What to do when your Mavic goes into atti mode - best practices

[sar104]

Are your charts from a Mavic or Phantom? The one time my MP dropped into ATTI mode I was basically flying in complete manual. It refused to hold altitude without throttle input. The rest of the control inputs were as you describe, though.

Mavic in ATTI. ATTI is the same across the range of DJI quads, and will hold altitude unless there are other IMU problems. In this case I switched it to ATTI so it had no other issues that might cause flight instability.

Manual is a quite different animal anyway - no attitude or altitude control and completely unstable. In fact unless you are very practiced at it from the P2 days it will most likely crash immediately.

 

[sar104]

Twice in same day on around 50 flights so not really an issue for me.

I think the mavic switches more easily to atti than P3 having a dual compass.

Wonder if real compass redundancy will make it into consumer drones, shouldn't be too hard to add another magnetometer to mavic 2.

Actually, if I recall correctly, @BudWalker has observed that the Mavic is more reluctant to switch to ATTI and will try harder to resolve IMU discrepancies before doing so. Having reviewed a number of Phantom and Mavic event logs I'm inclined to agree.

 

[Callum]

Actually, if I recall correctly, @BudWalker has observed that the Mavic is more reluctant to switch to ATTI and will try harder to resolve IMU discrepancies before doing so. Having reviewed a number of Phantom and Mavic event logs I'm inclined to agree.

I think I remember reading that actually. Is that when it yaws automatically trying to get compasses to agree?

I did notice some strange behaviour before I entered atti mode with mavic.

Not had been forced to atti with my P3 yet but would be inclined to take you and budwalkers word on it.

 

[sar104]

I think I remember reading that actually. Is that when it yaws automatically trying to get compasses to agree?

I did notice some strange behaviour before I entered atti mode with mavic.

Not had been forced to atti with my P3 yet but would be inclined to take you and budwalkers word on it.

That was what he suggested I think - that it was yawing to try to get yaw and MagYaw to agree. The only times I've flown in ATTI mode with the Mavic is when I switch into it manually, so I've never encountered the yaw behavior myself. It is apparent in some of the logs that have been posted for analysis though.

 

[Ian in London]

Are Mavic owners really loosing GPS that often? My Phantom 3P had over 300 hours on it when I sold it. Not once did I ever loose GPS. My first Mavic had about 2 hours on it before I gave it to my son. I lost GPS a few times for 10-12 seconds each event. My new MP only has about 15 minutes of flight time so far, so far so good

really interesting to read this... I have dropped into ATTI mode at some point in flight around every 3-4th flight... Now, in fairness, it's usually when I've been travellingand I'm taking off in a different location. I was always a littel sceptical why a different location would affect GPS reception, but re-caligbrating the compass always seems to fix the issue... So there's a lesson; calibrate when you're flying in a new area.

Cheers, Ian

 

[sar104]

really interesting to read this... I have dropped into ATTI mode at some point in flight around every 3-4th flight... Now, in fairness, it's usually when I've been travellingand I'm taking off in a different location. I was always a littel sceptical why a different location would affect GPS reception, but re-caligbrating the compass always seems to fix the issue... So there's a lesson; calibrate when you're flying in a new area.

Cheers, Ian

I would suspect other reasons for your ATTI problem - I've travelled thousands of miles and never needed to recalibrate Phantoms or Mavic. The only time that recalibration will be needed is if the magnetic state of the aircraft itself has changed or the magnetometers have drifted, either due to it being exposed to a strong magnetic field or components being added/removed. Changing location, per se, should have no effect at all.

 

[BD0G]

Ive never entered ATTI mode (with the exception being directly after power up being inside where no GPS reception is available) while flying the Mavic unless I put some foil over it to intentionally enter ATTI mode. Lucky? Maybe.

 

[sar104]

Ive never entered ATTI mode (with the exception being directly after power up being inside where no GPS reception is available) while flying the Mavic unless I put some foil over it to intentionally enter ATTI mode. Lucky? Maybe.

Agreed - I've never seen ATTI mode on the Mavic except when I switch to it. Same with the Phantoms. But then I also don't fly in locations with very poor sky view and I also make sure that my takeoff points are free from magnetic distortion.

 

[BD0G]

You keep mentioning switching to ATTI mode. How is that accomplished with the Mavic Pro? I have to use tin foil and am eager to learn the method.

 

[dennyc39]

a bit off topic, but I wonder how this guy does it. FPV goggles maybe? I have no experience, so my mind is duly boggled.

 

[marklyn]

So, I posted this question thinking that someone out there has some words of wisdom on how to fly your drone back to you if it goes into atti mode. Seen some interesting tips but it still seems to me that if this happens it becomes very difficult to do, right? If your drone is say half a mile away and even if you are pointing it in your direction to fly back, if there is a crosswind then you'd always have to be adjusting the stick to compensate for that too, is that correct? Or would a better idea be to try to keep it in one place (stop drifting) in hopes that GPS comes back? I'm still not sure what's the best advice.

 

[wytnyt]

That was what he suggested I think - that it was yawing to try to get yaw and MagYaw to agree. The only times I've flown in ATTI mode with the Mavic is when I switch into it manually, so I've never encountered the yaw behavior myself. It is apparent in some of the logs that have been posted for analysis though.

how do you switch into atti mode when the mavic cant just be switched into it?

 

[fileophile]

"how do you switch into atti mode when the mavic cant just be switched into it?"

The Mavic can be switched into ATTI manually IF (a big IF) you are willing to play around with modded firmware and software. See this post:

DJI Dashboard - How To tips and tricks *MAVIC* - RC Groups

More on topic for this thread, I don't think there is a standard or automatic response to the Mavic going into ATTI mode on its own. It all depends on the exact situation of the moment. The one crash I had was thinking "go up" automatically; unfortunately there were large branches "up".

 

[wytnyt]

"how do you switch into atti mode when the mavic cant just be switched into it?"

The Mavic can be switched into ATTI manually IF (a big IF) you are willing to play around with modded firmware and software. See this post:

DJI Dashboard - How To tips and tricks *MAVIC* - RC Groups

More on topic for this thread, I don't think there is a standard or automatic response to the Mavic going into ATTI mode on its own. It all depends on the exact situation of the moment. The one crash I had was thinking "go up" automatically; unfortunately there were large branches "up".

so u cant unless you change the file design

 

[sar104]

You keep mentioning switching to ATTI mode. How is that accomplished with the Mavic Pro? I have to use tin foil and am eager to learn the method.

With certain earlier firmware/software combinations it was possible to alter the mapping of the RC flight mode switch with a simple parameter change.

 

[Ian in London]

So, I posted this question thinking that someone out there has some words of wisdom on how to fly your drone back to you if it goes into atti mode. Seen some interesting tips but it still seems to me that if this happens it becomes very difficult to do, right? If your drone is say half a mile away and even if you are pointing it in your direction to fly back, if there is a crosswind then you'd always have to be adjusting the stick to compensate for that too, is that correct? Or would a better idea be to try to keep it in one place (stop drifting) in hopes that GPS comes back? I'm still not sure what's the best advice.

Agreed; basically you have very little knowledge of where and how your drone is moving. It will be drifting, fast, as even the lightest of breezes will be blowing it along pretty fast up high. My advice is to immiedaitely gain as much height as you can to make sure you avoid any surrounding obstacles, and quickly check your antennae to make sure they're perpendicular to the direction of your Mavic (ie not pointing towards it), and if you're lucky enough to have video feed, then do a 360' turn to guage where the sun is and use that to fly back towards you. Make sure you are facing the Mavic's directiion without any trees or obstacles near you, and you will probably regain GPS mode. And if you do, then press RTH asap and then recallibrate your compass when you get it home... As others have said, ATTI mode should practically never happen, so there may be an underlying issue...
Cheers,

Ian

 

[DTC709]

So from what I’ve gathered. You should still have vertical and horizontal distance information on the RC. If that’s the case, staying calm, maintaining the vertical distance, or even increasing if your fairly certain your clear to do so, in a hope to regain GPS. Once that’s handled, take your time and try and get the horizontal distance to start decreasing.

Obviously not so simple when all this is happening. But trying to stick to those couple simple instructions, and if you have video feed it should be easier. I would think keeping the Mavic aloft long enough to get a grasp on the location or regain location shouldn’t be to horrible.

 

[dennyc39]

I've never been in ATTI mode, but have an idea:
If you have sight of the drone, put it into an easy circle: Right stick forward, left stick to the left. This should produce a skidding counterclockwise circle as the drone drives forward while yawing left. From your perspective, the circle will be nearly edge-on, and the craft will appear to move left, stop, move right, stop, move left, etc.

When the line of sight to the drone appears to stop drifting to your left, neutralize the left stick just before it starts drifting to your right. At this instant, the drone course will be pretty much toward you, but the drone heading will actually be pointing to its left of the homeward heading, because of the skidding nature of its turns. So, you'll probably find it necessary to give it a bit of right yaw (the left stick move right) until your visual bearing to the drone remains constant. Neutralize left stick and continue holding right stick forward. Confirm the distance is closing:
As the distance closes, the elevation of your line of sight should begin to increase, and the RC display should confirm the distance is closing. Soon it should be close enough that you can fly normally.

I've never been in ATTI mode, but this procedure worked well for me when the DJI app disconnected from the remote. Seems that it might work with luck even if you have lost sight of the drone, if you monitor the distance readout.

Be careful you don't inadvertently mix in some "down" command with the left stick. Keep the movement strictly in the 9 o clock or 3 o clock direction and check altitude indication.

Try this a bit in a safe area and controlled situation for practice.

Regarding altitude: best to climb if you are sure you won't climb into an obstruction. Also, you may regain sight of the craft, since it will more likely be silhouetted against the sky, rather than trees or clutter.

 

[rfc]

Sort of. Another way of looking at it is that it becomes a good example of Newton's 1st Law of motion.

For all you old timers: Think Space Invaders.

 

[DTC709]

Anyone here pick up a Tello? Would you say that’s anywhere near decent practice?