with the drone in your hand. Again, there are some great videos on this. Good luck!
2018-10-6
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Wolferl
Captain
Flight distance : 23793 ft
Austria
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A few days ago I flew my Spark in very heavy winds. I was aware of this and prepared to react in case anything happens. I was able to do the video I wanted. When I piloted it back I got a Compass error, but to my surprise, Sparky was still in P-GPS mode, and holding position against the wind. That was weird
I have to look up the flight log...

Cheers,
Wolferl
2018-10-6
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Northwood
Captain
Flight distance : 2148596 ft
Canada
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Judging by the location in those screen shots, the long steel bolts holding that wooden structure together may have been contributing factors.  Take off from a level surface with no metal nearby.
2018-10-6
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DeuceDriv3r
First Officer
Flight distance : 4698533 ft
United States
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oh look another compass thread...

when are we going to get answers ... ?

2018-10-9
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