Constant obstacle warnings during RTH..

[maximeeso]

So.. I'm on my 3rd Mavic.. The 1st had constant jello while flying, the 2nd had the gimbal resetting constantly issue.. Well this one appears to be ALMOST perfect but I found its issue out in the past few days..

Doing some RTH tests and the whole time it's trying to head back it's sensing obstacles, constantly. Facing the sun, away from the sun, in the shade, etc. At first I couldn't figure out WHY the thing kept increasing altitude instead of just coming home to me, but I finally discovered I could turn obstacle avoidance off during RTH to fix it, but my controller is still constantly vibrating the whole way home to notify me of obstacles. (That aren't there of course... I'm 200 ft+ up)

Anyone else ever had this problem and resolved it in an easier manner than having to get another Mavic? I was hoping the third time would be the charm... Really do not feel like having to go for a fourth. But then again, is this an issue I should even care about? But then again for the first time today I experienced my Mavic drifting/rotating without any input from me. I had to fight it with the left stick to keep it in the same spot.

Does a perfect Mavic exist? Or is it just a myth?

 

[rcflyingaddict]

Have your replacements been refurb's or new in box?

 

[maximeeso]

Have your replacements been refurb's or new in box?

New in box. All at best buy.

 

[rcflyingaddict]

That is interesting. Have had my MP for a few days and when flying in TP mode it attempted to do a RTH (had optical avoidance message in the log). I have read about this issues when facing the sun but not to the level you are describing. I plan to turn of avoidance next time I decide to do some close in TP work. Good that BB is able to return/supply new MP's - do they have a 15 day like everything else or is it longer on the mp?

 

[NCTurner]

I think it's just too easy to return rather than mess with it (I'd return it if it were me, especially with the drifting issue.) When I first got mine, I was having the exact same issue. I didn't see it at first, but one of my sensors had a very small clear piece of plastic across it. I think the light, even from an angle, was causing it to sense an obstacle. I have never had an issue since then. I don't want to jinx mine by saying it's perfect, but I haven't had any issues at all with it. (of course, DJI Go on my S7 is an entirely different story, so, hellooooooooooo Litchi!)

 

[Qoncussion]

Have you tried turning off the sun? It will cause the issues you are having. Try it in Sport mode, which disables the sensors to see if the problem still exists.

 

[maximeeso]

Have you tried turning off the sun? It will cause the issues you are having. Try it in Sport mode, which disables the sensors to see if the problem still exists.

If only I could... I have found the afternoon sun to be the biggest enemy of my Mavic.. Seems **** near impossible to get decent video when facing anywhere near where the sun is coming from..

I've tried in Sport mode, but I don't think that has anything to do with RTH... I'm not having the issue flying around, just during RTH.

 

[Samson 811970]

I think it's just too easy to return rather than mess with it (I'd return it if it were me, especially with the drifting issue.) When I first got mine, I was having the exact same issue. I didn't see it at first, but one of my sensors had a very small clear piece of plastic across it. I think the light, even from an angle, was causing it to sense an obstacle. I have never had an issue since then. I don't want to jinx mine by saying it's perfect, but I haven't had any issues at all with it. (of course, DJI Go on my S7 is an entirely different story, so, hellooooooooooo Litchi!)

Not to jump off topic from the OP, but quick question for you NCTurner: does lichti need an internet connection to connect to the bird? I have read many complaints about lichti users being in an area without a solid connection to their mobile devices and lichti not cooperating...

 

[NCTurner]

Not to jump off topic from the OP, but quick question for you NCTurner: does lichti need an internet connection to connect to the bird? I have read many complaints about lichti users being in an area without a solid connection to their mobile devices and lichti not cooperating...

I'm not sure, Samson. I use my S7 and have never been without a data connection on it.

 

[Samson 811970]

I'm not sure, Samson. I use my S7 and have never been without a data connection on it.

Ok.. Thanks... Just curious. I've heard some stories about pilots bring unable to fly as their mobile device can get a connection to a network... I guess it was something about having the litchi software verified...

 

[Qoncussion]

Not to jump off topic from the OP, but quick question for you NCTurner: does lichti need an internet connection to connect to the bird? I have read many complaints about lichti users being in an area without a solid connection to their mobile devices and lichti not cooperating...

No, it does not. I use a dedicated phone, with no SIM card (no data connection) in airplane mode. Litchi works fine.

 

[Samson 811970]

No, it does not. I use a dedicated phone, with no SIM card (no data connection) in airplane mode. Litchi works fine.

That's what I wanted to know before I spent the $... Thanks all..

 

[eduardozange]

I have the same problem! Any help?

 

[Qoncussion]

I have the same problem! Any help?

This is most commonly caused by facing directly into the sun. If this is the case - turn off your forward obstacle avoidance sensors, or switch to sports mode.

 

[royster]

Same issue last night, was out only 450 meters, hit RTH & she rose passed my set RTH height until I got the warning- Maximum altitude reached & she just hovered there, I could not get her to head home even using sticks, many " Obstacle" warnings, plus I had constant beeping as RC was at 20%!!. Bird was facing the sun to return to me. Realize now that she kept rising trying to get over the obstacle (sun). Switching to sport mode allowed me to fly her home, got my heart going!
I assume facing directly into the setting sun caused these issues,

 

[gnirtS]

Are the sensors (i) clean and (ii) calibrated?

The sun causes known issues with OA but reflections off things like water or metallic surfaces can also do it. I generally fly in the sun and around water so ive disabled obstacle avoidance in RTH as i simply dont trust it to actually fly home if i ever need it to. Just make sure RTH altitude is higher than anything it can hit (generally easy when the highest elevation in the entire country is 60ft)

 

[Qoncussion]

I assume facing directly into the setting sun caused these issues,

Good save! No doubt it was the sun. It blinds the forward sensors, and has been a well known issue since the Mavic's release.

 

[MavicPilot]

Are your running the newest firmware? I never experiencing random avoidance errors, but after updating to the newest branch I saw this issue. I suspected that it may have been a bug, but I was already sending my MP in for repair..

I know for sure that I was not facing the sun as I was not in RTH.

On at least one of the messages, I was filming a scene with a methane gas burn-off stack in a portion of the frame, so there was colors similar to the sun though... I was at least 75' away from it and I am pretty sure even further.

 

[lisadoc]

Not to jump off topic from the OP, but quick question for you NCTurner: does lichti need an internet connection to connect to the bird?

No it does not. Not sure why someone would say that, unless it was related to loading missions or having maps available.

 

[mtnbkr88]

I know its been a long while since anybody has posted on this thread but I am having the same continuous object avoidance issue on Return To Home.

Fooled by the sun is not the answer. I think there is a real firmware issue. I have this same problem on sunny days or cloudy days or no matter what the sky is like, flying any direction over dry lakes or clear fields or anything. The obstacle avoidance system works correctly when I'm manually flying my Mavic Pro giving me warnings when I get near real objects. I can fly out level 50 feet high over a flat open field and the obstacle avoidance system correctly detects nothing. I press return to home, it turns around, then every time it attempts to move forward it complains about an obstacle and climbs up higher, sun or no sun. It continues to do this going up hundreds of feet until I stop the RTH. The forward sensors are clean. This is not a sun issue. If it were it would complain about the sun when flying normal as well. There is something about RTH that changes the behavior of the obstacle avoidance system. This bad RTH behavior has been persistent since day one through all firmware updates.

I have to set the RTH height at 60M and disable forward object avoidance when I fly so I can have a chance to get my drone back if RTH kicks in. This is not right. I would certainly appreciate a real solution to this issue.

Thanks.