Is there a consensus with regards to Compass (and/or) IMU Calibration?

[vtcats]

1st) upon first receiving and first flight?
2nd) upon moving large distances across the country?

Or only if you see issues or when the controller tells you to?

 

[dirkclod]

I calibrate my compass when it ask and do imu calibration’s if
flying erratic.

 

[vtcats]

Thank you. Has it ever asked, if so when (like first flight)?

On a side note, I got a kick out if seeing your name again (good thing). Last time I was on here was 2017 or possibly 2018 and recognized your name and help along with a few others still here. Nice

 

[dirkclod]

Thank you. Has it ever asked, if so when (like first flight)?

On a side note, I got a kick out if seeing your name again (good thing). Last time I was on here was 2017 or possibly 2018 and recognized your name and help along with a few others still here. Nice

Lol ,thank you.
I can’t remember any of my drones when I first got them asking for the compass to be calibrated. Now have had some when I traveled over 100 miles ask for the dance or if I’m in a location to close to steel. But now I used to use the bed of my GMC as a take off/ landing pad with no issues but this Ford I have now I can’t.

 

[vtcats]

Ha, yeah, I’ve seen a few people do that from the cover over the truck bed. What’s the reason you can’t with the Ford?

 

[dirkclod]

Ha, yeah, I’ve seen a few people do that from the cover over the truck bed. What’s the reason you can’t with the Ford?

Guess from what a member here told me it must be magnetized where my GMC was not.

 

[vtcats]

Interesting. So I assume the drone gave you the strong interference message…

 

[old man mavic]

sometimes a compass calibration will be asked for simply because of some hidden metal material in the ground ,or even just being to close to a vehicle ,or other metal object
in those instances, moving a few feet away will often result in the message disappearing on start up again ,you can also get a IMU, calibration request, if you carry the drone after it is powered on
and it confuses the giros in the IMU ,because the drone is not level
personally for me ,if you have a brand new drone out of the box ,while in theory it should be set up to fly as is, i would before flying it for the very first time ,do a IMU, Compass ,and gimbal calibration ,on a clean level ,none metallic surface ,so you know that you have a good starting point
i followed this procedure when i first had my MPP nearly 4 years ago and have had one compass calibration request in that time, and have never been asked to calibrate the IMU in over 600 flights

 

[snowghost]

On my current drone, P4Pv2, I did nothing out of the box. Over 100 flights, many varied locations and it's never told me to calibrate anything. Rock solid flying.

 

[vtcats]

sometimes a compass calibration will be asked for simply because of some hidden metal material in the ground ,or even just being to close to a vehicle ,or other metal object
in those instances, moving a few feet away will often result in the message disappearing on start up again ,you can also get a IMU, calibration request, if you carry the drone after it is powered on
and it confuses the giros in the IMU ,because the drone is not level
personally for me ,if you have a brand new drone out of the box ,while in theory it should be set up to fly as is, i would before flying it for the very first time ,do a IMU, Compass ,and gimbal calibration ,on a clean level ,none metallic surface ,so you know that you have a good starting point
i followed this procedure when i first had my MPP nearly 4 years ago and have had one compass calibration request in that time, and have never been asked to calibrate the IMU in over 600 flights

Good to know. I’ll be interested to see if it even asks when I turn on (hopefully later today or at some point tomorrow. But I am thinking of doing at the very least a compass calibration even if it doesn’t ask for the first time flight. Ironically it may be in a blue zone. Which will give me the “opportunity” to try the Flysafe unlocking process as well. The Laanc is super easy and quick, but as many have pointed out, that has nothing to do with DJI’s flysafe zones (somewhat related, but not the same).

 

[vtcats]

Now that I think about it, I’ll probably just test moving it around from a hover first to see how it responds (after HP established).

 

[snowghost]

Just make sure the map is properly oriented to the drone before takeoff. Nothing wrong to hover after, but orientation on the map is critical.

 

[vtcats]

Just make sure the map is properly oriented to the drone before takeoff. Nothing wrong to hover after, but orientation on the map is critical.

Great, thanks

 

[dirkclod]

Interesting. So I assume the drone gave you the strong interference message…

Strong enough to where I had to remove it, do the dance then move away from Ford.

 

[Starz]

Or only if you see issues or when the controller tells you to?

I don’t have the M3, so I can’t be sure but many of the other DJI products have information in the app(Fly app I can’t answer for) that will show the status of the compass and IMU. I tend to check that information often just to be aware of what they are doing.

 

[twickers14]

I’ve just arrived in the USA from the U.K. and no requests for calibration. MA2 has flown perfectly every flight.

 

[snowghost]

This bears posting the link again. After digesting this you'll have a better grasp.

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

 

[dirkclod]

This bears posting the link again. After digesting this you'll have a better grasp.

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

That’s who explained to me why I could do this .
‎

 

[akdrone]

That’s who explained to me why I could do this .
‎

how do you get commercial music without a copyright hassle?

 

[vtcats]

how do you get commercial music without a copyright hassle?

A guess, but because it’s Vimeo, not YouTube. Its been awhile, but I’ve posted on Vimeo in the past with commercial music and no issues.