Phone has GPS but drone doesn't??

[WNCMTNLOVER]

New flyer. Trying to understand. If GPS comes from satellites, why are there places without signal? If phone has a GPS signal, why cant the mini also find it? Thanks!!

 

[Fly Dawg]

If GPS comes from satellites, why are there places without signal? If phone has a GPS signal, why cant the mini also find it? Thanks!!

The phone and aircraft GPS are different entities. Not really sure what you are asking. Most of the other aircraft can set the remote as a home point. Not certain if that is true for the mini.

 

[WNCMTNLOVER]

"The phone and aircraft GPS are different entities." Thnx, that helps, just trying to understand what's going on. Yesterday I had phone GPS on Google Maps, but drone said no GPS. Still don't understand what it's not everywhere if it's coming from satellites, but I guess it is what it is.

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum lets see if i can help you with your question, to enable the drone to fly with GPS, it needs to be able to lock onto at least 8 sats ,it cant do this very successfully if it is inside a building, it might find 4 or 5 but that is not enough for it to get a lock,when you go outside in a clear area then after a short time the drone will find enough sats and will inform you that the home point has been recorded and you are then able to fly during the flight the sat count will change if there are tall structures around the drone or if you were flying down into a valley you could lose some of the sats locked
the devices GPS is not required for flying the drone

 

[kndll]

Your phone will also use the cellular network to boost it's gps accuracy , so maybe that's why it had good gps and your mini didn't .

 

[Mossiback]

Due to different type and quality of GPS receivers, the satellite count between your phone and Mini may be different. As mentioned above, you need a minimum for the Mini to switch into GPS mode. It is also best to be patient and wait for at least two more satellites to be detected before launch. That gives you a more accurate fix and a buffer if you lose one.

Regarding a phone, mine shows a circle around my detected position on the map. The circle may shrink or enlarge as more or fewer satellites are detected.

 

[Meta4]

Yesterday I had phone GPS on Google Maps, but drone said no GPS. Still don't understand what it's not everywhere if it's coming from satellites, but I guess it is what it is.

A GPS receiver must have a clear sky view to receive signal from GPS satellites.
Your phone gets location data from other sources as well as GPS sats.
Was your drone outdoors where the sky view was not blocked by obstacles or terrain?

 

[WNCMTNLOVER]

Thanks to all, very helpful!! I think yesterday I wasn't being patient enough. Went back to the same spot today, and after a bit it found gps. I'm flying in a national forest without cell signal most locations, going to extend my altitude and range gradually as I get experience. If I lose it will be a very tough find, so being hyper careful. Thnx again!

 

[WNCMTNLOVER]

"Was your drone outdoors where the sky view was not blocked by obstacles or terrain?"
Having to launch from holes in the canopy, so that explains difficulty finding enough satellites.

 

[Meta4]

"Was your drone outdoors where the sky view was not blocked by obstacles or terrain?"
Having to launch from holes in the canopy, so that explains difficulty finding enough satellites.

The GPS satellite signals don't travel through water.
The water in tree leaves and branches blocks sat signal very well.
A few branches won't make much difference but thick canopy will.

 

[stormtheCOCKpit]

welcome to the forum lets see if i can help you with your question, to enable the drone to fly with GPS, it needs to be able to lock onto at least 8 sats ,it cant do this very successfully if it is inside a building, it might find 4 or 5 but that is not enough for it to get a lock,when you go outside in a clear area then after a short time the drone will find enough sats and will inform you that the home point has been recorded and you are then able to fly during the flight the sat count will change if there are tall structures around the drone or if you were flying down into a valley you could lose some of the sats locked
the devices GPS is not required for flying the drone

new to flying and sorry to hijack thread ..... how do you check the # of satellites you are connected to?

 

[Paul51]

It's on the screen, top right hand corner

 

[stormtheCOCKpit]

It's on the screen, top right hand corner

Awesome thank you ! I guess I didn’t catch that when I was flying. And you should want about 8-9 for ideal situation ?

 

[Paul51]

I normally fly with 12-15 as, said previously, wait a little longer after it says safe to fly, and you will notice the number of sats increases

 

[Dave Maine]

Most consider 10 or more to be ideal.

 

[Paul51]

You can never have too many...….

 

[stormtheCOCKpit]

Will you NOT fly if you have less than 10? Will you ever start flying with 10+ but then lose any on the way ?

 

[Paul51]

Never had a situation, of less than 12. Never. Once flying, I never bother looking to be honest. Never had a problem. I also, always keep a regular record of each flight, and how many sats. I connect to. Maximum I've had is 17

 

[stormtheCOCKpit]

Never had a situation, of less than 12. Never. Once flying, I never bother looking to be honest. Never had a problem. I also, always keep a regular record of each flight, and how many sats. I connect to. Maximum I've had is 17

Great thank you !!!

 

[Mossiback]

Will you NOT fly if you have less than 10? Will you ever start flying with 10+ but then lose any on the way ?

I won't launch with less than 10. There is a slight risk of losing one due to the hills and trees that are in my area. Generally, the higher you go the more you will receive.

You can lose satellite count if flying under bridges or in tight areas like canyons or close to buildings. The more open sky the better for GPS reception.