Well there goes $1400....

morph000 · Jan 28, 2015

Did some flying over the long weekend here in Oz, sans camera assy as it's off for warranty repair.
Did 6 flights and no hint of a problem.
Flying at the beach in all directions to around 300-400m mostly over water, all batteries fully charged, home point and compass set.
As it was strictly LOS, I did a test of RTH by switching the Tx off. After a brief period it initiated RTH so all ok just in case !
I regained control with Tx on and S1 to middle position. Enough for that session. Stopped when battery LEDs went to 2 just to be safe !
Came back later with fresh battery and off I went again. Forgot to put S1 to top so it flipped on takeoff. S1 up !! Off it went. No problems, but I lost visual 8 minutes into flight around 350m away due to blending into sky clouds, but only 50m up.
hmmm.. can't see it or hear it. Time for RTH !. Tx off and waited...and waited...and waited. 3 minutes later nothing !
I don't know if it went to a perceived home or just went for a swim, but it's gone for good and being sea water there won't be anything to salvage.
Scored the beach at low tide for 3 hours (B-I-G beach) but nothing.
Ah well..have to look at insurance for the next one ! If the camera warranty goes through that'll offset the new V2 anyway.

4wd · Jan 28, 2015

Don't quite understand the flip on take off part?
Trying to take off in ATTI wouldn't cause a flip.
Maybe the GPS antenna was dislodged, the connector is known to be not that snug a fit.
With no camera the APP cannot show you various useful info.

un hombre · Jan 28, 2015

Without the app you may not even be aware, that you have lost your gps sat lock or even better, you did not record your home position.

What can I say, from my perspective, it was really irresponsible what you did. You risked flying over water, poor LOS WITHOUT any basic info, like sat count, battery health and charge or other potential warnings/problems that the app would help you with.

It should not tip over when you lift of on gps/atti, as it balances itself, it could however on manual.

Did you have NAZA mode or Phantom mode set up?

I never switch off transmitter for RTH. I always use Home Lock and S1 switch to RTH is as last resort.

rickasaurus · Jan 28, 2015

I agree with un hombre. It seems you were much too casual (careless) with your pre-flight checks. Even without the app, you can still ensure you have home lock and home position locked in, and at least 6 satellites before take-off (using the LED codes). I don't think you did that.

jasonnelson007 · Jan 28, 2015

No home point set before take off=no rth. What color were you led's when you were flying? Yelow? We're you flying in the same spot as your previous flight?

morph000 · Jan 28, 2015

I ALWAYS wait for GPS lock before take off as I did the first time.Waited 3 minutes which is more than long enough as always has been, plus the RTH proved itself when I tested it...
The 2nd time I launched from the exact same spot AND waited 3 mins as before BUT if I am to believe what I read here the home point is stored in NVRAM and need only be re-established if one moves to another location.
Lights were green not yellow. Due to lack of wifi, I always canned the flight when batts went to 2 LED's or 10 minutes fly time, so pretty safe !

Happyflyer · Jan 28, 2015

A real bummer.
Too bad you lost it.
One of the main reasons I almost never fly over water. The water I have flown over if it went down, I could wade out and pick it up. 2 feet max fresh water.

jasonnelson007 · Jan 29, 2015

Ya that's odd. Must of lost gps. Wondered about your rth elevation but you said on the beach so I'm assuming it could of been 20' above ground and still been safe to fly home. Guess I'm no help.

general01 · Jan 29, 2015

Defualt rth altatude is 65 feet so it would have had to ascend before it flew back and would have surely been spotted

Morph the home point is not stored in a memory from one power up to another it is set each and every flight when the gps is getting a clear signal

Sorry about the loss bud and this is why I don't really like flying line of sight unless I have to

morph000 · Jan 29, 2015

Geert - the home point was set as I now know to with for the rapid flashing to indicate she's ok to go.

I don't know what happened - I own the beachfront property so as you can imagine that's where I like to fly :mrgreen:
No near neighbours, no power lines, tv/cell towers etc etc so no interference issues.
As I said - I momentarily lost visual when it blended into background clouds but oh what a coincidence eh !
Attacked by a sea eagle maybe (one was flying around earlier in the day)? Battery issue caused descent (although previously fine over the exact same route)?
Dunno - it's just a bummer BUT...looks like my camera/gimbal warranty is a goer so lucky it WASN'T fitted eh :lol:

Maybe I'll go fly on the next beach around where low tide is 300 metres from shore

Anyone wanna brand new camera/gimbal ( Oz only) ?

AsiaFlyer · Jan 29, 2015

morph000 said:
Geert - the home point was set as I now know to with for the rapid flashing to indicate she's ok to go.

1st set of rapid green lights = she is warmed up and will fly

2nd set of rapid green lights = Home Point is set

Did you get the 2nd set of rapid greens??

DrJoe · Jan 29, 2015

Flipped over? At the beach? Sand and motors don't go together... another possible explanation

Gonefishing51077 · Jan 29, 2015

sorry to hear that man. I feel your pain. Mine is still at the bottom of a lake. Benn 5 days and 3 tries at getting it back with no luck but I will try again tomorrow.

If you don't get yours back call Mike at five three zero 277-5366..He has a bunch of phantoms all models. you can purchase just the bird if you want. You can mail him your wifi extender and he will match it to the bird. He quoted me $850 for Phantom 2+ with camera..Thats better than $1400 for a brand new one.

Mike gets phantoms from all over for repair and some people decide not to get them fixed and he buys some that are totaled out and pulls pieces from each and makes an almost brand new unit out of several units.

Just a thought for you

Andy

Killer Rc · Jan 29, 2015

Bummer.

Jstic · Jan 29, 2015

When OP changed batteries and started it up for the second flight, that's when you needed to be in GPS mode and record your home point AGAIN. You stated you started motors and took off in ATTI mode and then apparently flipped it to GPS mode while it was in the air. Sounds like you didn't get a home point lock at that point and that's why RTH did not work. Others have stated basically the same thing in this thread.

Thinking that you still had a home point locked from your first flight is apparently where you made your mistake.

Happyflyer · Jan 29, 2015

Jstic said:
When OP changed batteries and started it up for the second flight, that's when you needed to be in GPS mode and record your home point AGAIN. You stated you started motors and took off in ATTI mode and then apparently flipped it to GPS mode while it was in the air. Sounds like you didn't get a home point lock at that point and that's why RTH did not work. Others have stated basically the same thing in this thread.....

Even with 6 satellites showing and lights blinking for HL, that is why I always check as soon as I get in the air and a short distance away to see if S2 down will bring it back.

Meta4 · Jan 29, 2015

This underlines the importance of knowing home point has been set rather than assuming and hoping it is.
Resetting home point after takeoff so you can clearly see the confirming fast green flashing is a good practice.

morph000 said:
BUT...looks like my camera/gimbal warranty is a goer so lucky it WASN'T fitted eh :lol:

But if it was fitted, you would have had the radar display to show where the Phantom was and which way it was pointed and so losing sight wouldn't have been an issue.