Magnetic interference error message

[IcoG]

The drone is fully functional after i returned home. So it seems the whole thing was relate to travel. I will try again as I am going away again soon. Interestingly the drone was not talking to the app when that happened. Could not do compass calibration nor I could see the camera image on the app. All back to normal now that I am at home

 

[Starz]

Very odd.

 

[ZooCougar]

I almost always get a compass calibration message whenever I fly my drone 30 miles or more from where I last flew it.

I figured this happens because your azimuth to magnetic north would have changed enough to trigger it.

I just calibrate and I am in business.

 

[Lbesing]

I had similar experiences last weekend. I had just bought the M2P from a guy who was apparently overextended and needed the cash. The drone came from Houston, TX, and my first flight was 200 plus miles away from there.

Despite setting up the landing pad in a grassy area away from known power sources or metal, I kept getting Magnetic Interference error messages. At the third location, it said that a compass calibration was needed. Once that was done, it was a happy bird.

My MP, on the other hand, was a happy camper with no alerts or warnings. I was 50+ miles from my hometown that day.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I had the same this weekend, for the first time after traveling about 65 miles.

It was out in the country and there was nothing to interfere with the compass (verified after the calibration). So I did the calibration and it cleared the error, I took off from the same spot and had no troubles.

I very much DO wish that DJI would not throw a MAG INTERF error when all it needs is a calibration due to locale change. There are cases where you do not want to just calibrate and fly, due to a risk of calibrating within a magnetic field and then flying out of the field. There's a good reason for them to differentiate here.

Chris

 

[Meta4]

I very much DO wish that DJI would not throw a MAG INTERF error when all it needs is a calibration due to locale change.

It would be even better if DJI did not force you to calibrate because you've moved.
There is no physical reason the drone to need any recalibrating just for moving any distance.
You could travel 5000 miles and it still doesn't need calibration.
It's just DJI stupid programming that's the problem.

There are cases where you do not want to just calibrate and fly, due to a risk of calibrating within a magnetic field and then flying out of the field.

It should be very easy to calibrate outside any problem magnetic fields.
Just do it away from large steel objects10 metres from a car should be plenty.
And there's not much to worry about, if you did and the mag field interfered with the calibration, you'd just get a failed calibration.
The problem you are concerned about is starting up the drone in a magnetic field - not calibrating it.

 

[LowCountryFlyer]

Recommendations:

1) Always deploy rotor arms on your drone FIRST, then power up. The motors have very strong magnets in them when can interfere with the drone's magnetometer if placed in close proximity to the fuselage. I also find I get a lot of MAG INTERFERENCE messages when using my drone for the first time after being folded and stored for extended periods for this reason.

2) Place the drone on a home point well away from steel objects ie automobiles, manhole covers, steel towers, fences, etc. Also avoid areas with concentrated electromagnetic interference such as high tension towers, cell towers, etc. during power up and launch.

3) Review sectional charts and NOTAMS for notices about magnetic disturbances near where you are flying. These can be naturally occurring like large deposits of iron ore interfering with the Earth's magnetic field, lightning discharge from nearby electrical storms, large concentrations of ionized dust or particles in the atmosphere, or solar weather such as coronal mass ejections intersecting with Earth's orbit.

Typically these problems can be resolved by simply doing a magnetic compass calibration prior to flight. Chronic difficulties with this may require servicing.

 

[Meta4]

Typically these problems can be resolved by simply doing a magnetic compass calibration prior to flight.

You were doing OK until this part.
Calibrating the compass will not fix any of those things.
That's not what compass calibration is for at all.
Compass calibration helps the drone to understand what magnetic fields are part of the drone itself so they can be ignored, allowing the compass to only show the local magnetic fields it's flying in.
Those fields which are part of the drone don't change (unless you modify/repair) the drone.
When your compass complains about being put close to steel, the "compass error" should not be thought of as a problem with the compass.
It's a compass warning.

 

[kilomikebravo]

I figured this happens because your azimuth to magnetic north would have changed enough to trigger it.

Zoo: Yep, one might consider such a causation but the sad truth is, the mag interference/compass cal message is simply because DJI thought it was a good idea and put it in the firmware. No one (that I'm aware of,) knows why and as Meta and MANY others have correctly informed us, changing the drone's geographic position by any number of miles or klicks, has zero effect on the compass.

 

[ZooCougar]

Zoo: Yep, one might consider such a causation but the sad truth is, the mag interference/compass cal message is simply because DJI thought it was a good idea and put it in the firmware. No one (that I'm aware of,) knows why and as Meta and MANY others have correctly informed us, changing the drone's geographic position by any number of miles or klicks, has zero effect on the compass.

DJI is funny.

 

[IcoG]

Still unexplained. I travelled to Europe and I had no issues there. Did see the error message again here at home but got quickly solved with a compass calibration.