How often should I calibrate my MA2 ( compass and IMU) ?

[mattitech07]

Hi guys , when it comes to calibrating I've always tought I should not calibrate my drone unless the app tells me to or the drone is visibly having problems. I have never calibrated my mavic air 2 (not even at the first use ) and I didn't have problems . Same thing for my previous drone ,the dji spark. The only time I calibrated both IMU and compass was when I crashed it , cause when the accident occured the drone was clearly disoriented. The reason why I do this is because a bad or unnecessary calibration can do more bad than good , basically : If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But at this point I'm starting to wonder if this is the right way to keep my drone stable and safe because I see people calibrating way more often than I do .Am I risking my drone without knowing it ?

 

[Trippp]

I would follow any guidance DJI gives. If there's nothing in their manual, then give them a call. They surely have some good advice/guidance they feel is wise. T

 

[Meta4]

But at this point I'm starting to wonder if this is the right way to keep my drone stable and safe because I see people calibrating way more often than I do .Am I risking my drone without knowing it ?

If your drone is flying properly, there is no need to recalibrate anything.
It won't make anything "better" or safer.
Recalibrating the IMU might be required after a bad crash and recalibrating the compass is only needed after modifying the drone with any components that could change the magnetic field of the drone itself, or rebuilding it.

The people that you see recalibrating often, are only doing it because they don't understand what recalibration actually does or when it is needed.

 

[Exphantomflyer]

Hi guys , when it comes to calibrating I've always tought I should not calibrate my drone unless the app tells me to or the drone is visibly having problems. I have never calibrated my mavic air 2 (not even at the first use ) and I didn't have problems . Same thing for my previous drone ,the dji spark. The only time I calibrated both IMU and compass was when I crashed it , cause when the accident occured the drone was clearly disoriented. The reason why I do this is because a bad or unnecessary calibration can do more bad than good , basically : If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But at this point I'm starting to wonder if this is the right way to keep my drone stable and safe because I see people calibrating way more often than I do .Am I risking my drone without knowing it ?

DJI recommend compass Cal only if you have moved a signifigant distance since you last flew, I flew for 2 years all round the North of the Uk and only had to calibrate when I went to Portugal and then when I returned to the UK

 

[Marcass Carcass]

The AC should tell ya what to do. Probably a waste of time but I do both imu/compass cals every few months, just to keep em real fresh....lol also vision systems, although, I don't use them, except the bottom ones anyway...

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

When the software asks you to.
I can vaguely recall being asked to calibrate the compass once in 4-1/2 years on the Mavic Pro.
Never in the same time on my Spark.
I think it recognises when it’s taken to a significantly different magnetic field, area if declination and asks you to ‘do the dance’.

 

[Yaros]

I do calibrate the compass when flying 100 km away from my last location just to be safe!
I don't calibrate IMU unless I crash it or I encounter an issue.
A month ago I was having an issue with the gimbal tilting after some minutes of flight in a specific place, calibrated the gimbal both automatically and manually many times, didn't help. The solution was extremely unexpected and weird: I calibrated the IMU in the place where the gimbal issue was happening and the issue was gone!!

So you can calibrate the compass when you fly in a different place, have attached something to your drone (like a strobe) or after a crash.

The IMU needs to be calibrated only if you are having issues.

Also, this video might help:

 

[Michael Ainsworth]

Mavic Pro and Air 2, never calibrated even out of the box. Flown many different locations.
Personally, I will only calibrate if/when the warnings come up.

 

[Geofff]

Mavic Pro and Air 2, never calibrated even out of the box. Flown many different locations.
Personally, I will only calibrate if/when the warnings come up.

Same here. Never been alerted to calibrate and never had any problems.

 

[Meta4]

DJI recommend compass Cal only if you have moved a signifigant distance since you last flew, I flew for 2 years all round the North of the Uk and only had to calibrate when I went to Portugal and then when I returned to the UK

That's completely unnecessary.
Travelling any distance makes no difference at all to your compass calibration and you could have safely ignored it for your trip.
DJI used to make that (completely incorrect) recommendation in some older manuals, but have dropped it completely now.

 

[Meta4]

I do calibrate the compass when flying 100 km away from my last location just to be safe!

It's completely unnecessary and doesn't make anything any safer

Also, this video might help:

It won't as the video guy has no understanding of what compass calibration does or when it might be necessary (almost never).
He's just pushing old myths that should have dies long ago.

 

[Yaros]

It's completely unnecessary and doesn't make anything any safer

It won't as the video guy has no understanding of what compass calibration does or when it might be necessary (almost never).
He's just pushing old myths that should have dies long ago.

Whatever you say, again that's your opinion.
If you didn't have any problems not calibrating doesn't mean you never will. I had, for example...
I will not try to argue with you, or contradict, but I always prefer to spend 30 extra seconds to calibrate just in case, it will not make the situation worse anyway...

And let's not forget about what the manual says:

 

[Meta4]

Whatever you say, again that's your opinion.

It's not an opinion, it's fact.
Read the first post in this thread to learn what compass calibration actually does and when you might actually need to do it, and why it has nothing to do with where you are or how far you have travelled:

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

If you didn't have any problems not calibrating doesn't mean you never will. I had, for example...

I will not try to argue with you, or contradict, but I always prefer to spend 30 extra seconds to calibrate just in case, it will not make the situation worse anyway...

This is the kind of thing that's said by people that don't understand what compass calibration actually does.
Understanding how your drone works will make your flying safer.
Read the post I linked above to educate yourself.

And let's not forget about what the manual says:

I'm well aware of what DJI has said in their manuals about compass calibration and the confusion it has caused.
They have different messages in different manuals, even though the compass works exactly the same way in all of them.
For instance, there is no mention of any of that in the manual for the Mavic 3.
Their misinformation and has caused the myth.

 

[EricJT]

The best advice I received was to ensure your RC indicates enough GPS satellites acquired & home point acquired, and the AC's nose is pointing in the same direction as shown on the RC's display.