Phantom recovered from the sea

[shorttimer]

I certainly can understand DJI not giving out any personal information. However I would like to believe they would take the contact information of the person that found it and pass it on to the registered owner.

If you lose your Kindle and somebody finds it Amazon will send you a label to return it to Amazon and they in turn return it to the last registered user. At least they did 5 years ago as I found one and returned it.

But then again Amazon customer service seems to be a notch or two above DJI.

 

[dixter]

I like your idea of placing a file onto the card that has all of the contact information....
could some day come in handy for a recovery if mine ever gets lost... thanks

 

[chessman]

So did you find much else that day? ☺ I have a an XP Deus but not been out for ages.

 

[Dome]

Uh that's interesting idea: writing a .txt file on sd with contact data ...

I like your idea of placing a file onto the card that has all of the contact information....
could some day come in handy for a recovery if mine ever gets lost... thanks

I've used this solution in my P3 early days, but each time you format the sd card, you miss it. So very soon I got tired and I got rid of it. This could be an interesting feaure if built in go app & firmware.

 

[robinb]

Quite possible the sd card needs to have files finalised as if it were filming they would not have been.

I use the CTX myself, great detector.

 

[Noble 1]

Pic of the day for sure!!!

Bravo to you sir for being an honest angel. You'll have better luck calling FAA or AMA if the number are written on the inside of the battery housing. Call the AMA at (800) 435-9262 - 1-800-I-FLY-AMA
Source: www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/Organization/hqstaff.aspx

Otherwise post ad on Craigslist and request the owner prove the pertinent details like who what when and where plus serial numbers.

You're a super nice guy! You will make some guys day if you find the owner!!!


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[rene van der meer]

Hi, I am a metal detectorist and have just found a DJI Phantom advanced on my local beach. I was inverted on the sand and doesnt look like its been in the water long. Ive tried to recover the files from the micro sd card but it isn't visible to either my Windows machine or my MacBook pro. I was hoping the owner would have left an image file with their contact details on the card. Do I need specific software to download the files?

Like mentioned, you don't need special software to retrieve the data from the SD card.
There is probably no contact information, but probably flight data, photo's and video's. This could be interesting and help you to find the owner. He will be very grateful to recover the drone. If the crash was due to a failure, he might even be compensated by DJI.
.
If you cannot read the card I suspect corrosion of the contact pads or leakage. After cleaning it could be OK.
Try soaking it in distilled water. You only need a few cc which can be easily made (How to Make Distilled Water).
Then let it dry for one night. You should be able to read the data again.

If you do, please let us know

 

[Frankc]

I like your idea of placing a file onto the card that has all of the contact information....
could some day come in handy for a recovery if mine ever gets lost... thanks

Thanks. I also used one of those labeling machines to put "00000000000 Reward" , the 000000000 being replaced with my phone number just in case anyone finds it. I have each of my batteries marked, the tablet and the RC. You never know!

 

[dougiefresh94]

Looks like many parts are usable. Don't think the salt water hurt any of the plastic.

 

[John Locke]

Since P3A's are not known to "flyway", I'm guessing this bird fell form the sky flying firmware 1.5, (again, only a guess) in which case DJI would replace it under warranty if the owner can be found. The data from the RC files could help confirm that. It wouldn't surprise me that sudden power shutdown occurred mid-flight if it was flying 1.5 firmware, falling from the sky, and it happened to be over the water. It appears to be the new motor style, so it's not very old. I can't imagine how the pilot felt.

Good luck finding the owner, very noble of you!

Great picture, what's the dog's name?

 

[dtokez]

he had it on ebay but its off again now? Dji Phantom Advanced

 

[ringolong]

You are a good honest guy Ferenc

Pull the data off of the internal sd card, and decode the data to find out where the owner lives by lat and long. The only thing is you would have to find someone with a remote to enter the mode to be able to read the card, or at least that is what I have to do on my inspire.

 

[dhsprogis]

Since you found this site, it seems this sight would be a good place for a Lost & Found set of features - location, means for contact, etc.
'Nice of you to make the effort! Thanks!

 

[Luis J.]

I have drown Phantoms in the past, recovered a few minutes after and most of the components are too damaged to fix. The SD on the other hand will not work unyil a few days after completely wet. I was able to access files after 7 days on my desk and perfectly recovered videos from it so my advice is wait a few days and try again...

 

[TheGreenPhantom]

Many years ago I lost an RC glider when it got sucked into a thermal I couldn't get out of. I put an add in the paper. "Lost RC glider in so and so area". I got a call saying it had landed next to a farmhouse about 3 miles from where I lost it. I went and got it and gave the people a box of chocolates and a $20 bill which they wouldn't accept. Perhaps you could put an add in the Paper saying Phantom 3 Drone found on so and so beach. The problem of course is that you may find quite a few people will have lost Drones in that area

 

[finlayson]

If you recovered a video file (".MOV" or ".MP4") from the card, but find that you can't play it, then the video file is probably corrupt. In that case, I have (free) software that may be able to repair the video file:
Repairing Corrupt DJI Phantom or Inspire Video Files

 

[dirtybum]

Beyond electronics, there still a lot of useful parts on that bird. If I was the owner and he called me I would gladly excepted back and reward him and there's a chance that I could use some of those parts in the future so it's always good to get your bird back

 

[dvmdoc]

Happened to my P2V+ 100yds off shore in Seaside Park, NJ. Thing just lost connection and dove into the water from maybe 60 feet. Had stickers all over it and wouldn't you know about a week later someone calls saying they'd found it on the beach....about 7 miles north of where it went down! Unfortunately the uSD card wasn't readable despite trying to clean the contacts, etc.....
Now my P3A is insured (Squaretrade)
Warren

 

[OrlyP]

Kudos to the OP. Under the circumstances, it would've easily been a finders keepers type of deal but I'm glad you made the extra effort to look for the owner.

In one other forum I frequent (Apple/iOS-specific), they made a sub-forum for lost devices. People who lost an iPhone, Macbook, etc. (whether it was accidentally left in a cab or stolen) publish the serial numbers. The purpose is for the community to keep an eye out for these devices in the used market and that they don't unknowingly become a fence.

 

[mrGREEK360]

I would rinse it off in fresh water then put it in a box filled with rice.