Just lost pro 3 in the ocean.

Flu it and enjoy it. Things happen. If you can't afford a replacement let alone the first one.. It's not a section of the hobby you need to be in

Sorry for your loss. It sucks. Most my flights are over the water. I actually have a big trip planned for July where it will get lots of ocean time.

This is why I suggest many 16gb memory cards. If bird goes down you don't lose all your footage!
 
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Nope,I have been flying and building quads for years...

This is a Phantom 3 thing and its battery management system. With P3's you should always take off with a full battery or you risk it dropping out of the sky. Search up, it's a common problem and the first thing that is asked when someone starts a thread trying to understand why their P3 fell out of the sky, well that and the CSC question and whether or not they pushed their battery in the extra millimeter until it clicked and what temp their flying in coupled with their firmware version and did they snug up their props. All these things I just noted are common "fell out of the sky" causes.
 
Love how it took the OP so long to admit he flew it on a half depleted battery.. This discussion could've been solved in 5 posts. Instead, Everyone chimes in with the blame game; it's the app update, it's the firmware, DJI sucks, etc etc. Nope, it's the pilot. As usual.

And of course the OP "is getting an Inspire 1 now." Lmao. Yeah sure you are.
 
Love how it took the OP so long to admit he flew it on a half depleted battery.. This discussion could've been solved in 5 posts. Instead, Everyone chimes in with the blame game; it's the app update, it's the firmware, DJI sucks, etc etc. Nope, it's the pilot. As usual.

And of course the OP "is getting an Inspire 1 now." Lmao. Yeah sure you are.
Well it looks like I've dodged bullets. My last few flights have been on part used batteries at about 60%.
 
Well it looks like I've dodged bullets. My last few flights have been on part used batteries at about 60%.
The biggest issue is not the battery charge per se - it is the combination of a low charge and the time the battery has sat around trying to be 'intelligent'. It appears that the P3 gets confused at times an thinks a partially discharged battery has more power left than it really has. Unfortunately, you're in the air when the voltage goes critical (as in the OP's case) and then you're rapidly not in the air.

The OP was courting disaster when he hit the door. Going out over a beach with a low battery is going to get you in a number of ways. The aformentioned confused battery and a good wind pushing the bird out when you're trying to fly back in. Plop.

And I strongly agree with the other posters concerning the Inspire. Yes, they're very nice. They can even be had at a good price these days. But if losing a Phantom causes rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, think about what crashing out the bigger UAV is going to do to your budget. The low end Inspires don't have a better camera. They don't have better flight times. They can handle winds better - although I've flown the P3 in 30 mph winds, got some great video and lived to tell the tale. They're bigger and harder to haul around. Batteries are expensive.

Yes, they're cool looking. But once it's a couple hundred feet in the air you can't see it anyway.
 
The biggest issue is not the battery charge per se - it is the combination of a low charge and the time the battery has sat around trying to be 'intelligent'. It appears that the P3 gets confused at times an thinks a partially discharged battery has more power left than it really has. Unfortunately, you're in the air when the voltage goes critical (as in the OP's case) and then you're rapidly not in the air.

The OP was courting disaster when he hit the door. Going out over a beach with a low battery is going to get you in a number of ways. The aformentioned confused battery and a good wind pushing the bird out when you're trying to fly back in. Plop.

And I strongly agree with the other posters concerning the Inspire. Yes, they're very nice. They can even be had at a good price these days. But if losing a Phantom causes rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, think about what crashing out the bigger UAV is going to do to your budget. The low end Inspires don't have a better camera. They don't have better flight times. They can handle winds better - although I've flown the P3 in 30 mph winds, got some great video and lived to tell the tale. They're bigger and harder to haul around. Batteries are expensive.

Yes, they're cool looking. But once it's a couple hundred feet in the air you can't see it anyway.
What he said ref the inspire. To true.
 
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Understand my friend...lost p4 in water after critical low power...right after last update. ...buyed a new p4..hope it will not appen twice
 
When I read the OP, I said to myself "I bet he launched with a partially charged battery."

Four pages later, we look at the log.

You launched with a partially charged battery. That was your mistake.

Lesson: NEVER launch with a partially charged battery.

If you were a regular on this site, you'd have known this.

I'm sorry for your loss.
 
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Please confirm that if my battery is 80% power I'm better to charge BEFORE flight?...just plug the battery and charge 100%...no worry to overcharge or scrap cell ?....thank you for your clear answer.
 
If your battery is 80% power, do not fly. Charge first. Then fly.

There is no risk of damage to your battery.

Yes, it's true that you'd "probably" be alright with 80% battery, but do you want to take that risk when it's not necessary? Just charge the battery and fly happily.

Edit: You can read more about this here: Fell Out of Sky - Total Loss
 
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The fail safes still work without video feed.
Yes the fail safes have worked for me in every instance thus far. I frequently fly out of sight living in a densely treed area on the top of a mountain, and get nervous when I lose video feed. Maybe I am becoming a bit paranoid since I don't want to lose my quad and keep reading posts of people reporting strange happenings
 
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I lost my P2V+ in the salt water, was able to recover it after a day. Rinsed it in fresh water and put it in rice, after 5 days I tried to see if it would work. It sparked then caught on fire. I eventually ended up buying a new P3P the next week. Sorry for your loss.
 
If your battery is 80% power, do not fly. Charge first. Then fly.

There is no risk of damage to your battery.

Yes, it's true that you'd "probably" be alright with 80% battery, but do you want to take that risk when it's not necessary? Just charge the battery and fly happily.

Edit: You can read more about this here: Fell Out of Sky - Total Loss
I have try to charge but it's not charging...maybe need to be less than 90% ..... I have a battery that is at 92% then refuse to charge!

Also..I see that one of my cell on the battery have 0.01 volt less than other cell...is it a problem!?..thanks for your help
 
If the battery won't charge, you can try to force the charge by turning on the battery while it's plugged into the charger. If it still won't charge, then it's close enough to being fully charged that you won't have a problem.

Re cells, you might read the healthylogs explanation of what constitutes an unbalanced battery to get a better understanding of when to worry. .010 volts difference is nothing to worry about, IMO. And know the difference has to be in the lowest cell vs. the second lowest cell. The middle cells don't matter. Why? Because the lowest cell is the one that's going to reach shut down mode before you have a chance to react, so that's the one you need to keep an eye on.

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters
 
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Clearly I am fairly new to this site by the number of post. I appreciate everyone's help. As for some of you. Go take a your perfect "OP" asses and get lost. I don't need your input. It didn't take me long at all once someone asked the questions. No I don't sit on this site and read every thread. I have lot of other stuff going on. And as far as the inspire comment. Yes someone had one yesterday I saw it and guess what my bank account says I can get one. Am I upset about losing my p3p absolutely...if you don't get upset about losing 1k it would explain why you would get on here and bash someone's post. Even if my post was like another people are clearly learning from this post. So I must not be the only one. I'm glad to have helped even one more pilot not lose their drone like I did. Sorry for the rant...for those that have positive input I really appreciate your input. And thank you from the new pilots on the forum in sure we all appreciate not getting bashed about our uneducated phantom flaws.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Uneducated is exactly right lol

You want to play the game? Learn what you can.

By your logic I hope you have a kid, don't teach them how to drive and toss them the keys to your car. They have teenage stuff to do. Not learn how vehicles work or how to drive them. How hard can it be.

...people these days always making excuses for their failures. Pathetic.
 
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I would not be too harsh with the OP. Yeah it was an error, but it's a really easy mistake to make when you're new. Logically, if you have 50% charge, you should be fine. But the fact is, the manual says always launch on a fully charged battery.

When I was a n00B, I flew a couple times on a partially charged battery and it was fine. I learned of the dangers later reading this forum.

A few weeks ago I thought my lights were acting funny, I had a few minutes the next day, so I grabbed a battery with two solid lights on it and hovered my aircraft at about 8 feet. I didn't even bother with the mobile device or the app since I was only going to hover for a minute or two. As I watched the lights, I noticed the battery went from two lamps on to one lamp on and one blinking. No problem. About 20 secs later the back lights are flashing red rapidly. I brought the craft closer to see the battery lights, and now it was down to only one lamp blinking! Next thing I know the aircraft is landing itself hard on uneven ground. So it tipped over on a hard landing.

My mistake and it was a mistake I already knew not to make: Don't fly on a partially charged battery.
 
I would not be too harsh with the OP. Yeah it was an error, but it's a really easy mistake to make when you're new. Logically, if you have 50% charge, you should be fine. But the fact is, the manual says always launch on a fully charged battery.

When I was a n00B, I flew a couple times on a partially charged battery and it was fine. I learned of the dangers later reading this forum.

A few weeks ago I thought my lights were acting funny, I had a few minutes the next day, so I grabbed a battery with two solid lights on it and hovered my aircraft at about 8 feet. I didn't even bother with the mobile device or the app since I was only going to hover for a minute or two. As I watched the lights, I noticed the battery went from two lamps on to one lamp on and one blinking. No problem. About 20 secs later the back lights are flashing red rapidly. I brought the craft closer to see the battery lights, and now it was down to only one lamp blinking! Next thing I know the aircraft is landing itself hard on uneven ground. So it tipped over on a hard landing.

My mistake and it was a mistake I already knew not to make: Don't fly on a partially charged battery.
I agree. OP is learning as we all are. None of us was an expert to start and most of us still are not. Keep learning OP, and keep flying.
 

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