Easy one to answer this time. Callibration.

[Angelfire]

Hi Pilots,

Super fast delivery from Jessops, next day. So, all charged up, firmware done, but. With my original Phantom I had to do the twisty turny thing to calibrate the compass? to make sure it was stable in the air and so it could return to home. Now I have looked around the net and have got myself confused. Please advise, do I have to do the twisty turny rotate thingy with this Air 2. Cannot wait to get it outside and have a little fly. Exited, sure am.

 

[Oakley75]

Hi Pilots,

Super fast delivery from Jessops, next day. So, all charged up, firmware done, but. With my original Phantom I had to do the twisty turny thing to calibrate the compass? to make sure it was stable in the air and so it could return to home. Now I have looked around the net and have got myself confused. Please advise, do I have to do the twisty turny rotate thingy with this Air 2. Cannot wait to get it outside and have a little fly. Exited, sure am.

Yes you do. Horizontal and vertical both.

 

[Starz]

Compass has nothing to do with the stability of the aircraft.
That would involve the imu.

 

[Angelfire]

Yes you do. Horizontal and vertical both.
[/QUOTE

Many thanks, will do. Thank you for the answer an your time.

 

[Lurch003]

Hi Pilots,

Super fast delivery from Jessops, next day. So, all charged up, firmware done, but. With my original Phantom I had to do the twisty turny thing to calibrate the compass? to make sure it was stable in the air and so it could return to home. Now I have looked around the net and have got myself confused. Please advise, do I have to do the twisty turny rotate thingy with this Air 2. Cannot wait to get it outside and have a little fly. Exited, sure am.

If it asks you to calibrate, then calibrate. If it doesn't, don't

 

[Oakley75]

I like the rule of thumb to calibrate anytime you're 100 miles from the last calibration.

 

[coneslayer]

Mine has not not asked me to do any calibration and it flies perfectly. I'm in the "calibrate only if it asks, or there's a problem" camp.

 

[InvisibleName]

So here’s the ‘Official’ DJI User Manual statement on when to calibrate the compass:

It is recommended that the compass is calibrated in any of the following situations when flying outdoors:

1. Flying at a location further than 31 miles (50 km) away from the location the drone was last flown.
2. The aircraft has not been flown for more than 30 days.
3. A compass interference warning appears in DJI Fly and/or the aircraft status indicator blinks red and yellow alternatively.

DO NOT calibrate the compass in locations where magnetic interference may occur, such as close to magnetite deposits or large metallic structures such as parking structures, steel reinforced basements, bridges, cars, or scaffolding.

DO NOT carry objects (such as mobile phones) that contain ferromagnetic materials near the aircraft during calibration.

It is not necessary to calibrate the compass when flying indoors.

 

[k9kids]

If you choose to calibrate either the compass or IMU it will show you a step by step procedure to do so.

 

[old man mavic]

@Angelfire fire welcome to the forum, personally i would only calibrate IMU or Compass if asked to do so by the app on start up, in 400+flights on my MPP and 80+ on my MM i have only calibrated the IMU once on the MPP never on the MM, MPP compass once ,MM compass once,it seems we all have different opinions on the subject ,and you do what you are happy with ,its your drone

 

[Angelfire]

If you choose to calibrate either the compass or IMU it will show you a step by step procedure to do so.

Located this, in the start up menu. Many thanks for your time and the reply.

 

[GB1Yorkshire1]

Yes, it’s called calibration! All GPS enabled devices have to know where “home” is!
If you paid substantially more for a military grade unit, then it would have stored maps internally so once it had acquired a GPS signal and had the correct map then it knows! So unless you have a deep bank account, then it’s the GPS dance for you

 

[Meta4]

Hi Pilots,

Super fast delivery from Jessops, next day. So, all charged up, firmware done, but. With my original Phantom I had to do the twisty turny thing to calibrate the compass? to make sure it was stable in the air and so it could return to home. Now I have looked around the net and have got myself confused. Please advise, do I have to do the twisty turny rotate thingy with this Air 2. Cannot wait to get it outside and have a little fly. Exited, sure am.

Compass calibration is probably the most misunderstood aspect of drone flying.
Many flyers have no idea what it actually does or when it might be needed.
DJI contribute to the confusion with contradictory and sometimes incorrect information in their manuals.
Much of what's already been written in this thread is misleading or incorrect.

If your manual didn't suggest calibrating anything before use, it's probably not necessary.
I'd suggest reading the start of this thread to get some accurate information before being confused by what's been suggested here so far.

A short explanation of compass function, calibration and errors.

BACKGROUND The aircraft compass is often misunderstood, both in terms of function and purpose, but it is important to understand what the compass measures, why, and what happens to that information. At the most basic level the purpose of the compass is to measure the earth’s magnetic field in...

mavicpilots.com

 

[Meta4]

Yes, it’s called calibration! All GPS enabled devices have to know where “home” is!
If you paid substantially more for a military grade unit, then it would have stored maps internally so once it had acquired a GPS signal and had the correct map then it knows! So unless you have a deep bank account, then it’s the GPS dance for you

This is a good example of the confusion and misinformation that comes up whenever the topic is discussed.

FYI Calibrating the compass has nothing at all to do with GPS.
There is no "GPS dance" and nothing you can do that adjusts, calibrates or modifies anything related to your GPS.
Calibrating the compass does not tell GPS or any other drone component where it is.
The GPS unit identifies its location from GPS data received from a network of satellites.
Maps don't come from GPS, they only supply position data.

I'd suggest reading the link I posted in #13 to get some accurate information.

 

[Meta4]

So here’s the ‘Official’ DJI User Manual statement on when to calibrate the compass:

DJI manuals contain confused, contradictory and inaccurate information when it comes to compass calibration.
The link I posted in #13 dispels some of the misinformation that always comes up with this topic.

 

[Meta4]

I like the rule of thumb to calibrate anytime you're 100 miles from the last calibration.

There's nothing factual behind that "rule of thumb"
Read the link I posted in #13 for accurate information.

 

[Starz]

Two summers ago I took a p4p from Arizona to New York and back.Never calibrated a compass. Never saw a message that said I needed to do the spin thing.
I let the information provided by the aircraft tell me what is needed and when.