Not recording 'Home Point'

[cozzykim]

My Spark is suddenly not recording the home point.

See my thread 'didn't quite go to plan' where I first flew at home to check everything was working OK, then went to a site about a mile away to try to fly a 'Rocket'.

At home I checked that the home point was being recorded, but when I got to the site it wasn't, and it still isn't.

The difference seems to be that DJI Go 4 updated when I connected to my home WiFi with the dedicated Android Nexus 5 phone that I'm using.
(I now have DJI Go 4 V4.2.4 on the phone, as I had auto updates enabled.)
When I started up again to fly at the site, It restarted the app as if I had just installed it, and asked me to update the fly zone database, which I did. I didn't realise that it was an auto update at the time, I think that it must have downloaded when I turned off the controller and Spark after my back yard test and the phone connected to my home ultrafast fibre broadband.

Could this have some bearing on my loss of ability to record the home point?

I just went into the back yard and tried again to fly, the home point is not being recorded, at least I'm not getting a notification either verbally or on screen, though I have multiple GPS satellites and I'm not being warned that I'm in ATTI mode at any time.

Heaven knows where the Spark will go if I lose connection while flying like this.

Do my logs tell me if, when and where the home point has been set? How do I find out?

Scary.

 

[msinger]

If the home point is being recorded, you'll see it marked on the map in DJI GO with an "H" symbol.

Do my logs tell me if, when and where the home point has been set? How do I find out?

You can upload one of your TXT flight logs here. The log viewer will show if the home point was marked.

 

[cozzykim]

If the home point is being recorded, you'll see it marked on the map in DJI GO with an "H" symbol.


You can upload one of your TXT flight logs here. The log viewer will show if the home point was marked.

That's another thing, the map square is blank now, where before it had my general location.

EDIT: I don't have any offline maps downloaded.

 

[msinger]

If the map is blank, you're mobile device is either not connected to the Internet or the maps are not cached in DJI GO.

 

[cozzykim]

It isn't connected to the internet, as there's no SIM in the phone, because it's a dedicated spare.

Should I open DJI GO with the phone connected to my home Wifi to at least load a general map? I'm pretty sure that there was a green background in the map window before the app updated, and the home point was recorded when I flew immediately before app the update happened.

 

[msinger]

You can connect your mobile device to the Internet via Wi-Fi or a hot spot on a mobile phone if you're not indoors. If a hot spot is not an option while out flying, then you should cache the maps in DJI GO like this in a location where you have an Internet connection before heading out to fly. And you can of course fly with no maps too if you don't need to see them.

We can only guess as to what happened during your last flight. Check out the flight log to be sure.

 

[cozzykim]

You can connect your mobile device to the Internet via Wi-Fi or a hot spot on a mobile phone if you're not indoors. If a hot spot is not an option while out flying, then you should cache the maps in DJI GO like this in a location where you have an Internet connection before heading out to fly. And you can of course fly with no maps too if you don't need to see them.

We can only guess as to what happened during your last flight. Check out the flight log to be sure.

Thanks, I'll look at caching maps. The reason I didn't do it before going out to fly was because I wasn't expecting the app to update in the middle of nowhere after I left home.
Today has been like a Mr Bean movie, even though I thought I had everything carefully covered.

 

[cozzykim]

I knew this wouldn't be easy...

OK, I don't have the 'Offline Map' entry in my app. I tried with the AC connected and disconnected, it's not there (Android).
I killed DJI GO 4, and restarted it. Then I opened Google maps and scrolled around. When I went back into DJI GO 4 and 'Enter Device' > 'Enter Camera View', then the map window appears and is populated with a map.
So far so good, but how do I enlarge the map window, is this possible? If so, can the map be zoomed etc?

If I touch the map window, it disappears, leaving only the joystick icon in the bottom left corner of the screen, how do I get the map window back.

 

[idbl_fanatic]

From the link above "The "Cache Maps in the Background" setting only exists on Apple devices. Android devices will cache the map data automatically."


So here is what I have found in brief testing, not connected to my Spark, I downloaded offline maps in Google maps, went outside, launched the app, and nothing showed up, I closed out the DJI Go4 app, launched Google maps, made sure it was working, closed Google maps, launched DJI Go4, and it works! Maybe if someone else could test it out, and see? I'm not going to actually be able to connect to my Spark for a while

 

[cozzykim]

I got that far too.

I also found that you can't enlarge the map on screen if you're in joystick mode, as the joystick icon is on top of the map box on a 5" screen.
I escaped from on screen stick mode and I could then touch the map box and enlarge the map, choose layers etc. Touching the map box returns to the normal screen view.
What I can't do is access the button in the bottom left corner of the map window, as it's always covered by the joystick icon.

If I mistakenly touch the map window with the joysticks on screen, the map window disappears, the only way I can get it back is to enter the menus and then close the menus again, whereupon the map window comes back.

Pheeeeeewwwwww.

 

[msinger]

You'll need to fly with the remote controller if you want to use the map in DJI GO.

 

[cozzykim]

I was flying with the RC when I noticed that I wasn't being notified that the home point wasn't being updated on takeoff after the app update.

I've now got offline maps saved, and I'll try again tomorrow.

I noted that trying to set the home point manually, at home on my decking, (without the RC, just phone) before I downloaded the maps, I got a message that home point setting failed.
After I downloaded the offline maps, it didn't fail, but still no voice announcement, (yes the volume is up).
I thought that the Spark would be able to use raw GPS data to determine the home point anyway, why would it need maps?

 

[msinger]

I thought that the Spark would be able to use raw GPS data to determine the home point anyway

Yes, raw GPS data is used to set/locate the home point.

why would it need maps?

Not sure. Maybe it was a fluke?

 

[cozzykim]

Thanks, I'm going to check properly tomorrow in the daytime.

I'll see whether the AC status lights are indicating that the home point has been stored, as it could be an app glitch that just isn't giving me an audio notification.

I'm (noobishly, maybe) still scared that one day I'll have to hit RTH and the AC will fly off in the general direction of China. I think that it should be impossible to fly in P-Mode without a confirmation of the AC successfully recording the current home point.

 

[msinger]

I think that it should be impossible to fly in P-Mode without a confirmation of the AC successfully recording the current home point.

You can make that possible by enabling beginner mode.

 

[cozzykim]

You can make that possible by enabling beginner mode.

Oooh, harsh, I stand suitably chastised.

 

[DroneDan]

130+ flights I have only had home point set 24 times. Many different locations/senarios with little luck. Have had to learn to fly with ice in the vains (and a big pair).
Appears I have a faulty GPS unit as others I have flown with have no such problem.
I really like the spark as it is perceived as a toy by the paranoid masses and still offers a lot to the user. Will wait for a cheap replacement to pop up before sending back to DJI.

 

[Shawnsparkie]

Allso experience the same issue after updating the dji go 4 app that the home point in the app is not recording the home point

 

[msinger]

after updating the dji go 4 app that the home point in the app is not recording the home point

How can you tell it's not being recorded?

 

[cozzykim]

How can you tell it's not being recorded?

You can't, mine could well have been recorded, but it didn't say so with a screen dialogue or with a voice dialogue.

Mine is all working now, after I went through the process of killing/restarting the app, downloading offline maps etc.

I tried a flight in very poor visibility today, foggy and getting ultrasonic sensor errors. I made sure though that the home point was recorded and I got the screen and voice prompts to say it was.
I flew about 110m away and did a successful RTH, twice, so I'm happy that it's all working OK again now.

I'm going to look at the logs to find out whether there are any differences between the flights with no notification of home point, and those where there was a notification.