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Compass Warning! Whats going on?

Glad to hear it's finally back home. Remember, on that first flight, let it sit outside with the motors off for 12.5 min to let the GPS finish updating.
Having read some of the other posts on this I now always point it north on calibration, leave in that position on the ground for 10-15mins. Last night I was checking it out, powered up and got no sats on the bird (inside). To put this to rest in my mind I took it outside, sats a plenty (whew). Just waiting on a good day now!
 
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I haven't flown my H's for months. I'm now getting them ready for a class I will teach this summer on video and photography with drones. I took 3 batteries and headed to a place I've often flown, middle of nowhere near something called the Ice Age Trail. First battery, I let it sit several minutes despite it telling me it had 20 satellites.
Launched and flew about 30 feet away from me about 10 feet up in the air testing various things...there was slight drift. I flew it out about 40 or 50 feet it then began flying on its own without any stick input...as it got about a 1/4 mile away I switched to RTH...that halted it's departure as it came back to me I was getting both a battery error (erroneous error) and compass error messages. I switched it off RTH and again had control although sticks were sloppy. Landed it, did compass calibration 5 times before it accepted it, then IMU and gimbal. I also experienced orange light flicker periodically. Battery 2, after complete calibration I launched and once again got orange light blink periodically never flew it far from me I got repeated compass error /magnetic error issues. I landed it and put battery 3 in recallibrated again and let it sit 10 minutes it had acquired 19 satellites, there is no metal or any other sort of obstructions in this area and I've flow here trouble free for years. I launched and once again got compass / magnetic errors so I landed it and found this thread.

My question is: are there any videos which show how to replace GPS unit? For someone who has replaced the GPS how long did it take to do and what is required. This is one of the original H's which was repaired after a crash in Iceland...the repair was done by Yuneec as part of a deal for using my Iceland footage to promote the H...I'm not sure about the quality of the repair which was done about 1.5 years ago...I had to send it back twice after first repair. Non of these errors occurred until I updated firmware which is the most most current. As I recall my other H's also have the periodic orange light blink as well when I was using them last fall and they had drift when hovering. Cheers, Calm Winds to All

Here is link in German to GPS replacement video: watch
 
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there was slight drift. I flew it out about 40 or 50 feet it then began flying on its own without any stick input
My question is: are there any videos which show how to replace GPS unit?
The first think to check is the ST16 using Hardware Monitor. The sticks often get oxidation when it isn't used for a long time. Check it carefully and for at least 5 min. Look to see the graphs returning to zero when the sticks are centered and that they are smooth and go full scale. The drifting you describe is often caused by the sticks not returning to zero.

The GPS module is one of the easiest parts to change. You remove the 10 screws on the bottom around the outside of the body. Then carefully release the tabs at each motor arm to lift off the top. After it lifts, unplug the GPS cable and peel back the sticky shield which covers the GPS/compass module. I don't know of a Youtube video on this but I just posted a video last night on checking the GPS battery. You can see the location of the module.

The compass warnings became more frequent after the last firmware update. Generally after you get higher than 30-50' they go away and start again when descending closer to the ground. They also seem to occur when operating the landing gear. So.......make sure the problem isn't with the ST16 regarding drift and that the compass warnings are not related to ground effect before changing the module. BTW, I did the battery test video because of a related issue of the the GPS loosing co-ords and compass cal while in storage. The backup battery can run down when it isn't used for a long time.

 
The first think to check is the ST16 using Hardware Monitor. The sticks often get oxidation when it isn't used for a long time. Check it carefully and for at least 5 min. Look to see the graphs returning to zero when the sticks are centered and that they are smooth and go full scale. The drifting you describe is often caused by the sticks not returning to zero.

The GPS module is one of the easiest parts to change. You remove the 10 screws on the bottom around the outside of the body. Then carefully release the tabs at each motor arm to lift off the top. After it lifts, unplug the GPS cable and peel back the sticky shield which covers the GPS/compass module. I don't know of a Youtube video on this but I just posted a video last night on checking the GPS battery. You can see the location of the module.

The compass warnings became more frequent after the last firmware update. Generally after you get higher than 30-50' they go away and start again when descending closer to the ground. They also seem to occur when operating the landing gear. So.......make sure the problem isn't with the ST16 regarding drift and that the compass warnings are not related to ground effect before changing the module. BTW, I did the battery test video because of a related issue of the the GPS loosing co-ords and compass cal while in storage. The backup battery can run down when it isn't used for a long time.

Thanks for all the great information and suggestions. I will start examining the things you've mentioned tomorrow. on this oldest machine and then test fly the others once I've solved some of these issues. I think I'll try everything first except replacing the GPS which I've found online for $33.00 Take care and thanks again for the wonderfully detailed answer.
 

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