Repairable?

[The_Chadd]

Hey folks,

I'm hoping that those more i the know that me might be able to weigh in. A friend crashed her P4 over the weekend and when shown to a 'repair agent' they hissed and pretty much told her 'looks like a write off'.

I've not seen the P4 in the flesh yet but have seen some photos and it seems to me only a replacement top and bottom case is required.

Would I get any feedback from DJI Go about the status of the craft or components if I started it up and connected it? What about DJI Assistant?

Thanks in advance.

Kempy

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Most likely a shell replacement and perhaps a small amount of light soldering would "Refresh" it's status. The bigger issue is the condition of the camera assy. (Is the tree ok?)....

 

[The_Chadd]

The bigger issue is the condition of the camera assy.

Agreed. I don't know the exact conditions of the crash, and as I said, haven't got my hands on the unit so can give more info unfortunately.

I imagine the gimbal and camera issues would become very evident fairly quickly should there be any?

 

[The_Chadd]

Is the tree ok?....

Ha... Yeah, I'm pretty sure it came off a hell of a lot better...!!

edit: fixed quote

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

If the camera gimbal appears to be intact and rotates normally with hands and is not bent, cracked, grate-like noise when moved. then It may be possible it is ok. When/if drone is turned on to test make sure NO wires in the affected area are touching! If it boots up it will most likely say it is very sick and cannot fly (in a round about way) but the camera may be able to verify it's function.

 

[The_Chadd]

If the camera gimbal appears to be intact and rotates normally with hands and is not bent, cracked, grate-like noise when moved. then It may be possible it is ok. When/if drone is turned on to test make sure NO wires in the affected area are touching! If it boots up it will most likely say it is very sick and cannot fly (in a round about way) but the camera may be able to verify it's function.

Good advice, thanks.

Although, i wont get a chance to get my hands on it as I found out this morning that they have sent it off to DJI Australia for investigation/quotes.

I'll update with more info for those interested after I get the details.

Thanks

 

[ryantrax]

Looks like a pretty easy shell replacement to me assuming the motor is ok and the gimbal / camera as others have mentioned. Good luck and I'm sorry for your loss

 

[The_Chadd]

Hi all,

So I finally got my hands on the drone. It's definitely worse than first expected. Gimbal snapped, wires stripped, top and bottom case smashed on one arm.
Seen the footage and it seems to have uncontrollably flown directly backwards out of users control then hitting a tree 20ish mtrs up and then the inevitable ground contact.

More detailed pictures:

I'm not familiar with the flight logs but wondering how I would be able to determine if there was a malfunction causing the craft to fly out of control? Or is this something DJI would have to do? I'm just wondering if it would be worth my while sending it off...

Thanks

 

[The_Chadd]

Hi All,

Just having a look at the flight logs.

What does the green and yellow flight path mean?

The bottom left white dot is where it set the home point.
The bottom right white dot is warning "Cache space full"
The top red dot is battery warning "sufficient battery to return to home. RTH now"
The top white dot is a mystery, no message logged against this.
The bottom red dot is where it hit the tree "motors obstructed".

4 seconds before the tree strike all 4 battery cells dropped.

This seems to coincide with the video footage where it suddenly deviates heading and flies straight backwards and into the tree. Not responding to transmitter input or even letting go of all controls to halt flight.

Any ideas? Is this worth getting DJI to investigate?

Thanks

 

[The_Chadd]

Incase it helps....

Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones

 

[Goof]

Kinda looks like she came off second best fighting with the RTH autoland? Taking off with 28% battery is not a clever idea. It's complaining about maximum battery discharge near the end, at that point it's going to try to get home or land no matter what. Usually this happens under 15-10%, unless this is an older / heavily worked battery. This is why it's always a good idea to take off with a full battery and a clear flight plan.

I'd be contacting DJI about repairs. Crashes like this aren't good for anything in the bird, generally the shell, all three gimbal motors and possibly the rear camera board need to be replaced, that last one is only available in DJI's own repair centers, unless you want to buy a $600AUD entire camera assembly.

 

[The_Chadd]

Kinda looks like she came off second best fighting with the RTH autoland? Taking off with 28% battery is not a clever idea. It's complaining about maximum battery discharge near the end, at that point it's going to try to get home or land no matter what. Usually this happens under 15-10%, unless this is an older / heavily worked battery. This is why it's always a good idea to take off with a full battery and a clear flight plan.

I'd be contacting DJI about repairs. Crashes like this aren't good for anything in the bird, generally the shell, all three gimbal motors and possibly the rear camera board need to be replaced, that last one is only available in DJI's own repair centers, unless you want to buy a $600AUD entire camera assembly.

Thanks for the reply @Goof



I don't think it was the RTH AutoLand. It took off in the opposite direction to the Home Point.I Although, it did seem to maintain the correct (nearly) RTH alt of 20m (clearly not set properly by operator for the surrounding obstacles). Nevertheless, it was still WAAAAY off if it was the RTH AutoLand.

Agreed, yes, not a great idea to take off with 30% batt. But 16% should still be sufficient to bring the bird home, if indeed it was RTH that caused the issues. All sensor and compass data in flight logs uploaded to AirData are fine. The unit is under 1yr old (still under warranty) so assume batteries will be fine. It's not a heavily used unit.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

There is a good chance DJI will replace it. Taking off with a less than full charge will increase the chances of a "Sob story" ending....

 

[The_Chadd]

There is a good chance DJI will replace it.

Thanks. Let's hope so.

Taking off with a less than full charge will increase the chances of a "Sob story" ending....

Agreed... and I have hammered that fact home to the owners.. never a better time for an "I told you so!!!" ;-)

 

[The_Chadd]

Hey all.

Quote back from DJI. AUD$300. Pretty happy with that.

Thanks for all your input.