I think I'm going to be sick!

[freelanceshots]

Lost my Phantom with the sony camera in the lake this morning. I'm so freaking pissed and hurt at the same time. Can't believe it happened to me and it was my worst fear with water. Pissed away 1200 dollars. Woke up early this morning to go to White Rock Lake Spill Way to capture some interesting video since people are not allowed into this area. Long story short battery ran out way quicker then anticipated and it immediately went for a dunk and sunk to the bottom even faster. Can't swim in this very murky lake plus you wouldn't want to. I thought about it for a sec but when I came to my senses I knew that's not what I wanted to do. So long everybody, it was fun learning with this little copter but that's it for me. I got many other adult things that I need to spend my money on in the future. I do have some carbon fiber props still due to me through the mail plus I have the radio. Anyone interested in these items I'll sell the props for 25 shipped and the radio for 50 shipped inside the United States.

 

[cssfly]

Dam ! I feel for you!
I was in Cabo Mexico this past week and was flying over the ocean and my knees were shaking in fear its not a good feeling.

 

[freelanceshots]

Thanks man for the condolences. That reminds me I also have a DJI lipo battery for say like 10 bucks with maybe 30 to 40 charges if that but it has a deans connector attached. let me know if anyone is interested. Not coping with my loss that well but I've done some other very costly mistakes while growing up and life went on. Almost brought it in before my last little excursion out over the deeper water and spillway dam. Very hard to stomach.

 

[BruceTS]

Sorry to hear about your loss, lately there have been a rash of Phantoms going for a swim. Anytime I plan to fly over water, there will be some sort of floatation device attached and camera inside waterproof housing. Possibly will bring my scuba gear along if it will be an extended shoot.

Every time I see footage with one over water, I think that pilot is one brave soul or he has plenty of money to burn.

 

[windcharger]

PM sent.

sorry to hear about the loss

 

[edunwody]

Oh man! Sorry for your loss.
It seems water gets a lot of folks.
I need to be careful.

E


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[freelanceshots]

There is no way to see the red blinking battery light when this vehicle is up in the air especially when its 300 to 500 feet away. even to have the cool little warning buzzer attached to the battery good luck hearing that. I even modified the battery cut off voltage to extend the time between the first red binks to the 2nd where it then basically crash lands after that. I was so close to just switching the battery out for a fresh one in my pocket just to try and be extra careful just before this one extra fly around. I really thought I had a couple more minutes. I'm guessing this flight was around maybe 8 minutes with just my lite weight sony action cam attached without waterproof case. Brand new battery wasted and a brand new shell as well. I don't have any idea about how to even try and go find it. I don't have a sail boat. The city only allows small sail boats in this lake plus its very close to the spillway so another no no. It's almost freaking pointless anyways as It's pretty much ruined now. Just maybe, just maybe I can see down the road buying just the phantom without radio and charger from DLSRpros. I really don't know if its worth it to get again because of the video platform troubles like it doesn't fly stable in the wind and there is almost never a day without wind here in Texas also the fact that you have to invest in some kind of anti jello mount and the motors are way out of balance. Maybe time to look into the dji 350 or 450 or another brand. So sad to loose this 1200 dollar plus invest in the blink of an eye

 

[CameraGuy]

Know the feeling, and I'm really sorry. I lost mine 3 weeks ago.

I did scrape up the cash to get another kit, and found some deals, like a phantom minus the radio and charger, and GoPro gave me a 20% discount. I found a new gimbal used here on the forum. So back in the air for about $1200.00. I lost closer to $1600.00

I did find a SCUBA diver to fish it out, and it is currently drying in bags of rice. Got the camera to work, but there is condensation in the lens. That's a $190 buy on ebay.

Search this forum for pictures of mine after 10 days in murkey Lake Ontario, Canada.

I've been staying away from water. Practicing near the ground. close to me.

Get back on the horse.

D

 

[freelanceshots]

Camera guy I've seen your post as well as all the others before this day and I thought I could get away with this not happening to me.

Did you have to pay the scuba diver?

The only thing that could have brought me down did and is was so well timed. Anywhere else during this flight and I could have gotten it back maybe damp but at least back. Really hate to loose my camera and 32 gig memory card as that can be used for all sorts of stuff. This ranks up there on my top 5 greatest ways I've flushed money down the toilet.

 

[brad90631]

I was flying over a fresh water lake last night. has anybody tried this?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... 70mhz.html

 

[freelanceshots]

This Hobby King battery cell monitor is something to consider if I can muster getting back into this hobby. Thanks for sharing the link.

Just saw this, water proofing by DSLRpros: http://www.dslrpros.com/Products/tabid/ ... fault.aspx

Wouldn't really help me in my situation but if I had this done I would be sure to try and fish it out after I had the sense to add a float device to the skids.

 

[ogmios]

I am sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I am actually sick to my stomach every time I crash miserably against something, so I can't imagine losing into water. :-(
Sorry to hear.

Has anyone tried a product like this?
http://www.waterbuoy.net/waterbuoy-videodemo.html

 

[Audaciter]

There is no way to see the red blinking battery light when this vehicle is up in the air especially when its 300 to 500 feet away. even to have the cool little warning buzzer attached to the battery good luck hearing that. I even modified the battery cut off voltage to extend the time between the first red binks to the 2nd where it then basically crash lands after that.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I could tell by reading your posts, that it was a great source of joy for you, and that is why you
should look into getting another. It doesn't have to be a Phantom. Now that you know what you want to use it for, finding one to suit your needs will be somewhat easier.
I would suggest getting an aftermarket radio, or even getting a simple timer, so you know when to bring it back to you.
If you love flying over water, maybe the "QuadH2O" is for you.

I know for myself, the Phantom is not so much about a flying toy, as it is a tool to keep my mind active. It helps with my depression, and anxiety problems.

Good Luck, You don't have to have a Phantom to be a member of this community.

 

[Gizmo3000]

really sorry to hear

I've read so many horror stories about water landings that I'll never fly with less than 1/3 battery if I'm flying over water or cliffs (or any other areas where if the Phantom drops i'd have trouble recovering).
just gotta treat water like it's lava

 

[martcerv]

Ditching in water is my biggest fear and as I love being around water I take mkoe risks then I should. Being also a diver I could easily recover it from most places but even getting it back from the water isnt going to do much good most of the time. Sorry about your loss but anyone that likes flying over water may want to check oht the aquacopters or other similar quads that at least have you covered for water landings.

 

[freelanceshots]

Many thaks for all the people who have an idea of how I feel and chimed in to say so. I had a hard time staying focused today at work. There are a few things that I will never forget that play over and over through my mind. The first is for sure busting into the emergency room at the animal clinic ER to see the staff try to work on my dog to get her heart re-started to no avail. That's a hard on to top. Then there is the memory of the crook who talked me into a test drive at my house and drove off on my mint Kawi ZX-7 sport bike when I was selling it. Then there's my Phantom coming to me and then droping like a gunned down bird crashing into the water's surface like a distressed WWII combat plane. When it happened, because it was so fast and unexpected I was just left with my mouth open standing there looking around. I didn't even get the time to attach my new undelivered carbon fiber props and experience the difference that they might have made. I would like to get another but I'm not wealthy where the first purchase was like did you really just spend that amount of money on this?!?! I still feel that these RC multirotor aircraft are just a hairs away from being banned or seriously regulated so maybe this is a good time to bow out and cut my losses. It's not just the copter that I have to buy either, I have to spring for another camera which just adds to the frustration. I think if I were to do it again I'd definitely be leaning towards that H2O multirotor as mentioned. If you can't fly over water then that takes away 50 percent of the cool features of the earth to photo and video. seems like all the cool stuff is on, near or around water.

 

[GoodnNuff]

My condolences to you buddy. I'd be heartsick too.
I lost a $250 RC Plane into the top of 75ft tall cedar tree and was upset, the thought of losing my Phantom and GoPro scares me every time I fly.

 

[Sac D]

Sorry to read the bad news. I've been there and known that helpless feeling as it disappears. Luckily, mine was found and returned to me a week later, just about when I had given up hope. I know what you mean about the allure of the water though... In the past I had never taken many chances with it, but when I took my Phantom back to Hawaii last month I was flying over the ocean every day. At the time I kept telling myself that it would be better to lose it to the Pacific, or to the lava of Kilauea, rather than have it vanish somewhere here in suburbia...
I hope you do get another quad. Doesn't have to be a Phantom, there are plenty of other kinds on the market, and you could build your own from scratch and save a lot of money that way.

 

[howardmaryon]

Very sorry to hear your story, I think it is the Phantom owners worst nightmare to see your baby sink...... I am working on a cheap diy mod that is basically a bright colour fishing float, 40 or so feet of fishing line and a simple mount to go on top of the casing. If the copter hits the water, the float is released and with a bit of luck the float will get to the surface and mark the position of the sunken copter. The end of the line firmly fixed to the body shell would allow for recovery as well. Only and idea, but it might save someone some tears.

 

[mroberts]

I've got one of the cheap voltage OSD's to add to my FPV setup - should let me monitor battery status without needing to see the magic red light.

It would be cool if they incorporated an audio warning you could either pickup with a microphone or feed directly into an FPV tx.