Revised March 4, 2013 

DJI Phantom Version 1 

Operating Procedures Manual
 Revised March 4, 2013 

Table of Contents

Aircraft & TX Basic Operation 1 

Battery Charging-LiPo Battery 2 

Installing the TX Batteries 3 

Mounting the Propellers 3 

Mount the Landing Gear with the Compass Module 4 

Turn on the TX 4 

GPS & Compass Calibration 5 

Software and Driver Installation 7 

Configuration Firmware& Software Upgrade 7 

Linking the Transmitter and Receiver 8 

Changing the Control Mode of the Transmitter 9 

Transmitter Calibration 10 

Maintenance 

Remove the Housing 12 

Extension Power 13 

Flight Test 13 

FLYING NOTES 14 

Enhanced Fail-safe 15 

Low-Voltage Alarm 16 

Before You Start 17 

Recording Forward Direction & Home Point 17 

IOC Flying Test 18 

LED Indicator Description 19 

Compass Calibration 20 

ESC Sound Introduction 20 

TX State Introduction 21 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 1 Revised March 4, 2013 

Aircraft & TX Basic Operation 

• Stick neutral position and stick released means the stick of TX is pushed to the central 

position. 

• Command Stick means the stick of TX is pushed away from the central position. 

You can change the operation mode of the TX according to the advanced manual if necessary. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

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Battery Charging-LiPo Battery 

1. Insert the AC power cord into the charger and AC cord into a wall socket (100-240V). The 

charge status LED will flash green. 

2. Select the battery type LiPo and the charging current 2A. 

3. Connect the battery main charge lead to battery socket and the battery balance wire to the 3S 

balance socket. 

4. Start charging. The charge status LED and the 1S/2S/3S cell LED will glow constant red. 

5. When the charge status LED glows constant red, it is charging in CC (Constant Current) mode 

and LED glows green & red blink is in CV (Constant Voltage) mode. 

6. When the cell LED is flashing, it is discharging for balancing. 

7. When the battery is fully charged, the charge status LED will glow constant green. Unplug the 

battery from the charger. 

• Make sure to use the battery after fully charging.

• When the charger is in CV mode (with green and red LED blinking), the battery is over 

80% charged. 

• Please use the battery according to the attached sticker. 

• Use the Protection Clip to keep the leads of the battery socket untouched, in order to 

avoid short circuit. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

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Installing the TX Batteries 

Open the battery compartment cover of the TX. Install 4x AA battery (5#) in accordance with the 

+ /- pole. Close the battery compartment cover of the TX. 

 1. It is recommended to use rechargeable NiMH batteries. 

 2. Remove the batteries after use. 

Mounting the Propellers 

First prepare the aircraft and the propellers. Assemble the propellers (the side with rotary mark 

facing up) to the aircraft. Make sure the rotary mark on the propeller is the same as the mark on 

the frame arm. The arrow’s direction is stand for the rotating direction of the motors. Finally fit the 

propeller nuts. 
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Mount the Landing Gear with the Compass Module 

If the GPS ATTI. Mode is used, please mount the landing gear with the Compass Module first. 

1. Prepare the aircraft and the landing gear. 

2. Mount the landing gear with the Compass Module to the right part (shown as the following 

chart); make sure the 5-pin cable is through the hole of the landing gear. Fix the landing gear with 

screws (M3x6), and then connect the 5-pin cable to the Compass Module. 

3. Mount the other landing gear to the left part. 

4. Fix the antenna and the 5-pin cable on both landing gear by using the white adhesive tape 

 When flying, please make sure the compass module is stationary and firm. 

 If the Landing Gear with the compass module mount on has been deformed, please 

replace it with a new one and mount it as the procedures above. 

Turn on the TX 

1. Lower the throttle stick to bottom position, and set the IOC and Control Mode switch to the top 

position. 

2. Turn on the power switch of the TX when the linking is successful, the LED indicator on the TX 

will change to solid red. 

Make sure to keep the throttle stick at the bottom position before the LED change to solid red!! 

1. Place the aircraft on the ground 

2. Open the battery compartment cover of the aircraft. 

3. Put the battery into the compartment with the power cord facing outward. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

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4. Connect the battery and aircraft by the power lead and make sure the ESC’s work properly. 

(Correct sound) 

5. Keep the sticks of the TX stationary until the system start and self-check has finished 

 

6. Put the power cable into the battery compartment. 

7. Close the battery compartment cover. 

8. Please wait for the PHANTOM to warm up gradually (with the LED blinks Yellow 6 times 

quickly after the Control mode LED blinks). Make sure to fly the PHANTOM until the yellow 

blinking disappears. 

 

 Make sure you only use the PHANTOM after correct power up initialization!!! Please 

contact us if the “System start and self-check LED flashes” are not correct. 

 After power on and before the motors start-up, when the PHANTOM is stationary, if the 

LED blinks Green 6 times quickly after the Control mode LED blinks, please connect to the 

Assistant Software to do IMU basic calibration by referring to the advanced manual. When 

the PHANTOM is moved, it is normal. 

 After the system start and self-checking has finished, if the LED blinks Red, Yellow and 

Green continually, that means the IMU data is abnormal. The PHANTOM will not work, 

please connect to the Assistant Software and follow the tips to do operation. 

GPS & Compass Calibration 

If the Compass Module is not used, you can skip this step. 

The GPS module has a built-in magnetic field sensor for measuring the geomagnetic field, which 

is not the same in different areas. The GPS module will not work unless the Compass Module 

has been connected. Make sure to the Compass Module connections is correct. 

Please always keep the compass module away from the magnet. Once this situation occurs, 

please change the compass module in time. Otherwise it may damage the compass module and 

lead the aircraft to work abnormally or even be out of control. 

Calibrate the compass before the first flight or when flying in a different area. Make sure to keep 

away from ferromagnetic substance and other electronic equipment when calibration and flying. If 

you keep having calibration failure, it might suggest that there is magnetic interference or other 

ferromagnetic substance, please avoid flying in this area. 
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1. Quickly switch the control mode switch from ATTI. Mode to GPS ATTI. Mode for 6 to 10 times, 

The LED indicator will turn on constantly yellow. 

2. Rotate your quad-rotor around the horizontal axis (about 360o) until the LED changes to 

constant green, and then go to the next step. 

3. Hold your quad-rotor vertically and rotate it (its nose is downward) around the vertical axis 

(about 360o) until the LED turns off, meaning the calibration is finished. 

4. The LED indicator will show whether the calibration was successful or not. 

 If the calibration was successful, calibration mode will exit automatically. 

 If the LED keeps flashing quickly Red, the calibration has failed. Switch the control mode 

switch one time to cancel the calibration, and then re-start from step 1. 

 

 

ATTI. Mode->GPS ATTI. Mode-> ATTI. Mode is one time quickly switch 6 to 10 times
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 7 Revised March 4, 2013 

Software and Driver Installation 

Make sure to use the NAZA-M assistant software of 2.0 version (or above 2.0) to carry out 

firmware upgrade and parameter configuration. DO NOT use the NAZA-M assistant software 

bellow 2.0 version.

 1. Please download the driver DJI Driver Installer and NAZA-M assistant software from the 

PHANTOM page of DJI website (http://www.dji-innovations.com/products/phantom/downloads/). 

 2. Connect the PHANTOM and the PC via the USB cable, power on the PHANTOM system. 

 3. Run the DJI Driver Installer, and follow the instructions strictly to finish installation. 

 4. Run the assistant software installer, and follow the instructions strictly to finish installation. 

 

Configuration and Firmware& Software Upgrade 

 1. Power on your computer. Make sure the computer is connected to the Internet for the first 

time you use. 

 2. Switch on the transmitter first, then power on the aircraft. Connect the aircraft to the PC 

with the USB cable. DO NOT break the connection until configuration or upgrade is finished. 

 3. Please refer to the “Assembly &Configuration->Step3” section of NAZA-M Quick Start 

Guide to get the detail of assistant software usage. 

 4. Refer to the “Appendix-> Firmware & Assistant Software Upgrade” section of NAZA-M 

Quick Start Guide to get the detail of assistant software usage. 

 5. If Manual Mode is required, please select “Manual” from the drop down list of Basic->RC-

>Control Mode Switch in the assistant software. Refer to the “Flying Test-> Step 1 Control Mode 

Knowledge” section of NAZA-M Quick Start Guide to get the detail about the Manual Mode. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 8 Revised March 4, 2013 

Linking the Transmitter and Receiver 

The linking of the transmitter to the receiver of the PHANTOM was carried out before they left the 

factory. If necessary you can link the transmitter to the receiver as follows, for example you replace the 

transmitter. The default receiver type is PPM. 

DO NOT use the PHANTOM transmitter (receiver) with the third party remote control equipment.

 1. Please remove the housing by referring to the section of A8 Maintenance -> 

Remove the Housing.

 2. Locate the receiver module according to the following figure. 

 3. After powering on the aircraft and the transmitter, if the LED indicator of the receiver on the 

control board is lit solid red, this means the receiver currently has no connection with any 

transmitter. 

 4. Press down the link button for more than two seconds until the LED indicator blinks, then 

release the button. 

 5. Push the throttle stick to the lowest position and turn on the transmitter. Then if the LED 

indicator of the receiver turns off, the link between the transmitter and the receiver has succeeded. 

(Linking operation can be done only when the LED indicator of the transmitter changes to blinking 

red.) 

Note: If the transmitter can’t enter the linking mode, please check that the throttle stick 

lies in the lowest position. 

 You can use your R/C system normally only after the linking is done successfully. 

 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 9 Revised March 4, 2013 

Changing the Control Mode of the Transmitter 

You can change the operation mode of the transmitter according to the following procedures if 

necessary.(The operation mode of Mode1 and Mode2 are shown as below.)

Make sure to carry out the A5 Transmitter Calibration, if the Control Mode of the Transmitter is 

changed. 

 1. Remove the right Throttle Ratchet plate and the Ratchet Nut. Assemble the Ratchet Nut to 

the Nut Hole Location,and fix the Throttle Ratchet onto the Ratchet Nut and the Screw Hole 

Location. Adjust the screw height of the Throttle Support to change the tension, so as to give you 

the required operating feel. 

 2. Remove the left Centering Unit and the Centering Spring. Assemble them to the 

corresponding position of the Right part (Close to the middle location of the transmitter). Then 

adjust the height of the Adjusting Screw, so as to give you the required operating feel. (Note: Be 

careful not to excessively tension the spring when moving and fixing, to avoid damage.)

 3. Exchange the connectors of Channel 2(AIN2)and Channel 3 (AIN3). (Note: Take care 

about the connector direction.)
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 10 Revised March 4, 2013 

The following figure shows the successful change of transmitter mode to Mode 1. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 11 Revised March 4, 2013 

Transmitter Calibration 

 If the control mode of the transmitter is changed or calibration has not been carried out for a 

long time, transmitter calibration is necessary. 

 

 CL:Course Lock 

 HL:Home Lock 

 1. Set the switch S2 at the OFF position, and the switch S1 at the GPS position 

 2. Push the Throttle stick to the top position, and push the Pitch stick to the top position. Keep 

the Pitch stick at the top position manually since it can return to the central position when 

released. 

 3. Turn on the Power Switch of the transmitter, you should hear the indicator sound of “Di—Di 

Di” from the transmitter repeatedly. Toggle the switch S2 to the CL position, you should hear an 

indicator sound of “Di” from the transmitter, in this case, the transmitter has entered the calibration 

mode. (During this period, the Throttle stick and the Pitch stick must be kept at the top position all

the time.) 

 4. Release the Pitch stick and pull the Throttle stick to the central position. Toggle the switch 

S1 to the ATTI position; you should hear an indicator sound of “Di” from the transmitter. Then 

move all of the sticks throughout their complete range several times. After this, put the Throttle 

stick to the bottom position, and toggle the switch S2 to the HL position, you should hear an 

indicator sound of “Di” from the transmitter, in this case, the transmitter has been calibrated 

successfully. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 12 Revised March 4, 2013 

Maintenance 

Remove the Housing 

 1. Remove all the nuts and propellers by using the assistant wrench. 

 2. Remove the screws marked in the figure below using a Phillips Screwdriver and a Hexagon 

Screwdriver, and then remove the housing. 

Note:

 Please take good care of the removed parts, for example, screws. Make sure to keep them 

safe and away from children. 

 DO NOT use any thread locker, since the thread locker may corrode the shell of Phantom, 

may cause fractures. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 13 Revised March 4, 2013 

Extension Power 

There is an extension power cable in the Phantom for DIY use. The voltage from the Extension Power 

Cable is the same voltage as the power battery. The red cable is for positive and the grey cable is for 

negative. Make sure to keep the red cable and the grey cable separated, to avoid short circuit. 

 

Flight Test 

1. If in GPS ATTI. Mode, place the aircraft in the open space without buildings or trees. Take off 

the aircraft after 6 or more GPS satellites are found (Red LED blinks once or no blinking). If in 

ATTI. Mode, you can skip this step. 

2. Place the aircraft 3 meters away from you and others, to avoid accidentally injure. 

3. Start-up - Push both sticks to the left bottom or right bottom (shown as the following 

chart), to start the motors. 

 

 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 14 Revised March 4, 2013 

 Release the yaw, roll and pitch sticks and keep them at the neutral position avoiding the 

aircraft to tilt to one side. At the same time push the throttle stick from the bottom quickly. The 

motors will stop if you do not push the throttle stick from the bottom within 3 sec and you will 

need to execute start-up procedure again. When the aircraft is on the point of leaving the 

ground, continue to push the throttle stick upwards to rapidly take off from the ground, pay 

attention not to push the stick excessively. 

 Pay attention to the aircraft movement at any time when flying, and use the sticks to 

adjust the motion status. Keep the yaw, roll, pitch and throttle sticks at the neutral position to 

hover the aircraft at the height you need. 

4. Lower the aircraft slowly. Pull the throttle stick to the bottom and then push the sticks to the left 

bottom or right bottom to stop the motors after landing. (Also, with throttle stick under 10%, and 

after landing 3sec the motors will stop automatically) 

5. Please always power off the quad-rotor first, and then switch off the transmitter after landing. 

FLYING NOTES!!!

FLYING NOTES!!!

 Please always switch on the transmitter first, then power on the quad-rotor before takeoff! 

 If in GPS ATTI. Mode, keep the aircraft flying in the open space without obstruction. Pay 

attention to the GPS satellite status indicator LED. If the GPS signal is bad (red LED blink 

twice or three times), switch to ATTI. Mode. You may use the GPA ATTI. Mode again after 

the GPS signal back to normal 

 If the quad-rotor LED flashes quickly Red then this indicates battery voltage is low, 

please land ASAP. 

 Once the system enters the second-level low-voltage alarm, the aircraft will drop height 

automatically. 

 DO NOT fly near to ferromagnetic substances, to avoid strong magnetic interference with 

the GPS. 

 It is recommended to land the aircraft slowly, to prevent the aircraft from damage when 

landing. 

 If the TX indicates low-battery alarm, please land ASAP. In this condition the TX may 

cause the aircraft to go out of control or even crash. 

 After powering on and before the motors start, if the quad-rotor LED double blinks yellow 

or green without Tx stick movement, you should power cycle the quad-rotor. 

 The quad-rotor will automatically land (or return home if in GPS mode) if the fail-safe 

mode is active. 

 We recommend that you take off the quad-rotor in ATTI. Mode. 

 If the LED lights Red, please hover the aircraft until it turns off, so as to have better flight 

performance. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

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Enhanced Fail-safe 

Enhanced Fail-safe will be triggered when the MC loses the control signal, in these following 

situations. 

 Signal lost between the transmitter and receiver, e.g. quad-rotor is out of the 

communication range, or transmitter is powered off, etc. 

 One or more connections of A, E, T, R, U channels between main controller and receiver 

is lost. If this happens before take-off, the motors will not work if you push the throttle stick; if 

this happens during the flight, the LED will flash yellow to warn, in addition to the fail-safe 

method. 

 The quad-rotor will automatically land if the fail-safe mode is active, or return home if in 

GPS mode. 

 Before takeoff, the current position will be saved as the home point by the MC 

automatically when you push the throttle stick first time, after 6 or more GPS satellites are 

found for more than 8 seconds. 

 Make sure to save the home location before takeoff and keep it in mind clearly for safety 

reasons. 

 When you switch to ATTI. Mode, MC will disengage enhanced failed-safe mode, you can 

re-gain control of quad-rotor. 

The following diagram shows the function of Go-Home and Landing. 

The aircraft will not go home if the GPS signal is not good. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 16 Revised March 4, 2013 

Low-Voltage Alarm 

Low-voltage alarm is to indicate that the battery cannot provide enough power for the aircraft, in 

order to warn you to land the aircraft ASAP. There are both first level and second level 

protections. It is not for fun, you should land your aircraft ASAP to prevent your aircraft from 

crashing or other harmful consequences!!!

In ATTI. Mode & GPS ATTI. Mode. 

 The first level protection has LED warning. 

 During second level protection the aircraft will land automatically with LED warning. 

Meanwhile the center point of throttle stick will move up slowly to 90% of endpoint, you 

should land ASAP to prevent your aircraft from crashing! When the center point is at 90% of 

endpoint, quad-rotor will still ascend slowly if you continue to pull the throttle stick, and the 

control of Pitch, Roll and Yaw are the same as before. 

IOC FLYING NOTES!!!

 Home lock flying requires that 6 or more GPS satellites are found and the aircraft is 

further than 10m away from the home point. 

 Before you do the home lock flight, you have to fly the aircraft out of the 10m range 

around home point, and then flip the switch S2 to Home Lock position to fly in home lock 

when all the requirements are met. If you have already toggled the switch S2 to Home Lock 

position when the aircraft is still in 10m range around home point, and this is the first time you 

are going to fly in home lock during the current flight, then if all the requirements are met, MC 

will change into home lock automatically when quad-rotor flies out the 10m range around 

home point. 

 When you are flying in home lock mode, if the aircraft is back into the 10m range around 

home point, or you switch into ATTI. Mode, or the GPS signal becomes weak, MC will fly in 

course lock by the current forward direction automatically. But this forward direction is NOT 

the recorded forward direction. If you open the course lock now, MC will fly in course lock still 

by the earlier recorded forward direction. 

 When quad-rotor is flying by home lock far away from you and the home point, please do 

not toggle the IOC switch many times quickly so as to avoid the change of home point without 

your attention. 
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Before You Start 

Usually, the forward direction of a flying multi-rotor is the same as the nose direction. By 

using IOC, wherever the nose points, the forward direction has nothing to do with nose direction: 

 In course lock flying, the forward direction is the same as a recorded nose direction. See 

the following figures (The red and blue arrows on the TX is corresponding to pitch and roll 

operations): 

 In home lock flying, the forward direction is the same as the direction from home point to 

multi-rotor. See the following figures (The red and blue arrows on the TX is corresponding to 

pitch and roll operations): 

Recording Forward Direction & Home Point 

If you use the IOC function, please keep the Forward Direction of Course Lock Flying and 

the home point of Home Lock Flying in mind at any time. There are two ways to record the 

forward direction and the home point: Manually and Automatically. You may choose any 

one record method. 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

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IOC Flying Test

Realize an IOC flight by the following procedure.
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 19 Revised March 4, 2013 

LED Indicator Description 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 20 Revised March 4, 2013 

Others 

Compass Calibration 

ESC Sound Introduction 
DJI Phantom 1 – Operating Procedures 

 21 Revised March 4, 2013 

TX State Introduction