Nightmare first crash_Vision+_ Whats the problem?

Stevo said:
steveeds said:
Sry Stevo, I didn't mean to offend you, we don't have guns here so I couldn't identify with that view. I'm old, to old I think.
No problem. I live in Texas where people have the right to carry them.
And I hope your State will give you the right to carry one openly. Know that you're not alone. I do it as a matter of course.
 
Ok, so to get back onto the real topic as it relates to crashed Vision Plus, as there are a number of possibilities here Stevo.
In your initial posting of 6-24-14 you mentioned you are a newbie, and recently purchased the Phantom, so I don't know how familiar you have become with the various programing and setup methods or if you've even had the time to thoroughly acquaint yourself with the model and user manual which is most important for a number of reasons.
The phantom when setup properly can be considered easy to fly, but most certainly not a plug'n play toy, but that you know, right?
As mentioned, there are many factors which may have come into play as it relates to this unfortunate incident you've outlined.
As an eg. although acquiring 6 satellites as suggested before flying, that is simply a minimum #, of which may be compromised, and ultimately reduced to a lesser # at any given time. This would result in flying without GPS.
You had mentioned you had lost connection, but had you confirmed your Home point before take off, and tested it before actually flying away from you at a considerable distance.
You also mentioned that you had previously did some flying at a high school, however, had you recalibrated the Phantoms compass once again in this new area where the crash had occurred, and had you acquired sufficient satellites before doing so?
Your concern regarding losing connection at only 500 ft. is most definitely a valid issue, and should have forewarned you not to venture out into the Amazon like terrain for obvious safety concerns.
These eg. just touch on a few of the more common possibilities, as it relates to your crashed quadcopter, with the ultimate possibility being that you may have simply come upon a defective unit straight out of the box.
 
tch1972 said:
One of the most common errors among inexperienced pilots is antenna orientation. Read the manual and you may get twice the range.

I agree with tch1972...make sure the tip of the transmitter antenna is NOT pointing in the direction of the Phantom, though, as shown in the manual. You want the antenna to be at a 90 degree or so angle to the ground. As I understand it, the signal radiates from the sides of the antenna, not the tip. Unfortunately, the diagram in the manual seems to contradict this theory. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of radio signals could weigh in on antenna orientation.
 
Skynet1 said:
You also mentioned that you had previously did some flying at a high school, but had you recalibrated the Phantoms compass in this area of the crash before flying, and had you acquired sufficient satellites before doing so?
OK. I got the impression that Stevo had not traveled far to the area of the crash after calibrating his compass in a school parking lot. I read some people counseling to recalibrate the compass at every different location, and I read some people counseling that recalibrating the compass when one has not traveled a significant distance can make things worse. Whose opinion is most likely to keep my Phantom from crashing?
 
If you always do a 30-60 second hover test at about 10ft up and 10ft away at the beginning of every flying session then you will catch any unusual drifting or other behaviour then. If you don't calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator is time to recalibrate. If you do calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator you didn't get a good calibration and to do another one, perhaps slightly away from where you just did.

Just my opinion. :)
 
First let me introduce myself as a newbie here. My name is Steve. I perform property surveys, which is why I purchased the Phantom Vision+. Yesterday was my first test flight at a high school parking lot, and everything went fine until I noticed I kept losing connection at around 500 feet. Everything was charged, 6 satellites, was gps calibrated, was in line of sight, installed and used the DJI Booster App, and even velcroed a USB power pack to the back of the remote to keep continual power feed to the Iphone and range extender, and yet it would lose connection at 500 feet with no obstructions. So, I quit and brought it home disappointed. Then, today I had a property to inspect and survey, so I thought I would take some aerial photos for the report.

Werz wrote, [/quote]OK. I got the impression that Stevo had not traveled far to the area of the crash after calibrating his compass in a school parking lot. I read some people counseling to recalibrate the compass at every different location, and I read some people counseling that recalibrating the compass when one has not traveled a significant distance can make things worse. Whose opinion is most likely to keep my Phantom from crashing?
The intention was to point out the various possibilities which may be of concern, however, in the op he mentions that after flying in and around some High school, and noticing poor connection at 500 ft. he then quit and brought the unit home disappointed.
You are correct, Werz. There is clearly different thoughts on how often to perform a calibration of the compass.
In this particular incident it's not clear just how far away the High school was from the crash site in question, so it was incl. as a precautionary measure, as it relates to possible cause. Better to be safe than sorry, were my thoughts.
 
Pull_Up said:
If you always do a 30-60 second hover test at about 10ft up and 10ft away at the beginning of every flying session then you will catch any unusual drifting or other behaviour then. If you don't calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator is time to recalibrate. If you do calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator you didn't get a good calibration and to do another one, perhaps slightly away from where you just did.

Just my opinion. :)
Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I just added another item to my pre-flight checklist.
 
Where's my bloody gun, oh that's right :(
 
Werz said:
Pull_Up said:
If you always do a 30-60 second hover test at about 10ft up and 10ft away at the beginning of every flying session then you will catch any unusual drifting or other behaviour then. If you don't calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator is time to recalibrate. If you do calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator you didn't get a good calibration and to do another one, perhaps slightly away from where you just did.

Just my opinion. :)
Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I just added another item to my pre-flight checklist.

In addition to pullups hover test I also do a home point test before each battery. After the hover test I do a left right forward back test. Then I fly 100 ft away about 40 feet up and do a HL test. I bring it back until it switches to CL and then I go about my flight. I am in naza as that is the only way to fly!!!
 
Pull_Up said:
If you always do a 30-60 second hover test at about 10ft up and 10ft away at the beginning of every flying session then you will catch any unusual drifting or other behaviour then. If you don't calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator is time to recalibrate. If you do calibrate every flight then a bad hover would be a good indicator you didn't get a good calibration and to do another one, perhaps slightly away from where you just did.

+1
 
Thanks for the replies gentlemen. After the crash, the gimbal was acting up, so I stopped using it for a while, and I was debating on whether this whole idea is more work and money than it's worth. But the drone was so much fun to use and I can see a definite use for the business, so I returned it for replacement several days ago, and the whole idea has been out of sight and mind until I get another one.

To answer a couple questions, yes, I did calibrate the GPS every time, but I still think there was operator error on my part at some point. Someone also mentioned that the antennae should not be pointing a certain way, and something simple like that means this is no toy and should be studied much more than the sales videos lead you to believe is so easy out of the box. I cant wait until I get the replacement and start using ground control.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,086
Messages
1,467,528
Members
104,965
Latest member
Fimaj