Mavic compass needs to be calibrated before each flight

[dylanthecat]

Try formatting for sd card in the mavic before each flight. Sorted my issues.

Neutering your cat will also have the same impact on your compass issues.

 

[Thoraldus]

This thread reminds me of 'the parable of the blind men and an elephant.'

DJI Compass Calibration should be called "Calibration to null out local magnetic fields in the aircraft that would interfere with the electronic compass operation while in flight: Requires that your aircraft not be near strong magnetic field(s) when nulling" (My Google Pixle 2 XL has the same nulling requirements)

 

[sesmavic88]

Just had to recalibrate mine yesterday. Got a magnetic interference warning just before take off so I move it to a different location about 15 feet away. Warning went away but I checked compass and it indicated to recalibrate it. No biggie.

 

[blackbeemer]

Every single time I go to a new location I have to calibrate the compass. Definitely annoying, but it takes all of 10-15 seconds.

 

[Bahnfiya]

I have some PolarPro ND filters and their case closes with magnets (whyyyy PP?!). I also usually have my Juul with me (please no judgement) which has magnets in them. I assume I will always need to recalibrate my compass before each flight, but as blackbeemer mentioned, 10-15 seconds for peace of mind is a no brainer.

 

[sar104]

I have some PolarPro ND filters and their case closes with magnets (whyyyy PP?!). I also usually have my Juul with me (please no judgement) which has magnets in them. I assume I will always need to recalibrate my compass before each flight, but as blackbeemer mentioned, 10-15 seconds for peace of mind is a no brainer.

The filters themselves are not ferromagnetic, so the magnets in the case would only matter if you store it really close to the aircraft - maybe not even then.

 

[Bahnfiya]

The filters themselves are not ferromagnetic, so the magnets in the case would only matter if you store it really close to the aircraft - maybe not even then.

Yea, I store/carry them in my fly more bag.

 

[DanMan32]

That might cause the compass or the AC to become magnetized. May need to degauss it.

As for SD cards not related to compass: functionally that is true, but we have seen unrelated systems strangely get affected by each other.

 

[simsurf]

So

None of that is normal.
Distance has nothing to do with it.
The manual is quite wrong about this and moving 5 miles or 5000 miles makes no difference to compass calibration.
If you think the app is telling you, that you need to calibrate your compass, look closer at what it's actually saying.
I can think of two possibilities.
1. Some people think that the Calibrate Compass wording in the app is a warning to calibrate the compass when it's just the button you press when you actually need to calibrate.
2. It could be that your compass is warning you of magnetic interference and no amount of calibrating will fix that.
Moving the Mavic away from the problem is the solution.

I've read some of your posts about the compass etc yet with the phantom 1 and 2 it was always standard procedure to calibrate the drone with every flight.

 

[Meta4]

I've read some of your posts about the compass etc yet with the phantom 1 and 2 it was always standard procedure to calibrate the drone with every flight.

It was standard procedure because DJI's manuals suggested it even though it wasn't necessary.
That started the confusion that is still with us now.

 

[kilomikebravo]

That started the confusion that is still with us now.

So THAT's where all this craziness originated...many thanks for the history lesson, Meta. Amazing that something so simple could get so out of hand.

 

[Prismatic]

<*big snip*>... the random and variable DJI instructions to calibrate or not to calibrate when changing location are probably either due to miscommunications between the writers and the engineers ...<*snip>

You said a mouthful there, my friend! Having been on both sides of the tech-writing/engineering equation, I have war stories to curdle your brain. (My fave user instruction from a now-ancient computer manual: "Answer 'yes' to the invisible question.")

Good technical writers are rarely also knowledgeable engineers, and vice versa. Omissions arise when something obvious to the engineers is not obvious at all to a user. If the writer never hears about it, essential information is never communicated to the user.

But in this case, it seems to me that DJI support should be fairly shouting at the writing team to include a boldface statement, "Check the heading indicator before takeoff and ensure that it agrees with the actual direction the aircraft is facing! Failure to do so may result in injury to bystanders, and/or loss of (or damage to) the aircraft."