landing pad

[teccer]

I've just got this as a landing pad, with a quick twist it folds up to about 4" but now thinking about it, the outer circle has got a wire in, will that affect the compass

 

[MA2 317]

the outer circle has got a wire in, will that effect the compass

It might.

Try it and find out.

The aircraft will let you know.

Place it in the middle, off center, and on the wire itself and see what the results are.

 

[slup]

No guaranties given there ... it may or it may not.

But with that said I advice you to start up the habit to power on your drone in your hand as it's in the power on moment thing's can go wrong.

Power on the drone & keep it horizontal in your stretched out hand (without watches, rings or other magnetic objects) ... once the live view is shown on your mobile device all is good & you can place it on ground for take-off.

Then before take-off ALWAYS ... add in one very easy check to avoid a really scary event coming from accidentally launching from a magnetic disturbed place with following flyaway at height in an uncontrollable circular or straight flight path. After powering on your drone, connected to your RC/app & placed it in the take-off spot ... but before lift-off, ALWAYS check that the drone icon on the map in your app is pointing equal in relation to other objects in the map as the drone does in reality ... if not, abort launch attempt, POWER DOWN & move away, power up again and repeat.

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1213314" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

... The aircraft will let you know.

Perhaps ... or perhaps not, it might trigger a compass calibration prompt but it depends on how strong the magnetic field is unfortunately. With the map check I describe above it can bee seen though. The safest is to power on as far as it can be from objects & ground.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Are you sure the rim is wire?
If it is wire have you tested it with a magnet, to see if it is made of a magnetic material?

 

[eaglesurfing]

Are you sure the rim is wire?
If it is wire have you tested it with a magnet, to see if it is made of a magnetic material?

Great idea.

 

[Saladshooter]

My pad has a metal ring... doesn't seem to affect any of my drones

 

[teccer]

yes it is wire I did test it with a magnet before I posted, I wasn't sure about the affect it would have on the compass, I remember years ago with my P3P I tried to use a plastic tablet holder but it had very small magnets in and the drone refused to fly,
I think what I'll do to be on the safe side is to replace the wire with some 1/8th" nylon, that way I can be sure.
many thanks to you all for your sugestions

 

[teccer]

My pad has a metal ring... doesn't seem to affect any of my drones

similar to my photo, 2mm wire ?

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I did test it with a magnet before I posted.........

and ..........................was it magnetic?

 

[teccer]

and ..........................was it magnetic?

yes !!

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Ok, .......on the basis of that I just checked the rim on a 30" diameter circular foldable one that I have. It too is magnetic, which surprised me.
Given the feel of the rim I am going to guess it is a strip of spring steel.
I have just flown an M2P and a fussy MM off it, ( the MM likes to require compass calibrations ) with the body of the drone sitting on the rim. No problems and no warnings, this was indoors so literally up to 3ft and down again.

 

[Thomas B]

I've just got this as a landing pad, with a quick twist it folds up to about 4" but now thinking about it, the outer circle has got a wire in, will that affect the compassView attachment 124372

I use a similarly constructed circular LP. No problems

 

[dipnit]

what a coincedence, I used a sunshade to make one today. But forgot it when I walked to Flying spot, so practiced hand launches and catches today. Piece of cake after you do it once or twice. Last launch was from a sitting position and the drone hovered 18" or so above where my hand was before I removed it, which was before it was finished ascending. So it launched to a height of 3 feet or less. Thought that was odd. Must of gotten "confused" by the sudden change in distance to floor.

 

[dipnit]

Hand launching brings a question to mind. How do folks set their home when hand launching? Set it on ground first or hold it until it is set?

 

[slup]

...replace the wire with some 1/8th" nylon, that way I can be sure.

Hand launching brings a question to mind. How do folks set their home when hand launching? Set it on ground first or hold it until it is set?

Just to be clear ... magnetic disturbance that deflects the compass ONLY cause a problem during POWER ON of the craft. What's going to let your craft know in what direction it's pointing during flight is the IMU ... not the compass.

The compass will though, set the start up direction for the IMU & that happens when the craft is powered on ... NOT when it takes off.

So if the compass is deflected due to magnetic disturbance ... DURING the POWER ON, the IMU will be set to the wrong direction & cause all following problems.

The only way to know for sure that every thing went well during the power on phase ... is to do the map check as described in post #3 before getting airborne.

If the power on is made correctly ... the craft can be placed directly on a magnet for take off if desired & nothing bad will happen on height.

... and for the question regarding setting HP when hand launching ... it can be done in both ways you propose, just keep the top of the craft pointing up towards the sky.

 

[teccer]

Power on the drone & keep it horizontal in your stretched out hand (without watches, rings

being non ferrous I don't suppose this will make any difference to hand launching

..

 

[slup]

being non ferrous I don't suppose this will make any difference to hand launchingView attachment 124406

Jeez ... that looks heavy ... but if not ferrous it shouldn't cause anything besides scratches on your precious stuff.

One more thing to consider when it comes to magnetic interference ...

The control stick inputs is made by means of magnetism ... the DJI sticks have so called Hall sensors, if those is magnetic disturbed a whole lot of strange stick inputs can be generated.

 

[Photoman phil]

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1213314" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

It might.

Try it and find out.

The aircraft will let you know.

Place it in the middle, off center, and on the wire itself and see what the results are.

No it won't affect i had no problems and if it did i am sure by now it would have been reported ??

 

[Ralph thompson]

I’ve always used such a landing pad, one reason is avoiding dust in the motors and preventing it from becoming a lawn mower. Never seen this as a cause of compass errors. relocating and recalibration always works for me. But my checklist includes checking the compass and IMU in advanced settings before liftoff.

 

[bobscheel53]

I've just got this as a landing pad, with a quick twist it folds up to about 4" but now thinking about it, the outer circle has got a wire in, will that affect the compassView attachment 124372

The problem with metal is it can cause the compass to read wrong. In this case the metal would be equidistant in all directions with the drone in the center. It cannot cause a bad reading if the drone is centered.