Battery Question

[Wolverine750]

My P3P was about a mile away in the Appalachian Mountains. At 50%, I get a warning of low battery and that it would return to home or auto land. I went full throttle toward home (me) and no more warnings. It made it home fine.

So my question is, is the brain smart enough to math 1 mile and battery life? I just expected my normal warning at 30%, no 50% and saying it would land.


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[msinger]

My P3P was about a mile away in the Appalachian Mountains. At 50%, I get a warning of low battery and that it would return to home or auto land.

It sounds like you're referring to the "Smart RTH" feature. When enabled, your Phantom will auto return to home when it thinks it's too far away to make it back to the home point if you continue. It'll give you 10 seconds to cancel that RTH before it initiates.

As for the auto landing, that'll only occur if your battery reaches the critical low point.

is the brain smart enough to math 1 mile and battery life?

It's pretty smart, but I would not count on it if it's very windy and your Phantom is flying into the wind on the way back to the home point.

 

[Wolverine750]

I need to read up on that, thank you! I was full on heart pounding panic. It would certainly be gone had there been a problem. Near Lake Lure as well, which is very deep.

I learn a lot from these forums. I try to help noobies, but end up being helped.


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[msinger]

Oddly enough, DJI does not mention it in the Phantom manual.

 

[Wolverine750]

Nothing in the manual, but did find this to back you up: Smart Go Home
“Smart Return Home” denotes that the remaining battery capacity can only support the aircraft from return to the home point from the current position hence the app will prompt a message to notify that user should bring the aircraft back to the home point at that moment.
You can turn this feature off if you don’t want this to activate.

(Me again) the warning was a bit conservative. I had plenty of juice when I got it back, however at 1 mile out, I do not mind a nudge that it is time to think about returning. Having it do that was total panic inducing.


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[Trackman1]

Since this has happened you will start to watch the battery progress bar. When the end of the bar hits the H. You get the warning.
I think when we are new to this we get fixated on some things and don't notice others.
It was a surprise to me too the first time.

 

[Wolverine750]

Since this has happened you will start to watch the battery progress bar. When the end of the bar hits the H. You get the warning.
I think when we are new to this we get fixated on some things and don't notice others.
It was a surprise to me too the first time.

Interesting...

I hardly ever fly in areas where the drone would be recoverable if it went down, so this was a shock. I will have to check out that battery bar thingy. I usually look at percent.

I made it back with plenty leftover, but a stiff wind could have been an issue.


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[Trackman1]

Here you can see the battery bar. The end of the bar has passed the H on the line and activated the Low Power. "returning home in 10 seconds" warning.
It is an audible warning as well as a pop up. If you do not cancel, RTH will activate. In this case you can see it is going home.
One fun part of thus is you are not the pilot anymore. So you are free to pan the camera around anywhere you want.

 

[Wolverine750]

Perfect photo - and yours is at 51% and heading home with the warning.

This is a very nice feature, and it would be fan-effing-tastic if that outlined, with more detail, in the manual. Smart RTH's description is nearly identical as RTH.

Thanks for a perfect picture.


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[Trackman1]

Everything you need to know about RTH
RTH: How It Works and What to Avoid

 

[FrequentFlyer]

Everything you need to know about RTH
RTH: How It Works and What to Avoid

WOW! It should be titled : how to get more confused about RTH.


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[Wolverine750]

WOW! It should be titled : how to get more confused about RTH.


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Naaaaaaaaa, the key is the photo that was posted, and the lil H on the line, with the time slider.

I looked at my flight recording and sure enough, the farther my bird was away from me, the closer they got. Then at around a mile, they met, and I got the warning. I brought it back to me at full speed, and they separated again.

I totally understand now.


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[Wolverine750]

See how the H moved from the first photo to the second? When they met is when I got the low battery warning, even though over 50% battery.


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[skipilot1]

I need to read up on that, thank you! I was full on heart pounding panic. It would certainly be gone had there been a problem. Near Lake Lure as well, which is very deep.

I learn a lot from these forums. I try to help noobies, but end up being helped.


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I have had the same warnings with as much as 60 per cent on the battery. It seems to have happened when there is a strong headwind. If there is a strong wind (15 mph or more) I only fly into the headwind or 45 degree crosswind. I believe the drone figures out how much distance was gained in a certain amount of time and decides how much will be needed to get back with a reserve of more than 10 per cent. So if I have an 18 mph headwind and it takes 40 per cent of the battery to reach a relatively short distance, then it gives me a warning between 50 and 60 per cent. This is the only answer I can think of as it has only happened in these situations. The drone does not know it is in a headwind or that a tailwind will make short work of the return flight.