Disabling forward sensors for RTH

[Marko9219]

I'm a bit confused here: Is it possible to disable the forward sensors ONLY during a RTH, without having to go into the menu each time you activate a RTH? In other words, make the default RTH action without sensors, but have them activate all other times?

 

[JMF]

I don't think that's possible, the only other way would be to disable the sensors before the flight even starts, but that defeats the purpose.

 

[Mossiback]

I have not seen any such setting but I would not do it. If you got behind something (building, cliff face, etc) and lost connection then the RTH will kick in (depending on your settings, of course). If you miscalculated the RTH height the Mavic will run right into something with the forward sensors off. I like the idea that it will rise up and over an object that it meets. I haven't had to do it yet so I can't say for certain that it works, but it is a built-in feature that gives you a chance.

 

[Mantra]

Flip it into sport mode and hit RTH..

 

[charliesRig]

I would not Flit it onto sports mode and hit the RTH
because It might run the battery down and you might loose you mavic when you lose power.
.
you can toggle from Sports mode to Program mode while in flight

you can turn off your farward and downward sensors
Turning off your forward sensor is only a good idea if in advance flight tech..
but may cause damage to mavic from collision
... Please becareful tuning off the downward sensor will make your mavic hard to hold steady flight while hovering
.
and yes it is best if you turn on/off sensors while Not in Flight
.

.

 

[Marko9219]

The reason I am wanting to disable the forward sensors during RTH only is the possibility of an emergency RTH during a loss of signal. I don't want it to stop into a hover wasting valuable battery life because it sees the sun and thinks it is an obstacle. With a loss of signal, I won't even know it has halted due to the sun and is just hovering. I'm **** about checking RTH altitude each and every flight and usually set it at the 400 ft. AGL limit.

 

[Porto]

I would not Flit it onto sports mode and hit the RTH
because It might run the battery down and you might loose you mavic when you lose power.

Even if you are in Sport mode, hitting RTH will default it back to P mode. It's set in the parameter.

Not sure if the OA will remain off or switched back to on as I almost never fly with OA on. I always make sure I fly higher than anything around the AC on the way back to Home Point before hitting the RTH button.

 

[Mossiback]

Instead of stop and hover set to up and over. Not sure how direct to sun would affect it but that is how mine is set up.

 

[Callum]

Instead of stop and hover set to up and over. Not sure how direct to sun would affect it but that is how mine is set up.

Problem is Mavics just not quite capable of flying up and over the sun

I've not had it happen during a RTH as don't use it often but sensors did kick in during flight with a low sun at max altitude.

 

[Marko9219]

Having the sensors stop the drone when they get blinded by the sun isn't a big deal if I'm in contact with the drone. I spin around and fly backwards. No biggie. However, it's that scary thought of it happening during a loss of signal that really makes me nervous. Right when I need RTH to work most flawlessly! I stared right into the sun last night videoing a marvelous sunset over the Great Salt Lake in Northern Utah. No problems at all, but I've had it happen before. Usually before sunset when the sun is brighter, and not so red. Too bad we can't tell it to fly backwards during a RTH. I just don't see forward sensors being necessary during a RTH. You BETTER have set the altitude high enough to negate any need for OA.

 

[Mossiback]

... I just don't see forward sensors being necessary during a RTH. You BETTER have set the altitude high enough to negate any need for OA.

Good point.

 

[Porto]

Too bad we can't tell it to fly backwards during a RTH.

You can't tell it to fly backward during RTH, but you can fly backward during RTH. Just make sure you fly high enough to clear any obstacle on the way back as obviously you can't see them from the video feed.

 

[Marko9219]

You can't tell it to fly backward during RTH, but you can fly backward during RTH. Just make sure you fly high enough to clear any obstacle on the way back as obviously you can't see them from the video feed.

Well, my biggest concern is that the sun stop will happen during a RTH following a disconnect, therefore, no, I couldn’t turn it around and face away from the sun. I wouldn’t even know it had stopped into a hover. My RTH altitude is ALWAYS set ridiculously high, so obstacles are not an issue.

 

[lisadoc]

Well, my biggest concern is that the sun stop will happen during a RTH following a disconnect, therefore, no, I couldn’t turn it around and face away from the sun. I wouldn’t even know it had stopped into a hover. My RTH altitude is ALWAYS set ridiculously high, so obstacles are not an issue.

There is a setting for this in the DJI GO app (not sure why no one is mentioning it). Go to Visual Navigation Settings -> Advanced Settings -> RTH Obstacle Check.



Note, this turns it "on" if OA is turned off in the regular settings. This does not turn it "off" I believe, if OA is already turned on.

 

[Porto]

Well, my biggest concern is that the sun stop will happen during a RTH following a disconnect, therefore, no, I couldn’t turn it around and face away from the sun. I wouldn’t even know it had stopped into a hover. My RTH altitude is ALWAYS set ridiculously high, so obstacles are not an issue.

In that case, it's better for you to turn OA off then. You'll get faster speed, better battery efficiency for more total distance, and none of the sun stopping RTH problem.

For me, OA is more of an annoyance than a feature. Fly with it on even against a moderate headwind, and your Mavic will crawl at less than 30kph when you'll still do over 40kph with it off. I was (and still am actually) also annoyed that I have to tap the "OA is off warning" away before each flight, but it's becoming part of my pre-flight check list now.

 

[HWCM]

In that case, it's better for you to turn OA off then. You'll get faster speed, better battery efficiency for more total distance, and none of the sun stopping RTH problem.

For me, OA is more of an annoyance than a feature. Fly with it on even against a moderate headwind, and your Mavic will crawl at less than 30kph when you'll still do over 40kph with it off. I was (and still am actually) also annoyed that I have to tap the "OA is off warning" away before each flight, but it's becoming part of my pre-flight check list now.

Not exactly, If you turn off OA, the RTH OA stays on. You have to turn off RTH OA in order for the OA to not work in RTH. It is a completely different setting and they do not effect each other.

 

[Porto]

Not exactly, If you turn off OA, the RTH OA stays on. You have to turn off RTH OA in order for the OA to not work in RTH. It is a completely different setting and they do not effect each other.

Yes, correct. I've left OA off (including RTH OA) since months ago that I've forgotten about this RTH OA. Thank you for the correction

 

[locoman]

OA setting will not detect tree branches nor power lines. Best to get to an altitude high enough to clean all of that during a RTH operation. The first time the sun effect happened to me I really panic but now I a smart enough to realize when it goes into RTH mode to observe where the sun is and make sure the Mavic is moving where I want it to go, if it balks, I will bring it home backwards or fly home in a different direction to avoid the sun. Anyone who hits the RTH button or hears the RTH beeping sound and doesn't know what is happening to their bird or where it is going, (in my opinion) is a pretty irresponsible pilot.

 

[Marko9219]

OA setting will not detect tree branches nor power lines. Best to get to an altitude high enough to clean all of that during a RTH operation. The first time the sun effect happened to me I really panic but now I a smart enough to realize when it goes into RTH mode to observe where the sun is and make sure the Mavic is moving where I want it to go, if it balks, I will bring it home backwards or fly home in a different direction to avoid the sun. Anyone who hits the RTH button or hears the RTH beeping sound and doesn't know what is happening to their bird or where it is going, (in my opinion) is a pretty irresponsible pilot.

Until you have some sort of a disconnect and your telemetry stops. Then, you are going to have a hard time knowing anything about what's going on. Unless that is, it's directly in front of you, hovering there within easy eyesight. We all know what the drone is doing when it's overhead. But when it's 2,000 ft away, we all (you included) rely on the telemetry to give us our situational awareness. If the telemetry stops, is that a great time for your drone to experience a sensor induced sun flare full stop and hover? Even if the drone has plenty of altitude for a safe RTH, battery life is too short to have it go into an autonomous hold somewhere out there at 400 ft. without you even knowing it or being able to do anything about it. Without that map and camera feed, there is no way to know "backwards"! That is why I want the forward sensors off, but only during a RTH.

 

[Dabrain]

Having the sensors stop the drone when they get blinded by the sun isn't a big deal if I'm in contact with the drone. I spin around and fly backwards. No biggie. However, it's that scary thought of it happening during a loss of signal that really makes me nervous. Right when I need RTH to work most flawlessly! I stared right into the sun last night videoing a marvelous sunset over the Great Salt Lake in Northern Utah. No problems at all, but I've had it happen before. Usually before sunset when the sun is brighter, and not so red. Too bad we can't tell it to fly backwards during a RTH. I just don't see forward sensors being necessary during a RTH. You BETTER have set the altitude high enough to negate any need for OA.

Easier method and safer is to switch to Sport mode