How set RTH?

[guthrie]

Simple beginners question; I see in several places - "Set your RTH position", and sometimes that the app will report "RTH set (audio & on-screen)", but is there some manual process to force this?

I have seen the "hover at 10m" (with >10 GPS) advice, but does this mean that one should do this every time, and wait for the app to announce that RTH is set?

The manual just says:
" If a strong GPS signal was acquired before takeoff, the Home Point is the location from which the aircraft launched. The GPS signal strength is indicated by the GPS icon ( ). The Aircraft Status Indicator will blink green quickly when the Home Point is recorded."

It does not indicate any specific action needed...

 

[Meta4]

I see in several places - "Set your RTH position", and sometimes that the app will report "RTH set (audio & on-screen)", but is there some manual process to force this?

RTH position? Do you mean your home point?
The Mavic will automatically record it's home point when it first gets a good GPS position fix.
You don't have to do anything - the mavic does it for you.

 

[guthrie]

Thanks; Yes; home point. In several posts, it says "be sure to set your home point"; so not sure what they are referring to. And I have sometimes gotten the message (voice and audio text) on the app; home point reset. But not always. Why only sometimes?
Then last time I flew; hitting RTH - it came back, but tried to land about 10' away, I had to then manually land it, so thought perhaps the home point had not been set properly (had 14 GPS signals).

 

[Meta4]

In several posts, it says "be sure to set your home point"; so not sure what they are referring to.

You'll find a lot of imprecise language in the forum (and some straight out inaccurate stuff too).
You don't have to set your home point, the Mavic does it for you.
Just check that you have GPS before you move off.
Checking the distance indicator as you fly out is a good idea - it's showing you the distance from the home point.

And I have sometimes gotten the message (voice and audio text) on the app; home point reset. But not always. Why only sometimes?

You may not get the message if the app is doing a few different things at once.
No problem - just check the display as mentioned above.

Then last time I flew; hitting RTH - it came back, but tried to land about 10' away, I had to then manually land it, so thought perhaps the home point had not been set properly (had 14 GPS signals).

Unless you use the Precision Landing feature, your RTH landing accuracy will only be as accurate as consumer GPS - 1-2 metres most of the time but sometimes more.
You don't have to let RTH land for you though.
It's easy to cancel and land where you want to.

 

[Dragonfly]

As soon as mavic requires enough satalites and you get the green good to fly in top left of Go4 app it has recorded your home location. Most times you will hear it announce it as "home point has been recorded, please check it on the map" this referes to a green H on the small map in bottom of Go4 screen.
Now if you miss the announcement or not sure it's recorded your home location, it's easy to force record a new one just to be sure.

Heres how,
While in home screen of Go4 (camera view) just slide the screen from right to left with your finger to expose a new screen. On new screen is four options, the last 2 are what you want. One is to record aircrafts position (Homepoint Aircraft) and second is to record your position (Homepoint Me) (that is the GPS position of your device if it has GPS and activated and is sent to Mavic)
By hitting Mavics "Homepoint ME" position you record or force home position update again. You also get a box to say if successful or not so you know if enough satalites. This is what you want but only do it when Mavic is where you are ready to takeoff.

Option two, Homepoint Me, (Record RC) is used when flying and you move your positing and want Mavic to return to you (RC) kinda like dymanic but you must constantly update your position if you keep moving and is best done just before RTH for best accuracy. Good to use on boats and you have drifted or motored further on the lake/sea.
One done just slide screen back from left to right.

 

[Mrmund]

Hey Guthrie,
I use the same procedure every time and I recommend it. There's two parts to it, both important:

1:Take off however/wherever you choose, climb about 20ft. I think about if something happens and my aircraft has to fly back on it's own and what will be under it when it comes back and position it in a clear place. I then Manually hit the RTH icon(aircraft icon, then the one with the arrow) and make sure it registers- green text on screen and audio, "Return to home has been updated".

2: I never hit RTH! I consider it a failsafe if something goes wrong but always fly back myself, even canceling it if it engages due to low battery. You'll find lots of pilots on here who use it all the time but you'll also find many stories of it not working correctly. RTH can fail for many reason, Compass error, bad GPS, ect. If anything is wrong and your drone doesn't know which way it's pointing or where it is it will "fly home" to the wrong place.

One more thing to consider: Your RTH height setting, make sure it's set higher than any obstruction it might encounter on it's way back or if you're flying someplace where there's something above your aircraft like in a forest set it to hover in place. I also set mine to hover in place if I'm on a boat so I can just go back and get it if there's a problem as opposed to it flying back and landing where I used to be.

Best of luck, fly safe

 

[jeplane]

If your drone is connected to enough GPS satellites, the home point will be automatically set when the motors are
started.

DJI GO normally announces when the home point has been set (if the volume is turned up on your mobile
device), but you should also look at the map in DJI GO to verify the home point has been set.

Verify that the “H” symbol is displayed on the map and that it’s in the correct location. If the home point has not beenmarked due to a poor GPS connection, then it would be safest to wait until it has been marked (or try manually settingit).

If you must take off before the home point can be set, the home point will be automatically set at the drone’s current
location mid-flight as soon as it’s able to connect to enough GPS satellites. That location might not be a desirable
landing spot, so you should manually reset the home point.

Also, DJI GO does not always show a warning when the compass is being negatively affected by some type of external magnetic force.

So, it’s important to always do these checks before taking off: When your drone is on the ground at the takeoff spot, look at the map in DJI GO and verify that the red aircraft symbol is pointing in the same direction as the drone. If the drone and arrow are not both pointing in the same direction, that’s a sign that your drone is near some type of magnetic metal object.

Make sure the red aircraft symbol in DJI GO is not slowly rotating as your drone is sitting on the ground.

If you have enabled the Precision Landing setting, make sure you ascend straight up over top of the takeoff point for at least 23 feet before moving the drone horizontally. That will allow the downward vision system to scan the ground below and remember the location of the drone so it’s able to land in the same spot when it returns.

Credit: Prevent a Crash or Flyaway with Your DJI Drone (The Complete Guide) - Phantom Help

 

[guthrie]

Very good - thanks to all for the information and advice.

Note; the manual says: "First, you need to record your Home Point with at least 10 satellite GPS connections...."
This is one of the places that mislead me on a need to actually do something manually!

Your replies are very helpful - many thanks.

 

[guthrie]

@Mrmund: You say two things; "I then Manually hit the RTH icon(aircraft icon, then the one with the arrow) ", and "I never hit RTH! ".
Could you explain how these relate?

 

[Air Beetle]

His first comment should have been "I manually SET the home point". The second comment is warning you to not be lazy and use RTH button except for a last resort. I always fly my drone back and land it. Pushing the RTH button takes away the fun of flying.

 

[guthrie]

Thx.

 

[Rishu]

Hi i am a newbie here . I have done almost 12-13 flights with my mavic air. Till now i havent set the rth. Ig i fly from an open area it automatically record the location but one more thing when hitting RTH be aware that obstacle avoidance is disabled i dont know why . Every time when i pressed rth my aircraft landed safely

 

[DanMan32]

For Air, obstacle avoidance is actually engaged where it will go over unexpected obstacles, assuming that function isn't disabled. However during landing, that's where horizontal obstacle avoidance is disabled. I believe the air will check if landing area is suitable. One could argue that last point is also obstacle avoidance.

By the way, that swipe right shortcut, is that just an iOS feature? I don't have that on the Android, though I have an M2.

 

[DanMan32]

One more thing to consider: Your RTH height setting, make sure it's set higher than any obstruction it might encounter on it's way back or if you're flying someplace where there's something above your aircraft like in a forest set it to hover in place. I also set mine to hover in place if I'm on a boat so I can just go back and get it if there's a problem as opposed to it flying back and landing where I used to be.

Note that the hover option is regarding fail-safe for when you lose RC-AC signal connection. There's three options for fail-safe: RTH (default), hover, or land. Most of the time you would want RTH, so it will automatically come to you where it should regain signal before it makes it home. But if it isn't safe to climb to clear obstacles, such as indoors or forest canopy, or home point isn't otherwise practical, then set it to hover or possibly land if you know it will always have a safe place to land regardless of where it is.