Should I cal compass? (It has been around the world)

[msinger]

And, for those who haven't seen it already, a lot of the information being discussed here has been covered in the compass calibration guide. It's a good read.

 

[chippie]

This is my point - says who? This was certainly prudent before you had visibility into compass values, and even moreso when there was only a single compass. This is no longer advised by the manufacturer. If you're in a known good environment, then there's little downside to a recalibration if you feel the need to do so, but many people don't know where the environment is good or not, and then you have people who do it before every flight, which is ridiculous and prone to error.

If you remember the actual flyaway days, every single story started with "so I just calibrated my compass..."

Also if you remember all the TBE we have had with the Mavic were caused by the compass (no calibration in nearly all cases) and bad pot calibration even though the compass reported back as being fine.

To me it is simple chaps, if you do not want to calibrate it then don't, easy. Personally I am going to go on the advice of the US DJI support staff who were involved with the Mavic from an early stage and who advise to calibrate the compass if your location changes drastically even if the compass reports back as being ok. We all have our different views and it is great to give to OP different opinions as to what they should do. Now it is their choice like it is everyone else's

 

[Chase R]

If I drive a few hours then do it. Drive across town then I don't. I have only been prompted to calibrate once on initial startup.

If you do calibrate, put it up a few feet in the air and watch it for any erratic movement. I leave mine floating for 30 seconds to a minute before moving. Better to catch a bad calibration early than when you're a couple hundred feet up.

 

[tomnjfl]

No. I think it's easier/safer to hold the Mavic still and walk around it, so that's what I do.

hmm..I just rotate it in my hands, without moving my body at all. That seems to be what is suggests in the pictures that show up on screen during the process. That being said, I've only done it once since receiving my Mavic and I've flow in places 1500 miles apart with 8000' differences in altitude. No issues....but I might do it anyway next time I fly lol.

 

[Logger]

Also if you remember all the TBE we have had with the Mavic were caused by the compass ....

Well that is also a matter of opinion. I was under the impression the TBEs were caused by electromagnetic noise or interference to the forward compass when the Mavic is at high power settings. The high power setting causes the EMI which effects the compass. I do not see how calibrating the compass would reduce this interference. Seemingly nor did DJI as their fix was to revert to the secondary compass which is located away from the interference.
Anyway as you say calibrate if you want to. I dont and my Mavic travel thousands of miles to new locations every other day.

Also another thing to consider.. If you get prompted to calibrate the compass give a seconds thought to where you are located before you do so. Pretty well every time I have seen the warning it is because I am inside a building & have no intention of actually flying it there. I may have turned it on to change some settings. Anyway as soon as I move it to a clear location and restart it, no more recal compass warning which makes perfect sense.

 

[rabidhyena]

I calibrated it now, so job done.

 

[msinger]

I just rotate it in my hands, without moving my body at all.

Yes, you can do it that way too. It doesn't make a difference either way.

 

[schpenxel]

I just fly the **** thing

 

[tomnjfl]

I just fly the **** thing

...until you just crash the **** thing because of a compass error.

 

[schpenxel]

Until then, I will just enjoy it

 

[Brutus]

I just fly the **** thing

Haha, that's exactly what I do. Took it out of the box, always check the general status before take off, if everything is ok, it's ok. Never calibrated until so far, neither after the FW update.

 

[Wolfman Jonathan]

Well that is also a matter of opinion. I was under the impression the TBEs were .

What's a TBE? Also, what's an OP? Thanks.

 

[chippie]

TBE = Toilet Bowl Effect. When the drone spirals out of control to the ground in a motion similar to the water flushing down the toilet

OP = Original Poster or Post. The person who started the thread or the Original Post itself.