Potensic Atom

[Tony Pick']

Hello All,
I'm new to this forum and to drone flying. I've had my Atom since last October but due to high winds here, (I live on the Isle of Man) I've had little chance to fly it. However, one thing I've noticed is that even though I live at about 200ft a.s.l., my drone doesn't see satelites until I'm about another 30 or 40 ft due to surrounding buildings - I expect, then it will see about 23. However, The take-off position it records is not entirely accurate although it does land (automatically) within about 1sqft of its take-off position. This is quite impressive. When the weather gets better I shall take it to the island's highest point, 2000ft - (I know, it's a hill, but we call it a mountain), and see if it receives sat data on the ground and if it lands more accurately to its take-off location. I don't suppose I'll be doing this much before summer. Perhaps next month will be possible but in order to test its accuracy I'll need a windless day; they're like rocking horse dung here.
I wonder if anyone else has any comments to make about this subject. It might very well already have been raised but I'm to idle to troll through thousands of posts on the offchance of finding one. Also, do any fliers of drones other that Potensic Atom exhibit the same phenomenon?

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

 

[sarahb]

Welcome!

I am not familiar with the drone you have.

 

[LoudThunder]

I'm new to this forum and to drone flying.

Welcome from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA.

Since you live in the UK, there are specific laws and rules for you to follow, please check to ensure these are current.

Overview : Flying drones and model aircraft | UK Civil Aviation Authority

Find out what you need to know and do when you fly drones or model aircraft in the UK

register-drones.caa.co.uk

You asked for advice on your choice of drone and whether is was a good choice of not. This is my advice, do not look back, do not be a victim of the "would of, should of, could of" and enjoy what you have. Yes there are better drones and there are worse drones; you drone is neither, it is a good one and I hope you get to enjoy it. Yeah, those gusty breezes are so nice on a hot sunny day, but murder on almost all drones (even the best that money can buy.

As for your GPS issues, your drone receives signals from all the major players: GPS from the USA, GLONASS from Russia, BeiDou from China, and Galileo from the European Union. Here is the USA my drone does not see the Chinese satalites, and it usually picks up high teens to low twenties… a Friend in south Australia whose drone, like yours picks up all the major players get contact with about the mid-thirties…

Just make sure you do not take off with a indicator of sufficient CPS signal so the drone knows where it is… If you take off tooo soon and it finds "Home" while flying over a house, tree, or water, well that's where it's gong to go home if it comes home on its own…

Go to YouTube and watch some videos on your drone and it will help you to understand the capabilities, how to set it up, and get the most enjoyment out of it…

You paid a lot of money for that Drone, put your phone number on it. If your drone gets lost or stuck in a tree and it finally comes down when you are not around, give the finders an opportunity to contact you so it can be returned.

Now, for the Fun Part, But do not let the excitement of the moment get the best of you. When you are going out to fly, do it slowly and deliberately. Get used to a set procedure and even practice it.

There are so many things I could write but these are the highlights that I feel need mentioning.

Plug in your phone/tablet into your controller; turn on the Controller and the App (if it does not start on its own…). On the Drone, open the front legs, then open the back legs, and then remove the Gimbal Cover.

The Gimbal is the most delicate item on the Drone and banging or bumping can damage it. I also fastened a short "Remove Before Flight" ribbon to the cover so it's more noticeable and I do not forget to remove it…

Turn on the drone and watch it come to "life." Watching the Gimbal go through its self-check is almost like watching a puppy or kitten opening its eyes for the first time…

Place the drone down (preferably on a Landing Pad) while it finishes its self-test (collecting satellites, etc…).

Check your battery status (Phone, Drone, and Controller), check the Signal Strength, by now the Controller should have reported it updated the Home Point.

Lift off, 6 feet (2-meters) or so, hover a bit, check the controls (move the drone a bit forward, back, left, right, yaw left and right). By now, your Controller will probably report again, "Home point Updated."

If you go out in a rush and race thru your start up and take off before the drone has finished it prep, it may update its Home Point over that pond or that old tree you are flying over and in your excitement, you'll fly the drone long past it Low Battery point and when it engages Return to Home and lands in the pond or in a tree; it will be all on you…

Now go have fun, learn to fly the drone by sight before you try to fly it out a distance depending on the video feed, FPV.

I would also advise you to use YouTube and watch a lot of the Videos on flying and setting up the Drone. When it is too dark, too cold, or too wet, you can "fly it vicariously" through YouTube. Also watch some of the Blooper Drone Videos and learn how not to fly your "New Baby."

Fly On and Fly Safe…

 

[Tony Pick']

Welcome!

I am not familiar with the drone you have.

Why send me that message then? (sarcasm)

 

[Tony Pick']

Hello LoudThunder, Thank you for you quite long mesaage. First, may I correct you on a particular issue. The Isle of Man is not part of the UK. It is what is known in this part of the world as a Crown Dependency. That's to say that if push comes to shove we are protected by the UK. We have our own government which is indipendent of the UK. We have our own laws. We have our own tax system. We have certain ties such as some medical requirements. Otherwise we are on our own. Also, the rules for flying (drones) is not covered by the UK. We have our own which, admittedly, are very similar but must be adhered to locally. There are designated areas where flying is prohibited, such as around the airport and the prison; for obvious reasons. That's cleared that up, then.
I have been cautious with my flying so far and my best friend who has been doing so for some years has given me some good advice already. However, I do not think that my drone will recieve GPS (by which I mean any other systems such as GLONAAS that it can utilise) if I leave it on the ground. As I said, when I go up the hill I'll find out then. Actually, I think it will get some. At that height and no obstructions I see no reason to suppose that it won't.
I'll keep the forum posted. By the way, you may like to do a bit of research on the Isle of Man. It is a very interesting place. For example there are no foxes, squirrals or badgers on the island. But there are wallabies. These are escapees from the wild life park and probably breeding.

 

[LoudThunder]

The Isle of Man is not part of the UK

Wow, I did not know about Isle of Mann's political and governing status. Here is the US we have "somewhat" similar situations with our "protectorates" which aren't…, but we do have five permanently inhabited territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The US territories are areas under the sovereignty of the United States, but are not states, we already have 50 of them… but they have their own local governments but are also subject to the laws of the US federal government.

Like I wrote, "Somewhat similar…" Sort of like Iceland's and Denmark's relationship, me thinks…

I bet a lot Brits would also fail this Geography test… L L . . .

But with all that being said, you should be getting good GPS reception relatively quickly and from multiple source: US, Russian, European, and Chinese. Your drone is noted for this…

Does this lag occur in other locations too. Perhaps there are large steel structures that interfere with the GPS signal. You are outside, under the sky, nothing overhead, right? You have not mounted a "skin" on the drone. If you do not know what I am writing about, then you did not… L L . . .

There is a possibility that your drone is defective and if it's still under warranty, you might send it in for repair.

Any case, all the other, non-geographical advice, is still valid…

Good Luck!