Dropped Phantom - two feet from chair - arghhh

[fred_lefevre]

Hi - well this sucks. I was driving my motorhome and the road caused some unexpected side to side rocking which was fairly intense. My P3A was sitting on my office chair and I thought the arms would protect it but not so. It fell about two feet to the floor. I have a crack on one upper arm by the motor and I am also getting "Main Data Controller" error. I have tried recalibrating IMU several times but it gives and "uknown error" when I try.

So - I have some experience with taking quads apart and putting them back together. My Walkera 250 - 10 times maybe. My 3DR Arducopter - a dozen times at least. What are the odds that my Main Controller error is caused by an issue with the memory card (I have been reading about) shifting. I am still under warranty but assume this is not a warranty item. Should I get a new upper body shell and open it up - check out the memory card, replace the upper body and hope for the best - or am I better off sending it in?

Any ideas appreciated. I am also going to post this over in rcgroups.com..

Thanks,
Fred

 

[telescott]

Read this thread for your fix.

Fix for "NO MC DATA- ACCELEROMETER FAILED" if caused by impact.

 

[fred_lefevre]

Thanks for the link. Definitely not the memory card since I can get to my .dat files. This sounds scary but I think at this point it is my only option.

I will give it a go.

Fred

 

[telescott]

It worked for me on two other quads. and i have posted for others on facebook and it worked. read the thread and it tells you where to hit it depending on what sensor is stuck

 

[fred_lefevre]

Well that is good to hear. At least I know where the quad struck since I have a cracked arm. That should give me a good clue on where to hit it. Nothing ventured nothing gained etc.

 

[telescott]

Try to hook it up to your phone or tablet and look at the sensors so you know by the chart where to hit it. You want to smack it like you're knocking on a wood door. You got nothing to lose and everything to gain

 

[ElGuapo]

Hi - well this sucks. I was driving my motorhome and the road caused some unexpected side to side rocking which was fairly intense. My P3A was sitting on my office chair and I thought the arms would protect it but not so. It fell about two feet to the floor. I have a crack on one upper arm by the motor and I am also getting "Main Data Controller" error. I have tried recalibrating IMU several times but it gives and "uknown error" when I try.

So - I have some experience with taking quads apart and putting them back together. My Walkera 250 - 10 times maybe. My 3DR Arducopter - a dozen times at least. What are the odds that my Main Controller error is caused by an issue with the memory card (I have been reading about) shifting. I am still under warranty but assume this is not a warranty item. Should I get a new upper body shell and open it up - check out the memory card, replace the upper body and hope for the best - or am I better off sending it in?

Any ideas appreciated. I am also going to post this over in rcgroups.com..

Thanks,
Fred

Fred,

I think it is time to invest in a back pack to carry your phantom, it is well worth the money and will save you a lot of grief.
One time I had a similar situation except that I was able to catch the bird before it hit the ground. That same day I invested in a back pack to safely move the AC around while it is well protected.

On a separate note, in regards to the error message you are getting, a friend of mine Phantom 3 Adv was dropped from about 8 ft high. His girlfriend was supposed to hand catch the bird while landing, the bird slipped thru her fingers hitting the ground, time for a new girlfriend, Lol.
Anyways he was getting the same error, he had to take the bird apart. Once inside he saw that a cable got disconnected, I think he had solder it. After he assembled the AC he was getting compass error, the easiest fix for him was to buy a new compass and replaced it himself, problem solved. He has not had any more problems since then, he has about 50 successful flights since the repair.

 

[fred_lefevre]

Fred,

I think it is time to invest in a back pack to carry your phantom, it is well worth the money and will save you a lot of grief.
One time I had a similar situation except that I was able to catch the bird before it hit the ground. That same day I invested in a back pack to safely move the AC around while it is well protected.

On a separate note, in regards to the error message you are getting, a friend of mine Phantom 3 Adv was dropped from about 8 ft high. His girlfriend was supposed to hand catch the bird while landing, the bird slipped thru her fingers hitting the ground, time for a new girlfriend, Lol.
Anyways he was getting the same error, he had to take the bird apart. Once inside he saw that a cable got disconnected, I think he had solder it. After he assembled the AC he was getting compass error, the easiest fix for him was to buy a new compass and replaced it himself, problem solved. He has not had any more problems since then, he has about 50 successful flights since the repair.

Great info. I work from home and once I get a break I will be taking it apart. The embarrassing thing is - I have a backpack case. I was just keeping it on the chair for convenience. I've had the motorhome for two years and never had violent rocking like that before. This is an office type chair with arms so I never thought it could hop out - live and learn.

Fred

 

[fred_lefevre]

Try to hook it up to your phone or tablet and look at the sensors so you know by the chart where to hit it. You want to smack it like you're knocking on a wood door. You got nothing to lose and everything to gain

Will do - it is connecting to iPhone ok so this should help.

Fred

 

[fred_lefevre]

Well I am getting the same -16 x axis error so that's encouraging. I have hit it several times with the palm of my hand on the battery pack but so far no joy. I am assuming to turn off before i hit it. I saw that one guy hit with a rubber mallet and I've got one of those but since I have to replace the top of the shell anyway it might be better to take it apart and try to deal with just the one block. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks,
Fred

 

[telescott]

It says low negative X - back (as the metal is lodged on the back of the craft by got hit on the front)

I sure was hoping you would get it by doing this

 

[telescott]

This guy says he basically knocked the crap out of it. lol

I found this thread, and was hesitant to start whacking my already battered UAV, but after almost a dozen attempts, it finally worked.

I had a -16.04 X value and whacked the (empty) battery compartment pretty good, and IMU went back to zeroes and allowed me to calibrate.

 

[fred_lefevre]

It says low negative X - back (as the metal is lodged on the back of the craft by got hit on the front)

I sure was hoping you would get it by doing this

Me too - i'm a long ways from giving up.

Thanks,
Fred

 

[fred_lefevre]

I think next on my list is to try a mallet - gently - sorta.

 

[fred_lefevre]

SOLVED! - I think. About five wacks with my mallet. Cleared the x issue and was able to do IMU calibration. Then tried compass calibration and it failed the first few times but the last two tries were both successful. Getting weak RC signal a couple of times also. Won't be ready to fly until I replace the upper body shell (coming here on Friday from Amazon). Which is good because we are in a campground in Ohio and leaving here Sunday to return to Canada - where it would cost a bit more. Thanks for all the help and encouragement.

Fred

 

[telescott]

SOLVED! - I think. About five wacks with my mallet. Cleared the x issue and was able to do IMU calibration. Then tried compass calibration and it failed the first few times but the last two tries were both successful. Getting weak RC signal a couple of times also. Won't be ready to fly until I replace the upper body shell (coming here on Friday from Amazon). Which is good because we are in a campground in Ohio and leaving here Sunday to return to Canada - where it would cost a bit more. Thanks for all the help and encouragement.

Fred

Great news, I am in Ohio where are you at?

 

[fred_lefevre]

We are at Sauder Village for a week. Archibald. Where are you?

 

[telescott]

We are at Sauder Village for a week. Archibald. Where are you?

about 140 miles away, Lexington. I hope you enjoy your time in Ohio and have a safe trip back to Canada. Dont spend any of that "funny" money here in Ohio now.

Tele

 

[fred_lefevre]

Rug hooking convention for my wife. She will have a great time - i work from home - and since we live in a motorhome - no one cares where I am. I know where Lexington is - Many many many years ago I went to the College of Wooster for a couple of years and got to know Ohio pretty well back in those days. Take care and thanks for all the help on getting this fixed.