Cell towers

[Furb]

Flew my second tower today. Trying to make some demos. Video and still shots were looking great. Just about done and thought I'd fly in a little closer. Wow away she went. Fly towards the woods then toggle RTH. It turned and started back but still not controllable. Toggled again to take control. Thought I had it back, but noway. Just about crashed, then flew into compound and crashed full speed into the towers! Wow! Now what? Luckily my company had some relationship with tower companies and they gave me access code to get my ship back. Thought it would be like a broken egg. It was upside down and in one piece. Camera hit first. Gamble was messed up. Took it back to office. It started but camera was going nuts. Sending back for repair in the morning.
Anyone else had these problems? Took video to my cell tower tech buddy. He thought it could of been to close to system. Great video but will cost me about $800 when repaired.

 

[UKFlyer]

Did you read the DJI instruction manual? It clearly states NOT to fly near cell towers or near anywhere where there is possible electromagnetic interference like electricity pylons or substations so what happened to your quad was to be expected.
In answer to your qustion, no i've never experienced problems like this as i don't fly near possible causes of electromagnetic interference.

 

[Meta4]

How close were you when the problems started?
If you need to fly there for work, can you do what's necessary from a safe distance?
Perhaps a lens upgrade would help to get closer images without putting the bird in too close.

 

[sbjr0203]

Not sur what the issues where, I do it almost daily for my company. Getting as close as 1-2' feet from our towers & the carriers.

 

[Pysen]

How close is too close?

 

[justin00]

except for generic "electromagnetic interference".. what actually interferes ?
cell towers shouldn't be broadcasting on 2.4 or 5.8 ghz frequency.. nor should it interfere with the GPS.
Obviously its not worth the risk if they say not to.. but if OP has done it a number of times without issue, perhaps it is something else ?

I used to have a pilots license and when flying Piper warrior (same as single engine cessna pretty much) we could use our mobile phones up in the air.. no interference to instruments.. Obviously they are better shielded and what not... but still.. even commercial air craft are letting you use your phone now a days, well some.

 

[DBeard]

Cell towers routinely have Microwave antennae mounted on them, in addition to cells. You fly into a microwave burst and you will, at the least, loose all signal.

 

[Furb]

Yes I take all blame and yes I've read manual. I flew a tower the day before and all went well. Had some biz opportunities and wanted to make sure it would do it. Distance was app 10feet or so. I know all these towers all have diff components, but all went so well until I was just ready to bring it down. Est repair is about 800 to 900 dollars from Dronefly. They were very helpfull on the phone and seemed to know what they were talking about. Cam and giblets is one unit at $700+$100 for repair if that's all that's needed. As I was packing it up I noticed that one motor seemed a little gritty or not smooth like others when I spun it.With the new price at $1149.00 I'm thinking of just ordering a new one and have this one for parts. Shipping I think would be at least $50.00 in hardcase. Thoughts?

 

[dunginhawk]

Could you fix it youself for less? for $1150 if you are looking at 900+ for parts/labor, no sense in taking the risk of more things being damaged, just buy a new one.
On the other hand, if you can find the parts and fix it yourself for 500-700, then id go that route.

 

[N017RW]

It's a safe bet to say "stay away" due the vast differences between sites.
The towers may share several carriers of unknown variety to the public.

However...I have one about 1000ft from my location and have flown around it for years with my CP heli on a Spektrum DSM2 system and now my P2 originally with the OEM radio and now with a Futaba T-FHSS system.

 

[justin00]

Speaking of towers and what not...
My house has a satellite for paytv. (Foxtel in .AU).. I wouldn't mind flying over JUST my house and taking a look... what distance should I be from the satellite ? or will that be fine ??
Had a quick look and it looks like foxtel uses 12.348GHZ for the downstream via there satellite... Is that going to interfere with 2.4/5.8GHZ ?

 

[justin00]

Hmm kind of scared now.. perhaps I'll fly over on the other side so its no where near the satellite and just move camera around... need a big big ladder to get on my roof

 

[BaldEagle]

I wonder if it is understood that the issue is that signals sent to the Phantom might either get distorted or choppy when flown near cell towers, etc. That leads to inconsistent information to the Phantom and possibly erroneous thrust, tilt, yaw, etc. information leading to possible crash. If the signal is totally lost, it may not be a problem because a RTH is activated. But it's not just about losing signal, it's about erroneous signal.

 

[Meta4]

Speaking of towers and what not...
My house has a satellite for paytv. (Foxtel in .AU).. I wouldn't mind flying over JUST my house and taking a look... what distance should I be from the satellite ? or will that be fine ??

You should stay several thousand kilometres from the satellite - because it up in space. The thing on your roof is an antenna or dish.
I think you'll be fine. The satellite dish is all about collecting the signal from the distant satellite, rather than sending a powerful signal back into space.

If you want to be really cautious .. the signal is very directional (the dish has to be aligned perfectly to point at the satellite) so flying a few metres above it shouldn't have any impact if you keep out of its line of sight to the satellite.