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- Jan 24, 2017
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I recently started noticing an issue where if I yawed, then stopped, the Mavic appeared to slowly start yawing in the opposite direction, before it finally stopped 5 to 10 seconds later. This was only appearent when viewing the video with a reference grid, relative to an object in the distance. I could not detect any yaw movement in the AC. At first I thought it may have been caused by the gimbal, but Gimbal drift appears to drift in the same direction as yaw movements as it catches up. I performed various tests to rule out the gimbal as problematic. I performed IMU, compass, RC and gimbal calibrations mutiple times under various conditions with no change. I changed all props with no change. I even downgraded the FW since I first noticed this sometime after the FW upgrade, but with no change.
Further analysis showed that this backward drift after yawing occurred more at some compass points than others. It also occurred more when yawing CW than CCW. Tests were done at both low and higher altitudes, with minimal if any wind. My observations led me to wonder if the compass readings could have been distorted in some way. I ended up taking a fairly strong magnet and waving it in all directions around both the back primary compass and the front secondary compass while viewing the sensor/compass view showing a strong magnetic field. Thereafter I recalibrated the compass and performed multiple test flights. Problem solved!
Interesting that the sensor compass view showed slightly higher average numbers in some directions than others when yawing before the degaussing. After degaussing the average numbers were for the most part uniform when yawing in all directions. These higher numbers also corresponded to compass bearings that were more problematic for backward drift.
As to what caused the compass distortion, I can only guess. Possibly sitting it on top of a laptop while charging. Maybe the magnets in a fan I used to help cool the Mavic got too close during FW updates and other testing. (How long will that little internal fan last?) Magnets are in many devices.
Anyhow..I wanted to share this in the hope that it could help someone experiencing similar "yaw drift" problems, or at the very least create an awareness of where not to sit your Mavic. I would advise if attempting to resolve a similar problem using a magnet to use extreme caution so as to not make the problem worse. At least in my case it saved a trip to the dreaded DJI repair facility.
Further analysis showed that this backward drift after yawing occurred more at some compass points than others. It also occurred more when yawing CW than CCW. Tests were done at both low and higher altitudes, with minimal if any wind. My observations led me to wonder if the compass readings could have been distorted in some way. I ended up taking a fairly strong magnet and waving it in all directions around both the back primary compass and the front secondary compass while viewing the sensor/compass view showing a strong magnetic field. Thereafter I recalibrated the compass and performed multiple test flights. Problem solved!
Interesting that the sensor compass view showed slightly higher average numbers in some directions than others when yawing before the degaussing. After degaussing the average numbers were for the most part uniform when yawing in all directions. These higher numbers also corresponded to compass bearings that were more problematic for backward drift.
As to what caused the compass distortion, I can only guess. Possibly sitting it on top of a laptop while charging. Maybe the magnets in a fan I used to help cool the Mavic got too close during FW updates and other testing. (How long will that little internal fan last?) Magnets are in many devices.
Anyhow..I wanted to share this in the hope that it could help someone experiencing similar "yaw drift" problems, or at the very least create an awareness of where not to sit your Mavic. I would advise if attempting to resolve a similar problem using a magnet to use extreme caution so as to not make the problem worse. At least in my case it saved a trip to the dreaded DJI repair facility.
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