Lost my phantom :-(

gingericeman said:
Thanks Larry.

Just a thought, when I find it it's going to be more than likely soaked or water logged, what are my options ? Obviously dont try to turn it on because it would fry all the electronics . Is there a way to dry it off so as to save the bird ?

I would search on this forum a bit.
I know I have read in the past on here where people have had their phantoms go into fresh water and have dried them out and saved them.
Not so lucky with salt water.

So there is hope!!
 
gingericeman,
You also ought to check out Drone-Mods.com for a good tracker. They offer an international model.
And the best way to search this forum is to go to Google, put in Phantompilots and the topic. As another poster said above, the topic of water-logged Phantoms has been covered many times.
 
StangLuvr said:
Question on the Flytrex Live 3G. If I get one, I need an active cellular sim card correct?

Yes but it can accept any micro-SIM card in the USA. I'm currently using T-Mobile but switching over to H20 Wireless soon ($20 every 90 days).

The Flytrex Live streams basic info. to the cell towers so you don't need to buy a lot of data (unless you fly 20 missions a day!).

It's also an indispensable tool if you fly long distance (>2,000 ft. from takeoff point) because you can track the bird in real time on Google Maps satellite view.
 
What do you think went wrong? did the RTH function just not work? Did you do anything that may have contributed to this?
 
gingericeman said:
Happyflyer,
Im in Ireland. Its raining now so the snow will melt away I hope . The next snow is forecast for Saturday.

Irish? **** it people, why don't you put your locations in your avatars, very useful :)

Ginger, If you have snow I presume you are from central or western part?
Where exactly did you loose your bird. If you won't find it before Weekend, I may take my Vision + and do some Search and Rescue with you! :)
 
When My Phantom hit a tree over a half mile away I thought I knew exactly where it was .I was wrong .I was in grass and briars up over my head for a week Then it Rained for 2 or 3 Days.Found it and pulled the battery and took the top half off. Let it sit in a bag of Rice for 3 days then a hair dryer for about 15 minutes and then back up flying.I have since put a Marco Polo Tx on both my Phantoms.
 
I'm sorry for your loss. If you get another, be sure to put a GPS tracker on it. I like the RF-V16 on EBay. 27 grams, very small, lots of features.
 
Thank's everyone for the replies I'm suiting up and going out now , the storm hasn't past but its only rain and wind , feck it!
 
It's too late now but couldn't you have used the "Find my Phantom" feature (not knowing which model you had, maybe that wasn't available?) And I assume the 6 satellites is after the bird's suicide attempt, not prior to?
 
tonylumps said:
I have since put a Marco Polo Tx on both my Phantoms.

I did extensive testing with the Marco Polo in September and it didn't seem to work at all. I couldn't even locate my tag from only 200 feet away!

Total ripoff device, if you ask me.
 
Sorry guys no luck yet. Im out here at the minute and nothing yet . I haven't got a chance to reply to some of the private mail yet either.

I have a question , the drone had 6 satellite's at the time and said the distance was 454ft. Would it still be an accurate reading with 6 satellite's?
 
ya it should still be reasonably accurate to were it was at least when the last video feed was that you seen that. BUT if it was on the screen it seems it must of still had video connection. But from looking at your screen shot it you notice the blue radar circle with the red air plane icon on it. It looks like it was about at 2 o'clock away from were you took off from.
and it is a long shot but the find my phantom MIGHT still show the last known location. even if you closed the app. Mine some times will show the last time and place I landed. Unless I power off the phantom and then back on again and didn't fly yet then it will say no flight data or some thing to that effect.

also when looking dont forget to look in the trees and thats probably were it is. esp seeing your battery level at 11 it probably started to try and do a low battery landing if it did not have enough power to make it home. and also even tho the last video may have shown it being 400odd feet away it could also instead of being farther it could of made it closer to were home was. so dont forget to also look every were in between were you were and the farthest spot you thing it was and do a grid search. IF your phone has any way to do gps tracking or were it leaves a trail showing you were we have went. might also help to show you if you searched and walked the entire area. If you find a free app that tracks. You will be able to see a line on a Google map of all the places you walked looking for it. Then you can see if you covered the area good or not.

and if its wet it SHOULD be ok as long as you dont turn it on. The battery tho may be toast if it got wet. BUT dont turn it on till every thing is completely dry. Camera and phantom as well as the battery. If using the rice drying method it could still take up to 2 weeks to properly dry. and you should also open up the sell and disconnect all the plugs to make sure any trapped water drys out before it starts to corrode any connector pins. But for now worry about finding it and if you do check back as there are some ways to flush out the water and dry it thoroughly that works better then the rice thing. But to detailed to go in to right now.
 
Thanks, great post. I've been searching from 400ft out to 1000ft doing grid sweeps . I hadnt thought to search any closer .

After going through everything in my head again im thinking the 454ft aswell was the distance from the controller to the drone in a straight line at an angle going upwards at perhaps 30° to 50° so 454ft away may have been a good bit closer to me than I thought. I was measuring the distance straight out and not factoring in the angle to the drone and also that it was on a hill . So I'm going to start again and meticulously search the area alot closer that I have ignored until now .
 
The distance on the phantom is ground distance based on the gps. It dont factor in the angle for how high its up.

Its pretty accurate to. and now that I am thinking about it some more. If the video was still feeding after it landed or crashed which it looks like it was being it looks sort of like its in some trees in the pic you posted. Then its prob within about 20 feet of were its distance is saying it was. IF THAT was still a live feed.
 
O I just went and looked at your pic again. THAT video feed is definitely still connected in that pic being it would be a black screen if it was not. and the phantom connection broken is what you get when it loses signal from the controller.

But to be able to see the area its in better I took your pic and flipped it up right. Its definitely in a tree and about 119 feet up and about 454 feet away from were you took off from. and tho its hard to tell if thats snow or a lake Im seeing on the ground in the back round it looks like its at the very top of the tree its in judging by how thin the branches are and seeing the tips of the branches. I also see green in the try so im going to assume its some sort of ever green if its still green this time of the year ware you at. Id maybe try to go in the direction it is and try to go past it even and then try to look back and up in to any every greens that seem to be the tallest ones around once you are past that tree or grouping of trees. Being there dont seem to be any others as tall as it. also if you can get a pair of binoculars they might help to. it also probably is on the back side of the tree from were the take off point was. So Maybe try and look at that pic now that its flipped and see if you can find that big open snow or lake looking clearing in the background and start scanning the tall trees with the binoculers if you have any or can borrow a pair.

Screenshot_2015-01-14-14-37-40_zps53e729f8.png
 
Hmmm we had a local cycling team come out help me look yesterday, about 20 people in total. Still nothing, I've eliminated alot of area . I'm thinking of buying a second phantom to assist in the search. I always planned on buying a second unit.

I zoomed in on the screen shot and I can make out behind the phantom connection broken, a red gable of a shed or house in the foreground beyond the tree line. This will now be the focus of my search and take it from there.
 
To be honest, I am not so sure anymore that it would help in recon from above, unless we have an ipad (decent size screen) to see everything in reasonable detail. Also, resolution would have to be at least 640 which is not huge anyway, so flying lower would be necessary to be able to tell a good detail on the screen. Low altitude would also mean much smaller range, so I presume around 300-400 meters tops from operator, at around 20 meters height.

Don't buy another Phantom just yet, try finding it first and when you do, sending for inspection what went wrong. I presume you bought it from CopterShow so they would be able to do the investigation and repairs free if not your fault, or replace.

Anyway, you did not give me any word on last Saturday. If this weekend turns out to be nice and no snow, I may be able to head over with my Phantom and do some recon with you, but I will not be flying at gusts higher then 50 km/h.

Also, you have not found any parts on the ground, like battery or gimbal, so I presume that you have not come close to the crash spot yet or it is in one piece.

I still cannot understand why you have not found it yet, I mean the screenshot is apparent it is in some not so difficult to spot area? Or am I wrong?

Let me know how you're doing.
 

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