Calibration didn't work in Argentina

[Gregastro]

Hi fellow drone enthusiasts,
Last month, I went to Argentina with my wife and a number of other eclipse chasers to see the total solar eclipse. Just incredible! I've attached a photo I got of the 'diamond ring' just as the eclipse was ending, taken with my DSLRs, with the Andes mountains.
My question/conundrum.. I brought my DJI Mavic Air with me, hoping to get what I thought would have been an epic shot/movie from the air, with my group in the foreground and the eclipse and Andes in the background. The problem - I couldn't get the drone to calibrate! I first attempted the calibration quite a number of times the day before the eclipse, probably trying it 30-40 times in all sorts of different ways. Then I tried it again when we got to the eclipse observation site (just in the rain shadow of the Andes), again doing it a couple dozen times, before I finally gave up.
Although I didn't have any internet signal the second time, I did on the first. The database was up to date, the app was up to date - nothing needed to be done apart from the usual calibration dance. I wondered if it could have been a problem being in the Southern Hemisphere and changed the attitude of the drone in various ways when attempting calibration, but that didn't help. I looked and there were plenty of GPS satellites available so that wasn't an issue.
Has anyone else had this problem before? Any ideas on the cause of it, or how to solve it? There's actually another total solar eclipse in Argentina in December of next year (in Patagonia this time) and I'd love to bring my drone, but I won't do it until I know it's going to work.
Any help would be enormously appreciated. Oh - I just tried it here in California and it's now working just fine, just as usual.
Thanks much in advance,
Greg

 

[Meta4]

Although I didn't have any internet signal the second time, I did on the first. The database was up to date, the app was up to date - nothing needed to be done apart from the usual calibration dance.

What usual calibration dance?
Did the drone ask you to recalibrate it?
Did you try to fly?

I wondered if it could have been a problem being in the Southern Hemisphere and changed the attitude of the drone in various ways when attempting calibration, but that didn't help. I looked and there were plenty of GPS satellites available so that wasn't an issue.

Being in the southern hemisphere should have made no difference, people fly their Mavics there every day.
GPS or no GPS makes no difference to the compass.

 

[The Editor]

What usual calibration dance?
Did the drone ask you to recalibrate it?
Did you try to fly?

Being in the southern hemisphere should have made no difference, people fly their Mavics there every day.
GPS or no GPS makes no difference to the compass.

The Air will not allow you to take off unless you calibrate the magnetometer when it asks you.

Actually, on the Air, the GPS DOES have an effect on the compass.
Once GPS/GLONAS positional data is obtained, if the distance travelled since last fix is more than 50km/31mls the compass will ask for a calibration (whether it needs it or not).
It is a bug bear/pita idiosyncracy of the Mavic Air.
Even if compass bias is all in the green and maybe only reading, 5-20 it still asks for a calibration and will not arm the motors until you do.
Moving the aircraft to a different location has no effect.

 

[Meta4]

The Air will not allow you to take off unless you calibrate the magnetometer when it asks you.

The OP made no mention of any request from the app.
I was asking to find out if the app asked for recalibration.

Actually, on the Air, the GPS DOES have an effect on the compass.

GPS sats or not makes no difference to the ability to recalibrate the compass.

 

[The Editor]

The OP made no mention of any request from the app.
I was asking to find out if the app asked for recalibration.

GPS sats or not makes no difference to the ability to recalibrate the compass.

You didn't say that in your post you said "GPS or no GPS makes no difference to the compass"
Whilst having a GPS fix is not a pre requisite to being able to calibrate the compass, on the Air they are intrinsically linked (via firmware) to force you to calibrate if a pre defined distance is travelled since last fix.

 

[Meta4]

You didn't say that in your post you said "GPS or no GPS makes no difference to the compass"
Whilst having a GPS fix is not a pre requisite to being able to calibrate the compass, on the Air they are intrinsically linked (via firmware) to force you to calibrate if a pre defined distance is travelled since last fix.

I'm more than aware of that.
Do you have anything helpful to say to the OP?

 

[The Editor]

I'm more than aware of that.
Do you have anything helpful to say?

My helpful comment was clarifying your statement.

 

[Meta4]

My helpful comment was clarifying your statement.

You've done nothing to help the OP understand the issue but probably added to his confusion.

 

[The Editor]

You've done nothing to help the OP understand the issue but probably added to his confusion.

If you say so.

 

[Gregastro]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.
I'm left with the quandary of why my Mavic Air didn't calibrate. I went through the usual motions (always successful here in California), but they didn't work at all in Argentina. I made sure there were no magnetic materials nearby, nor electrical wires, rebar, etc. Particularly in the second attempted location, there was nothing metal at all, and I kept the drone away from my iPhone and as far away from me physically as possible, and it still wouldn't calibrate. When I got back home, the first time I tried it, it calibrated properly immediately - just as it always has done before. So I'm left with the conclusion that there was something unusual about the location. Was it the country itself? Was it being in the Southern Hemisphere? I'm quite keen to know - there's another total solar eclipse next year, also in Chile and Argentina (about 1000km further south) and I'd love to bring my drone but will only do so if I've solved this problem.

Thanks for any additional ideas,

Greg

 

[Meta4]

Was it the country itself? Was it being in the Southern Hemisphere?

No and No. People fly Mavics, even Mavic Airs every day of the year in the southern hemisphere and southern South America.
Your drone should be good for anywhere except polar regions.

I'm quite keen to know - there's another total solar eclipse next year, also in Chile and Argentina (about 1000km further south) and I'd love to bring my drone but will only do so if I've solved this problem.

A Mavic Air would have to be about the worst possible camera to record a solar eclipse - but good for local scenery.

 

[bushie]

I recengtly took my Mavic pro from Australia to Thailand. First time i flew in Thailand i was told a calibration was required. First time this had happened. Same when i returned to Oz.

 

[Gregastro]

No and No. People fly Mavics, even Mavic Airs every day of the year in the southern hemisphere and southern South America.
Your drone should be good for anywhere except polar regions.

A Mavic Air would have to be about the worst possible camera to record a solar eclipse - but good for local scenery.

Actually for _this_ eclipse it would have been perfect - the idea was to get our (large) party, the foreground and background, the Andes mountains and the eclipse itself, all in a 4K video. From a relatively low altitude you would have also been able to see the rapidly advancing shadow of the Moon. For a close-up shot I agree, but for what I wanted to get it would have been ideal. For next year's eclipse though I won't be able to capture the eclipse itself (at a 70 degree elevation from where I'll be stationed) but will be able to get a good shot of the advancing shadow.

 

[Gregastro]

I recengtly took my Mavic pro from Australia to Thailand. First time i flew in Thailand i was told a calibration was required. First time this had happened. Same when i returned to Oz.

Thanks much for your reply! I presume the calibration worked OK in both places? My problem was that it refused to let me calibrate despite dozens of tries. Glad you were able to get yours to work!