Drone not following grid lines
Flew a mission today, that I have flown before as well as many dronelink missions. This was a simple double grid with orbit. The P4P was all over the place!! Could not stay on the light path, sped up, slowed down etc. Have tried yet but each pic was so far off the previous one, don't know if the overlap software will be able to process them(don't know the limitations)! But is something is not right. I did upgrade to the new app version today. Any problems with this??? any help is greatly appreciated!! Thx Bolton
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I've completed my test flight and I had it set to track the drone flight but I don't know how to extract the image that shows the path. I also did a screen record of my iPad screen and it very well shows the erratic flight paths. I started the screen record after the first path after the first pass when it was flying directly at me and I could see the swerving. Oddly enough, the first and last passes it followed the lines fairly well and straight. But, the inner paths were all whacked. Can someone please tell me how to view and save / export the flight paths with the yellow lines?
Over the weekend, I calibrated the gimbal and IMU and I calibrated the compass directly before the flight trying to remove all variables. There was an error that popped up a few times on the DroneLink screen which was "+dji_check_fc_takeoff_failed_unknown_error". The drone launched and did everything per normal minus the swerving.
I Googled this error and there's a DroneLink support question about it and this post (https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/11737297168915-dji-check-fc-takeoff-failed-unknown) seems to possibly indicate incorrect battery updates, but I have updated EVERYTHING (drone, controller, batteries, databases, etc.) all before making my initial post here.
I'll upload the screen recording shortly. Can someone please tell me how to view / export the yellow lined flight paths out of DroneLink?
The yellow lines come from Airdata: https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035749573-How-do-I-connect-to-a-third-party-flight-logging-service-DroneLogBook-AirData-Aloft-Air-Control-Dronedesk
Here is what it looks like when I fly it:
It sounds like you are having hardware issues unfortunately.
Here's a link to my Google Drive for a short screen recording showing the swerving. So frustrating...
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-34MeDLvfiQ6gf9pfaTKcUWYQKfjeDzu?usp=sharing
Yep that’s classic drunk drone behavior. We have seen this happen randomly to older drones and not sure if it is a hardware sensor issue, or a firmware issue, but unfortunately it is out of our control.
HAHAHA, yep, a few too many it seems. I'll look into DroneDeploy's flight app and see if it has any issues. The last time I used it, it didn't. I believe DroneLink is the only app that does this. It's too bad too because I really like it. There's plenty of other mapping flight apps, but I'm not sure what else to use for vertical mapping.
Most of the other apps use onboard waypoints, and for some reason this issue only shows up when using virtual stick. If you want to run DL in onboard mode: https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410621290387-Onboard-Waypoints-Converting-and-Running-Missions
Damon Spurlock
What drone and flight controller/tablet are you using?
Hi Barry Houldsworth, I'm using DJI Phantom 4 Pro and iPad Pro 12" running iOS 17.5.1.
Thanks, Jim McAndrew, for your persistence and suggestions. I'm a little too afraid to try the onboard mission process when I only have 20 ft clearance from the building facade. I can't afford to not have control or a way to quickly intervene. I do appreciate your help!
Damon Spurlock
That should be fine.
But...there is a known problem with the GPS/Compass modules on the P4Ps failing. I had a bunch of them and it happened on 2 of them. One symptom is to just let it hover in place for a while and see if it turns slightly.
Onboard components do work and you can still take control of the drone. You have one of the last drones this works on.
Thanks, Barry Houldsworth. I'm seriously considering selling this workhorse and investing a Mavic 3E. The only issue... $$.
Are you saying I can try an onboard option AND still have the ability to immediately jump on the sticks or hit the pause button to take control back if needed? If so, I'll convert today's flight to an onboard mission and go try again tomorrow.
Damon Spurlock
Yes. You will still have control. What you might be confused with is that if the controller loses connectivity the drone will continue, which it will not if you are using virtual sticks. But, as long as you have a connection, you can still take control.
In fact, with onboard components, if you pull back on the right stick it will slow down, which it won't do with virtual sticks.
Give it a try on a test mission that is not near anything to get yourself comfortable with how it works but when I had a P4P I used that option often. I have switched over to the M3E now - amazing mapping drone but limited for creative work.
Barry Houldsworth, thank you. I will try it tomorrow. :)
Hi Barry Houldsworth and Jim McAndrew, I spent most of the day out at a park where I was able to work with the onboard flight paths and they worked beautifully. Thank you both for your help and persistence to help me find a solution. I was able to create and test both horizontal and vertical patterns for facade flights and for overhead mapping missions. I will "officially" test it tomorrow onsite at the high-rise property. Fingers crossed...
Thanks, guys!
Damon Spurlock
Great to hear! I've used it a lot - especially in areas with high noise or for orbits, which are MUCH smoother using onboard waypoints. It's a real shame that DJI have stopped supporting it on newer drones.
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