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Magnetic interference in the city?

bburnett15

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Sep 11, 2020
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Age
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massachusetts
M2Pro- added prop guards, 3 strobes and a Manti 2 parachute
For the past two sundays (when i fly in the city) ive been getting a lot of “magnetic interference” and “Calibrate Compass” messages. Some dont allow me to take off, some occur while flying (ie not near anything that might have metal or magnetic guts inside. ) on both occasions it was before sunrise (dependent on street lights/building lights for lighting) also, on both sundays there was some unexpected flight behavior while still relatively low (less than 20’) now that i think of it, in both cases the drone insisted on flying backward until i threw the right stick forward.
Last week i was in an area with limited space. This week it was ok until i changed batteries and moved a hundred yards or so from where i had been flying. i was in an open plaza and after the problem occurred, i could still fly but was very careful to see how it handled and if there were any further eccentricities. There were not but i was barely flying and travelling very slowly in case it decided to act up.
So my problem is i am not comfortable with the way it has been acting but cant really define a specific problem.
I cannot do the calibration with DJI assistant 2 on my desktop where the screen has a bunch of dots and you hold the drone and try to capture the rectangle. Last time i had to send it back to DJI to correct that problem.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
First suggestion: remove everything which is not part of the original Mavic 2 Pro.
Flying in a city has it's own safety issues and concerns; you haven't defined your specific location in the city.
Next, add your accessories one at a time to identify the cause of the magnetic interference.
 
M2Pro- added prop guards, 3 strobes and a Manti 2 parachute
For the past two sundays (when i fly in the city) ive been getting a lot of “magnetic interference” and “Calibrate Compass” messages. Some dont allow me to take off, some occur while flying (ie not near anything that might have metal or magnetic guts inside. ) on both occasions it was before sunrise (dependent on street lights/building lights for lighting) also, on both sundays there was some unexpected flight behavior while still relatively low (less than 20’) now that i think of it, in both cases the drone insisted on flying backward until i threw the right stick forward.
Last week i was in an area with limited space. This week it was ok until i changed batteries and moved a hundred yards or so from where i had been flying. i was in an open plaza and after the problem occurred, i could still fly but was very careful to see how it handled and if there were any further eccentricities. There were not but i was barely flying and travelling very slowly in case it decided to act up.
So my problem is i am not comfortable with the way it has been acting but cant really define a specific problem.
I cannot do the calibration with DJI assistant 2 on my desktop where the screen has a bunch of dots and you hold the drone and try to capture the rectangle. Last time i had to send it back to DJI to correct that problem.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
If you've previously calibrated after the accessories were fitted, there should be no need to recalibrate anything, unless you added or taken away accessories.

A magnetic interference warning at startup usually indicates magnetic interference from where you placed the drone for startup.
The steel rods and mesh in reinforced concrete is the most common cause.
Launching from a plastic box a foot or two off the surface is the solution when you need to work in those areas.

In flight you shouldn't have any compass problems unless you are flying closer than about 6 feet from large steel objects, roofs etc.
 
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M2Pro- added prop guards, 3 strobes and a Manti 2 parachute
For the past two sundays (when i fly in the city) ive been getting a lot of “magnetic interference” and “Calibrate Compass” messages. Some dont allow me to take off, some occur while flying (ie not near anything that might have metal or magnetic guts inside. ) on both occasions it was before sunrise (dependent on street lights/building lights for lighting) also, on both sundays there was some unexpected flight behavior while still relatively low (less than 20’) now that i think of it, in both cases the drone insisted on flying backward until i threw the right stick forward.
Last week i was in an area with limited space. This week it was ok until i changed batteries and moved a hundred yards or so from where i had been flying. i was in an open plaza and after the problem occurred, i could still fly but was very careful to see how it handled and if there were any further eccentricities. There were not but i was barely flying and travelling very slowly in case it decided to act up.
So my problem is i am not comfortable with the way it has been acting but cant really define a specific problem.
I cannot do the calibration with DJI assistant 2 on my desktop where the screen has a bunch of dots and you hold the drone and try to capture the rectangle. Last time i had to send it back to DJI to correct that problem.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I often get that warning before takeoff and check that the drone is properly located on the map.Never had an issue when flying.Hope I never do!
 
All advice is good but note that this is not a problem with the drone, it's a problem with the operation. Launching the drone of the ground in an area like this is highly likely to get magnetic interference, thats perfectly normal. I have a small plywood platform that attaches to my camera tripod. Snap it in place and launch the drone from there. It works in the worst environment including indoors from a reinforced concrete floor. (I land on the ground not on the platform)
 
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All advice is good but note that this is not a problem with the drone, it's a problem with the operation. Launching the drone of the ground in an area like this is highly likely to get magnetic interference, thats perfectly normal. I have a small plywood platform that attaches to my camera tripod. Snap it in place and launch the drone from there. It works in the worst environment including indoors from a reinforced concrete floor. (I land on the ground not on the platform)
Thank you- ill try it next sunday when im in there again
 

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