Return to Home questions

[ihavequestions]

A few questions about return to home:

• If you set the altitude to say about 30M but you are flying way above that when you lose signal, does it descend first, to RTH altitude or does it stay at the higher altitude you are already flying at while returning?
• Yesterday, my drone lost signal and it triggered RTH. But even when it got closer, the video never came back on my display like it usually does when it regains signal. What is the cause of this?
• Why would you not want to set it very very high to make sure to avoid everything like trees, power lines, etc? Is it to save battery in the case of battery low RTH?

 

[msinger]

If you set the altitude to say about 30M but you are flying way above that when you lose signal, does it descend first

No.

Why would you not want to set it very very high to make sure to avoid everything like trees, power lines, etc?

You should set it high enough to clear all nearby obstacles. The RTH altitude is the distance from the ground at the take off point to the altitude you set. So, keep that in mind if the terrain is not level where you're flying.

 

[jwmcgrath]

[*]Why would you not want to set it very very high to make sure to avoid everything like trees, power lines, etc? Is it to save battery in the case of battery low RTH?
[/LIST]

Good question. I used to do that, 120M... but you're exactly right; if, during a "loss of signal RTH", it's trying to climb to the preset RTH altitude but can't make it, it will only go so high and expend energy trying to get there, reducing its remaining overall range.

And, now you really don't know what height it's going to climb to so you're flying on "hope" that's its high enough.

I've altered my RTH habit to clear whatever it needs to, comfortably, but I understand your concern because now you are left to estimate obstacle height and that's not always easy.

How tall is that tree way over there?

 

[flyboy73]

Another consideration in setting a RTH altitude is the fact that the higher you go the stronger the winds will be. If you are flying back into strong winds your progress will be slower and you will be burning more of your remaining battery life fighting those winds at altitude. I believe the safest procedure is to set your RTH altitude to clear any obstacles, plus a fudge factor, as your drone may not be at exactly the altitude you set.

 

[JamesT1950]

When RTH is set, it comes back to the location where it was set. If I set it then take off and decide to move100 feet North, will the bird return to the original starting position or to the location I moved to?

 

[Meta4]

The

When RTH is set, it comes back to the location where it was set. If I set it then take off and decide to move100 feet North, will the bird return to the original starting position or to the location I moved to?

Phantom records the GPS location of the launch point and will return to there ... unless you reset the home point during the flight.

 

[Bigbells]

When RTH is set, it comes back to the location where it was set. If I set it then take off and decide to move100 feet North, will the bird return to the original starting position or to the location I moved to?

To further clarify what Meta4 said, the home point is set at the location of the aircraft, not the location of the remote control.

 

[ihavequestions]

To further clarify what Meta4 said, the home point is set at the location of the aircraft, not the location of the remote control.

Let's say you have the RTH altitude at 50 feet. Your initial homepoint is ground level. But then you reset the homepoint to where the aircraft is and let's say its 400 feet in the air. Will the new RTH altitude be 450 feet?

 

[msinger]

Let's say you have the RTH altitude at 50 feet. Your initial homepoint is ground level. But then you reset the homepoint to where the aircraft is and let's say its 400 feet in the air. Will the new RTH altitude be 450 feet?

Resetting the home point only changes the latitude and longitude position of the home point. The current altitude is always calculated from the 0 foot/meter altitude at the takeoff point.

If the current altitude shows 400 feet in DJI GO when you reset the home point, the current altitude will still be 400 feet after the home point has been reset. The RTH altitude will always be whatever you have it set to in the "Main Controller Settings" section of DJI GO.

 

[Bigbells]

Let's say you have the RTH altitude at 50 feet. Your initial homepoint is ground level. But then you reset the homepoint to where the aircraft is and let's say its 400 feet in the air. Will the new RTH altitude be 450 feet?

No, resetting the Home Point will not change the RTH altitude, and the aircraft will always show its current altitude as measured vertically from the take-off point.

On a side note, you can't set the RTH altitude at 50 feet. The minimum is 20 meters, or 65 feet.