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Repeated compass errors

wco81

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I'm traveling now and staying that this apt. over a cliff, overlooking a beautiful gorge, in Spain.

The place has some narrow terraces but the alternative is that this is a popular tourist destination so not too many places to launch.

So I just flew off one of the terraces.

When I first turned it on, it needed a firmware update. I didn't think DJI was still updating the firmware on the M2P, something about better logging.

But compass error which I usually get when I first go to a different country.

Except this time, I had to recalibrate like 3 times before the compass error went away and it went to GPS mode

Then I few briefly, about 100 meters AGL and maybe 150-200 meters from home. Before I could do anything else, about 5 minutes into flight, another compass error

So I don't know, maybe this locale has a lot of man-made or natural magnetic interference?

I'm not sure why kind of rock these cliffs are, they're reddish brown.

Has anyone else encountered anything like this? Compass error before launch, compass error during flight and it returned to home point alright but I'm thinking even if I calibrate it again, it might get error again

Has anyone ever had to move far from where they first tried to fly or maybe give up on a locale because of compass errors?

That's assuming there's an unusual amount of magnetic interference at a particular place, not that there's something wrong with the aircraft or the software.
 
I'm traveling now and staying that this apt. over a cliff, overlooking a beautiful gorge, in Spain.

The place has some narrow terraces but the alternative is that this is a popular tourist destination so not too many places to launch.

So I just flew off one of the terraces.

When I first turned it on, it needed a firmware update. I didn't think DJI was still updating the firmware on the M2P, something about better logging.

But compass error which I usually get when I first go to a different country.

Except this time, I had to recalibrate like 3 times before the compass error went away and it went to GPS mode

Then I few briefly, about 100 meters AGL and maybe 150-200 meters from home. Before I could do anything else, about 5 minutes into flight, another compass error

So I don't know, maybe this locale has a lot of man-made or natural magnetic interference?

I'm not sure why kind of rock these cliffs are, they're reddish brown.

Has anyone else encountered anything like this? Compass error before launch, compass error during flight and it returned to home point alright but I'm thinking even if I calibrate it again, it might get error again

Has anyone ever had to move far from where they first tried to fly or maybe give up on a locale because of compass errors?

That's assuming there's an unusual amount of magnetic interference at a particular place, not that there's something wrong with the aircraft or the software.
I have issues like this a lot. I have erros before flight, so i move the drone and it goes away, sometimes it stays until I recalibrate, Sometime I get an error in flight or after landing, but I never seem to have an issue flying or RTH. I've heard of the problems that can occur, but I never seem to get them. My only problem, is having to move the drone or recalibrate just so I can take off.
 
@wco81 it could just be that the drone itself has become magnetised ,to fix it you will need a degausser ,they are available on many web sites,this happens if the drone has been stored close to a strong magnet such as a speaker, or its possible that a detector used as you went through customs could have caused it ,and of course over an extended period of time the drone can become magnetised, just from the natural magnetism of the earth
 
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Hmm, hope not. Want to be able to use it at other spots during this trip.

Will update the threat to see if this problem occurs in other spots.
 
@wco81 it could just be that the drone itself has become magnetised ,to fix it you will need a degausser ,they are available on many web sites,this happens if the drone has been stored close to a strong magnet such as a speaker, or its possible that a detector used as you went through customs could have caused it ,and of course over an extended period of time the drone can become magnetised, just from the natural magnetism of the earth
Wow! That's a blast from the past. Haven't heard the term degausser for 50 years. Old CRT TV technology.
 
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I have three Mavic 2 drones.
One of them always gives a message on startup "mag interference - check app". It has always done that since it was new.
But it is a false error message. I check the sensor state in Go4, it is perfectly fine. I check that the direction of the drone in the map is the same as the drone itself on the ground. I take off, the message disappears, and the drone flies fine.
My other two Mavic 2 drones does not give that false message.
I have heard other persons have the same problem with the Mavic 2, so it seems a batch of them have this error. I never tried fixing it, it does not bother me much.
 
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Took the aircraft to a different place, some distance from where I was getting the repeated compass errors.

It calibrated on the first try.

I didn't try to fly it there, so it seems not a problem with the aircraft itself.
 
Sounds to me that those reddish brown rocks are high in Iron content (hence the color) and yes they would definitely affect your compass.
 
Wow! That's a blast from the past. Haven't heard the term degausser for 50 years. Old CRT TV technology.
I have three Mavic 2 drones.
One of them always gives a message on startup "mag interference - check app". It has always done that since it was new.
But it is a false error message. I check the sensor state in Go4, it is perfectly fine. I check that the direction of the drone in the map is the same as the drone itself on the ground. I take off, the message disappears, and the drone flies fine.
My other two Mavic 2 drones does not give that false message.
I have heard other persons have the same problem with the Mavic 2, so it seems a batch of them have this error. I never tried fixing it, it does not bother me much.
A post I made a little while back. I haven't had to recalibrate it since.
 
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Sounds to me that those reddish brown rocks are high in Iron content (hence the color) and yes they would definitely affect your compass.

So it was definitely the location.

I am fortunate enough to be near these cliffs with a stunning view of the surrounding valley and the city perched on top of these cliffs.

But the only outdoor space are these narrow terraces and it's close to the views I wanted to capture, which is of the high bridge, cliffs and the gorge below and the valley around it.

Whenever I try to launch from one of these terraces, I get compass errors repeatedly. The place is stop one of those cliffs though the cliffs I want to photograph require going about 50-100 meters to the NW.

I managed to get through calibration a couple of times but it consistently requires calibration every time I start up, like after swapping a battery. Most of the time I can't complete calibration.

So I just walked to a location about 200-300 meters to the south and it is also on a cliff but it's a parking spot with nice open space, no overhead wires of any kind.

So I had to fly about 300 meters more to get the same views but I had no compass errors (magnetic interference) and I found another location to fly along the other side of the town, which is also beautiful.

I don't know, maybe it's an artificial EMI. Hope not, hope I'm not being bombarded with EM waves from an artificial source but then it would affect other electronics as well.
 
So it was definitely the location.

I am fortunate enough to be near these cliffs with a stunning view of the surrounding valley and the city perched on top of these cliffs.

But the only outdoor space are these narrow terraces and it's close to the views I wanted to capture, which is of the high bridge, cliffs and the gorge below and the valley around it.

Whenever I try to launch from one of these terraces, I get compass errors repeatedly. The place is stop one of those cliffs though the cliffs I want to photograph require going about 50-100 meters to the NW.

I managed to get through calibration a couple of times but it consistently requires calibration every time I start up, like after swapping a battery. Most of the time I can't complete calibration.

So I just walked to a location about 200-300 meters to the south and it is also on a cliff but it's a parking spot with nice open space, no overhead wires of any kind.

So I had to fly about 300 meters more to get the same views but I had no compass errors (magnetic interference) and I found another location to fly along the other side of the town, which is also beautiful.

I don't know, maybe it's an artificial EMI. Hope not, hope I'm not being bombarded with EM waves from an artificial source but then it would affect other electronics as well.
You most likely nailed it. Magnetic interference. Off of a terrace you most likely have a ton of transformers and such generating magnetic flux. Will the real north pole please stand out, lol. Can you feel me now.
 
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