Possible GPS issue?

[grandpawmoses]

While flying yesterday I noticed the light on the H body was purple but every 5 seconds or so it flashed white.
Clear flying field, 17 sats on both bird and ST-16. No warnings on ST-16. Restarted but same white flashes. It flew normally with only minor drifting. It's usually rock steady but there were about 10 mph wind gusts. Could I be looking at a possible GPS failure?
Before I tear it down & look for any connection problems I thought I'd better check here for advice. All input welcome.

 

[PatR]

Take a moment to review the light codes on the card that came with your kit and the ops manual that was written by users and published as a sticky in this forum. Purple means you have the H in Angle mode. The White flash means you have acquired at least 10 satellites.

 

[ArealDynamics]

I hope somebody will time in with an answer to that one as I have two H's and they both do that even though I have calibrated the crap out of it everywhere I go usually and just about every time I fly I calibrate the accelerator and the compass... I find myself having to land quite often by disabiling the GPS. Even then you would think the birds would at least keep some stability. I've had $100 and cheaper knockoff beginner quad birds that held position better than the H does when flying with the GPS Disabled. As I progress with my business that type of unpredictable instability is going to get the H brand grounded...

 

[BroVari]

I hope somebody will time in with an answer to that one as I have two H's and they both do that even though I have calibrated the crap out of it everywhere I go usually and just about every time I fly I calibrate the accelerator and the compass... I find myself having to land quite often by disabiling the GPS. Even then you would think the birds would at least keep some stability. I've had $100 and cheaper knockoff beginner quad birds that held position better than the H does when flying with the GPS Disabled. As I progress with my business that type of unpredictable instability is going to get the H brand grounded...

Switching GPS off is not desinged for hovering, as even a small gust of wind will push the bird with the wind's direction. Typhoon H should be flying butterly smooth with the GPS disabled, at least mine is. No offense but either you're a bad pilot or you should check if your ST-16 controls are well calibrated. When you say about unpredictable instability, I would look towards the GPS ON mode instead, as when I try to make slow and smooth manouvers the H is a little twitchy but there is also a solution to that, users of this forum have presented a way to calibrate the controls so that the H will behave very nicely even while going slowly in GPS ON mode.

 

[Steve Carr]

It flew normally with only minor drifting

that type of unpredictable instability

The H should hold position, regardless of wind, without drifting. In strong gusty wind it may move but should stay withing a few feet when in hover. When you talk about drift, I presume you mean the H continues to drift in a given direction without stopping.

Drift is caused by the right stick. Check it carefully in Hardware Monitor. It should be smooth and return to exactly Zero when centered. I'm guessing your stick needs cleaned. After it's cleaned and operating correctly you may need to calibrate the ST16. Don't do the calibration with a dirty stick.

 

[grandpawmoses]

Take a moment to review the light codes on the card that came with your kit and the ops manual that was written by users and published as a sticky in this forum. Purple means you have the H in Angle mode. The White flash means you have acquired at least 10 satellites.

Thanks, I had looked at the codes on page 23 and thought I should have a solid purple. My bad and I appreciate the help.

 

[grandpawmoses]

The H should hold position, regardless of wind, without drifting. In strong gusty wind it may move but should stay withing a few feet when in hover. When you talk about drift, I presume you mean the H continues to drift in a given direction without stopping.

Drift is caused by the right stick. Check it carefully in Hardware Monitor. It should be smooth and return to exactly Zero when centered. I'm guessing your stick needs cleaned. After it's cleaned and operating correctly you may need to calibrate the ST16. Don't do the calibration with a dirty stick.

I should have said that differently. It was kind of wandering in a small area and did stay hovering within a few feet. The wind was actually stronger than I really felt comfortable to fly in. Thanks for the input.

 

[ArealDynamics]

The H should hold position, regardless of wind, without drifting. In strong gusty wind it may move but should stay withing a few feet when in hover. When you talk about drift, I presume you mean the H continues to drift in a given direction without stopping.

Drift is caused by the right stick. Check it carefully in Hardware Monitor. It should be smooth and return to exactly Zero when centered. I'm guessing your stick needs cleaned. After it's cleaned and operating correctly you may need to calibrate the ST16. Don't do the calibration with a dirty stick.

Mr. Carr, Thank You So Much!! So, for whatever reason I completely overlooked and never considered working out the trim on my birds, but what you have written is just exactly what I need to do immediately before I ever attempt to navigate up the tributaries and bluffs at my densily vegetated state forest where GPS connection is all but non-existent. Amazingly enough I've not had a single incident and have been logging hrs almost daily since this past December. Also, my fingers and nervous system are greatful for your advice. I'm relatively new to this so some somewhat ignorant, however now I can be a great pilot as I continue training myself flying in the deep forest. Just wow!!
Best regards -Chris

 

[Steve Carr]

Mr. Carr, Thank You So Much!! So, for whatever reason I completely overlooked and never considered working out the trim on my birds, but what you have written is just exactly what I need to do immediately before I ever attempt to navigate up the tributaries and bluffs at my densily vegetated state forest where GPS connection is all but non-existent. Amazingly enough I've not had a single incident and have been logging hrs almost daily since this past December. Also, my fingers and nervous system are greatful for your advice. I'm relatively new to this so some somewhat ignorant, however now I can be a great pilot as I continue training myself flying in the deep forest. Just wow!!
Best regards -Chris

I want to be clear about this issue. While the right stick does have "Cruise Control" using the pad under the stick, that is not trim. In order for the H to hold position the right stick must be zeroed when centered. A slight amount + or - will cause drift because the ST16 is telling the H to move. It is rather common for the ST16 sticks to not zero properly left/right. They can be cleaned by using a method listed in this forum. After they are cleaned and the ST16 calibrated, the H should hover well even in wind.

I am quite familiar with flying in dense forest.