Can flying near radio towers interfere with Mavic Pro?

[SpinItUp]

Were the 2nd takeoff in a different direction and home point?
1st TO: (with video) 'took off and went forward (with 13 Satellites), I suddenly got Compass error'
2nd TO: got a message pop up on the app saying 'Strong Wireless Interference. Fly with caution.'
They both played a part but the scary time was due to what was under the ground. IMO

Further evidence to support the theory
Armed with this information, and having taken a look at similar structures in the area, the team have since found two electrical insulators and cabling close to the structures

 

[FoxhallGH]

This is the tower. You couldn't fit any more antenna on it really!! A right transmission forest ...
The spike on the top looks like a VOR antenna (VHF Omni Ranging), which is not directional, but will be putting out quite a high wattage!

 

[SpinItUp]

Yeah the Freeview TV on top, just a repeater I think.
Or could be an ongoing soap

 

[Meta4]

This is the tower. You couldn't fit any more antenna on it really!! A right transmission forest ...
The spike on the top looks like a VOR antenna (VHF Omni Ranging), which is not directional, but will be putting out quite a high wattage!

That still doesn't account for the compass issue.
And you can get electromagnetic interference warnings simply flying close to a house so the warning alone doesn't mean much.

All the tower and its antennas could do is cause some interference, but not affect the compass at all.
At a distance of 200 metres, it might not have had any effect.

The OP has had 24 hours to post data if he was interested to find out what really happened (seems he doesn't care).

 

[adam3112]

That still doesn't account for the compass issue.
And you can get electromagnetic interference warnings simply flying close to a house so the warning alone doesn't mean much.

All the tower and its antennas could do is cause some interference, but not affect the compass at all.
At a distance of 200 metres, it might not have had any effect.

The OP has had 24 hours to post data if he was interested to find out what really happened (seems he doesn't care).

I do care, I've just been very busy today and the process for retrieving them on to my computer is longer (from IOS) than I would have liked but here it is (attached).

 

[Meta4]

I do care, I've just been very busy today and the process for retrieving them on to my computer is longer (from IOS) than I would have liked but here it is (attached).

Here's your flight data: DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
At 0:31.9 your drone developed a yaw error which threw it into atti mode so you lost horizontal position holding and braking ability.
You were lucky it only lasted until 0:42.2 and normal service was resumed.
You were lucky.
Yaw error incidents often go much worse and end badly.
The cause is almost always powering on the drone very close to a non-normal magnetic field such as on a steel or reinforced concrete surface.
The compass initialises within that field and when you get out of that field the trouble starts.
This is unrelated to anything the tower and its antennas could possibly be responsible for.

 

[FoxhallGH]

Except for electro-magnetically induced interference in the Mavic's ESC's causing motor problems perhaps?

 

[adam3112]

Here's your flight data: DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
At 0:31.9 your drone developed a yaw error which threw it into atti mode so you lost horizontal position holding and braking ability.
You were lucky it only lasted until 0:42.2 and normal service was resumed.
You were lucky.
Yaw error incidents often go much worse and end badly.
The cause is almost always powering on the drone very close to a non-normal magnetic field such as on a steel or reinforced concrete surface.
The compass initialises within that field and when you get out of that field the trouble starts.
This is unrelated to anything the tower and its antennas could possibly be responsible for.

Thanks Meta4 for this and everyone else for their help. I can only presume then that there is something under the ground in that field I was in, perhaps relating to the fort not too far away which my Mavic didn’t like?

Will have to recalibrate the Mavic when I next take it out to be sure it hasn’t thrown the compass and IMU out of place.

 

[adam3112]

Were the 2nd takeoff in a different direction and home point?
1st TO: (with video) 'took off and went forward (with 13 Satellites), I suddenly got Compass error'
2nd TO: got a message pop up on the app saying 'Strong Wireless Interference. Fly with caution.'
They both played a part but the scary time was due to what was under the ground. IMO

Further evidence to support the theory
Armed with this information, and having taken a look at similar structures in the area, the team have since found two electrical insulators and cabling close to the structures
View attachment 52352

Hi Spinitup I nearly missed your question. The home point was the same but it landed in a slightly different place (maybe about 5 ft away) from the 1st take off point so Precision landing didnt do a very good job on this occasion lol.

So to answer your question, the 2nd takeoff point was different by about 5 ft. Perhaps that made all the difference on the 2nd flight?

 

[Meta4]

Thanks Meta4 for this and everyone else for their help. I can only presume then that there is something under the ground in that field I was in, perhaps relating to the fort not too far away which my Mavic didn’t like?
Will have to recalibrate the Mavic when I next take it out to be sure it hasn’t thrown the compass and IMU out of place.

Was it flying properly last flight?
If so, there's no need to recalibrate anything.
Don't mess around with the IMU and compass if things are already working well.

Except for electro-magnetically induced interference in the Mavic's ESC's causing motor problems perhaps?

No ... this was exclusively a compass issue.

 

[FoxhallGH]

To help put this one to bed, I asked the following question of DJI Support:
I would like your opinion please regarding a discussion taking place on the 'Mavic Pilots' Forum [Can flying near radio towers interfere with Mavic Pro?] where a pilot has highlighted a problem which 'may' be due to some form of interference from a telecommunications tower about 200 metres from his takeoff point. Can you advise if the Mavic Pro could be susceptible to electro-magnetic interference from the antennas on the tower please? As the manufacturer, what is your recommendation regarding flying [or not!] at sites like this??
... and got the following fairly generic answer:
Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.
We do appreciate your interest in our DJI Products, we would be glad to accommodate your request. Best regard that we will find a way to assist you.
Any kind of signal body structures can affect or interfere the connection of your drone and remote controller. Technically, we do not recommend consumers to fly the drone near any possible interference to ensure its security and to make sure that there will be no possible signal loosing in the mid air. As the nature of the area is a huge factor, you need to make sure also that you are calibrating the drone's IMU and Compass, always, every flight, for the drone to adopt on its current location - this will not mess up its IMU and compass. You can also check around manual channels with strong receptions under HD settings if you want to make sure of the stability of the signal.
For emergencies or any sudden disconnection, you have to make sure that you set up and you are aware of the RC Signal Lost Feature of the drone under Remote Controller settings. You can choose between Hover, Land or Return to Home.
You can fly your MavicPro Platinum in ATTI MODE, but please be remind that you need to be vigilant flying your drone under this features. ATTITUDE mode turn-off's all the features and sensors of your drone. ATTI mode flies without GPS signal, it is independently flying with the coordination of the controller in other words Manual Piloting.
The best thing to do is to always put in mind that you have to stay away of any possible interference even tested or not, interference can affect drone's performance in the mid air.
If you need any further information/assistance, please do not hesitate to reply to this email. We are hoping that we assist you well today, have a safe flight!
Best Regards,
Jerome L.

 

[Meta4]

To help put this one to bed, I asked the following question of DJI Support:...

The moderators over there are about the last people you'd ask for accurate info.
They are very polite but don't fly drones, they don't know drones and their communication skills don't go far beyond copy/paste.

 

[FoxhallGH]

The moderators over there are about the last people you'd ask for accurate info.
They are very polite but don't fly drones, they don't know drones and their communication skills don't go far beyond copy/paste.

Hey - I know that - but you have to ask

 

[FoxhallGH]

Interesting though ... I don't know how useful this little bit of info is ... "You can also check around manual channels with strong receptions under HD settings if you want to make sure of the stability of the signal." ... Maybe that's telling us we can get some indication of the level of interference from the Go 4 app????

 

[adam3112]

To help put this one to bed, I asked the following question of DJI Support:
I would like your opinion please regarding a discussion taking place on the 'Mavic Pilots' Forum [Can flying near radio towers interfere with Mavic Pro?] where a pilot has highlighted a problem which 'may' be due to some form of interference from a telecommunications tower about 200 metres from his takeoff point. Can you advise if the Mavic Pro could be susceptible to electro-magnetic interference from the antennas on the tower please? As the manufacturer, what is your recommendation regarding flying [or not!] at sites like this??
... and got the following fairly generic answer:
Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.
We do appreciate your interest in our DJI Products, we would be glad to accommodate your request. Best regard that we will find a way to assist you.
Any kind of signal body structures can affect or interfere the connection of your drone and remote controller. Technically, we do not recommend consumers to fly the drone near any possible interference to ensure its security and to make sure that there will be no possible signal loosing in the mid air. As the nature of the area is a huge factor, you need to make sure also that you are calibrating the drone's IMU and Compass, always, every flight, for the drone to adopt on its current location - this will not mess up its IMU and compass. You can also check around manual channels with strong receptions under HD settings if you want to make sure of the stability of the signal.
For emergencies or any sudden disconnection, you have to make sure that you set up and you are aware of the RC Signal Lost Feature of the drone under Remote Controller settings. You can choose between Hover, Land or Return to Home.
You can fly your MavicPro Platinum in ATTI MODE, but please be remind that you need to be vigilant flying your drone under this features. ATTITUDE mode turn-off's all the features and sensors of your drone. ATTI mode flies without GPS signal, it is independently flying with the coordination of the controller in other words Manual Piloting.
The best thing to do is to always put in mind that you have to stay away of any possible interference even tested or not, interference can affect drone's performance in the mid air.
If you need any further information/assistance, please do not hesitate to reply to this email. We are hoping that we assist you well today, have a safe flight!
Best Regards,
Jerome L.

Thanks FoxhallGH for going to DJI. I do think there is some truth in what they have said as I would find it hard to believe they are there sharing false info about their own products. It most likely explains the Wireless interference message I was getting on the second takeoff.

In general, would you say hand launching a drone instead of taking off on the ground is safer in terms of reducing the chance of it losing GPS / compass issues? (I know this doesn't relate to Radio Towers) But for example, could I hand launch my Mavic whilst standing on a concrete surface with the assurance that something under my feet is not going to interfere with it?


Edit: removed Duplication (My Computer's playing up.)

 

[FoxhallGH]

Strangely enough, you'd be more likely to get a compass error on a concrete surface due to the likelihood that it had steel reinforcing rods and/or mesh in it. Especially if it was designed as a staging point for vehicles. The steel reinforcing will almost certainly cause a compass error. Get yourself a fold-up landing pad so you can put it on grass and protect the drone from sucking up dirt through its fan, and hitting the grass with the prop's - and then launch from grass where you can. In my opinion, the more time you can give your Drone to sort itself out and report back that it's 'green to Go' - the more accurate you'll get your flight characteristics, and also, you'll get better 'Return to Home'. Hand launching is OK, but don't rush it!

 

[Congoblue]

Meta4, you are incorrect saying that strong radio signals will not disrupt electronic compass sensors. My job is testing what happens to electronic devices when electromagnetic signals hit them. There are standard limits set below which devices must not be affected (this is part of the CE certification). But a radio transmission tower can far exceed these limits even several hundred metres away, and unexpected behaviour of the electronics is quite possible. I have seen microcontrollers execute code incorrectly and all sorts of weird stuff.

Of course you could also be right that it's metal in the ground. But flying near radio masts is asking for trouble.

 

[FoxhallGH]

Meta4, you are incorrect saying that strong radio signals will not disrupt electronic compass sensors. My job is testing what happens to electronic devices when electromagnetic signals hit them. There are standard limits set below which devices must not be affected (this is part of the CE certification). But a radio transmission tower can far exceed these limits even several hundred metres away, and unexpected behaviour of the electronics is quite possible. I have seen microcontrollers execute code incorrectly and all sorts of weird stuff.

Of course you could also be right that it's metal in the ground. But flying near radio masts is asking for trouble.

Thanks Congoblue ... I've been feeling quite lonely on this one!

 

[Meta4]

Meta4, you are incorrect saying that strong radio signals will not disrupt electronic compass sensors. My job is testing what happens to electronic devices when electromagnetic signals hit them. There are standard limits set below which devices must not be affected (this is part of the CE certification). But a radio transmission tower can far exceed these limits even several hundred metres away, and unexpected behaviour of the electronics is quite possible. I have seen microcontrollers execute code incorrectly and all sorts of weird stuff.

Of course you could also be right that it's metal in the ground. But flying near radio masts is asking for trouble.

DJI drones very rarely do all sorts of weird stuff and are very predictable.
There are a couple of million of them out there so we have a pretty good idea how they respond to various interference sources and what causes various flight incidents and behaviour.
The symptoms of his flight were completely consistent with problems caused by the ground where he launched and did not show in the rest of that flight or the subsequent one. which seems to be a very strong sign that the tower had nothing to do with it.
The suggestions that the tower was to blame were all guesses (mostly from people with no idea) and no evidence or analysis to support them.

 

[FoxhallGH]

DJI drones very rarely do all sorts of weird stuff and are very predictable.
There are a couple of million of them out there so we have a pretty good idea how they respond to various interference sources and what causes various flight incidents and behaviour.
The symptoms of his flight were completely consistent with problems caused by the ground where he launched and did not show in the rest of that flight or the subsequent one. which seems to be a very strong sign that the tower had nothing to do with it.
The suggestions that the tower was to blame were all guesses (mostly from people with no idea) and no evidence or analysis to support them.

Hi Meta4 - thanks for the generalisation ... I've told you in an earlier post above, that I was trained & worked as a Telecommunications Engineer by the Civil Aviation Authority, and have worked on HF, VHF, UHF, microwave and Radar systems - built communications towers, and serviced all kinds of antenna systems ... And our friend Congoblue above has told us that his job, is actually testing what happens to electronic devices when elecromagnetic signals hit them ... Please do us the common courtesy to not call us "mostly from people who have no idea" - and also tell us what qualifications you are basing your 'theories' on ... If you have some professional experience and qualifications to put some weight behind what you say, then please do - as I'd like to actually learn something from the issue that Adam3112 has brought to us rather than just make noises ... Otherwise we may as well just blame this on Medieval ghosts in the Reigate Hill Fort!