Approaching seventy flights, no calibration of any kind

geigy · Apr 18, 2017

I've been at it for a few weeks. The only times I get asked to calibrate are when I power up the Mavic near something made of metal such as a metal table. So I move it somewhere else.

dewster · Apr 18, 2017

I'm at 20 flights and I've notice a slight rightward turn while hovering on my last flight. The flight controller warned that compass calibration was required after powering up my Mavic for the first time. So far I'm impressed with the stability and reliability of the craft. Longest distance flown was 7644 feet across a wide open marsh to film a bridge.

J3ffrey · Apr 18, 2017

willhay555 said:
Despite one scary moment in very heavy wind, I've not had one mishap I could possibly blame the Mavic Pro for.

Nearly seventy flights with no compass or IMU calibration or problem.

All this talk of 'calibrate before you fly' I used to see etc. is quite something.

Same for me. <knocking on wood> just took it out of the box and put it up in the air. No problems.

RallySoob · Apr 18, 2017

I too had like 80-90 flights until i needed to calibrate compass but yes i agree these are good to go out of the box. I turned it on and off i went in just minutes. Dji is on the ball

Heavysledz · Apr 19, 2017

I have traveled as well but only about 89 miles from my home so far. This summer will be several thousands of miles...will report back if a compass call is needed

willhay555 · Apr 19, 2017

Seventy miles for me.

Ridermarra · Apr 19, 2017

Hi all, I just flew my mavic out of the box in Italy. Moved to spain for vacation and flew there moved in the alps for vacation and flown there as well. For the moment never calibrated and never got asked to calibrate anything. I use every kind of app out there litchi, autopilot, dronedeploy. This thing works like a marvel!

NickB · Apr 19, 2017

Love these sort of posts because when their drone flies away there's no way they are going to update the post and tell us

I guess i'm the type who calibrates my compass because i fly all types of rc where i have to build stuff from the ground up.

If my drone had it's compass calibrated in China i'm sure as sh1t going to re-calibrate for here in the UK, it's a 30 second job and you would have to be a right gump to mess it up.

Wishing you guys all the best

willhay555 · Apr 19, 2017

NickB said:
Love these sort of posts because when their drone flies away there's no way they are going to update the post and tell us

I guess i'm the type who calibrates my compass because i fly all types of rc where i have to build stuff from the ground up.

If my drone had it's compass calibrated in China i'm sure as sh1t going to re-calibrate for here in the UK, it's a 30 second job and you would have to be a right gump to mess it up.

Wishing you guys all the best

With sincerity, your assumptions of others is something you might want to work on.

NickB · Apr 19, 2017

Don't see why, it's my opinion.

If I didn't calibrate the rc, imu and compass and I lost my MP I won't need to kick myself.
It's the same with my engine oil I'm not going to wait for the light to come on, I check the dipstick at the beginning of each month.

NickB · Apr 19, 2017

Btw I'm only referring to not calibrating ever.
I certainly don't calibrate every flight just after FW update.

HWal · Apr 19, 2017

I have only completed a few flights with my new Mavic, and I plan to follow the instructions and calibrate IMU and compass if and when the app prompts me to do so.
I feel sure that if my drone crashes or flies away for some reason I think would be of interest to the forum, I will come back and report about it.

I believe the IMU and compass bars in the app are there for a reason, and hopefully they can be trusted. So far they show green/low values and have not been affected by the 3 generations of firmware I have installed.

If the compass is calibrated in China and works fine after having travelled to Europe or anywhere else, I do not believe that moving some distance locally would make a great difference.

My concern is that if I should ever need to make a compass calibration, it may not be easy to find a place where one can be sure that there are no metal object or metal content in the ground that would compromise the calibration.

willhay555 · Apr 19, 2017

NickB said:
Don't see why, it's my opinion.

If I didn't calibrate the rc, imu and compass and I lost my MP I won't need to kick myself.
It's the same with my engine oil I'm not going to wait for the light to come on, I check the dipstick at the beginning of each month.

That engine oil analogy is terrible, as you well know.

Heavysledz · Apr 19, 2017

NickB said:
Love these sort of posts because when their drone flies away there's no way they are going to update the post and tell us

I guess i'm the type who calibrates my compass because i fly all types of rc where i have to build stuff from the ground up.

If my drone had it's compass calibrated in China i'm sure as sh1t going to re-calibrate for here in the UK, it's a 30 second job and you would have to be a right gump to mess it up.

Wishing you guys all the best

I get your reasoning but what you aren't taking into account is that the Mavic also uses the GPS to confirm it's location and based on this information can adjust for any variances in the magnetic field for that specific area. So in short, a good calibration in one location should also work in any other location as long as the Mavic has a strong GPS signal to know where it is located. However, what it can't compensate for is a magnetic anomaly in the vicinity. When this occurs, the Mavic should warn you or the interference and ask you to go to a different location. If it sees a large variance between the 2 compass readings, it will likely ask you to perform a compass calibration.

Andrew F · Apr 19, 2017

Cyberpower678 said:
I've had to calibrate once in my 110 flights so far. Probably because I took apart my Mavic and just recently put it back together.

Hahaha. Lol. What a nice problem to have. Gutsy too!

Andrew F · Apr 19, 2017

DSGDSG said:
Curious of all those who have yet found the need to do a compass calibration yet. Do you travel at all with your mavic? I fully expect that when I last fly near my home and then take a flight somewhere else in the country or world I will have to calibrate before flight in my new location.

When I fly between Oregon and Hawaii the Mavic always requires a compass calibration.

Robert Mitchell · Apr 19, 2017

NickB said:
Love these sort of posts because when their drone flies away there's no way they are going to update the post and tell us

I guess i'm the type who calibrates my compass because i fly all types of rc where i have to build stuff from the ground up.

If my drone had it's compass calibrated in China i'm sure as sh1t going to re-calibrate for here in the UK, it's a 30 second job and you would have to be a right gump to mess it up.

Wishing you guys all the best

Nick, I

NickB said:
Love these sort of posts because when their drone flies away there's no way they are going to update the post and tell us

I guess i'm the type who calibrates my compass because i fly all types of rc where i have to build stuff from the ground up.

If my drone had it's compass calibrated in China i'm sure as sh1t going to re-calibrate for here in the UK, it's a 30 second job and you would have to be a right gump to mess it up.

Wishing you guys all the best

Nick, being that like you, I have built and modded several drones over the years, and am quite used to the process and necessity of calibration, it took me some time to recognize that there has been a fundamental change in the technology with this generation.

As for not calibrating being the cause of a flyaway, if all indications are the compass is correct (i.e.) startup sensor state, map indicating precise positioning... I just don't think I will be able to improve on that by a field calibration. And in the absence of any indication whatsoever, I would suspect some cause other than the compass anyway.
Now, if there is any indication or suspicion of an issue, I would calibrate in a heartbeat, and I am in no way critical of your approach either. I am happy they still give us the capability to use as we see fit.

Apollo X 1965 · Apr 22, 2017

34 flights I've been to Florida twice from NYC and back, flown all around Staten Island and New Jersey never once had to calibrate and my MP has been spot on.

willhay555 · Apr 22, 2017

Heavysledz said:
I get your reasoning but what you aren't taking into account is that the Mavic also uses the GPS to confirm it's location and based on this information can adjust for any variances in the magnetic field for that specific area. So in short, a good calibration in one location should also work in any other location as long as the Mavic has a strong GPS signal to know where it is located. However, what it can't compensate for is a magnetic anomaly in the vicinity. When this occurs, the Mavic should warn you or the interference and ask you to go to a different location. If it sees a large variance between the 2 compass readings, it will likely ask you to perform a compass calibration.

This.