New Flyer- Few Questions/Problems

[ethan.irish]

Hi, I just bought a refurbished DJI Phantom 3 Standard and after a dew flights, I have been finding a few issues while testing out the features. I also have general questions about the drone:


1. When I fly out to about 1500ft, I lose connection.
2. When I set the home for "Return to Home" it says "Home not recorded" but when I'm flying it and use RTH, it works.
3. Fixed Point doesn't setup, the radius just slowly switches from 0ft to 1ft in red.
4. Follow me mode, just does't work
5. Beginner mode wouldn't let me fly forward or backward.


Other questions I have are:
1. Can I re-charge my battery right after using it?
2. Are flying near power lines an issue?
3. I'm looking into getting some antenna range extenders (I found ARGtek ones) and was wondering what I should get.

Thank you for answering anything! I'm super appreciative!

-Ethan

 

[Dpemberton415]

What phone platform are you using I've read that its common problem getting constant "strong interference warnings", I have apple iPad and iPhone and get them so much I ignore them after reading that. I've never messed with home point I just let it do it on its own. I haven't messed with follow me mode yet been wanting to play with that but the one thing I do know is you must have cellular service with gps for to work, so I've read.i like to let my battery's cool down before I charge just because of my understanding of battery's but plugged one of mine tonight fresh out after a filet and it wouldn't charge till it cooled. Large power lines are supposed to be bad because of the electromagnetic field caused by the high voltage, I have lite power lines across the road from my house and I live rural they don't really give me problems unless it's the real cause of the warnings. Even with the warnings I'm getting around a mile for range. I hope I've helped but there is plenty of knowledge on this forum thought me a lot so may get better answers then mine and happy flying it's addictive for sure.

 

[Meta4]

1. When I'm flying (Anywhere) My phone screen keeps rapidly popping up "Strong Interference" notifications.
2. When I set the home for "Return to Home" it says "Home not recorded" but when I'm flying it and use RTH, it works.
3. Fixed Point doesn't setup, the radius just slowly switches from 0ft to 1ft in red.
4. Follow me mode, just does't work
5. Beginner mode wouldn't let me fly forward or backward.

1. Anywhere? It's common to get that message in an urban area but not when you get away from other wifi sources.
2. You don't need to set your homepoint. The Phantom does that for you automatically.
3. POI needs you to fly back from the centre point to set a radius greater than the minimum allowed.
4. Follow-me requires a phone or tablet with GPS enabled so it has something to follow. Is that the issue?

Other questions I have are:
1. Can I re-charge my battery right after using it?
2. Are flying near power lines an issue?

1. The battery won't accept a charge if it's too warm - that's the only restriction.
2. Depends on the powerlines and how close.
Domestic supply lines are more a collision risk than anything else. High voltage lines can affect your compass but if you're 100 feet away you won't have a problem.

 

[solentlife]

Hi, I just bought a refurbished DJI Phantom 3 Standard and after a dew flights, I have been finding a few issues while testing out the features. I also have general questions about the drone:


1. When I'm flying (Anywhere) My phone screen keeps rapidly popping up "Strong Interference" notifications.

Common and unless you have problems flying, most people seem to be ignoring it. It may be worth making sure you have latest GO / Litchi and FW loaded. Moving to Litchi instead of Go is a move that I found well worth it.

2. When I set the home for "Return to Home" it says "Home not recorded" but when I'm flying it and use RTH, it works.

If you try to set HOME point while flying - it needs your Display tablet / phone to send GPS position to the model. So if your phone / tablet is not receiving GPS data and fixing its position - then model will stay with its original Home Point recorded when it took off. You should hear a voice say "Home Point Recorded" on lift off.

3. Fixed Point doesn't setup, the radius just slowly switches from 0ft to 1ft in red.
4. Follow me mode, just does't work

Possibly same reason as #2 .... GPS related.

5. Beginner mode wouldn't let me fly forward or backward.

If you are at max distance set in Beginner mode ?

Other questions I have are:
1. Can I re-charge my battery right after using it?

Yes but its nice to let it steady out for 5 minutes or so before connecting charger. LiPo's when first disconnected always recover a small amount of voltage on cells and also need to sometimes cool down. That 5 minutes is worth it in terms of battery welfare.

2. Are flying near power lines an issue?

Yes - if you are getting too close ... it is generally advised that no model should be flown close to such as you may crash into ... may suffer RF interference ...
But at reasonable distance - they should not be any problem at all.

3. I'm looking into getting some antenna range extenders (I found ARGtek ones) and was wondering what I should get.

I use Argtek and I get over 2000m rural and 1000m urban range straight line at about 100m altitude. Remember altitude is your friend as you increase distance from home point.

4. What happens if I am flying the drone straight down and my throttle stick clicks all the way down?

Nothing until it lands and then all motors will stop after 2 - 3 secs. But it is not advised to use the left stick lock down to land all the way. You can use it to descend fastest rate and when close to ground UNLOCK stick and land out slower and more controlled to avoid falling over or landing on bad spot.
Its good to get into practice of manually landing and get used to how to be able to land out regardless of where you are. This will also assist you in the often heard "hand-catch" some people think is best ! Something that a new flyer should be extremely wary of until they can fly the model close in with care and precision.

Thank you for answering anything! I'm super appreciative!

-Ethan

One of the most important matters here ... learn what S2 and S1 do ... so that panic moment when the App goes down or you lose orientation - you can get the model back in one piece.
Second is to gain confidence in what it can do.

Nigel

 

[Dpemberton415]

See that's what gets me mine has made it out to 6300 feet just the way it come out of the box and I fly 4000+ feet nightly, and I live rural. Why is mine so different! Last night I did the magic power mod and plan to test this evening.

 

[phantom3intennessee]

Hi, I just bought a refurbished DJI Phantom 3 Standard and after a dew flights, I have been finding a few issues while testing out the features. I also have general questions about the drone:


1. When I'm flying (Anywhere) My phone screen keeps rapidly popping up "Strong Interference" notifications.
2. When I set the home for "Return to Home" it says "Home not recorded" but when I'm flying it and use RTH, it works.
3. Fixed Point doesn't setup, the radius just slowly switches from 0ft to 1ft in red.
4. Follow me mode, just does't work
5. Beginner mode wouldn't let me fly forward or backward.

Other questions I have are:
1. Can I re-charge my battery right after using it?
2. Are flying near power lines an issue?
3. I'm looking into getting some antenna range extenders (I found ARGtek ones) and was wondering what I should get.
4. What happens if I am flying the drone straight down and my throttle stick clicks all the way down?

Thank you for answering anything! I'm super appreciative!

-Ethan

Hi, I bought my Phantom 3 Standard refurb about 2 months ago and have maybe 30 flights now.​

1. I get the strong interference warning over and over as well, mostly I’ve been flying while in my back yard about 20 feet away from the house.
2. Listen closely when taking off, if you’re using DJI GO you should hear her say home point recorded and you will see your drone blink green rapidly like 6 times or somthing.
3. Make sure both switches are all the way forward otherwise I don’t have a clue whats going on here.
4. Maybe theres something going on with the GPS in your smart phone or tablet.
5. Beginner mode issue is weird dont know whats up there.

• Yes you can recharge the battery right after flight, if they’re too hot the charging won’t begin until it cools down. I let mine cool about 10 minutes just to be safe before plugging in.
• If you’re on a budget start out with the cheapy parabola range extenders, they really help and will get you a better connection until you do the mod. If you wanna go free you can google “cantenna” and make one from a pringles can or print a template and use aluminum foil and thick paper
• I think the throttle stick locking down is so you can descend from way up high without having to hold the stick the whole time because it descends pretty slowly

Hope I’ve helped you some but I’m just starting out as well compared to alot of ppl on here

 

[Dpemberton415]

Just an FYI I've read at a few places that is a fault of running Appel/IOS i get them all the time. After reading about an issue between phantom and iOS I've started to ignore it and no issues just annoying, don't know what your using nut just letting you know what I've read and learned

 

[ethan.irish]

Just an FYI I've read at a few places that is a fault of running Appel/IOS i get them all the time. After reading about an issue between phantom and iOS I've started to ignore it and no issues just annoying, don't know what your using nut just letting you know what I've read and learned

I use an iPhone 7 or on occasion, my ipad 3

 

[ethan.irish]

Hi, I bought my Phantom 3 Standard refurb about 2 months ago and have maybe 30 flights now.​

1. I get the strong interference warning over and over as well, mostly I’ve been flying while in my back yard about 20 feet away from the house.
2. Listen closely when taking off, if you’re using DJI GO you should hear her say home point recorded and you will see your drone blink green rapidly like 6 times or somthing.
3. Make sure both switches are all the way forward otherwise I don’t have a clue whats going on here.
4. Maybe theres something going on with the GPS in your smart phone or tablet.
5. Beginner mode issue is weird dont know whats up there.

• Yes you can recharge the battery right after flight, if they’re too hot the charging won’t begin until it cools down. I let mine cool about 10 minutes just to be safe before plugging in.
• If you’re on a budget start out with the cheapy parabola range extenders, they really help and will get you a better connection until you do the mod. If you wanna go free you can google “cantenna” and make one from a pringles can or print a template and use aluminum foil and thick paper
• I think the throttle stick locking down is so you can descend from way up high without having to hold the stick the whole time because it descends pretty slowly

Hope I’ve helped you some but I’m just starting out as well compared to alot of ppl on here

Thank you so much!

 

[ethan.irish]

See that's what gets me mine has made it out to 6300 feet just the way it come out of the box and I fly 4000+ feet nightly, and I live rural. Why is mine so different! Last night I did the magic power mod and plan to test this evening.

Let me know how it goes.

 

[Dpemberton415]

Guess I should of added it I now fly with an iPad mini 2 started out with my iPhone 5s both give me constant interference warnings. Before I bought my iPad just for my P3S because my 5s I just couldn't see well enough to keep up with my cameras view or my telemetry lol. I don't even remember where I read about the "glitch" with iOS but I will tell you that I bought 3 android tablets and ether the lag was so bad I couldn't keep up with my phantom and one tablet just completely locked up on me it was at that point I got an iPad because I didn't have any issues flying with my iPhone.

 

[ethan.irish]

Guess I should of added it I now fly with an iPad mini 2 started out with my iPhone 5s both give me constant interference warnings. Before I bought my iPad just for my P3S because my 5s I just couldn't see well enough to keep up with my cameras view or my telemetry lol. I don't even remember where I read about the "glitch" with iOS but I will tell you that I bought 3 android tablets and ether the lag was so bad I couldn't keep up with my phantom and one tablet just completely locked up on me it was at that point I got an iPad because I didn't have any issues flying with my iPhone.

I see.

 

[solentlife]

I have a refurb Nexus 7 vers 2 Android with 16Gb ....... brilliant. Wish I had got it earlier when I first had the P3S ...

All this talk of Apple vs Android is BS really ... it is nothing to do with format .... it's to do with memory and chip capability. If you use an old Android or IOS - you will have lag and crappy performance.
Get a better Android or IOS and worlds a flyer !

This debate of IOS vs Android is the same crap as Mac vs PC .... it all depends on what processing level you get ...

Nigel

 

[Dpemberton415]

I know there are androids that will keep up but it was going to cost me the same as apple so why not get apple iPad that had operating system I'm already use to and like that has linking features and capability with my phone.

 

[solentlife]

I certainly never paid anywhere near the inflated Apple price for my Android tablets and I have a number I use for various activities.
I can on average buy TWO android for ONE IOS !!

Nigel

 

[phantom3intennessee]

Definitely go with the iPad over the android tablet, it won't cost you much more and will work much better. I've used android devices in the past but always go back to apple. I've read things about the app glitching, lagging, or even crashing on android but it runs perfectly on my iPhone. iPad mini 2 used in good condition are around $150 on eBay right now.

 

[Dpemberton415]

Yes I used the Walmart app to get my mini 2 32g refurbished for $235 now I will admit one of the two things that annoy me about apple is you can't change your memory with an sd card other they want you to buy everything. Plus side a lot less hassle but I never tried to start an iOS vr android war everyone likes what they like I was just trying to share what I read about iOS interference warnings glitch with the go app.

 

[solentlife]

No war - just typical human bias.

Some like Volvo .... Some like BMW .... Some like Chevy ....

Both Android and IOS will work fine if you get good versions.

The one aspect of Android that does affect though, is the control of new versions has been relaxed and some third party versions of Android System can be 'strange' .... if you have an official Google unit such as the Nexus - you find that Android 7 etc. are not officially recognized by Android originators.
IOS is controlled by Apple ...... with no third party versions.

That aside - Android works fine.

Nigel

 

[Cookie$Dough]

The safest way to learn to fly these phantoms is in the flight simulator on the DJI app. The little cube inntbe right hand corner will take you there as well as tutorials. Pretty much everybody elses advise is right on que! Fly safe[emoji51]

 

[solentlife]

To be honest - I found the DJI Sim to be awkward and not much use. I also did not like having the AC powered up to use it.

But here we go :

Just for those interested who do not use IOS / Iphone :

Latest GO on the Android .... (3.1.5)

First you need RC and AC ON and linked to Android ... From the start screen where you can tap CAMERA to get full access / control of AC ... DO NOT tap CAMERA.

You tap the 3 lines button top RIGHT under time ... this will then give a BUTTON named TUTORIAL. Tap the TUTORIAL button and it will then give a set of choices along near bottom of screen ..... SIMULATOR being the first one.

But I really do not like this sim as it means the AC has to be powered up during ... with all the heat generation in the camera and gimbal. It is then good idea to have a fan blowing on the lower parts to cool them.

Nigel