It is very interesting isn't it. From reading about the Fresnel zone, it looks like there is a strong probability of false / out of phase signals over water. If you consider that the 2.4GHz waves are essentially light, it's not unreasonable to expect some reflection will happen from a water surface. This sounds particularly relevant if you're fairly close to the surface:Xrover said:Interesting and confusing. Thanks for taking the time to attach it.. I noticed the P2 start losing altitude at approx. 15-20 feet up. At first it did respond to throttle but very very little response. It kind of went in stages from then on up until it was about 3 feet off the water when it dropped. I forgot to mention earlier that when I realized that there was a problem, probably around 10 feet. I began to turn towards Home to bring it back.
Other factors would be the angle of the TX signal to the RX. I would assume the higher the craft is above water the less likely the signal will be out of phase as the strongest signal will be in the center of the Fresnel zone, the edges of which would be further from the water, especially if you are at, or around, sea level....the prop wash creates a chaotic wave pattern which generates a myriad of false-signals.
I feel your pain anyway man, gutting loosing your kit like this. For your next setup, I'd definitely recommend getting yourself a DVR and also switch off that GoPro OSD, it's just unnecessary confusing clutter on the screen. I grabbed a very inexpensive DVR a month or so ago, purely so I'd always have a record of the telemetry info. This is handy for fault diagnosis and also recording operational distances etc. Also, if the RPA went rouge, you'd have an instant replay-able record of it's last location. Great for added peace of mind.