Compass not reading correctly ??

[Smerz]

Hey everyone ....in my go 4 app the little circle in the bottom left corner of the screen that is supposed to help you face your controller towards your drone is tottally off r me by about 45 degrees how do i fix this ?? Did a compass calibration and imu ?? Thank you in advance for the help

 

[sar104]

That's a problem with your mobile device compass, not your aircraft compass.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Good you caught it, this is the sort of thing that causes fly aways, totally uncontrollable flyaways.
Be good to hear peoples answers, mine is always right orientation on the map, but to fix it fast will be good to have in mind if it ever is out.

Couple of questions . . . did you get any compass error warning ?
did you move away a bit to another launch place and try again ?

Could have been something there where you were launching from causing a compass deviation.

 

[Smerz]

Good you caught it, this is the sort of thing that causes fly aways, totally uncontrollable flyaways.
Be good to hear peoples answers, mine is always right orientation on the map, but to fix it fast will be good to have in mind if it ever is out.

Couple of questions . . . did you get any compass error warning ?
did you move away a bit to another launch place and try again ?

Could have been something there where you were launching from causing a compass deviation.

No no errors and nothing i did different i never really even used it i usaully just used the map but today i flew over 13000 feet away and didnt exactly know the precise direction to point the controller so i remembered about the compass thingy and when i went to use it it was way off ?? Someone said that clould be the compass in my phone ??

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

No no errors and nothing i did different i never really even used it i usaully just used the map but today i flew over 13000 feet away and didnt exactly know the precise direction to point the controller so i remembered about the compass thingy and when i went to use it it was way off ?? Someone said that clould be the compass in my phone ??

Yes, saw sar104 reply above, interesting . . . I have a few nav maps on the phone, and occasionally the option to have direction of travel up (the most used) shows 180 degree error, sometime 90 or 270 degree.

I have checked the compass app on the phone (iPhone) and sure enough it was out too, but corrected, back to map and it's pointing right.
Sometimes I leave the map with the error, after a short (usually varying) time,, it swings back to right orientation.

So yes, maybe check that if it happens again, I know I will check that if I ever find my map red arrow not pointing where it should be before flight.

 

[sar104]

No no errors and nothing i did different i never really even used it i usaully just used the map but today i flew over 13000 feet away and didnt exactly know the precise direction to point the controller so i remembered about the compass thingy and when i went to use it it was way off ?? Someone said that clould be the compass in my phone ??

As I mentioned above, if the problem is with the indication of the direction of the aircraft from the controller (determined by the location of the aircraft and the mobile device compass), rather than the direction that the aircraft is pointing (determined by the aircraft compass), then that problem is with the mobile device compass. It could be that it needs calibrating, or it could be that it is being affected by the Hall Effect sensors in the controller itself. It's a common problem.

 

[Smerz]

Yea the map is fine its just the blue compass circle thing thats off no big deal but i was just curious y it was off thanks again

 

[DanMan32]

I've yet to encounter an Android phone/tablet that doesn't regularly need compass calibration. I suppose the reasoning is that the phone is constantly subjected to magnetic/ferrus influence. I also suspect the Androids constantly calibrate since you can do the figure 8 anytime without going into a specific calibration mode. If that's the case then the Android could easily maladjust itself.

Mobile cases and hoods may have metal or magnets which will of course affect the mobile compass

Another factor is if the mobile is near vertical when viewing it. That's like holding a mechanical compass vertical which of course won't work. Granted mobile devices do have a 3D magnetic sensor.

On the radar/map, north should always be north with respect to the AC, even if it shows left when you yourself are facing north.

 

[Moose1967]

Ya it is misleading - I use it only to tell whether drone is facing me and where it is in the air space if I lose sight of it.

I practice flying without my mobile device as well and I am used to the telemetry data on the controller (mp).

Once my mobile device shut off - I hit RTH and once I saw it, I cancelled RTH and brought it home manually.

 

[Smerz]

Yes I never really used it in the first place I always know the basic direction of my drone but this time I was just extra far away and started losing signal strength so I wanted to point the controller d directly at the drone and it was saying the drone was north west instead of northeast I basically knew where it was just wanted to be exact and that obviously wasn't happening .. And my phone sucks anyway so I don't trust it need to get a better viewing device for the m2pro think I'm going to get a iPad mini 5 ???

 

[The Editor]

No no errors and nothing i did different i never really even used it i usaully just used the map but today i flew over 13000 feet away and didnt exactly know the precise direction to point the controller so i remembered about the compass thingy and when i went to use it it was way off ?? Someone said that clould be the compass in my phone ??

Where on Earth do you live that allows UAV flight out to 13000ft?
Do you reside somewhere that has BVLOS flight legal within the NAS?

 

[Dan C]

Where on Earth do you live that allows UAV flight out to 13000ft?
Do you reside somewhere that has BVLOS flight legal within the NAS?

He’s a VIP doing a PC on the QT about the VC. Non-VLOS is OK unless your drone goes MIA, then you’ll get KP.