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How many satellites needed for safe flight for the Mini?

Bernie707

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I’ve noticed that the UAV app indicates it’s not safe to fly when less than 12 satellites are locked in but I didn’t see a required minimum number cited in the user manual unless I missed it. I had a Hubsan gps drone and six satellites were considered the minimum. Is there a minimum number for the mini or is the only indication the number of bars and the presence of the gps icon at the top the fly app display?
 
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seems 10 is a good minimum but wait till it says good to fly and the home point message has been said
 
My GPS on the mini will not connect unless I have nine satellites. But it is not very accurate at that. It seems I need 12, or better.
 
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I’ve noticed that the UAV app indicates it’s not safe to fly when less than 12 satellites are locked in but I didn’t see a required minimum number cited in the user manual unless I missed it. I had a Hubsan gps drone and six satellites were considered the minimum. Is there a minimum number for the mini or is the only indication the number of bars and the presence of the gps icon at the top the fly app display?
It's not as simple as a single magic number.
As well as the minimum number, you also need to have a good spread of satellites across the sky.
If satellites were clumped together rather than spread, they won't provide accurate position data.
 
For me, 10 is a good minimum. If home point is identified, I am comfortable to initiate flight. Mind you, I find the number can fluctuate while in flight, due to obstacles, location and all sorts of variables that I am not aware of. So, for me, the more the merrier. Enjoy your flying.
 
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It also depends on the position of the satellite relative to the horizon. A satellite may be visible but not be used by the drone if its angle is less than 5 to 10 ° ...
 
listen to your controller. If you've never heard home point recorded and you've launched you have been lucky. Usually in the air the drone has an unobstructed view. If you are flying in a canyon of buildings or under tree's...bring along a box to hold all the pieces ;) sorry for being so blunt.
 
@RickinWaST: No, it is not in the manual. UAV Forecast (UAV Forecast) explains as follow what is the GPS elevation mask:
" The elevation of a satellite is how high above the horizon it appears to be at a given point in time at your location. GPS satellites that are at low elevation are close to the horizon and are more likely to be obscured by nearby buildings or hills, making it more difficult for your GPS receiver to get a lock. The GPS Elevation Mask lets you count how many satellites are actually visible from your location, by excluding all satellites whose elevations are below the threshold value.
The default value (5°) is suitable for most locations. If there are many tall buildings or mountains at the forecast location, you might want to increase the mask. Note also that most UAV GPS receivers (e.g. the 3DR uBlox modules) use an internal elevation mask of (5°), and ignore any satellites below that elevation even if the receiver has a good signal for that satellite.
Note that the actual number of satellites visible may vary during your flight. For example, even if the tool predicts only 9 satellites, you might see as many as 10 or 11 when you are at higher altitudes and away from nearby buildings."
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies to my post. I never considered the orientation of the satellites. The comments about the confirmation of the home point is a good tip. I noticed that the number of satellites is displayed in small print on the fly app. I would have had my first flight today but the winds were quite brisk. Sometime soon though I hope.
 

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