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Magnetic Interference - toilet bowl

brian bwin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2016
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Location
Wilmington, DE USA
Website
okvideode.com
We are documenting the demolition of a large power plant over the course of a year. Mostly I am using my Sony FS-100 camera but doing aerial video and stills every couple months. Today was our second aerial shoot and our first with the X-Star. The previous shoot was done with my friends Phantom 4.

There is A LOT of metal here (photo attached). That said we had no issues with the Phantom anywhere on the grounds so I didn't expect any with the X-Star.

We took some overview/distance shots which went great. When we got closer to the plant we could not find a location that did not result in a magnetic interference compass error. I attempted to calibrate in several of those locations but the error still came back. Went back to the original distant location just to make sure everything was ok, re-calibrated and it flew fine.

After that we tried to seek out another location without interference. Found one but as I took off it immediately started to spin out of control. Fought it down and almost landed successfully but had a gentle (still cringe worthy) tip over :(

After reading post #373 this warning "The lack of a compass error does NOT mean your compass is working and calibrated properly" particularly stuck out. That post also helped a lot with when/when not to calibrate and will definitely improve my use in the future.
  1. Does the Phantom 4 have a more advanced compass that isn't as bothered by metal?
  2. I assume the XSP uses the same compass as the XS and would react the same?
  3. In future is it OK to fly in ATTI mode in these areas? What other things are there to consider related to interference when flying in ATTI mode?
  4. How would you/did you handle this out of control effect?
Sorry for the wordy post, thanks in advance for any help you can give!
 

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    plantoverview.png
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