Query about known issues with the P4P

[DaceX80]

Background:

In December I purchased a P4P, on the first day of operation it lost all power while hovering at 17 meters. The UAV simply died in mid air without any warning, on a calm mild day. One thing that caught my eye as I collected up the bits of my brand new copter is that the battery was still on. After a difficult time with DJI's customer service, the unit is on its way back to me. I have been using my P3P since December which isnt the worst situation to be in.

Question:
A friend of mine asked me do I visit these forums, I said no (I have rectified this). He intimated that sudden losses of power are a "known issue" with the P4P. I have spent some time looking here and elsewhere and havent seen any cases like mine but I have not looked in depth. So my question is, are P4P's dropping out of the sky? Is there an issue? Are there any other problems to be careful of? On the day that I did have the P4P I encountered the annoying "high wind warning" message but are there any other issues waiting for me?

 

[Method007]

Power loss is not a "known" issue - although it was with the Karma! The high wind warning message is the only thing currently bothering me. Everything else works fine.

 

[Kewdo]

As far as I know, I confirm what Method007 said, I don't think that power loss is a known issue.

I don't think you still have data from this flight, but If you do I strongly recommend you to post in on this thread, so that some skilled user could take a look into it.
I've been astonished to see how much they can dig from flight logs and such - to find where the problem came from.

What did Dji said about it ? Is it a known issue to them ?

 

[smiller]

The number of 'known issues' reported on forums can be pretty amusing, if for nothing else than their inaccuracy. With respect to this one in particular, there have been and will always be intermittent reports of battery failure with just about any drone model ever made but there is absolutely no unusually high incidence with the P4P. Don't even know where that one came from.

 

[DaceX80]

As far as I know, I confirm what Method007 said, I don't think that power loss is a known issue.

I don't think you still have data from this flight, but If you do I strongly recommend you to post in on this thread, so that some skilled user could take a look into it.
I've been astonished to see how much they can dig from flight logs and such - to find where the problem came from.

What did Dji said about it ? Is it a known issue to them ?

This is the log viewer

Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

So I have a routine every time I use a quadcopter. Firstly I never transport the UAV with the battery in place, so I know without a doubt the battery was securely in place. Secondly I have battery info hotkeyed to the rear left button on my controllers so when I take off I usually spend 30 seconds to a minute letting the UAV hover while I check the temperature and see how the voltage is looking, as part of the process I look at the UAV to see how she's moving, monitoring the wind etc. All standard stuff.

As you can see in the log however, on 37 seconds it just stops. I can tell you what happened next as I was looking right at the P4P. It just lost all power and fell, turning as it fell to land near enough flat on its back, knocking the camera off and partially ejecting the battery which was still powered on.

I dont want to get into what DJI said in full but they basically tried to say that because the internal SD was damaged, and the black box info with it, they couldn't honour the warranty on the product. Eventually I got them to see reason and they have repaired it FOC. In all the conversations they never mentioned any known issues though.

 

[Kewdo]

Well, indeed the logs might not be very useful as far as it just stop like that...

But i'm a noob on those things so i'll let someone with experience try and help you out.

The scenario your are describing is my worst nightmare every time I fly with my p4p (that and RC signal loss) !
On my end, I'm strongly thinking about taking a full insurance for my p4p - not a Dji care, but a full insurance covering theft, damages and loss.
You got Dji to see reason this time, but others haven't been so lucky - and I can't aford loosing 1700€ out of nowhere !

I do hope someone will be able to help you figure this out.

 

[DaceX80]

Well, indeed the logs might not be very useful as far as it just stop like that...

But i'm a noob on those things so i'll let someone with experience try and help you out.

The scenario your are describing is my worst nightmare every time I fly with my p4p (that and RC signal loss) !
On my end, I'm strongly thinking about taking a full insurance for my p4p - not a Dji care, but a full insurance covering theft, damages and loss.
You got Dji to see reason this time, but others haven't been so lucky - and I can't aford loosing 1700€ out of nowhere !

I do hope someone will be able to help you figure this out.

RC Signal loss is absolutely fine once you have your RTH settings set correctly, which you should also check every flight.

In terms of the P4P just dropping without warning, yeah it was a real eye opener. Thankfully I was shown the ropes when it comes to flying UAV's by a very experienced enthusiast so I am careful to avoid flying over people, property and vehicles that I do not own. Ever since the failure I shudder when i see some of the flight logs people post.....

 

[Kewdo]

RC Signal loss is absolutely fine once you have your RTH settings set correctly, which you should also check every flight.

In terms of the P4P just dropping without warning, yeah it was a real eye opener. Thankfully I was shown the ropes when it comes to flying UAV's by a very experienced enthusiast so I am careful to avoid flying over people, property and vehicles that I do not own. Ever since the failure I shudder when i see some of the flight logs people post.....

Indeed, regarding RC Signal loss, the RTH function should take control and bring the bird back.
But still, i'm getting a bit paranoid, and i'm afraid of something like GPS signal loss + RC signal loss, leaving the bird on it's own..!
Anyhow, I'm always flying over empty areas and strictly avoid flying over people or properties too.

 

[DaceX80]

Indeed, regarding RC Signal loss, the RTH function should take control and bring the bird back.
But still, i'm getting a bit paranoid, and i'm afraid of something like GPS signal loss + RC signal loss, leaving the bird on it's own..!
Anyhow, I'm always flying over empty areas and strictly avoid flying over people or properties too.

The only real thing that ever truly scares me is compass errors. Trying to get a P3P back from over the water with a compass error...... oh man

 

[Kewdo]

The only real thing that ever truly scares me is compass errors. Trying to get a P3P back from over the water with a compass error...... oh man

Can imagine that... In the end there's so much on these pieces of technology that can go wrong - something like what happened to you is a perfect example...

Is full insurance not an option for you ? I mean, I know it's not cheap, but so is the p4p...!

 

[DaceX80]

Can imagine that... In the end there's so much on these pieces of technology that can go wrong - something like what happened to you is a perfect example...

Is full insurance not an option for you ? I mean, I know it's not cheap, but so is the p4p...!

I asked one of the guys who got me in to aerial photography, "What piece of advice would current you, give younger you when you were starting out." and he said (more or less) "Everything with a mechanical component breaks down. If you are lucky, your drone will break down when its on the ground but odds are, it wont. Look after it as best you can but if its going to break down at 150 ft, there's nothing you can do. If its going to break down over water, there's nothing you can do. If a bird hits it, you cant stop it. Just relax and concentrate on getting the footage you want."

I am going to look into getting insurance too but I tend to agree with my friend, he sums up my philosophy very well!

 

[Meta4]

The only real thing that ever truly scares me is compass errors. Trying to get a P3P back from over the water with a compass error...... oh man

That's easily prevented by not giving your Phantom a compass error.
A compass error normally isn't a problem with the compass - it's a perfectly functioning compass advising that the magnetic environment is different from what it should be.
People unnecessarily recalibrating the compass close to a lot of steel (most commonly reinforced concrete) is the major cause of compass error issues.
If you calibrate the compass in the wrong spot, the compass is set for a distorted magnetic environment and can't work properly when it gets away from the magnetic influence.
Here's an example:

Get a good compass calibration and stick with it.

 

[DaceX80]

That's easily prevented by not giving your Phantom a compass error.
A compass error normally isn't a problem with the compass - it's a perfectly functioning compass advising that the magnetic environment is different from what it should be.
People unnecessarily recalibrating the compass close to a lot of steel (most commonly reinforced concrete) is the major cause of compass error issues.
If you calibrate the compass in the wrong spot, the compass is set for a distorted magnetic environment and can't work properly when it gets away from the magnetic influence.
Here's an example:

Get a good compass calibration and stick with it.

I did not know a lot of this, but I do have a spot up in the hills where I calibrate and I don't have compass errors anymore. Thanks for the info

 

[Kman]

The plastic hub that sits o top of each motor that the propellers attach to - people, including myself have noticed even with the screws tight the hub is still loose. Will release a video tonight showing what I'm talking about.