Lost in lake!

[Windy Pig]

Hi Geo,

Glad you recovered your P2V and it is in the air again.

Don't forget to pop some cable ties loosely through the rubber dampers when you refit a new camera.

Cheers,

W.P.

 

[skyhighdiver]

. .

I have completely diss ambled it, rinsed it, and dried it. It now sits opened under a fan. I won't try to power it up until tomorrow.



Geo

get it into a bag with rice the more the better it absorbes to moister out of the electronics

 

[Geoelectro]

This evening I connected it to the computer and everything seems normal. Did the compass calibration and flew it for about 10 minutes. It flew well and held its hover. I did notice it didn't seem to be level. Tilting to the rear somewhat. I wonder if the camera being gone is causing it to be off balance. I replaced the props with the second set it came with. That appeared to correct the tilting. I'm convinced I can pursue a replacement camera at this point.

http://youtu.be/wPwDHMj6p2U

Geo

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

This evening I connected it to the computer and everything seems normal. Did the compass calibration and flew it for about 10 minutes. It flew well and held its hover. I did notice it didn't seem to be level. Tilting to the rear somewhat. I wonder if the camera being gone is causing it to be off balance. I replaced the props with the second set it came with. That appeared to correct the tilting. I'm convinced I can pursue a replacement camera at this point.

http://youtu.be/wPwDHMj6p2U

Geo

She's looking good but just to be on the safe side fly her low in open area (with no lakes ) for a week and after that I'd say you arengood to go. It would be really nice if you could get a second hand camera for half the price of a new one.

 

[grochester]

Maybe try an ad in the classified section of the forum to see if you can get a camera.

 

[Geoelectro]

Well one thing, I'm not distracted by an FPV monitor so strictly LOS. Also, I don't have to wait for the range extender to charge...

Geo

 

[Geoelectro]

Well I was curious about the battery that was damaged in the lake crash. If you pushed the button it showed a 25% charge. However, it would not power up the Phantom or take a charge. Since it was going in the trash otherwise I decided to try to take it apart to see if anything could be done. This thing is sealed very well. A tight fitting case with glue. I used a heat gun to soften the glue and get it apart. Apprehensive due to the battery but was very careful not to over heat it.

Well, there are 2 circuit boards in the control head and a good bit of electronics. There is a multi pin cable that connects the two boards. I unplugged both ends and cleaned. I did a general cleaning on the boards. With it still opened I plugged in the charger and guess what...it's charging like normal!

It's currently up to about 50% and I'm watching it like a hawk. I have a fan on it and a digital thermometer checking for any heating. So far, so good. I believe I could actually get it back together and possibly use it again. However, my trust level here is pretty low. I'll let you guys know of the progress.

Geo

 

[danmiami]

Just my 2 cents...

Having been through a class to fix water damaged cell phones, here is a tip...

If you guys have a water incident, take everything apart like the OP did... Leave it open and apart for at least 48 hours to air dry... no heat, no sun, just air dry... If you add heat, or put it in the sun, you will build up steam under chips, etc. which will ultimately corrode and cause contacts to bridge in the future...

Happy flying!

 

[Geoelectro]

Well the battery charged up and shut off. I put it in the Phantom and it powered up. I connected it to the assist software and checked out the battery page.
Cell 1 3791 MV
Cell 2 4177 MV
Cell 3 4178 MV
So it looks like Cell 1 is off a little. Does this seem like it's serious or should I try a few discharges and re-charges?

Geo

 

[Scottrod]

Just my 2 cents...

Having been through a class to fix water damaged cell phones, here is a tip...

If you guys have a water incident, take everything apart like the OP did... Leave it open and apart for at least 48 hours to air dry... no heat, no sun, just air dry... If you add heat, or put it in the sun, you will build up steam under chips, etc. which will ultimately corrode and cause contacts to bridge in the future...

Happy flying!

+1. Better yet, put it in a small room/closet with a dehumidifier running.

 

[skyhighdiver]

Just my 2 cents...

Having been through a class to fix water damaged cell phones, here is a tip...

If you guys have a water incident, take everything apart like the OP did... Leave it open and apart for at least 48 hours to air dry... no heat, no sun, just air dry... If you add heat, or put it in the sun, you will build up steam under chips, etc. which will ultimately corrode and cause contacts to bridge in the future...

Happy flying!

+1. Better yet, put it in a small room/closet with a dehumidifier running.

ancient chinese secret has saved cell phones, gopro, and many rc boat lipo batteries RICE

:shock: o no secret is out

 

[Scottrod]

Just my 2 cents...

Having been through a class to fix water damaged cell phones, here is a tip...

If you guys have a water incident, take everything apart like the OP did... Leave it open and apart for at least 48 hours to air dry... no heat, no sun, just air dry... If you add heat, or put it in the sun, you will build up steam under chips, etc. which will ultimately corrode and cause contacts to bridge in the future...

Happy flying!

+1. Better yet, put it in a small room/closet with a dehumidifier running.

ancient chinese secret has saved cell phones, gopro, and many rc boat lipo batteries RICE

:shock: o no secret is out

Yeah old news. You're still better off with a dehu. Besides I don't think it's practical to take apart the phantom and buy rice in bulk. :lol: Plus I wouldn't want to be the one to have to clean it out. A cell phone is a little bit different in size.

 

[skyhighdiver]

[/quote]

Yeah old news. You're still better off with a dehu. Besides I don't think it's practical to take apart the phantom and buy rice in bulk. :lol: Plus I wouldn't want to be the one to have to clean it out. A cell phone is a little bit different in size.[/quote]

just take kitchen garbage bag but 2 large bags of rice in with copter seal it uo for 2 days and whola
of course the more you take apart the better your outcome

 

[disjecta]

Well the battery charged up and shut off. I put it in the Phantom and it powered up. I connected it to the assist software and checked out the battery page.
Cell 1 3791 MV
Cell 2 4177 MV
Cell 3 4178 MV
So it looks like Cell 1 is off a little. Does this seem like it's serious or should I try a few discharges and re-charges?

Geo

Just my 10 cents, Geo, I think you are playing with fire trying to fix this battery. Some of these batteries have been known to explode even without being tampered with or dunked and, if I were you, I'd ditch it and eat the cost. Better take a loss than burn your house down or do some serious damage to yourself.

 

[Raymond.HK]

Whether in GPS or Att mode, there is a (low) limit how you could pitch to move forward at low altitude (say 1 to 2 m off ground).

I crashed my P2V (already calibrated in GPS mode) to the sandy ground the 1st day I practised it when I just lifted it up at about 2m high. Moved the forward stick quickly and the P2V tilted forward and hit the ground fast in 1 to 2 sec. Too fast to make any adjustment to lift it up before crash.

Now I always fly up high to at least 5m and above before making any maneurve forward. Usually lift P2V above higher than all surrounding trees (may be higher than 20m) to avoid crash during Failsafe return home.

Raymond

 

[myvrodrocks]

Thanks for sharing. Glad I'm not the only one. I need a new camera as well.

 

[Geoelectro]

Well I flew the questionable battery for between 10 and 15 minutes when it suddenly went into auto land mode. It was discharging normally until it reached 50%. Then, it went to one light blinking on the Batt with red lights blinking on the phantom as it was attempting to land on it's on. I recharged the Batt and it seemed to charge...but too fast. Checking in the Assist software it again shows the cells as before.

Either one cell is bad or the circuit that balances them is bad. Regardless, it's likely toast for all practical purposes.

The good news is the Phantom is working like before. I have a new camera on the way and by the end of this week should be back together. Oh, and I need to order a new battery.

I need to stop watching these extreme videos on youtube etc. It's a flying camera, NOT a stunt machine.

Geo

 

[Scottrod]

Well I flew the questionable battery for between 10 and 15 minutes when it suddenly went into auto land mode. It was discharging normally until it reached 50%. Then, it went to one light blinking on the Batt with red lights blinking on the phantom as it was attempting to land on it's on. I recharged the Batt and it seemed to charge...but too fast. Checking in the Assist software it again shows the cells as before.

Either one cell is bad or the circuit that balances them is bad. Regardless, it's likely toast for all practical purposes.

The good news is the Phantom is working like before. I have a new camera on the way and by the end of this week should be back together. Oh, and I need to order a new battery.

I need to stop watching these extreme videos on youtube etc. It's a flying camera, NOT a stunt machine.

Geo

Valiant effort trying to fix the battery. Worth a shot. Glad to hear you'll be up and running again soon.

 

[Geoelectro]

1 week and 1 day after the horrible crash into the lake I received my new camera. (Battery on the way) Installed it and plugged it in. Very lucky it didn't rip off any wires when it separated from the Phantom. Went into the APP and did the binding. Went ahead and updated the firmware and a recalibration.

Recalibrated the compass since the camera was now added. Flew it for a couple of minutes (in between drizzle) and recorded to check out the focus etc. It looks awesome!

So, a $660.00 mistake!! (Camera and battery) I'm very lucky the Phantom survived. (and now I'm way more familiar with the lake!)

In case someone doesn't know this, full forward in ATTI mode it does NOT maintain altitude. In fact, I would suggest if you fly in any new mode to have plenty of altitude for your test to see how it reacts. That is all, over and out!

Geo

 

[stevefromsd]

I lost one in the ocean the same way. Salt water means no way of working again. I was told it could sit in a lake for a year and it will work again.