No GPS when using Insta 360 sphere

[Mazdaman323lx]

Anyone purchase a insta 360 sphere for their Mavic air 2 / 2s ? When I attach mine , after the drone has acquired satellites and its home point , the number of satellites drops to 8 , sometimes less and I get a warning message - No GPS Fly with caution.
Where is the GPS receiver, the sphere is on top of the battery and I presume its not located underneath the drone . Anyone got any advice bar don't use it ?

 

[Pallidin]

The GPS module on the 2 and 2S is located just passed the battery towards the front (but not AT the front)
From your pics you should be fine as the 360 module does not cover the GPS.
Maybe some other cause for the drop in satellite acquisition?

 

[Pallidin]

One way to tell... fire-up your drone with the 360 attached, note the satellites, then remove the 360 (while the drone is still on) and note the satellites.
If the drop in satellite acquisition only happens when the 360 is attached and powered-on, then it's causing some type of interference.
Curious case.

 

[Meta4]

Anyone got any advice bar don't use it ?

A little testing with the 360 attached and with it off, but close beside the drone should give you an idea whether the issue is direct blocking of the GPS antenna or interference.

 

[Mazdaman323lx]

The number of acquired satellites prior to fitting the sphere is 18 plus , with homepoint being established at 12 . This thread is no longer relevant as I have sadly lost both my Air2s and sphere due to using this ill conceived product that puts your aircraft in atti mode whilst also reducing the RC signal. Both now sadly unrecoverable under many feet of water

 

[Gagey52]

Sorry to hear about your loss mate. Any logs to share of the incident?
Regards

 

[cheddar-man]

Just love my Mini 2 with the Fly app, so many built in features including the ability to shoot spheres! This is Wimbleball Reservloir on Exmoor.

 

[tokertm]

I'm one of the lucky ones.
Managed to get insta to do a refund for mine after returning.
GPS is usually around 24-26 where I live, had to a livestream video proof of the issue where the air2s had 24 locked satellites and once the sphere went on it dropped to 16, then when it was recording it dropped to 8 at its lowest. It increases to 11 at 80m up but brought it back down. Took the sphere off. Went up to 80m again and it was 26.

Fantastic concept but EXTREMELY UNSAFE to fly with.

 

[cheddar-man]

I'm one of the lucky ones.
Managed to get insta to do a refund for mine after returning.
GPS is usually around 24-26 where I live, had to a livestream video proof of the issue where the air2s had 24 locked satellites and once the sphere went on it dropped to 16, then when it was recording it dropped to 8 at its lowest. It increases to 11 at 80m up but brought it back down. Took the sphere off. Went up to 80m again and it was 26.

Fantastic concept but EXTREMELY UNSAFE to fly with.

Are you saying that going into Sphere caused you to lose all the satellites?? I doubt it!
You say you returned the drone for a refund? What was the problem?
Very confused post

 

[Meta4]

Are you saying that going into Sphere caused you to lose all the satellites?? I doubt it!

He's talking about fitting a device to the drone.
The device is called Insta 360 sphere.
Fitting the hardware blocks satellite reception.

It looks like this:

Insta360 Sphere review: innovative 'invisible' drone camera

The Insta360 Sphere is an innovative 360° camera that helps anyone with a DJI Mavic Air 2/2S and basic flying experience can use to create breathtaking FPV-style video.

www.space.com

​

 

[cheddar-man]

Thanks M4, couldn't get my 84yo brain round that! If he had a Mini 2 it's built into it!

 

[LoudThunder]

Just love my Mini 2 with the Fly app, so many built in features including the ability to shoot spheres!

That is a really beautiful Globe, but it is not a Photosphere except on your device with your Fly App. You can publish the Globe on Google Earth and Google Maps and then it will become a Photosphere for all the world to view, but you need to use the instructions I included in my posting below…

Photospheres III -- Let's put it on the Map…

Photospheres III -- Let's put it on the Map… This is the final chapter of "Am I the Only One Who Knows This--Photospheres…" Well, as it turns out, many folks knew this, but in many cases, their methods were not necessarily the easiest way to create and publish Photospheres. After I discovered...

mavicpilots.com

I tried uploading your file to preview your photo but since it's not the original, but only a preview, StreetView will not recognize it…

The original is 4096 X 2048, this file is half that size…

If you would like me to upload it, I will happily do it for you, but it will appear with my Header "LoudThunder Drone" as indicated below. But you will have to upload the original for me to access it.

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[LoudThunder]

If he had a Mini 2 it's built into it!

The Photospheres that the Mini 2 shoots are a bit shy of a full 360 degrees, it cannot shot overhead so it just sort of "wings it" with filling in the missing information. For example, I've tested the Photosphere in my office and I have a Ceiling Fan in the center of the ceiling and when you look at the photosphere, you would not know the fan is there. The DJI Fly App software fills in the missing space with what it can see… Sort of just blends it all to fill the void.

The Insta360 Sphere shoots a true 360 Degrees, it misses nothing and the resolution is much, much higher, so there is so much more detail. If you had shot the Wimbleball Reservloir with the Insta360 Sphere and if you were standing on the dam, you could see yourself and tell if your shirt pocket was buttoned…

 

[tokertm]

Are you saying that going into Sphere caused you to lose all the satellites?? I doubt it!
You say you returned the drone for a refund? What was the problem?
Very confused post

~We are posting on an original post about the INSTA360 SPHERE addon for the air2 / air2s so was writing about that.

Yes the 360 sphere on the air2s blocks most of the GPS satellites and I proved it with a video in a chat to support from the 360 insta team. Also showed the instability of the air2s with their 360 sphere on.
It's an innovative product but also a dangerous bit of kit to use with only a few satellites

 

[peterwo2e]

the insta 360 charger or control module radiates a signal to the camera that signal interferes with the GPS. I have the insta 360 go2, and avata the gps satellites goes from 22 to zero maybe 4, when insta camera is on, when I turn of the control head the satellites are a normal 22, NOW, I never experimented if the drone is far from the control head would it acquire full satellites??? I assume you could leave the camera running with no problem to the GPS. as long as the control head is out of range.

 

[SethB]

the insta 360 charger or control module radiates a signal to the camera that signal interferes with the GPS….
…I assume you could leave the camera running with no problem to the GPS. as long as the control head is out of range.

Interesting question! I’ll check that out the next time I fly the Sphere.

If I recall I’ve been starting recordings on the ground, as the smartphone app is unreliable outside a (maybe) 15’ radius. I’ve lost some satellites, but always have been able to get 12.

 

[SethB]

I had a chance to put the Sphere in the air today on my Air 2S. Conditions were fair and sunny, but I was nearby a building and trees which is typical when I'm testing in my backyard, so GPS satellite acquisition on the ground always takes a minute and typically acquire more satellites with better signal at altitude.

This was not a strict test. The aim was to get a general sense of GPS performance with various Sphere modes in a spotty environment. I purchased the Sphere during holiday discounts in December 2022, and have limited flying experience with it based on weather, but Spring is here in the PNW!

My summary is that the Sphere continues to be a unique solution for aerial 360 that actually works and stitches with a minimum of muss and fuss. I'll continue to *not* use the app to control it, as app control is very limited in range and also seriously impacts GPS signal strength when recording.

*****************************************************************
Impressions #0:
In a few flights over December 2022 to April 2023 I abandoned running the Sphere with the iOS app, as the range only seemed to be about 15-20', and reconnection seemed spotty as well. Instead I've been using the record button on the Sphere before launching.

Casual test #1:
Sphere is mounted but turned off. Drone is on the ground.
Acquired 12+ satellites with good signal strength

#2
Turned Sphere on. Drone is on the ground.
Satellites dropped to 7 to 8 with poor signal strength

#3
Started manual recording (not with the Insta360 app), launched.
Satellites continued 7-8, increased to 13-14 with good signal strength at 15' AGL

Flew some, recorded some - maintained good signal strength and numbers.

#4
Booted the Insta360 app on a separate iOS device (not the flight controller) and connected to the Sphere WIFI. Drone is on the ground.
Satellites at 7 to 8 with poor signal, as in #2

#5
Launched. Hovered at 10'.
Satellites slowly recovered to 12-13.

#6
Started recording via the Insta360 app. Drone is hovering at 10'.
Satellites dropped to 4-6.

#7
Time to look at the contents of the card. Note: the earlier recordings from today had an incorrect file date. Once I connected the app at #4 above subsequent recordings showed the correct file date in MacOS.

 

[Aarna785]

The Insta360 charger or control module emits a signal that interferes with the GPS signal of the camera. When the Insta360 Go 2 camera is turned on, the number of GPS satellites detected decreases from 22 to as low as zero or four. However, when the control module is turned off, the GPS satellites return to the normal count of 22. It's unclear whether the drone would be able to acquire a full satellite connection if it is far away from the control module. It's assumed that leaving the camera running would not pose a problem to the GPS signal as long as the control module is out of range.