Compass Calibration changed in v1.7.0.90?

Fastrack · Mar 20, 2016

Hey.

I noticed when doing a compass calibration with the new firmware the 2nd part appears to have changed? But the 2nd part used to be pointing nose down, now it seems to be on it's side in the diagram??

So which way is correct? Or hasn't no one else noticed

EDIT: This appears to be the new version of DJI Go v2.7.1, not firmware related. But alias the question still applies new or old.. Maybe it doesn't matter.

Thanks,

Ben

msinger · Mar 20, 2016

It's nose down.

Fastrack · Mar 20, 2016

Did u see the current firmware diagram while doing a calibration?!

Scotflieger · Mar 20, 2016

Fastrack said:
Did u see the current firmware diagram while doing a calibration?!

Are you confusing the aircraft firmware with the latest GO App (2.71)? The diagram only appears in the app.

Scotflieger · Mar 20, 2016

Just checked the compass calibration with iOS App 2.7.1 and you are correct. The diagram for the vertical rotation has been changed. I believe this to be incorrect as it still says "rotate 360 deg vertically". I did try the illustrated orientation (on its side) and it appeared to work. The flew without any issues.

ianwood · Mar 20, 2016

I don't see why they would change to the side from nose down. I would guess the image in the picture is wrong.

Phatzo · Mar 20, 2016

ianwood said:
I don't see why they would change to the side from nose down. I would guess the image in the picture is wrong.

does not have to be wrong. on other systems you have to make sure you are pointing either true norh or south and still the you have to flip it in three directions. maybe in the new generation craft the compass might be different aligned and therefore needs different calibration position for correct calibrations.
i might as well be totally wrong... regarding the DJI craft

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fastrack · Mar 20, 2016

Scotflieger said:
Are you confusing the aircraft firmware with the latest GO App (2.71)? The diagram only appears in the app.

Doh sorry.. I noticed it after I did the firmware upgrade.. But yes I've read that was for the camera only. So yeah it's probably the new version of DJI go.

As for the other replies there's no way the diagram looks like above in error, they did this for some reason.

Ben

ianwood · Mar 20, 2016

Phatzo said:
does not have to be wrong. on other systems you have to make sure you are pointing either true norh or south and still the you have to flip it in three directions. maybe in the new generation craft the compass might be different aligned and therefore needs different calibration position for correct calibrations.
i might as well be totally wrong... regarding the DJI craft

Yes, there are different methods matched to specific acquisition algorithms for each platform. If DJI did change it and the only hint was a diagram in the app, that would be a new low in DJI's lack of communication considering how important calibration is to controlled flight.

Could be DJI's algorithm can tell the difference but who wants to be the guinea pig for that?

Djalma Ribeiro · Mar 21, 2016

You're right! Yesterday when doing calibration saw that the message did not disappear from the screen after completion. This happened because calibrated with the nose down.

The DJI should have communicated about this change.

Fastrack · Mar 21, 2016

I agree, I'm surprised it wasn't in the release notes. But the release notes for DJI Go 2.7.1 barely listed anything, even though a lot of the interface was changed!

Ben

Mad_angler1 · Mar 21, 2016

It's always been my understanding from how it works that the nose direction it's self is not critical only that the compass is rotated 360 degrees in both the horizontal and vertical axises

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rush · Mar 21, 2016

Fwiw, I 'think' I tested and was the Guinea Pig. It failed the second dance in me several times, so each time I moved farther out into the field. Finally got a clean calibration. But I admit that with the glare on my monitor I didn't notice the change. Flew well either way. Well, aside from clipping a tree branch.

ianwood · Mar 21, 2016

According to blade strike, it has always been the case that you can turn it to any side for the second part. I am still a little dubious. I will be doing it the way I always have.

Figbar · Mar 26, 2016

As usual, DJI is not providing a simple, clear explanation of this discrepancy, which should be super easy to provide...from the manufacturer directly. This has been the case for so many issues...very frustrating.

Dxtrty · Mar 27, 2016

I hope the side rotation is ok, it's easier/safer than the nose down, and also more gentle on the X3gimbal.

Joe R · Apr 5, 2016

For me, it was always a little disturbing when calibrating with the nose down because the gimbal would go nuts no matter which tilt angle I put the camera at before the calibration.
With it on the side, the gimbal behaves much better.
I called DJI Support about this, they said that it doesn't really matter if the nose is down or to the side but the main reason for performing the calibration with the camera sideways was to keep the gimbal stable during the vertical part of the calibration.
Like others, I wish DJI would have at least mentioned that in their release notes.

If you think about it, all of DJI's diagrams show the I1 with the nose down. They had to purposely make a new drawing to show the I1 in the vertical position with the camera facing sideways. This makes me believe that it was not a mistake. DJI Support pointed that one out while on the phone with them.
They also pointed out that it didn't matter which way it was pointed to start the calibration. As long as you continue to rotate it till the status light changes, it's fine. I've noticed in some cases that I would have made a turn more than 360° when the status light changed. I wasn't moving very fast (it makes me dizzy to rotate in a circle too fast. Lol).

Each time I try calibrating it with the camera pointed to the side, it passes the calibration unless I'm too close to something metal like my van

.

I just got back from a cross country trip so calibrating at each location (300 or more miles apart) seemed to be a good idea even if the app and status light indicated it was normal. Using the method depicted in the app worked everytime and it always flew with good GPS accuracy. I just wish the wind had been less than 18 to 20 mph at almost every location.

A bit off topic here but before every flight the IMU would indicate normal on the first page in the app. I always hit the Check IMU button in the MODs page even if the first page indicates normal, most of time it indicates that it's not needed but sometimes it does need calibration, three out of 21 flights the IMU needed to be calibrated. Maybe it was because of the temperature changes? In every case, I let the I1 electronics warm up before checking it.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Joe

Joe R · Apr 6, 2016

I decided to put my I1 through some test flights a while ago and learned that calibrating the GPS with the camera facing sideways in the second part of the calibration had some adverse effects.
I noticed that when I pushed the right stick forward, it would go straight but track sideways at the same time instead of just straight like it used to. I tried it again making sure the I1 was level while holding it vertical but still with the camera facing sideways. It would still track sideways. When I moved the right stick to the left, it would move to that side and back at the same time as though I were adding some back stick input at the same time.
It would hover stable, just not track straight.
I calibrated it again with the nose straight down, this time when I pushed the right stick forward, it tracked straight. It also tracked straight sideways as well so it looks like holding it with the nose facing down seems to be the best way afterall.
I never really noticed it tracking sideways before because I was always flying in 16 to 20 mph winds.
I don't really care for the gimbal maxing out at the end point and even acting a little erratic. I tried tilting the camera down before calibrating but it would still bounce around. Holding the camera seems to help but I'm afraid I might damage it by keeping it from moving on it's own.

I decided to try calibrating the GPS before installing the gimbal and it seemed to work fine. I tried it three times without the gimbal and it worked good every time.
Unless someone could tell why it's not a good idea to calibrate it without the gimbal, I think I'll be calibrating the GPS before installing the gimbal, then power it down and install the gimbal, also nose down instead of nose sideways.
On power up with the gimbal on, that's when the camera does it's own little dance to calibrate the camera so it should work OK.
Can anyone tell me why it's not a good idea to do it this way??

I hope this helps.

I'd appreciate any response from someone who knows more about this than me. I still wonder why DJI said to calibrate it with the nose sideways. Maybe they didn't test it to see if would still track straight??

Thanks!

Joe

InspireBart · Aug 7, 2016

Glad I found this thread! I tried doing the CC as seen in their videos with the nose horizontal, then nose down. It didn't seem to like that. The horizontal rotation worked within one 360 turn. With the nose down, I kept "spinning" and spinning and it seemed to eventually turn the status indicator green, but it seemed odd that it would take so many rotations. Tried it a few more times with the same result.

I then looked VERY closely at the image on screen for CC. And sure enough it shows the bird, "wing down". Re-did the CC again, and this time it took immediately. Flew it this morning and it was rock solid... So for me it seemed like turning on its side worked more quickly and I was confident the CC took...