Air 3S drifting uncontrollably

[Paul Harvey]

Does it drift upward only after an up command with the stick and drift downward only after a down command?

Does it ever drift upward and then downward or vice versa, with no stick movement?

All the time, that's my problem! Thanks.

 

[Paul Harvey]

Hey everyone, I just found more oddness...this morning, as it was drifting up, I shot some panos. They all came out perfectly! I take that to mean it stopped ascending to shoot the panos.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

I do not see in any of his posts that anything was attached.

Sorry My bad, When he said yes I thought he as answering the previous post asking if he had anything attached. Will delete that question

 

[slup]

It's a lot of guessing now... & that will likely not solve your problem I'm afraid.

So repeating the questions from post #11...

...Have you attached something to the drone that can be seen by the VPS sensor on the belly of the drone?

Share a .txt flight log from a flight showing this behaviour so we can compare the VPS & barometric height readings.

 

[Cafguy]

are your sensors clean and how do you clean them.

 

[Paul Harvey]

It's a lot of guessing now... & that will likely not solve your problem I'm afraid.

So repeating the questions from post #11...

This behavior really sounds like something is interfering with the VPS sensor, making the drone constantly believing that something is closer than 0,5m below it... & by that tries to ascend away from it.

The constant descent following a longer descent stick command indicate the same... the drone sees something closer than 0,5m & goes into landing mode.

Have you attached something to the drone that can be seen by the VPS sensor on the belly of the drone?

Share a .txt flight log from a flight showing this behaviour so we can compare the VPS & barometric height readings.

I have landing gear attached to the bottom, but I've always used them on my drones and have never had a problem. I've had them on since I got the 3S and this just started a few days ago.

I don't know how to generate a .txt file :/

Thanks, I'll try taking the gear off.

 

[Paul Harvey]

Does it drift upward only after an up command with the stick and drift downward only after a down command?

Does it ever drift upward and then downward or vice versa, with no stick movement?

No, it always starts when I take off and continues from there. I have to pull back to stop ascent then push forward to stop the descent. Rinse and repeat.

Thank you.

 

[Paul Harvey]

are your sensors clean and how do you clean them.

I've never cleaned them (on any of my drones). But this thing is pretty new, they shouldn't be that dirty. Plus, wouldn't both the upward and downward sensors be dirty? Oh well, I'll clean 'em anyway. Thanks.

 

[Meta4]

I don't know how to generate a .txt file :/

To post your flight data there are a couple of options ...

1. Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.
or
2. Just post the .txt file here
or
3. If you use Airdata, you can view the flight data on Airdata and post a link for the Airdata report

If you are using one of the controllers with an integrated screen, the txt files are to be found here:
Android\data\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord

 

[Paul Harvey]

It's a lot of guessing now... & that will likely not solve your problem I'm afraid.

So repeating the questions from post
This behavior really sounds like something is interfering with the VPS sensor, making the drone constantly believing that something is closer than 0,5m below it... & by that tries to ascend away from it.

The constant descent following a longer descent stick command indicate the same... the drone sees something closer than 0,5m & goes into landing mode.

Have you attached something to the drone that can be seen by the VPS sensor on the belly of the drone?

Share a .txt flight log from a flight showing this behaviour so we can compare the VPS & barometric height readings.

 

[Paul Harvey]

I do believe you got it! Turns out there was a tiny bit of velcro impeding the sensor. Don't know how all-of-a-sudden it started doing this, but when I removed the velcro everything went back to normal All is well now!

Thanks so much!
Livingston

 

[Cafguy]

I've never cleaned them (on any of my drones). But this thing is pretty new, they shouldn't be that dirty. Plus, wouldn't both the upward and downward sensors be dirty? Oh well, I'll clean 'em anyway. Thanks.

if you have touched them with a finger the oil you leave behind is enough to make your sensors useless once the dust from start-up hits the glass.

 

[Cafguy]

I have landing gear attached to the bottom

make sure it is well clear of the sensor and that the gear does not "shade" the sensors

 

[Paul Harvey]

To post your flight data there are a couple of options ...

1. Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.
or
2. Just post the .txt file here
or
3. If you use Airdata, you can view the flight data on Airdata and post a link for the Airdata report

If you are using one of the controllers with an integrated screen, the txt files are to be found here:
Android\data\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord

Thanks!

 

[Matt W]

I’m assuming you are getting enough gps satellites before you take off and that you have no error codes like IMU or Barometer error. To me, after reading about remote controller calibration being done, I would suspect your IMU is bad and would replace it.

 

[Paul Harvey]

The IMU calibrated fine and I got no error messages. Thanks to the people here, I found the problem. The bottom sensor was partly shaded by a very small piece of velcro. Thanks!

 

[Upstate NY Drone Guy]

Sounds like a problem with the remote. One test you can try is while you a ascending try to just barely touch to joystick in the down direction and see if at some point it hovers. Could be the center of the joystick is not quite locking in.

 

[Paul Harvey]

Sounds like a problem with the remote. One test you can try is while you a ascending try to just barely touch to joystick in the down direction and see if at some point it hovers. Could be the center of the joystick is not quite locking in.

Yes, I tried that. Never could get it to hover :/ Thanks to this forum, I found the answer. The bottom sensor was partially blocked. Removed the block and all is well. Thanks!

 

[1gratefulflyingdawg]

Have you had any luck resolving the issue?

 

[Paul Harvey]

Have you had any luck resolving the issue?

Yes. Thanks to the people here, the problem is solved! Removing my landing gear solved it. Unfortunately, a new problem has appeared: whenever I try a Mastershot or quick shot the controller says, "Obstacle Detected, quick shot cancelled." The sky was completely clear of any obstacles. Don't know what that's about, it never did that before :/ Thanks for responding.