Wireless Magnetic Interference/ Cold

[kowblansky01]

Hey Guys!

Recently I was attempting to fly my phantom 4 but it claimed that there was a wireless magnetic interference when I stepped outside. When I click the main menu it said there is a compass error. Outside the temp was around 32 Fahrenheit but I believed there was nothing magnetic near me. When I went inside the signal came back and no problem occurred. Could it be the cold? I also found a spot outside where satellite signal was at 17 and everything was looking perfect except the compass symbol. Also, about 1/2 mile away from me is a large office building with all types of satellite bowls and things sticking from it, could it be affecting it? I am somewhat near power lines but I never before had problems with them. Also, this is my first time being in the cold with the drone, any advice? I let it warm up inside then let it be outside for a few minutes prior to attempting to fly it. I will try tomorrow since it will be warmer.

I will listen to what help you guys give me since I am relatively new to this hobby and am frightened to lose it.
Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Hey Guys!

Recently I was attempting to fly my phantom 4 but it claimed that there was a wireless magnetic interference when I stepped outside. When I click the main menu it said there is a compass error. Outside the temp was around 32 Fahrenheit but I believed there was nothing magnetic near me. When I went inside the signal came back and no problem occurred. Could it be the cold? I also found a spot outside where satellite signal was at 17 and everything was looking perfect except the compass symbol. Also, about 1/2 mile away from me is a large office building with all types of satellite bowls and things sticking from it, could it be affecting it? I am somewhat near power lines but I never before had problems with them. Also, this is my first time being in the cold with the drone, any advice? I let it warm up inside then let it be outside for a few minutes prior to attempting to fly it. I will try tomorrow since it will be warmer.

I will listen to what help you guys give me since I am relatively new to this hobby and am frightened to lose it.
Thanks!

Hi yes no one wants to lose it,probly got picked up on steel in concrete,mine bad by this shed area we have,have you done a compass calibration,only thing i can think when got logo like that,might need doin,you know when compass is wrong when calibrating it will tell you and give you red lights on back of drone,its got onscreen pics of how to do if unsure,with just a normal magnectic interfernce warning up top in red just move around a bit and it should go back gps (green),cold mornings i sometimes fly,just put batt in your pocket and body heat do the rest,pays to idle just for a bit and let motors unchill,no choke on these things cold take off mayby cause motors to stop,i just say that because i had a shutdown in the past,lucky it was on the ground,4x to start motors i put the down to very cold batt and drone,not to sure what others have experienced with this issue,best of luck with flights

 

[tevek]

As Ian has noted, you are probably either near steel reinforced concrete or near a bunch of steel (my 30 year old car triggers warnings if I'm anywhere near it). I wouldn't try and calibrate your compass until you are well away from these areas as the end result could be nasty. As for the battery, stick it in your pocket before sticking it in the drone, and let it warm up a bit before sending it off. I normally go through my checks whilst it's powered up and let it hover for a bit, from memory it has to reach 15 or 25 C (can't remember) for the warning to disappear.

 

[tevek]

Hi yes no one wants to lose it,probly got picked up on steel in concrete,mine bad by this shed area we have,have you done a compass calibration,only thing i can think when got logo like that,might need doin,you know when compass is wrong when calibrating it will tell you and give you red lights on back of drone,its got onscreen pics of how to do if unsure,with just a normal magnectic interfernce warning up top in red just move around a bit and it should go back gps (green),cold mornings i sometimes fly,just put batt in your pocket and body heat do the rest,pays to idle just for a bit and let motors unchill,no choke on these things cold take off mayby cause motors to stop,i just say that because i had a shutdown in the past,lucky it was on the ground,4x to start motors i put the down to very cold batt and drone,not to sure what others have experienced with this issue,best of luck with flights

'No choke on these things', I'm still laughing.......

 

[Meta4]

Recently I was attempting to fly my phantom 4 but it claimed that there was a wireless magnetic interference when I stepped outside. When I click the main menu it said there is a compass error. Outside the temp was around 32 Fahrenheit but I believed there was nothing magnetic near me. When I went inside the signal came back and no problem occurred. Could it be the cold? I also found a spot outside where satellite signal was at 17 and everything was looking perfect except the compass symbol. Also, about 1/2 mile away from me is a large office building with all types of satellite bowls and things sticking from it, could it be affecting it? I am somewhat near power lines but I never before had problems with them. Also, this is my first time being in the cold with the drone, any advice? I let it warm up inside then let it be outside for a few minutes prior to attempting to fly it. I will try tomorrow since it will be warmer.

No ... cold doesn't have any effect on a compass and the office building and associated antennas will have no effect.
At a distance of 1/2 mile nothing would have any effect.
Powerlines would only have any effect if they are high voltage lines and closer than 100 yds.
The most likely source of the magnetic influence is either a live electric cable or steel, probably within 6 feet or so - more if it's a very large piece of steel.
And reinforced concrete is the most common source of unexpected magnetic interference (it's half steel).
What was the surface where you had the problem ... what was nearby?

 

[kowblansky01]

No ... cold doesn't have any effect on a compass and the office building and associated antennas will have no effect.
At a distance of 1/2 mile nothing would have any effect.
Powerlines would only have any effect if they are high voltage lines and closer than 100 yds.
The most likely source of the magnetic influence is either a live electric cable or steel, probably within 6 feet or so - more if it's a very large piece of steel.
And reinforced concrete is the most common source of unexpected magnetic interference (it's half steel).
What was the surface where you had the problem ... what was nearby?

I was near mailboxes, a street sign, a fire hydrant and I was flying near driveways and a street. Would any of those effect the compass?

 

[kowblansky01]

As Ian has noted, you are probably either near steel reinforced concrete or near a bunch of steel (my 30 year old car triggers warnings if I'm anywhere near it). I wouldn't try and calibrate your compass until you are well away from these areas as the end result could be nasty. As for the battery, stick it in your pocket before sticking it in the drone, and let it warm up a bit before sending it off. I normally go through my checks whilst it's powered up and let it hover for a bit, from memory it has to reach 15 or 25 C (can't remember) for the warning to disappear.

Ya I moved around quite a bit but the error kept appearing and disappearing (mostly was on rather than off). I will try today to go to a more grassy area. And yes, I calibrated it many times, but I was doing it near all the surroundings I listed above. Could those have been the problem?

 

[Meta4]

I was near mailboxes, a street sign, a fire hydrant and I was flying near driveways and a street. Would any of those effect the compass?

That depends on what you mean by near.
One of the most common causes is using the Phantom on reinforced concrete surfaces like driveways.
The concrete is full of steel and it's just below the surface.

I calibrated it many times, but I was doing it near all the surroundings I listed above. Could those have been the problem?

Possibly.
There should be no need to calibrate your compass under normal conditions and messing with it can cause more problems than you are trying to fix.
A compass error doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the compass.
It's a good compass telling you that it's detecting more than the earth's normal magnetic field and you should move the Phantom away from the source of magnetic interference.

 

[kowblansky01]

That depends on what you mean by near.
One of the most common causes is using the Phantom on reinforced concrete surfaces like driveways.
The concrete is full of steel and it's just below the surface.

Possibly.
There should be no need to calibrate your compass under normal conditions and messing with it can cause more problems than you are trying to fix.
A compass error doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the compass.
It's a good compass telling you that it's detecting more than the earth's normal magnetic field and you should move the Phantom away from the source of magnetic interference.

Thanks a ton man! I'll try flying it over grass.

 

[Meta4]

Thanks a ton man! I'll try flying it over grass.

Launching from reinforced concrete or steel surfaces is the big problem, much more than flying over them.
As long as you are 10 feet in the air, you'd not notice any effect flying over them.

 

[kowblansky01]

Launching from reinforced concrete or steel surfaces is the big problem, much more than flying over them.
As long as you are 10 feet in the air, you'd not notice any effect flying over them.

Same problem occurring today and I'm on grass. I took it on a plane a few days ago. Could that have caused this problem? And also, my overall status says there's no problem, just the symbol is red. Should I fly it?

 

[kowblansky01]

As Ian has noted, you are probably either near steel reinforced concrete or near a bunch of steel (my 30 year old car triggers warnings if I'm anywhere near it). I wouldn't try and calibrate your compass until you are well away from these areas as the end result could be nasty. As for the battery, stick it in your pocket before sticking it in the drone, and let it warm up a bit before sending it off. I normally go through my checks whilst it's powered up and let it hover for a bit, from memory it has to reach 15 or 25 C (can't remember) for the warning to disappear.

read above ^

 

[Meta4]

Same problem occurring today and I'm on grass. I took it on a plane a few days ago. Could that have caused this problem? And also, my overall status says there's no problem, just the symbol is red. Should I fly it?

Flying in a plane shouldn't have any effect on your Phantom.

 

[kowblansky01]

Flying in a plane shouldn't have any effect on your Phantom.

Tomorrow I will look for a bigger grass field. If the problem occurs still, I will call DJI. Any other ideas?

 

[tevek]

Tomorrow I will look for a bigger grass field. If the problem occurs still, I will call DJI. Any other ideas?

Trying to figure out if it's just the red triangle warning during the AC warming up or is there a warning on the screen when you are in camera view in the app. As noted above, if you are in a wide open field where there are no signs of obvious inteference from buried cabling or steel infrastructure, you have locked a minimum of satellites and the app says you are good to go, fly it close to you and observe the drone for any wayward flying. If you have a genuine compass problem, it will not fly straight and possibly wobble around and generally you will have a warning on the screen to calibrate your compass. Maybe post up a screen shot of your camera view when you are ready to fly to better explain your situation.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Tomorrow I will look for a bigger grass field. If the problem occurs still, I will call DJI. Any other ideas?

Um just reading thinking mayby try turn all on and look under general settings and find "warnings" and then clear them,see if it returns next time you turn it on,yes screen shot be good

 

[kowblansky01]

Um just reading thinking mayby try turn all on and look under general settings and find "warnings" and then clear them,see if it returns next time you turn it on,yes screen shot be good

Trying to figure out if it's just the red triangle warning during the AC warming up or is there a warning on the screen when you are in camera view in the app. As noted above, if you are in a wide open field where there are no signs of obvious inteference from buried cabling or steel infrastructure, you have locked a minimum of satellites and the app says you are good to go, fly it close to you and observe the drone for any wayward flying. If you have a genuine compass problem, it will not fly straight and possibly wobble around and generally you will have a warning on the screen to calibrate your compass. Maybe post up a screen shot of your camera view when you are ready to fly to better explain your situation.

here are some pics at the bottom. When I check the warnings there are none about the interference. they are all previous ones that occurred months back.

 

[tevek]

here are some pics at the bottom. When I check the warnings there are none about the interference. they are all previous ones that occurred months back.

On your first image, it looks fine with no warnings or prompts. Fly and try it, I've only done one compass calibration in 18 months and I've had no problems. If the warning pops up, you are probably near some form of electrical or steel material and you need to just move away.

 

[kowblansky01]

On your first image, it looks fine with no warnings or prompts. Fly and try it, I've only done one compass calibration in 18 months and I've had no problems. If the warning pops up, you are probably near some form of electrical or steel material and you need to just move away.

Flying in a plane shouldn't have any effect on your Phantom.

OMG! I got it! I was dumb. I thought the visual positioning symbol was compass! I flew it and all was good! thank you all!

 

[Meta4]

I thought the visual positioning symbol was compass! I flew it and all was good! thank you all!

This is what it would look like if your Phantom was telling you that the compass was detecting magnetic interference:

The Phantom has been placed on a car roof (steel) so the compass is very close to a lot of steel.
The warning is in the top left.
The obstacle avoidance disabled indicator is near top centre.