Where is my P4P if lost during a flight ?

[snamvar57]

I know there are GPS trackers that work independently of the drone and RC. Which do you recommend ?
Is there any way to find out where my drone landed/crashed ? I guess Litchi tells me where the drone is if P4P has battery left and still connected to RC. What if RC and drone can't communicate ?
I have an Airdata account and have uploaded my flights and can see all the details. Can I use that data to locate the lost drone ?
Thanks.

 

[Fallguy]

I know there are GPS trackers that work independently of the drone and RC. Which do you recommend ?
Is there any way to find out where my drone landed/crashed ? I guess Litchi tells me where the drone is if P4P has battery left and still connected to RC. What if RC and drone can't communicate ?
I have an Airdata account and have uploaded my flights and can see all the details. Can I use that data to locate the lost drone ?
Thanks.

I just had this happen to me . My drone crashed and the battery fell out . I was using Litchi and left the frozen screen on as I walked the half mile into the woods. The map on Litchi directed me right to my bird. I imagine on the Go App it would do the same. Last known signal. Here is what actually happened .

 

[snamvar57]

Thanks Fallguy. Nice clip BTW and glad the bird still flies. This is the scenario where the RC and drone are connected till last second nefore the crash.
What if the drone is out of RC range and for some reason it crashes ? Is the last point contact what Litchi map shows ?
Not sure if Airdata/healthy drones is helpful in this case. Are the flight logs stored in the RC or drone ? It would be useful if stored on RC tablet. It would be useless if stored on the lost drone.

 

[snamvar57]

Interesting video about finding lost drones:

 

[Fallguy]

Thanks Fallguy. Nice clip BTW and glad the bird still flies. This is the scenario where the RC and drone are connected till last second nefore the crash.
What if the drone is out of RC range and for some reason it crashes ? Is the last point contact what Litchi map shows ?
Not sure if Airdata/healthy drones is helpful in this case. Are the flight logs stored in the RC or drone ? It would be useful if stored on RC tablet. It would be useless if stored on the lost drone.

I hope I never have to find out . But if you have smart RTH on , after signal loss, it should come back on its own. IMO

 

[Meta4]

Is there any way to find out where my drone landed/crashed ?
I have an Airdata account and have uploaded my flights and can see all the details. Can I use that data to locate the lost drone ?

Sometimes.
The answer depends on how you might lose the Phantom.
Your app records flight data including position information as long as it has signal from the Phantom.
If your Phantom was to crash within radio range, you would have GPS co-ordinates of the crash site.
If you lost signal behind a mountain or tall building, the flight record would just end when signal was lost but it might be possible for some of the forum members to work out the most likely search area, sometimes with good accuracy.
But if you flew up high and went downwind in a strong wind until too far away and the wind was stronger than RTH could deal with, it can be very difficult to pinpoint a search area.
In those cases, the Phantom gets out of range and there is no record of how far it travels after signal is lost.
If you are ever in one of these situations, rather than using Airdata, you'll get a lot more useful information if you ...
Go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides.

 

[snamvar57]

Thanks Meta4. I am a beginner flier and it helps me to be prepared for worst case scenario.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

I know there are GPS trackers that work independently of the drone and RC. Which do you recommend ?
Is there any way to find out where my drone landed/crashed ? I guess Litchi tells me where the drone is if P4P has battery left and still connected to RC. What if RC and drone can't communicate ?
I have an Airdata account and have uploaded my flights and can see all the details. Can I use that data to locate the lost drone ?
Thanks.

I know there are GPS trackers that work independently of the drone and RC. Which do you recommend ?
Is there any way to find out where my drone landed/crashed ? I guess Litchi tells me where the drone is if P4P has battery left and still connected to RC. What if RC and drone can't communicate ?
I have an Airdata account and have uploaded my flights and can see all the details. Can I use that data to locate the lost drone ?
Thanks.

Also home page has a find my drone option,,

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Also home page has a find my drone option,,

 

[snamvar57]

Thanks. Didn't see that option before.
From my understanding, the flight log is stored on the tablet. For dji go 4, I upload the flights to dji server and upload it to airdata using HD Sync (iOS). For new flights, do I have to re-sync?
Litchi does the uploading automatically after initial setup once the propellers stop and internet connection is available.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Thanks. Didn't see that option before.
From my understanding, the flight log is stored on the tablet. For dji go 4, I upload the flights to dji server and upload it to airdata using HD Sync (iOS). For new flights, do I have to re-sync?
Litchi does the uploading automatically after initial setup once the propellers stop and internet connection is available.

Good question,,? I know for android saves all flights to tablet and I got to re sync manually,,,not sure is IOS the same ,,I on android 4.0.7 with djigo4 ,never used Litchi yet..

 

[Duchunter]

For the price of these things I'm really surprised DJI hasn't put in a tracker with its own battery supply or at least an auxiliary power supply to operate the telemetry. I think a Bluetooth tracker would be fine in most situations but in a theft situation or if someone else finds it and takes it away cellular is where it at. I guess it just depends on how much insurance you want.

 

[Duchunter]

I just had this happen to me . My drone crashed and the battery fell out . I was using Litchi and left the frozen screen on as I walked the half mile into the woods. The map on Litchi directed me right to my bird. I imagine on the Go App it would do the same. Last known signal. Here is what actually happened .

There must be some elevation changes along your flight. Unless your flying into a redwood Forrest your not gonna see trees over about 80 ft. I live in the south east USA and an 80ft tree, that's pretty tall for a tree. It looks like you crashed into a hickory tree or similar species and the Forrest floor looks very clean. I'm guessing your like on the eastern seaboard north of the Mason Dixon Line, maybe in the mid west but in either case 80 feet would be really tall for a tree, 118 feet would be unheard of. I do see sand blows in the video so it's an earthquake zone for sure.

 

[rene van der meer]

I just had this happen to me . My drone crashed and the battery fell out . I was using Litchi and left the frozen screen on as I walked the half mile into the woods. The map on Litchi directed me right to my bird. I imagine on the Go App it would do the same. Last known signal. Here is what actually happened .

"Fallguy", very impressive!
It certainly honors your name and was so nicely documented that it could have a planned crash. .
I really liked the view point of the other drones.
At 1:52 you could see the drone brushing some leaves. Why didn't you pause or abort the mission?
If I want to fly so low above trees I first explore the mission by flying manually. I record the POI/Waypoints using C2/C1 buttons. Then I add some margin.
I hope you finish the mission and let us enjoy the resulting video.

 

[Fallguy]

"Fallguy", very impressive!
It certainly honors your name and was so nicely documented that it could have a planned crash. .
I really liked the view point of the other drones.
At 1:52 you could see the drone brushing some leaves. Why didn't you pause or abort the mission?
If I want to fly so low above trees I first explore the mission by flying manually. I record the POI/Waypoints using C2/C1 buttons. Then I add some margin.
I hope you finish the mission and let us enjoy the resulting video.

As stated in the comments some where , I have flown lower in other areas around the house , just not this area. HUGE mistake on my part. As for pausing the mission, it was me flying 2 drones on a Litchi mission and my buddy flying the last Mavic in line. I think at that point I was trying to figure out how to turn my mavic (2nd drone in line) backwards to see the other Mavic. And I then seen the trees taking the P4 down. It took me a few seconds to figure out what had happened and then I had to hurry up and stop the mission on my mavic before it crashed. I was a little late because the Mavic actually went over where the P4 went down. Lucky ? You bet . Probably cleared the tree by a couple feet. Not a proud moment , and debated about posting this , but mostly wanted others to be sure they didnt do as I did .
And I can assure you I did not plan this. WHy does everybody think I stage my flights. They thought that when I posted the so called DRUG DEAL video I posted a year ago , and then I found out it was actually some assholes shooting at my drone.

 

[Ronald Reedy]

I know my drone set me back alot of $$$. I thought it was worth it to spend a few more dollars and get a tracking device. I got a Marco Polo you don't need it till your bird decides to take wings and forget about you. Then you will wish you spent the extra bucks.

 

[Fallguy]

The TrackR Bravo will work on BT , but how good is that ? I thought about getting one and attaching it to my P4 , but you would need to be within 100ft of the bird to get a reading. Cant see myself getting a device that requires a service , or one that is too heavy to begin with. So what type of device would be best ? Would it work on the Mavic too? I mean $300 for the Marco polo seems a bit steep. Maybe I just better be more careful flying.

 

[snamvar57]

Ronald you are right on. It's an expensive upfront insurance that you hope to never use, but sure saves the day if you need it. The best price I found on eBay with 2 transceivers for $285 are here:
eBay

 

[Fallguy]

Or pay $60 a year for full coverage insurance through State Farm . Just another option.

 

[Sprtbkryder]

The Trackimo sucks!! I'm gonna try a Marco Polo.