And down it goes...

[hls811]

Good thing for DJI Care!


I was flying for about 20 minutes, I was starting to bring it back in and decided to try and get a shot over the water so I started to lower the P4P down, I was at about 130 feet and then all of a sudden I got a warning on the screen that I had lost the connection and about 3 seconds later it came back but within few seconds it dropped again. I hit the return to home button but it never registered.

Once I lost the connection it started to drift and went right into the trees and straight down. I dont know if it dropped any more, but id I was at 130ft, I needed 135 to clear that last one. It found the tallest tree there.



Whats interesting is I went to watch the video footage to see what happened and it seems like it stopped a second before it actually hit and theres no video of it going down, I thought that would have been interesting to watch. That second picture is a screen cap of right where the video ended. As I was walking over to find it the video and GPS signal came back on which helped find exactly where it was - luckily it missed the water and it didn't float away.

Its definitely pilot error in this case although I am a little concerned as to why I lost the signal seemingly out of nowhere.

Anyway - I'll miss not having it for a few weeks until it gets back...

 

[Bakersfield Quad]

Look at the flight log, were you watching the battery voltage?
Disconnect, meaning red light on transmitter or loss of video?

 

[hls811]

Look at the flight log, were you watching the battery voltage?
Disconnect, meaning red light on transmitter or loss of video?

Yeah.. I checked.. Battery was at 38% at the time of crash, voltage was . Disconnect: red light on transmitter and a warning where it normally says GPS that changed to "no connection".. Video was a little choppy earlier but I've seen that before so I wasn't too concerned with it. I had been reading on here that it could have been the cached video setting.

Here's a screen shot of the tail end of the flight log, I dont know enough to know wha tot look for or if something seems off. (It looks like it did register my Go Home push)

 

[WV. Rootman]

Good thing for DJI Care!
View attachment 90708 View attachment 90706 View attachment 90707

I was flying for about 20 minutes, I was starting to bring it back in and decided to try and get a shot over the water so I started to lower the P4P down, I was at about 130 feet and then all of a sudden I got a warning on the screen that I had lost the connection and about 3 seconds later it came back but within few seconds it dropped again. I hit the return to home button but it never registered.

Once I lost the connection it started to drift and went right into the trees and straight down. I dont know if it dropped any more, but id I was at 130ft, I needed 135 to clear that last one. It found the tallest tree there.

View attachment 90709 View attachment 90711

Whats interesting is I went to watch the video footage to see what happened and it seems like it stopped a second before it actually hit and theres no video of it going down, I thought that would have been interesting to watch. That second picture is a screen cap of right where the video ended. As I was walking over to find it the video and GPS signal came back on which helped find exactly where it was - luckily it missed the water and it didn't float away.

Its definitely pilot error in this case although I am a little concerned as to why I lost the signal seemingly out of nowhere.

Anyway - I'll miss not having it for a few weeks until it gets back...

What did you do, that makes you say it was pilot error?

 

[hls811]

What did you do, that makes you say it was pilot error?

Well, the tree didn't jump out at me by itself.
Seriously though I probably had it a little too low for being around so many trees. I thought I still had the clearance over the top of them all - form where I was standing I couldn't judge the actual height - from the video it looks like I just clipped the top but it was enough to go down. I could see on the screen that I was over the water which is why I started to drop down but when I lost the connection (and video) I was screwed. If I was flying it higher it would have gone over the top and returned to home as expected.

 

[AbuMoosa]

Just curious, what was your GTH height?

 

[hls811]

Just curious, what was your GTH height?

I realized after it was set at 98 feet. (That may have been a problem in itself even if I had cleared the first tree, but I was at 125 feet when it crashed)

 

[John Locke]

Do you have any ideas of why you would have lost the connection? How far away were you? Were you on 2.4 or 5.8Ghz band?

 

[hls811]

Do you have any ideas of why you would have lost the connection? How far away were you? Were you on 2.4 or 5.8Ghz band?

Hi.. it was 5.8 and about half mile away

 

[John Locke]

Well, I can see that happening if you're low behind trees, or other physical interference, being that far away, but the craft should not drift when connection is lost. If the GPS and compasses are working, it should RTH, not randomly drift. You may be confusing your description of "drift" with the actual deliberate action of RTH. Since RTH was set too low it hit the trees when it was coming home.

 

[hls811]

Well, I can see that happening if you're low behind trees, or other physical interference, being that far away, but the craft should not drift when connection is lost. If the GPS and compasses are working, it should RTH, not randomly drift. You may be confusing your description of "drift" with the actual deliberate action of RTH. Since RTH was set too low it hit the trees when it was coming home.

Really? Because I was using 5.8Ghz, or you think more because of the trees? Along the water was some trees but then opened up to a pretty open field where I was standing so there shouldn't have been too much other interference around me (power wires, etc). I had actually gone further out (but was up higher). Do you think I would have had the same experience on 2.4Ghz?

And yes... I originally called it drifting but once I saw the flight data and that RTH was activated I do agree that it wasn't drifting but rather on its path returning home.

 

[John Locke]

Really? Because I was using 5.8Ghz, or you think more because of the trees?

I think it was caused by the trees or other things that might have obstructed LOS with the craft. I was more curious what band you were on, not that it may have contributed to the problem. I seem to getg better distance from 5.8, but that's with absolute LOS connection. If you were not using a windsurfer, at 1/2 mile you might have connection issue behind a tree, even with windsurfer you can have issues going behind things. With that distance it's risky getting down low under 100' unless your perched up high on a hill looking down into a valley. I watch my bars like a hawk when I get that low when I know there's a risk of signal loss, especially if it's going behind a tree or slightly behind a hill top, gotta be careful in those situations. Glad you have the refresh policy.

 

[hls811]

I've seen windsurfers and similar things on Amazon and kinda thought they were a novelty and wouldn't offer much benefit, but I guess I was wrong. Its an expensive gadget to be learning on the fly with but seems like thats what I'm doing. I'll have a few weeks to read up while I wait for my repairs/replacement.

 

[John Locke]

I've seen windsurfers and similar things on Amazon and kinda thought they were a novelty and wouldn't offer much benefit, but I guess I was wrong

They really work. They are very simply to use and work on the same principle as any dish antenna, like direct tv or dish network. It's a big catchers mitt, catching signal and bouncing it all to the antenna. Same in reverse, sending signal out, aiming it all in one direction.

 

[John Tarvin]

Too bad obstacle avoidance didn't work. Maybe no leaves on the trees this time of year... Or you went into it sideways,

 

[shockwave199]

I know it's been said 5.8 is great but I've had a disconnect on it and never trusted it since. I didn't have a crash like you did and I was closer than a half mile. It's not to say that it was because of 5.8, but I've never had a problem with 2.4 once. I go with the hot hand. Sorry this happened to you.

 

[John Locke]

I know it's been said 5.8 is great but I've had a disconnect on it and never trusted it since. I didn't have a crash like you did and I was closer than a half mile. It's not to say that it was because of 5.8, but I've never had a problem with 2.4 once. I go with the hot hand. Sorry this happened to you.

I surmise you had something between you and the craft, such as trees, structure, or hill. 5.8Ghz auto consistently works better than 2.4Ghz for me.

 

[shockwave199]

I surmise you had something between you and the craft, such as trees, structure, or hill. 5.8Ghz auto consistently works better than 2.4Ghz for me.

Not a single thing in the way, not that far away, and using windsurfers pointed perfectly at the bird. It was weird. Probably a one off. I don't mean to crap on 5.8. I'm sure I'll try again some day. But 2.4 is solid for me so I really have no reason to experiment most times.

 

[AirMan05446]

Well, the tree didn't jump out at me by itself.
.

Don't be so sure. They act all slow and lumbery, but when they see a drone (esp a PHANTOM) they pounce!

 

[Bakersfield Quad]

Don't be so sure. They act all slow and lumbery, but when they see a drone (esp a PHANTOM) they pounce!

True, apparently he has not seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy, trees are sneaky creatures. You think that when their limbs are waving, it is only wind?