Need to go to a GPS waypoint and hover - Mavic Pro 1

[swb_mct]

I haven't used my Mavic Pro in about 2 years so I don't remember much . . I need to fly it to a single GPS waypoint over a lake and have it hover until I fly it back. Probably need it at about 15 feet above the surface. The location is 700 feet from the takeoff location.

There are a couple of very visible underwater buoys at this location. Will the camera have a problem seeing 8 inch bright colored buoy's 7 feet below the surface in crystal clear water ?
Will the drone be confused over water, not land ?

I have the coordinates recorded in a cell phone. I have been inspecting this feature with my boat and can drive right to it - seem to have about 5 foot accuracy with my phone. Boat is now out for the season

What is the best way to learn how to configure that "trip" ?

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

The “15 feet” may be a problem. You might be able to set such a waypoint, but I found repeated missions encounter altitude drift due to the variance of the on-board barometer. I wouldn’t do it at that altitude. If you want to observe it’s variability, try setting up a waypoint mission that ends up 15 feet altitude in your back yard. Then repeat it over time. See what happens. If you think it’s stable, then go for it.

 

[eEridani]

Recent experience over water at 15' or less speaking: Start high - like 50', and then near shore test, test, test to make sure the drone is following the command you send. If the drone behaves a few feet off shore over water (near enough to wade in and fetch or possibly hand catch), and you are happy and confident it is hovering properly, then send it 50' or 100' off shore for a final hover test. Do that a few times, and then send it out your 700'.

Regarding image through water: higher might be better. Be prepared for glare and allow for moving the drone around to minimize reflections of sky, clouds, sun, etc. Wind will also alter results. Chop (esp. winds over 10 mph) will probably make any imaging below the surface difficult.

 

[surfbird]

That low over water can be tricky. Try disable the sensors, they can do real bad things over water.
Also a polar filter might help take away some reflections, if aligned correctly.

Dont try in your backward, do it over water, since that can influence quite a lot.
The mavic also struggles to keep the height in high wind, even when hovering.

Report back your findings!

 

[Arnold LeVine]

Inspect the battery real hard if you havent used it in a couple of years, including making sure the voltages are good across the board. I'm assuming you have kept it at storage capacity and followed maintenance. Or you may find it won't charge at all or properly.
Speaking of glare, put a polarizing filter on the camera, and during the hover rotate the drone around the center until you eliminate/minimize glare.

Finally, a question, how do I program a waypoint by entering a known gps coordinate, instead of clicking on a map.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

That low over water can be tricky. Try disable the sensors, they can do real bad things over water.
Also a polar filter might help take away some reflections, if aligned correctly.

Dont try in your backward, do it over water, since that can influence quite a lot.
The mavic also struggles to keep the height in high wind, even when hovering.

Report back your findings!

You are correct about the water. The only reason I suggested the backyard was show the reproducibility of height.

Now that I think of it, I’d establish the required waypoint at an altitude of 100 ft. That would establish location. Then manually bring it down to the altitude that is necessary for the view he wants, while paying attention to the water influence issue.

I haven't used my Mavic Pro in about 2 years so I don't remember much . . I need to fly it to a single GPS waypoint over a lake and have it hover until I fly it back. Probably need it at about 15 feet above the surface. The location is 700 feet from the takeoff location.

There are a couple of very visible underwater buoys at this location. Will the camera have a problem seeing 8 inch bright colored buoy's 7 feet below the surface in crystal clear water ?
Will the drone be confused over water, not land ?

I have the coordinates recorded in a cell phone. I have been inspecting this feature with my boat and can drive right to it - seem to have about 5 foot accuracy with my phone. Boat is now out for the season

What is the best way to learn how to configure that "trip" ?

 

[swb_mct]

ARNOLD LEVINE MADE A GOOD POINT . .
how do I program a waypoint by entering a known gps coordinate, instead of clicking on a map. ????
There are no mapped landmarks on a lake to click on . .

Is there any way to store a specific GPS location permanently ? For example, if you have the drone in a specific place can you save the coordinates of the place with name somewhere ? and used it tomorrow and the day after ?

 

[PeterX]

What is able to use tabfly in Mavics firmware? Change to satellite map screen and use tabfly if you want to use it.

 

[swb_mct]

I didn't need to use a destination waypoint to find my target. I had a visual line of site and I just pointed in that direction at 50' altitude with camera facing straight down and I went right to the target.