Missing Phantom

[jdawson]

Sorry I missed the part where you said all green before takeoff...

I am watching a lot of videos of people flying phantoms on-line and it is shocking how few wait to get full green before they go.

Joe

 

[Sac D]

Sorry I missed the part where you said all green before takeoff...

I am watching a lot of videos of people flying phantoms on-line and it is shocking how few wait to get full green before they go.

Joe

Oh, I know what you mean, Joe! Those videos make me wonder too. I'd like to think they edited it down to remove all the pre-flight footage, but some of them are clearly just firing it up and taking off. Maybe they need a good scare or two, that will give cause for more caution.

 

[Sac D]

After having an AR Drone leave me a year ago. I was ready for that to happen with the Phantom. I have been reading the posts on the run-a-way Phantoms and decided to invest. I saw other posts about the Garmin GTU-10. I purchased this unit and I believe that it will do well. I tested the unit to see location results and I am very pleased. It is light weight and can be
affixed to the Phantom using the extended battery tray which is available. It is not as cheap as the units mentioned above,
but It does work.

I am hoping that I never have to test it on a lost unit, but I am prepared.

Keep us posted, we all want to know if and when it is found.. and Good Luck.

BTW my AR Drone was in the top of the tallest tree about 1/4 mile away from where it left. My bucket truck was not tall enough to reach the Drone, so I ended up shaking the branch to get it down... damaged on the landing from the tree.

We live in one of those areas of California that has both palm trees and redwood trees growing together. There are also a number of huge old oak trees along the river. My Phantom could be residing in one of thousands of those around here, and that could prevent it from being found indefinitely. I might go randomly search along the parkway though... just to get out and enjoy the nice weather and hope I stumble onto what is essentially a needle in a haystack.

 

[Sac D]

Tracking Devices

I've been studying these, and it looks like the most practical one for our purpose, the Insignia Littlebuddy, is discontinued and no longer supported.
Now I've been reviewing the TK102b, and it looks like the new leader in the clubhouse at this point. Anyone have it? What are your thoughts?
I've ruled out the Garmin... a majority of the reviews are rather negative.

Does it sound like I'm thinking about getting another Phantom yet?

 

[Sac D]

 

[Sac D]

Hope I get my Blutracker soon, if I have a similar fly away hopefully I will be able to find it. There are many inherit risks in this hobby. Losing $1,000+ in a matter of seconds is an unfortunate reality. My orignal unit had a transmitter problem and I lost it overnight, neighbor found it though.

Is there any chance that the Bluetracker frequency might interfere with the Phantom's navigation system?

I sure hope not! Because I'm thinking of getting one too. Adam, what did you find out about these things before you ordered?

 

[Sac D]

FOUND!!!

I got a call early this morning from a guy that found my Phantom on the other side of the American River. He was riding along the bike trail and thought he saw something back in the brush, so turned around and went to take a look. After he walked in through some rugged vegetation, there was the Phantom sitting in the mud in a tiny clearing. So evidently it had flown until the battery got low, then decided to land in that spot. It was 2.1 miles from where it had disappeared.

The camera is okay, it has a video recorded but the file is corrupted, no doubt from the battery running out while it was parked out there.

As for the Phantom, I'm gonna get it cleaned up and check it out now to see if it is still operational. I may go buy a Lottery Ticket today also.

 

[Sac D]

Oh, I forgot to mention once again... remember to write your contact info on these things!

(I had my phone number on each prop)

 

[IamWill]

Congrats dude! Hope it's flight ready once you get it cleaned up and checked out.

I wrote my # on mine because of your post - glad to hear it panned out.

 

[dbrack]

This is outstanding news! Congrats! I'm definitely going to get some sort of tracking gizmo.

 

[Sac D]

This is outstanding news! Congrats! I'm definitely going to get some sort of tracking gizmo.

I'll be getting a BLUtracker as soon as they are available.

 

[Adam]

FOUND!!!

I got a call early this morning from a guy that found my Phantom on the other side of the American River. He was riding along the bike trail and thought he saw something back in the brush, so turned around and went to take a look. After he walked in through some rugged vegetation, there was the Phantom sitting in the mud in a tiny clearing. So evidently it had flown until the battery got low, then decided to land in that spot. It was 2.1 miles from where it had disappeared.

The camera is okay, it has a video recorded but the file is corrupted, no doubt from the battery running out while it was parked out there.

As for the Phantom, I'm gonna get it cleaned up and check it out now to see if it is still operational. I may go buy a Lottery Ticket today also.

Great news. 2.1 miles! That would be out of range from the blutracker. I guess you are supposed to be able to pick it up if you keep moving around and got within a half mile of it. That Garmin GTU-10 is tempting, too as it adds the cellular feature.

 

[Gizmo3000]

FOUND!!!

I got a call early this morning from a guy that found my Phantom on the other side of the American River.

F*ing awesome to hear!!!
glad this saga has come to a happy ending.

Considering the circumstances,. probably a good idea to really test things out to ensure that RTH failsafe is functioning properly (if there is such a way to test it out in a controlled environment)

 

[Sac D]

FOUND!!!

I got a call early this morning from a guy that found my Phantom on the other side of the American River.

F*ing awesome to hear!!!
glad this saga has come to a happy ending.

Considering the circumstances,. probably a good idea to really test things out to ensure that RTH failsafe is functioning properly (if there is such a way to test it out in a controlled environment)

It's still acting a little wacky. And I briefly had a RGY on it while I was cleaning it up and re-calibrating everything. I'm gonna see about returning it for another.

 

[jdjeff]

FOUND!!!

I got a call early this morning from a guy that found my Phantom on the other side of the American River.

F*ing awesome to hear!!!
glad this saga has come to a happy ending.

Considering the circumstances,. probably a good idea to really test things out to ensure that RTH failsafe is functioning properly (if there is such a way to test it out in a controlled environment)

It's still acting a little wacky. And I briefly had a RGY on it while I was cleaning it up and re-calibrating everything. I'm gonna see about returning it for another.

Hey Sac....I've been following many of your posts about this. I saw the one where you talked about your dealer and their indifferent attitude. I saw something on the DJI website in the support section. They pretty much tell you that if you need support, to contact any dealer. When you get to that page, it specifically says that the dealers listed will support your Phantom, even if you didn't buy it from them. http://www.dji-innovations.com/products ... a-dealers/

Here's the text:
Making sure you receive exceptional support and intuitive answers to your questions is extremely important to us. Below is a list of dealers tha will be able to service you every step of the way. whether you purchased from them or not!

if you have trouble getting in touch with a dealer, or aren’t receiving adequate support, please contact us at [email protected] and we will ensure you are taken care of.

 

[pwright]

That's fantastic news! Great to hear that someone found it and did the right thing.

 

[Sac D]

Hey Sac....I've been following many of your posts about this. I saw the one where you talked about your dealer and their indifferent attitude. I saw something on the DJI website in the support section. They pretty much tell you that if you need support, to contact any dealer. When you get to that page, it specifically says that the dealers listed will support your Phantom, even if you didn't buy it from them. http://www.dji-innovations.com/products ... a-dealers/

Here's the text:
Making sure you receive exceptional support and intuitive answers to your questions is extremely important to us. Below is a list of dealers tha will be able to service you every step of the way. whether you purchased from them or not!

if you have trouble getting in touch with a dealer, or aren’t receiving adequate support, please contact us at [email protected] and we will ensure you are taken care of.

That's good... no, that's great! Because as of this morning, I now have a chance to get it resolved! Thanks JDJ.

 

[jdjeff]

That's good... no, that's great! Because as of this morning, I now have a chance to get it resolved! Thanks JDJ.

Yes...I found that looking for direct support from DJI. I was a little taken back by the fact that DJI says, "If you need support, contact your dealer." But if they are networked the way they claim to be, then maybe with a good explanation of how your issue developed, you might get the matter resolved. My only reservation with this is the level of difficulty contacting DJI if any those dealers want to send you back to where you bought it. At least you have something in print of a commitment on DJI's part. I really hope it works out in your favor.

 

[Alex]

FOUND!!!

I got a call early this morning from a guy that found my Phantom on the other side of the American River. He was riding along the bike trail and thought he saw something back in the brush, so turned around and went to take a look. After he walked in through some rugged vegetation, there was the Phantom sitting in the mud in a tiny clearing. So evidently it had flown until the battery got low, then decided to land in that spot. It was 2.1 miles from where it had disappeared.

The camera is okay, it has a video recorded but the file is corrupted, no doubt from the battery running out while it was parked out there.

As for the Phantom, I'm gonna get it cleaned up and check it out now to see if it is still operational. I may go buy a Lottery Ticket today also.

WOOT! No way, that's awesome!

 

[jdawson]

the fact you found your phantom! is the best news of the day!