Compass Warning! Whats going on?

KBflyer · Sep 7, 2016

Thanks h-elsner
I use your program all the time now to look at the telemetry files for problems but his telemetry file had so many errors I thought it best to bring you in on the conversation to help out. Very much appropriated.

Wes Watkins · Sep 7, 2016

Pevo said:
Joined just to chime in -- Brand new Typhoon H Pro (Latest firmware), on it's 4th fight (2nd of the day) it took off and immediately lost control. Set to home mode, kept going in the same direction but it managed to land itself in a treeline about 1,350 feet from "home". Previous flight was perfect, according to the telemetry it was compass failure. Sent all the telemetry in last week, waiting on a response from Yuneec as the gimbal is completely ripped apart and one arm is broken.

Sounds all too familiar with my H #1. Identical symptom, distance, and damage

Wes Watkins · Sep 7, 2016

CAPTAINDRONE said:
I'm confused. Your Typhoon in the video was not representative of a drone with the problems the indicator lights are showing. It appeared to maintain stable height and positioning. Besides the messed up indicator light and annoying compass message, how does it fly?

Sorry, I've been out for a few days...

It was wanting to wander off but I was keeping it as still as possible... not only for the video but so my wife didn't take a prop to the head while holding the GoPro!
I think it's just freaky not knowing if the warning is true or not.

Wes Watkins · Sep 7, 2016

Wes Watkins said:
Same here, only mine started occurring before I updated the firmware... Out of frustration I made this video. I'm about to call my losses with Yuneec. See if what is in my video is what is happening to everyone else's H

Update to my video... It ends up that Yuneec shipped me a USED defective compass. On a hunch I drove to Carolina Dronz (Frank is awesome by the way!!) and bought a new compass with top shell. About 4 total hours of driving on labor day but it was worth it. I put the new compass and shell on, calibrated it, and symptoms gone!!!!! I've been flying it ever since. Here is a picture of the (used, defective) compass Yuneec was supposed to overnight me, but took 4 days to get! Notice how the rubber insulation is torn off from where the wires are soldered to the board.

Jimmylee · Sep 8, 2016

Has anybody who emailed or called Yuneec got any real help or solution about the compass warning?

BobW55 · Sep 8, 2016

Emailed, right after update. No reply yet.
Going to call tomorrow on my one day off work.

glider · Sep 8, 2016

Really odd. I have one of the early H's released and have not experienced any flight issues other than a slight drift after the latest fw update. Redoing the calibrations seems to have fixed that.

Jimmylee · Sep 9, 2016

Well here we are into the weekend and Yuneec is quite about any problems even though half the users who upgraded are have some issues.
Email and phone support yields no help at all, it is policy to never openly admit there is an issue or problem.
They could at least allow us to revert back to the previous version of the firmware until things are sorted out.

Oh well I do have my Phantoms to fly until they figure it out.

Drone_Video · Sep 9, 2016

I have spent almost 4 hours on the phone with them today.... they are 100% in denial ( at least publicly ) there is any elevated issues in the 14 days. I asked them point blank, and they said there is no extra elevated calls about compass issues or B23 software concerns. No reported crashes past the odd one or two.

Someone has gone to Home Depot and got a very large pail of white paint a very big brush.....

BobW55 · Sep 9, 2016

Called them today, gave me an immediate RMA without my nagging them.
They know something is up even if they will not admit to it.
Stand your ground, they are good about taking care of their customers, you may have to squeak a lot first.

dinglehead · Sep 9, 2016

So. Should I just be trying to replace the compass unit if I'm having these troubles? I would rather spend $20 on a part than deal with shipping this thing to Yuneec and waiting an undetermined amount of time

Drone_Video · Sep 9, 2016

dinglehead said:
So. Should I just be trying to replace the compass unit if I'm having these troubles? I would rather spend $20 on a part than deal with shipping this thing to Yuneec and waiting an undetermined amount of time

ask them to send you the part if your willing to do the swap...

Jimmylee · Sep 9, 2016

dinglehead said:
So. Should I just be trying to replace the compass unit if I'm having these troubles? I would rather spend $20 on a part than deal with shipping this thing to Yuneec and waiting an undetermined amount of time

I thought about that route, just order a compass, very easy to change.
But is it a hardware problem when the latest firmware broke it, I kinda doubt it.

RiverRunner · Sep 9, 2016

Jimmylee said:
I thought about that route, just order a compass, very easy to change.
But is it a hardware problem when the latest firmware broke it, I kinda doubt it.

I don't see how a firmware update could cause a compass to fail, so I agree. It is likely that they have changed the threshold at which magnetic interference is reported as an error. There may be some variation in hardware that makes this a problem for some users and not others. It should be easy for them to fix in firmware.
For me, I only get the message if I have the controller very close to the H. I have not had any control issues..

dinglehead · Sep 9, 2016

I get control issues along with the orange flashing light rathe frequently.

Controls go very squishy and unpredictable. Landing becomes difficult. It's a mess.

Pilot60 · Sep 10, 2016

Hi there!
Greetings from Germany. Here are my solutions for the compass problem.

1. Put the H at the ground and switch on.
2. After wifi is connected lift the H over your head ( with your hands!) and point it to all directions. If you got a compass warning, there is a problem with the ground. Maybe a hidden pipe or cable or a little pice of metall. If there are no warnings, put it back and enjoy the flight.

If you are getting warnings, try this:
Put the H from the ground. A small plastic or wooden table maybe solve your problems. Just start from the table. Always do a restart before you check again before flight, like in No.2

You also can use your compass app on your cell phone. Use the magnetic sensor, not the direction from the GPS. Start the app in your hands and watch the readings, while putting your phone at the ground. If there are deviations, the ground is not clean.

If you would like to do a test, put your H on the hood of your car. Switch on the H. After booting, lift it with your hands. You will get the compass error.

These hints are to avoid a crash. There is a problem with the H. Other copters are performing well. Yuneec has to fix it.

eric bee · Sep 12, 2016

I get issues with my h after install last firmware...

-toilet boil flights
-one direction flight with a drift to another direction
-sometimes compass warning

I have calibrate compass with face north at 3 places in green... doesn't help!

some ideas?

RiverRunner · Sep 12, 2016

eric bee said:
I get issues with my h after install last firmware...

-toilet boil flights
-one direction flight with a drift to another direction
-sometimes compass warning

I have calibrate compass with face north at 3 places in green... doesn't help!

some ideas?

Have you done the IMU cakibration?
Have you called customer service?