Lost Phantom - Need Advice

[cmt56ss]

Okay, so I flew my Vision 2+ on Thanksgiving, recorded an awesome skeet shooting competition, then went on to the family dinner. I decided to fly my phantom and show off for some extended family members... I was flying in a soup bowl area, really high trees on a rather steep hill. Needless to say, I had intermittent GPS signal and I lost control of the phantom and watched it crash a couple hundred yards away. I live in NJ and the area where it went down had maybe 6-8 inches of snow, with the Phantom being white and seeing as how it crashed in a heavily wooded area, I still have not found it. The snow has melted, but we're getting rain this week.

I'm expecting it to be a near total loss if it is found. If I can salvage the memory card if I find it I'll be happy.

My question is -- with all the extra equipment I have, spare camera, wifi module, 3 batteries (not including the one that was in it at the time), hard case, etc., should I go out and buy a new V2+ 3.0? The $1,300 isn't that much of an issue for me, I'm just not sure what if I should sell the spare parts or go back into the Phantom again. Regardless of what I do (or if I didn't lose the Phantom) I will be getting an Inspire 1, and was going to keep the Phantom as my "messing around" drone....

I guess my question is, do the spare parts sell on the second hand market? I've been into 1/5 scale RC and I know those parts sell, but not sure if the UAV crowd is as willing to buy 2nd hand.

 

[LandYachtMedia]

Used parts have much less value than new parts for this application. Consider the risk that a used ESC you purchased could destroy the other $1000 in parts its connected to if it craps out at the wrong time.

On the plus side if you do recover it in a reasonable amount of time there is a good chance you can fly it again since its being exposed to relatively clean water.

Water itself won't damage electronics. Its all the crap that's dissolved into it that is the problem.

 

[750r]

If you have to write it off (lost) and money is not a issue I would get another one it's nice having a second bird & you might want to film in a tight spot not fill comfortable flying your 3G bird you can use the phantom .
Put all the extras together make a good deal for someone .
Only you know what to do .
Their is always a good chance you'll find it use it to learn manual mode .
GL!

 

[turbodronepilot]

Hey there. .I search e bay for used phantom stuff ..people pay near full price there. ..only thing is I hear people claim the item was damaged upon arrival. ..I haven't sold anything on there ,but if I did I would have a third party examine the condition before shipping. .also state that there are no returns. .craigslist is good if you want ro sell it fast and dont mind getting less ,or you could post it on phantom pilots classifieds. .good luck..

 

[Happyflyer]

All above are good ideas for your problem. I hope you can find it and it is not too damaged.
The one I would suggest is whatever you buy, put a tracker on it.

 

[darwin-t]

If you find it and don't want it, send it to me. I'll give it a good home!

Seriously, though, as long as you let it thoroughly dry out before you power it up, it may be fine. Just don't rush it

 

[cmt56ss]

All above are good ideas for your problem. I hope you can find it and it is not too damaged.
The one I would suggest is whatever you buy, put a tracker on it.

I already ordered a GPS tracker from Amazon after reading about it on the forum earlier.... just wish i had it last week!

Thanks for the info guys -- I'm hopeful I can find it, but I'm prepared for the worst.... I'm leaning towards buying a V2 3.0 if I can't find the other one.

 

[MapMaker53]

The snow may have actually cushioned the impact and saved it, if it didn't hit a tree limb on the way down..

 

[tonylumps]

My phantom sat up in an 80' tree in my back yard in rain and snow for 5 days .If I wasn't in such a hurry and waited for a catcher it would have survived in perfect condition. But the Vision camera took the brunt of it when it hit the ground. But the bird flies perfect though