HOW TO: Calibrate IMU on Mavic Pro

[mnobes.12]

You can do it with or without the props. It will not interfere at all.

Thank you, much appreciated.

 

[Rick]

The only reason for removing the props is of a safety nature. Pretty unlikely the drone is going to start up, but if the Mavic received a signal to do so it would just harmlessly spin the motors.

 

[Derodeo]

I've seen some other You Tube videos showing Mavic Pro IMU calibrations slightly different; instead of just sitting the drone on its tail (where the Mavic is decidedly not straight up and down) they're holding it in their hand or against a wall approximately level in this step. Is this likely to make a better or worse calibration?

 

[Rick]

I've posed the same question some time ago but didn't get a definitive answer. However, if the calibration is successful I imagine it doesn't matter so long as the interference figures are at their lowest when you check the sensor readouts.

 

[SoapyGolem]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Hey msinger, I was just wondering when should you do a IMU calibration? Because DJI customer support said I should calibrate all seniors, imu, and compass every flight so I'm kinda confused

 

[Rick]

Hey msinger, I was just wondering when should you do a IMU calibration? Because DJI customer support said I should calibrate all seniors, imu, and compass every flight so I'm kinda confused

You should always check the state of the sensors before each flight. I have never seen or heard any DJI support staff advocating what you claim you have been told. I calibrate regularly, but not everything and not every flight.
If done properly, you could calibrate as often as you like. DJI support advise far less calibration is necessary than I conduct and I assume the reason is to avoid poor calibration techniques made by owners during the process. Given the bad news reported here and elsewhere about crashes and fly aways, I like to make sure that I, as the operator and owner of an expensive and potentially dangerous piece of machinery, have covered all I can to preserve the integrity of my drone. Bad news gets reported far more than good news, so don't rely on reported faults in the software or hardware as being statistically accurate, but make sure you've taken all the steps available to you to avoid the likelihood of damaging your drone, yourself or an innocent third party.

 

[msinger]

DJI customer support said I should calibrate all seniors, imu, and compass every flight so I'm kinda confused

You definitely do not need to calibrate the compass/IMU before each flight. Here's when I recommend calibrating the compass/IMU:

Compass:

• After unboxing the Mavic (before the first flight)
• After installing new Mavic firmware
• As needed per this guide

IMU:

• After unboxing the Mavic (before the first flight)
• If the Mavic is not able to hover/yaw in place
• After crashing the Mavic

Some people claim they've never calibrated the compass/IMU and all works well. Keeping that in mind, it proves these calibrations are definitely not required. However, I like to do them in the above cases as a preventative measure. At the bare minimum, I'd recommend at least doing the compass calibration. Bad compass calibrations have caused many uncontrolled flights and/or crashes.

 

[MavicPro83]

You definitely do not need to calibrate the compass/IMU before each flight. Here's when I recommend calibrating the compass/IMU:

Compass:

• After unboxing the Mavic (before the first flight)
• After installing new Mavic firmware
• As needed per this guide

IMU:

• After unboxing the Mavic (before the first flight)
• If the Mavic is not able to hover/yaw in place
• After crashing the Mavic

Some people claim they've never calibrated the compass/IMU and all works well. Keeping that in mind, it proves these calibrations are definitely not required. However, I like to do them in the above cases as a preventative measure. At the bare minimum, I'd recommend at least doing the compass calibration. Bad compass calibrations have caused many uncontrolled flights and/or crashes.

Earlier in this post you suggested an IMU calibration after firmware updates, has you opinion changed on that ?Thanks!

 

[MavicPro83]

Apologies, DJI Ed suggested that, but you agreed...

 

[msinger]

Earlier in this post you suggested an IMU calibration after firmware updates, has you opinion changed on that?

No. But, you most likely don't need to do it if your Mavic is able to hover/yaw in place. It won't hurt anything if you do a proper IMU calibration after installing new firmware.

 

[SoapyGolem]

Msinger when you look at the IMU setting what decimals should it be at? Like one gyro say .03 and the other is like 0.23, 0.8 etc? Is it Lower the better?

 

[msinger]

Any value in the green range is ideal.

 

[wickedal]

I'm just about the do an IMU calibration. Does the surface have to be perfectly even and if a look it from a bubble level the bubble has to be in the center perfectly?
Or is it fine if it's like 0.5 degrees off?

 

[msinger]

You're going to get the best possible calibration when the surface is perfectly level.