Lost at Sea :-(

[ianwood]

If I understood correctly, he had lost FPV signal so OSD data would not be displayed. The only hope would be to continue flying blindly in the direction you were heading, hoping the signal would return.

Missed that. FPV interference could very well have been the other flyer on a similar vTX frequency. Unlike the signal from the controller which can coexist pretty well with Wi-fi and other things in the same frequency range, the vTX can be seriously hampered by a similar setup on the same or in a neighboring frequency. That sucks. Not much you can do in that case.

 

[turbodronepilot]

Hey there guys..it must have been a terrible feeling when your phantom didn't return to you..luckily it must have crashed into the ocean. .my main concern is that in an event where my p2v+ Flys away that it doesn't injure anyone or cause property damage. .that being said this is how I check my compass before every flight. .first I mark down on the ground which way is north. .then I'll start the phantom up and wait for 6 or more satellites verified by green flashing lights. .then I open the dji app and stand directly behind my phantom and check that the compass is pointing the same direction the craft and I r standing. .then I turn on the radar and look for the smaller compas in the middle of the screen ..it should be pointing north..so if both compasses point the rite direction you have a good calibration. .if you fly in the same place all the time you shouldn't need to calibrate every flight,but if you changed locations from your last flight it is recommended to recalibrate the compass. .many things can interfere with your compass(like flying after it rains) so keep an eye on it make sure both r pointing in the rite direction.also I hit the s2 switch several times, after take while hovering, to make sure the home point is set..this is just a suggestion. .use this information at your own risk..happy flying turbodronepilot. .

 

[catware]

My sincere condolences for your loss. At least the little guy went out quickly, doing what s/he loved :'-(

 

[jflyer3]

One thing I ALWAYS do is verify my home point before leaving on my main mission. Many others do this too. After lifting off, I fly on an angle away and up about 50-100 feet distance and 20-30 feet height. I then flip S2 to HL, pull the right stick back and see if it returns to home. If it does, off I go! Just wondering did you do this or similar?

Excellent advice. I always verify my home point by waiting for the 2nd burst of green lights. After that I take off, hover, and if it 'feels stable' I start the mission. In this case I was stymied by the 'bad compass' error upon startup, but dismissed it once I got the green bursts after recalibration. I like you're procedure of S2/HL and will use that in the future.

FWIW, here is an image showing my takeoff points for my last 2 flights. I put the copter on the ground at the mark and startup. Startup and flight on Nov 15 was uneventful. But startup on Nov 16 produced a compass calibration error immediately upon power up and eventually led to the Phantom's demise (IMHO). Despite many launches from this site, which has metal railing about 5 feet away, I've never had any compass incident prior to this.

In fact, here I actually launched surrounded by railings and everything was fine!

Still waiting to see what DJI has to say...

 

[MadMitch88]

Just some friendly advice --- for your next quad purchase, I'd highly suggest buying from Amazon or B&H Photo.

I've heard many stories in the past 6 months about both Amazon and B&H shipping out FREE replacement Phantoms simply after you email them and tell them your original unit "malfunctioned and flew away". You don't have to send them any proof. These companies are very customer-centric and are willing to spend $1,000 out of their own coffers to make you happy.

 

[shartlza]

Just some friendly advice --- for your next quad purchase, I'd highly suggest buying from Amazon or B&H Photo.

I've heard many stories in the past 6 months about both Amazon and B&H shipping out FREE replacement Phantoms simply after you email them and tell them your original unit "malfunctioned and flew away". You don't have to send them any proof. These companies are very customer-centric and are willing to spend $1,000 out of their own coffers to make you happy.

Amazon yes, B&H if you are outside their 90 day return policy no.

 

[evonbart2]

First off I'm writing to Hallmark and telling them they need a drone section in the card aisle. From unboxing (yay... look who's a new daddy) to crashes (awww hope your UAV gets better soon) to total losses (I'm so sorry for your loss).

Second, all kidding aside, that sucks about your P2 man. I lost one too - same way....GPH3+ - FPV....fairly new. I was flying around this lagoon at a nearby tourist spot and had eyeballs everywhere watching. Made one last turn before calling it a day and bloop. FPV screen went black. I looked out for it in a panic and gone. One kid said he saw it tilt 45 degrees and then just eat it straight into the water.

I was bummed for a few weeks then I missed it too much and got a new one. One thing I will say is I noticed the first FPV rig I put on the AVL-58. I was too unsure of myself to put it in the guts of the P2 so even though everything was tight outside. I had the AVL-58 unit pull off the velcro and now the wire - transmitter plus antenna was long enough to reach one of the prop blades. Bye bye quad. If you don't put the wiring inside your P2, I would recommend it just for that extra security.

Any loss blows, but on the bright side you can maybe get the P2 Version 2 that just came out. I'll be upgrading my P2 and P2V+. I am curious how the motor upgrades help.

You should be getting my sympathy card in the mail any day now

 

[max]

OK, I am off to attempt a flight to the near oil rig (1.3 miles). I've hit a mile before, but that's been about my limit. Wish me luck and I will keep an eye out for your bird jflyer3!

 

[Prylar Bek]

Cant wait...holding my breath...I know the rig...paddled out there

 

[shartlza]

OK, I am off to attempt a flight to the near oil rig (1.3 miles). I've hit a mile before, but that's been about my limit. Wish me luck and I will keep an eye out for your bird jflyer3!

Careful there are going to be some strong off shore winds starting up soon.

 

[evonbart2]

OK, I am off to attempt a flight to the near oil rig (1.3 miles). I've hit a mile before, but that's been about my limit. Wish me luck and I will keep an eye out for your bird jflyer3!

Careful there are going to be some strong off shore winds starting up soon.

That is a good point. I was in FT Lauderdale FL right after some major storms blew through and the residual winds were swaying trees. Pretty surprisingly My P2V held its ground, but I was careful to keep the speed pretty slow. It's hard not to feel a little cocky about its abilities when you see it handle itself so well, but I can see a rogue gust of sheer wind flipping that bird on its ear and going 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Hey man good luck. If you come back with footage and hit the 1.3 mark. Give us the specs of your P2 and FPV please.

 

[jflyer3]

First off I'm writing to Hallmark and telling them they need a drone section in the card aisle. From unboxing (yay... look who's a new daddy) to crashes (awww hope your UAV gets better soon) to total losses (I'm so sorry for your loss).

You should be getting my sympathy card in the mail any day now

Haha, yeah I'll be checking the mail!

Sorry to hear about your lost quad too. Losing FPV when your quad is out of sight is a panic-inducing feeling, RTH be damned! I still think it's a better idea to put the video Tx outside the quad for cooling and RF purposes. There are velcro-like fasteners now with much stronger grip than velcro. No way your Tx will fall off.

BTW, I'm starting to rebuild. Bought a slightly used GoPro Hero3+B off of ebay, a 500mw Boscam TS352 Tx (instead of the 400 mW model), iOSD, and new SD cards. As Arnold would say, "I'll be back!"

OK, I am off to attempt a flight to the near oil rig (1.3 miles). I've hit a mile before, but that's been about my limit. Wish me luck and I will keep an eye out for your bird jflyer3!

Way to go, max! Let us know how it goes. I just came back from a walk in that area and the wind was calm and air clear. Good flying conditions. My quad is wishing you luck from Davy Jones' locker!

 

[max]

Thanks for the luck everyone! I made the flight. It wasn't the best flight I've had, but I made it back to dry land It was windier than I would have preferred. But wind was blowing predominately towards shore, so I went for it. I think it was quite windy at altitude. It seemed to take a long time to get out there (I think seed was in the 20s mph) and check the video at 2:54 when I was in Atti mode, it looks like it had some stability issues due to the wind. It was around 2pm, the wind died down after my flight, of course.

I didn't quite make it to the platform. Part of the problem was that I didn't head straight to it, so when I got close and needed to turn towards it, I lost control signal. At those distances, the signal is best picked up with the bird point directly away from you. I'm not sure the exact distance I made it (I don't have a logger), but I saw 6000+ ft on the FPV app, which is a new best. Once I lost control signal for the first time I decided to come home. I wasn't really feeling comfortable about the flight. I never lost FPV, which was good for my nerves . I will probably try again when there is less wind.

I have a P2V+, with Stage 2 FPLVR and booster app.

Here is the video (Sorry for the poor quality, and you'll have to provide your own music ):
[vimeo]112601720[/vimeo]

 

[Prylar Bek]

Good one you Looks great I don't have the balls yet to try it But will soon!

 

[Happyflyer]

1.3 miles=7,040 feet. I have flown my P2V 10,000 feet, on land, and still had control and FPV and would still never try such a stunt.
Is this flight of death over water called machoism or just plain stupidity?
It is OK if you have that much money to just throw away, but still...... :?:

 

[jflyer3]

Thanks for the luck everyone! I made the flight... I think it was quite windy at altitude. It seemed to take a long time to get out there (I think seed was in the 20s mph) and check the video at 2:54 when I was in Atti mode, it looks like it had some stability issues due to the wind. It was around 2pm, the wind died down after my flight, of course.

I didn't quite make it to the platform. Part of the problem was that I didn't head straight to it, so when I got close and needed to turn towards it, I lost control signal. At those distances, the signal is best picked up with the bird point directly away from you. I'm not sure the exact distance I made it (I don't have a logger), but I saw 6000+ ft on the FPV app, which is a new best. Once I lost control signal for the first time I decided to come home. I wasn't really feeling comfortable about the flight. I never lost FPV, which was good for my nerves . I will probably try again when there is less wind.

I have a P2V+, with Stage 2 FPLVR and booster app.

Great job, max!

You were definitely fighting a head wind out there. The wind picks up offshore. Sometimes my Zenmuse gimbal has seizures during the flight and I know the wind is a factor. In ATTI mode, the speed coming back is typically twice the speed going out with the usual on-shore winds. Also, at max distance when I turn the quad around to fly home the video signal immediately degrades. This is because the antenna is mounted on the back of the bird. Scary feeling. I've lost control signal at that distance too. But strangely I've gone as far as 3 km until control signal is lost. I guess it depends on the humidity, interference, altitude, and other factors.

Based on a previous instrumented flight from the same takeoff location, I figure you were about 6150 feet out at about 250 feet high. Another 850 feet to Emmy

Here's a snap from your flight at or near max distance:

Approximately the same position (6150 feet out):

Arrive at Emmy (7000 feet):

Congratulations on a safe flight and let us know if you go for it again. Once you conquer Emmy, Eva is out there waiting: 3.5 km (2.17 miles, 11,500 feet)! :shock:

 

[Prylar Bek]

You guys are hard core tough a$$ pilots...scary!!!!!

 

[max]

Congratulations on a safe flight and let us know if you go for it again. Once you conquer Emmy, Eva is out there waiting: 3.5 km (2.17 miles, 11,500 feet)! :shock:

Thanks, you were my inspiration Haha hmmmm, gonna stick to Eva for a while I think!

 

[Prylar Bek]

BTW, in case I missed it, where was the launch point?

 

[MadMitch88]

Thanks for the luck everyone! I made the flight. It wasn't the best flight I've had, but I made it back to dry land It was windier than I would have preferred. But wind was blowing predominately towards shore, so I went for it. I think it was quite windy at altitude. It seemed to take a long time to get out there (I think seed was in the 20s mph) and check the video at 2:54 when I was in Atti mode, it looks like it had some stability issues due to the wind. It was around 2pm, the wind died down after my flight, of course.

I didn't quite make it to the platform. Part of the problem was that I didn't head straight to it, so when I got close and needed to turn towards it, I lost control signal. At those distances, the signal is best picked up with the bird point directly away from you. I'm not sure the exact distance I made it (I don't have a logger), but I saw 6000+ ft on the FPV app, which is a new best. Once I lost control signal for the first time I decided to come home. I wasn't really feeling comfortable about the flight. I never lost FPV, which was good for my nerves . I will probably try again when there is less wind.

I have a P2V+, with Stage 2 FPLVR and booster app.

Here is the video (Sorry for the poor quality, and you'll have to provide your own music ):
[vimeo]112601720[/vimeo]

Great video!

Sorry to sound like a broken record in here --- but you long distance addicts NEED to get the bird-side pinwheel antennas and Sunhans 2.4 GHz amp from FPVLR.com! I was only getting about 1.2 miles max. FPV range when using just the Sunhans amp transmitting to the stock antennas on my P2 Vision+ --- but that range DRAMATICALLY increased to 2.7 miles when I added the bird-side pinwheels! Make sure to mount them at 90 degrees to one another for best reception.

I'm using a FPVLR half-sphere antenna on the output side of the Sunhans amp --- so a bigger-gain helical antenna could probably get you reliable FPV signal out to 3+ miles !!!

It's really easy to add the bird-side pinwheels -- FPVLR will include cables that fit the stock terminals on the WiFi radio inside the P2 Vision+. No soldering required !!

You can delete the WiFi booster app after you install this setup because it's vastly superior for long-range FPV !!


FPVLR 2.4 GHz bird-side pinwheels:

http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=76&product_id=110

Sunhans 2.4 GHz amp (2500mW):

http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=75_80&product_id=84