Lost!!!

[Rockdweller]

I need some input on just what happened to my drone. I was flying without a camera but was getting the telemetry on my smartphone and I was trying to keep it in sight but it all of a sudden flew out of sight and I immediately pushed Home button and I heard it coming back. It was circling not real high over head and then I lost visual contact once I tried to regain control. Once I regained control I got the message that a motor was obstructed. I assumed it had fell out of the sky and I was still getting all the telemetry from it. It was still showing from 9 to 13 satalites.

What I would like to know is why it was showing a moving trail like it was still flying? Are the satalites not that accurate? I'm including a not so good photo of the trail that it was making even tho I assume it was either in a tree or on the ground. I've looked all over for it with no luck.

From the location it is showing with the moving trail, it could be anywhere. Could someone explain why it looks like it is still moving even tho it's apparently crashed?

This trail kept moving until the battery was completely drained.

Thank you

 

[mdowney58]

Just a hunch here. If it was right on the edge of receiving multiple GPS satellites, and they were intermittently being seen, then not seen, over and over, I'd guess it wasn't 100% sure where it was.

Either that or, after it came down it was crawling through the woods...

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Rockdweller]

Ha ha. I first thought the track was showing me looking for it and then I realized it was the copter. I kept thinking it must be circling overhead but no such luck. This is the first I've lost so I'm thinking a motor went bad or something. I've been flying for a couple years but I still didn't know what the location meant that it was showing.

 

[Rockdweller]

It was showing the distance was from 150 to 180 ft so it must be fairly close by but I'm in a grown up wooded area and it will be hard to find this time of year. It may be up in a tree.

 

[kirk2579]

It was showing the distance was from 150 to 180 ft so it must be fairly close by but I'm in a grown up wooded area and it will be hard to find this time of year. It may be up in a tree.

in a tree would explain obstructed motor and telemetry working.
when not flying the battery will last a while.
watch for the leds maybe if lucky they are still on

 

[mdowney58]

when not flying the battery will last a while.
watch for the leds maybe if lucky they are still on

That was going to be my next suggestion. Maybe the leds will show up after dark.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Meta4]

I need some input on just what happened to my drone. I was flying without a camera but was getting the telemetry on my smartphone and I was trying to keep it in sight but it all of a sudden flew out of sight and I immediately pushed Home button and I heard it coming back. It was circling not real high over head and then I lost visual contact once I tried to regain control. Once I regained control I got the message that a motor was obstructed. I assumed it had fell out of the sky and I was still getting all the telemetry from it. It was still showing from 9 to 13 satalites.

Go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.

Come back and post a link to the report it provides and some of the experienced people here will probably be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident and perhaps point you to a likely area to search for the Phantom.

 

[Rockdweller]

I have no idea what that first mess was that i posted a pic of but I think I've found the flight path that it actually took. It's a heavy wooded area and I'm wondering if that is some way to get the coordinates from the flight log? I will go on the hunt tomorrow so wish me luck.

 

[Rockdweller]

I uploaded the flight log and I don't think it gave the right info at all. One thing, I didn't have a camera on it and the flight path is completely opposite of the direction that I know it went.

 

[Meta4]

I was flying without a camera but was getting the telemetry on my smartphone and I was trying to keep it in sight but it all of a sudden flew out of sight and I immediately pushed Home button and I heard it coming back. It was circling not real high over head and then I lost visual contact once I tried to regain control. Once I regained control I got the message that a motor was obstructed. I assumed it had fell out of the sky and I was still getting all the telemetry from it. It was still showing from 9 to 13 satellites.

What I would like to know is why it was showing a moving trail like it was still flying? Are the satellites not that accurate?

This looks like a very troubled flight.
We only have a partial flight record so it might not be enough to point to where the Phantom ended up.
You mentioned the screen message advising of an obstructed motor - this is the crash.
But this doesn't show anywhere in the flight record which ends at 3:38 with your Phantom 260 feet up in the air and less than 400 feet away.
You were getting compass errors from 9 seconds after takeoff which makes me wonder if you had calibrated in a bad area close to a car or a substantial amount of steel nearby.

At 2:29 the Phantom was unable to resolve the conflict between GPS and compass data so it switched to atti mode.
From 2:51 to 3:06 it did register the attempt at Go Home mode but did not make any real progress to ward home dur to the compass error which would have prevented it from flying straight.
The location appears to be surrounded by trees with no large clear areas so your Phantom is losing signal when it gets away from the home point.
The last point on this flight record is at 35.96925 N 85.50525 W, which is just south of that clearing with a shed.
At this point it is well above the trees at 260 feet and moving very slowly northwards.
But battery was at 86% so it could have drifted further.
If the flight record showed the propeller obstructed message, we could have confidence that we knew the crash site.

 

[Rockdweller]

Those coordinates will be a big help as they are the same as what my phone shows at the end of the flight path.

 

[Rockdweller]

What does vs and hs mean when it comes to the speed in the flight log?

 

[Rockdweller]

This looks like a very troubled flight.
We only have a partial flight record so it might not be enough to point to where the Phantom ended up.
You mentioned the screen message advising of an obstructed motor - this is the crash.
But this doesn't show anywhere in the flight record which ends at 3:38 with your Phantom 260 feet up in the air and less than 400 feet away.
You were getting compass errors from 9 seconds after takeoff which makes me wonder if you had calibrated in a bad area close to a car or a substantial amount of steel nearby.

At 2:29 the Phantom was unable to resolve the conflict between GPS and compass data so it switched to atti mode.
From 2:51 to 3:06 it did register the attempt at Go Home mode but did not make any real progress to ward home dur to the compass error which would have prevented it from flying straight.
The location appears to be surrounded by trees with no large clear areas so your Phantom is losing signal when it gets away from the home point.
The last point on this flight record is at 35.96925 N 85.50525 W, which is just south of that clearing with a shed.
At this point it is well above the trees at 260 feet and moving very slowly northwards.
But battery was at 86% so it could have drifted further.
If the flight record showed the propeller obstructed message, we could have confidence that we knew the crash site.

 

[Rockdweller]

Did you see the screenshots I posted at the beginning of this thread? They are just to the north of where the last flight path showed. The drone seemed to be moving around as you can see by the trail it was making. It done this in this same spot until the battery went dead. I don't know if you can see the telemetry but the speed is zero and the distance was something like 150 ft. I'm thinking it is in the area somewhere, maybe in a tree as it is wooded and plus timber has been cut and it's grown over pretty thick. Would you please give me your opinion if this area is where it might be? Thank you.

 

[mdowney58]

What does vs and hs mean when it comes to the speed in the flight log?

VS = Vertical Speed
HS= Horizontal Speed

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Rockdweller]

Did you find the drone yet?

I spun that area around a while on Google Earth, do you have any indication where it was when you last heard it? Was it between the dwellings? On THAT side of Lincoln?

What about the tree line towards the area that goes down to the valley? Did it make it over that way any?


.

Hey thanks for the reply. I used my other drone and was lucky enough to find it in a tree and apparently no damage at all. No way to see it from the ground and it was within a few feet to where it showed it was at.