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2047 20 2018-11-26
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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Hi folks
The good news is that I received my replacement spark - see Miss spark regrets - all the way from China, complements of DJI. What excellent service - MANY companies can take a lesson from DJI! I can only award them a full hose of stars! Fantastic service!
Thank you DJI.


So on Saturday I took Hui (new spark) for it's first flight.
I suspected trhat the compass may need calibration so I went out there where there is a dam and I have done calibrations before - far from the maddening crowd. Parked my car and walked as far as I could from it.
Right away at startup I got the expected calibrate message - so I did it - no metal objects anywhere near - that I could tell.
First attempt failed, so I walked about ten yards further and re-tried - this time with success.

Instead of carying the spark all the way back, I decided to fly it back - just ahead of me so I could keep a wary eye on it in case of any foul filed filings.

True enough, the yaw error monster struck! on the first flight! See attached pics.

Now tell me : is it something I am doing wrong, is there an evil eye on me, or is it the places I pick to fly?

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I ttok Hui to another location on Sunday, equally far fro the throng and after flyng nicely for a while Hui decided to head back to Hainan.

I have already sent word to DJI Support and am awaiting their reply. Maybe they can teach me to talk tenderly to Hui instead of the faul fowl  flare-ups that I am uttering.

See the attached pics
regards
Grossly grounded grumpy


First flight

First flight

helicopter view

helicopter view

Flight 101 to Hainan Province

Flight 101 to Hainan Province
2018-11-26
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jyc
Captain
Flight distance : 2246224 ft
Canada
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You seem to have bad luck indeed. Unless there is a rational explanation.
2018-11-26
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Wolferl
Captain
Flight distance : 23793 ft
Austria
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You do know that dams are build with steel reinforced concrete, right?
That's a bad place to calibrate.

Cheers,
Wolferl
2018-11-26
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White Ox
lvl.4
Flight distance : 98281 ft

United States
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Wolferl Posted at 11-26 04:16
You do know that dams are build with steel reinforced concrete, right?
That's a bad place to calibrate.

I agree that calibrating on the dam likely caused your compass problem this time.

It would be better to calibrate your compass in the middle of a jungle or forest than on a man made structure.
2018-11-26
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H. Arif - Nobody
First Officer
Flight distance : 430364 ft
United States
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You got a replacement! Nice! DJI have me 50% off discount and as a student, it is stupidly expensive, even with half-off. Good luck with your situation.
2018-11-26
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ssylca44
Captain
Flight distance : 434721 ft
Canada
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Hi Droffarc,

In my opinion, despite your previous experience with the spark it is not a very good idea to fly the AC in an area other than an open field before fully it is tested.
2018-11-26
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SAADHERO
First Officer
Flight distance : 2269905 ft
Kuwait
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the app asks to calibrate then know that ur place is bad
do it once in open field

do it again when u travel Very long Distance
2018-11-26
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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Ja well no fine!

So instead of going to a damn dam I took a walk on a hiking trail along the coast.
First attempt to calibrate also failed - no I made certain there was no metal on me - left the controller and cellphone about 10 yards behind me.

Second attempt worked fine.
Although there was a bit of a wind - not too much - I tried to just lift off and fly at low level just forward backward and yawing and up down a few meters, meanwhile holding my pants up with one hand as I had removed my belt also.
Was in the air for about 2 min and about 2 meters away when that nice lady said "addi mode" and I landed toot sweet.

If this is what to expect in the future I may as well go back to a cheep atti toy drone.

2018-11-26
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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Pic NOT taken by spark, of wher I did the compass calibration




2018-11-26
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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This is just a guide, not sure it will help.

Compass distances.

Natural and Artificial Magnetic Anomalies Warning
Note
The following information has not been objectively tested to determine it’s impact on a Drones compass accuracy in flight.
        1        Many things can distort the earth’s magnetic field in the area you are flying:
        •        Steel framed or reinforced concrete buildings, bridges and roadways, iron pipes and culverts, high power electric lines, heavy equipment, trucks and automobiles, steel tanks, electric motors and even computers.
        •        Flying between steel framed or reinforced high rise buildings will distort the magnetic field in addition to causing GPS multi-pathing.
        2        Safe distances for compass calibration
        •        6” (15 cm) minimum: Metal rim glasses, pen/pencil, metal watch band, pocket knife, metal zipper/buttons, belt buckle, batteries, binoculars, cell phone, keys, camera, camcorder, survey nails, metal tape measure.
        •        18” (50 cm) minimum: Clipboard, data collector, computer, GPS antenna, 2-way radio, hand gun, hatchet, cell phone case with magnetic closure.
        •        6 ft (2 m) minimum: Bicycle, fire hydrant, road signs, sewer cap or drain, steel pole, ATV, guy wire, magnets, chain-link fence, bar-wire fence, data collectors
that use a magnet to hold the stylus.
        •        15 ft (5 m) minimum: Electrical box, small car/truck, powerline, building with concrete & steel.
        •        30 ft (10 m) minimum: Large truck, metal building, heavy machinery.
2018-11-26
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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Interesting reading, thanks Hallmark.

I made sure that I was more than 10 meters from any cars/trucks etc. In fact I was >10m from the RC when I did the rotate (or was it the twist) and I was not about to remove me trowsers although I did remove me belt, had nada in my pocketses and even left the fire hydrant at home.
So unless there was a Unidentified Ferrous  Object (UFO) somewhere near (cloaked so invisible to human eyes), I can only conclude that the spark must be fawlty, unless there is a nail in my wooden heart that I don't know about yet

Waiting to hear from DJI Support - will keep you all posted - third spark in three months - surely that must be some sort of record?
2018-11-26
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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Droffarc Posted at 11-26 10:41
Interesting reading, thanks Hallmark.

I made sure that I was more than 10 meters from any cars/trucks etc. In fact I was >10m from the RC when I did the rotate (or was it the twist) and I was not about to remove me trowsers although I did remove me belt, had nada in my pocketses and even left the fire hydrant at home.

It’s a strange one, I have never had the compass problem with spark or other craft, maybe you have a dud, best to check it out with dji.

I see Andy Pandy is downvoting again , ah well.
2018-11-26
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A CW
Captain
Flight distance : 13838848 ft
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United Kingdom
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hallmark007 Posted at 11-26 10:56
It’s a strange one, I have never had the compass problem with spark or other craft, maybe you have a dud, best to check it out with dji.

I see Andy Pandy is downvoting again , ah well.

Not at all Davey Wavey
2018-11-26
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A CW
Captain
Flight distance : 13838848 ft
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United Kingdom
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Droffarc Posted at 11-26 09:25
Pic NOT taken by spark, of wher I did the compass calibration

You do not get more of an open area to calibrate a compass than that. Congrats on the replacement too.
2018-11-26
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White Ox
lvl.4
Flight distance : 98281 ft

United States
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Just out of curiosity, how slowly did you rotate during your calibration?  

It would also be interesting to see if there is any iron ore in the mountain in the background - can you check it with a  standard pocket compass?
2018-11-26
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DJI Susan
Administrator
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Hi Droffarc, we're sorry to read the troubles. May I know what's the current aircraft firmware? You may connect with DJI Assistant 2 and try to refresh the firmware to see whether it helps. If the issue persists, please kindly offer the last case number and export the corresponding flight data in the aircraft for further analysis, thank you!
2018-11-26
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Szwedu
Second Officer
Flight distance : 378114 ft
United States
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mixed feelings about your situation . Hope your will be back in air asap .
2018-11-27
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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Hi Susan
Please find attached firmware screen drop.
I am in contact with Jerome L who has passed all the relevant (and irrelevant) info to the Techs who are having a case study - I am certain they will find a reasonable remedy.

This morning I went into the forest and flew without the remote  -- just using my cellphone. This established that it is not the remote that is fawlty.

I have sent these logs to Jerome too.

So here I sit - Sparkless and stranded

Yaws Sincerely






2018-11-28
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Tentoes
Captain
Flight distance : 6018255 ft
United States
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Looks like a mighty open space to me. I've only calibrated Sylvester twice, once when it was new and once when I mistakenly thought I needed to.

Use the "sync data" function of DJI Go to upload your data, and have the support people look at it. Perhaps they can make a suggestion.

Any spark pilots in South Africa who can give him a hand figuring this out?
2018-11-28
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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Droffarc Posted at 11-28 05:03
Hi Susan
Please find attached firmware screen drop.
I am in contact with Jerome L who has passed all the relevant (and irrelevant) info to the Techs who are having a case study - I am certain they will find a reasonable remedy.

It looks like you’ve been very unlucky, I’m certain this is not the norm, however hopefully you will get a spark that will work for you as it does for most.
Good Luck.
2018-11-28
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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Ahem!
And now, for my next trick, I will fly with my sony tablet - thus excluding any doubt the functionality of my cellphone.
Will post the results anon.....


Just as a test I just flew the spark indoors, nothing much more than just a hover to orient myself with regard to the controls on the tablet screen - in case you are holding your breath - it went well, maybe I'll try it again sometime
2018-11-28
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