Weak GPS signal, was it my fault?

[Deleted member 24841]

Unusually we've been having a lot of sunshine in the UK and I thought I'd make a sun hood to sit on my iPhone6 when attached to the Mavic controller. It's just a rectangle of thin black card about 4" high with a cut out at the bottom for my fingers. I thought I was really clever, but for the first time ever I lost control with 'Weak GPS Signal' then 'Warning (UM) heading exception (in flight) please switch to ATTI mode if craft behave abnormally and 'Compass Error'. I could hear it in the distance, but it was out of sight. In my panic, I never thought to remove the hood, but just pressed RTH and it was great to see it coming back over the tree tops and then landing safely in the garden. So was it a coincidence that I had those warnings or did my bit of handicraft cause the problem?

 

[Robert Mitchell]

GPS and compass errors don't come from the controller, they come from the Mavic.

I seriously doubt your shade had anything to do with it. Total coincidence IMO.

 

[Bunny Too]

Unusually we've been having a lot of sunshine in the UK and I thought I'd make a sun hood to sit on my iPhone6 when attached to the Mavic controller. It's just a rectangle of thin black card about 4" high with a cut out at the bottom for my fingers. I thought I was really clever, but for the first time ever I lost control with 'Weak GPS Signal' then 'Warning (UM) heading exception (in flight) please switch to ATTI mode if craft behave abnormally and 'Compass Error'. I could hear it in the distance, but it was out of sight. In my panic, I never thought to remove the hood, but just pressed RTH and it was great to see it coming back over the tree tops and then landing safely in the garden. So was it a coincidence that I had those warnings or did my bit of handicraft cause the problem?

Not a lot of empirical evidence yet, I find it hard to believe that a little sun screen would cause interference. It is nice to see the drone heading home after that kind of a scare. I would try a couple short flights in the garden to locate the problem.

 

[Cyberpower678]

An IMU error is serious, and in no way caused by pilot error, unless it was improperly calibrated. It's nice to see the drone corrected it itself, but if the IMU does fail, RTH would have resulted in a fly away. The drone can fly without the IMU, but it's a lot harder and means you need to fly with all the experience you have and not rely on automation to get it back.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

I would have to agree, It wouldn't be the sunshade. Re-calibrate the IMU and Compass and take it out for short flights keeping it in line of sight.

 

[Deleted member 24841]

Thanks all for the response and advice, I had this sinking feeling that I was going to lose it and that it was a bit of luck when the RTH kicked in. I will certainly do as advised, re-calibrate and try a few short flights until I gain confidence again. This new Mavic isn't helping my stress levels! Thanks again all