What can cause a Mini 2 to drift up and down a few feet with only modest wind.

[vindibona1]

I was out flying my Mini 2 this weekend over a lagoon. I'd have to say no less than 10 feet or higher than 50 feet above the water. As I watched it from a distance I could see that while hovirng it would randomly move up and down 2-4 feet with hands off the sticks. I wanted to try to take it undera bridge that had 8 foot vertical clearance but was afraid from too many tales of Minis going for a swim unexpectedly. Winds were approximately 10mph with 16mph gusts.

Any thoughts?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

We posted a video that when you turn sideway into the wind it cause the drone to uplift , we demonstrated this by turning slowly around into the wind and the drone lifted about 10 ft before making its way back, You will find that flying directly into the head wind is the best way to stay at alt.

 

[vindibona1]

We posted a video that when you turn sideway into the wind it cause the drone to uplift , we demonstrated this by turning slowly around into the wind and the drone lifted about 10 ft before making its way back, You will find that flying directly into the head wind is the best way to stay at alt.

I'm glad to know that it's not a defect in the Mini 2 itself. I had an issue with sideways drift because the props (put on by the drone repair company btw) were not all tightened down sufficiently. Fortunately I recognized that that was the first place to look for that issue and fixed it quickly. I do not have upward drift (at least noticeable) with my Mavic 2, which was probably the main reason I got it and skipped over the MA2. The extra mass in addition to additional power makes it more stable when the wind increases or gusts.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

That drift up is really exaggerated in higher winds.
Check out 4:15 and watch what happens to the Air 2 .

 

[arcticfrost]

Just more practice and get more comfortable with flying and how it handles. Then come back to the bridge when you’re ready.

 

[Meta4]

I could see that while hovirng it would randomly move up and down 2-4 feet with hands off the sticks.

Despite what some might think, wind makes no difference to altitude.

Your expectations might be the issue.
Have a look at the specs for your drone to understand what it's capable of with respect to altitude stability.

Hovering Accuracy Range​

Vertical: ±0.1 m (with Vision Positioning), ±0.5 m (with GPS Positioning)​

Horizontal: ±0.3 m (with Vision Positioning), ±1.5 m (with GPS Positioning) ​

When VPS is not available because of height or unsuitable conditions (like over water), rising and falling a couple of feet is within spec.

 

[gremlin16]

I was flying 15-20 feet above a canal yesterday. Every time I hovered it sank 2-3 feet. No reason for it, I assumed it was the downward sensors. Needless to say, I didn’t take my eye off the drone for even a nanosecond

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

I was out flying my Mini 2 this weekend over a lagoon. I'd have to say no less than 10 feet or higher than 50 feet above the water. As I watched it from a distance I could see that while hovirng it would randomly move up and down 2-4 feet with hands off the sticks. I wanted to try to take it undera bridge that had 8 foot vertical clearance but was afraid from too many tales of Minis going for a swim unexpectedly. Winds were approximately 10mph with 16mph gusts.

Any thoughts?

Same here
The firmware update killed the distance and now drifts real bad.
Mini 2

 

[Bodkin's Best Photography]

I was flying 15-20 feet above a canal yesterday. Every time I hovered it sank 2-3 feet. No reason for it, I assumed it was the downward sensors. Needless to say, I didn’t take my eye off the drone for even a nanosecond

I saw this happen just yesterday. Hovering over a small lake, brought it down further and upon releasing the stick it kept traveling another 3 feet towards the water. I think the reflective surface of pond had something to do with it.

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

I was out flying my Mini 2 this weekend over a lagoon. I'd have to say no less than 10 feet or higher than 50 feet above the water. As I watched it from a distance I could see that while hovirng it would randomly move up and down 2-4 feet with hands off the sticks. I wanted to try to take it undera bridge that had 8 foot vertical clearance but was afraid from too many tales of Minis going for a swim unexpectedly. Winds were approximately 10mph with 16mph gusts.

Any thoughts?

New Mini 2 update will take you on a wild toad ride
Just let go of the sticks and watch it fly where ever it wants
And forget about the distance claims on paper
That is now out the window also Big Time
Sorry

 

[JooB]

The problem is the word "Mini", I suppose.
Where my M2Z stands in the sky like glued to it my Mini 2 "dances" a bit around even in light winds.
Just fly backwards 10 meters, stop slowly and fly back forward 10 meters and you will miss your starting point noticeably with the Mini 2.
Noticed that when training to fly backwards through narrow openings.
Less CPU, less power, less GPS accuracy.
It's a great drone for it's size and weight but you can't compare it with the "big one's".

 

[Meta4]

Less CPU, less power, less GPS accuracy.

The GPS accuracy is identical to other DJI drones.

 

[JooB]

May be, but the hardware is different, the Mini 2 takes a lot (!) longer after powered up to find satellites and get a GPS fix than the M2Z. I suppose that the Mini 2 also needs more time in flight to recalculate it's position with the maximum accuracy and therefore "dances around" a bit instead of standing absolutely still in the air.

 

[Meta4]

I suppose that the Mini 2 also needs more time in flight to recalculate it's position with the maximum accuracy and therefore "dances around" a bit instead of standing absolutely still in the air.

GPS doesn't "take more time".
The position data is constantly updating.
I would expect that the Mini 2 probably has the same GPS receiver chip as the Mavic 2 does.

 

[JooB]

GPS itself not, but the hardware for getting a GPS fix.
Well, I can just describe the differences I see between my two drones... and they are significant in relation to the GPS fix.

 

[Meta4]

GPS itself not, but the hardware for getting a GPS fix.
Well, I can just describe the differences I see between my two drones... and they are significant in relation to the GPS fix.

They both have a GPS receiver that provides the location data and it's probably the same chip.
Slow GPS data is unlikely to be an issue.

 

[Ashjuk]

Time taken to get a GPS fix can very quite significantly even with the same device.

I don't know if it's the same for the Mini but my Garmin sport watch gets a fix much faster if I use it regularly. If I leave it unused for a few days it can take quite a while to get a fix, but if I use it daily it gets a fix almost instantly.

 

[SkyeHigh]

Time taken to get a GPS fix can very quite significantly even with the same device.

I don't know if it's the same for the Mini but my Garmin sport watch gets a fix much faster if I use it regularly. If I leave it unused for a few days it can take quite a while to get a fix, but if I use it daily it gets a fix almost instantly.

There’s a very good reason for that and applies to most GPS receivers. It’s known as ‘Warm Start Fix’. The GPS receivers keep a note of its last location, time and speed. Unless the receiver has moved more than 100KM it can use its last fix and an Almanac (list of satellites within view for the location and time) and obtain an approximate position fix. The receiver then searches for the satellites from the almanac list and calculates its position to increasing accuracy.

When a receiver hasn’t been used for some time or moved more than 100KM from its last fix, it has to search for available satellites in view, wait to load the Almanac and then use this data to calculate its position, which will take longer than a Warm Start.