Mavic water recovery system

[Matt]

Took another flight with them on in sunny warm Michigan. Ya right. Overcast around 25 degrees with light wind. I setup the osmo and GoPro to film. Not sure if anyone has used this but I was setting up The Autopilot app with their Autoframe app for the osmo. If you use the Airframe app to connect them the osmo will follow the quad. Well after a half in hour out in the cold I couldn't get them to all connect. Only thing I was successful at was draining the battery's and getting them cold.

Anyways I used the Litchi osmo app to adjust the camera. A third hand would have been great. Osmo footage in the foreground, GoPro to the left and to the right the camera on the Mavic. Shorted up the footage so the mavic and osmo footages are a little off. Anyways I am happy with it and they will not get in the shot. Not much of a difference in battery life. They do make it easier to hand catch. You can catch at the front were the blades are higher plus not get near the sensor. Ordered the stuff in black to make a not so bright set.

I am good with it. It suits my needs. Not planning on water landings so I don't think I would need the balls. I think they would get in the camera view. That was the bigges drawback for me on the set I made for the P3. I will be in Florida in about a month so I defently will have them on out over the ocean and intercostal. Then I can see if they effect the battery time. I don't see any loss in flight characteristics and they do not show up in the footages

 

[maikm]

Not planning on water landings so I don't think I would need the balls. I think they would get in the camera view.

I don't think they will, because the field of view of the Mavic's camera is much narrower than the Phantom's, plus it's mounted on the very front edge of the drone, instead of below the center. Both factors help that the balls shouldn't show up, like they help with the propellers not showing up, too.

I don't really plan on water landings too, but when things go wrong, the Mavic might decide on it's own to land just where it is (signal loss with home point over water, battery low, whatever). If that happens over calm water, the balls could keep it from getting wet at all if you're lucky.

 

[Matt]

I don't think they will, because the field of view of the Mavic's camera is much narrower than the Phantom's, plus it's mounted on the very front edge of the drone, instead of below the center. Both factors help that the balls shouldn't show up, like they help with the propellers not showing up, too.

I don't really plan on water landings too, but when things go wrong, the Mavic might decide on it's own to land just where it is (signal loss with home point over water, battery low, whatever). If that happens over calm water, the balls could keep it from getting wet at all if you're lucky.

I will not have the luxury of any calm waters the Great Lakes always have a good 1-2 ft chop on a calm day. I agree on normal flight but if you are using a 3rd party app to chase and or orbit your craft is constantly pitching. I upload a few videos in which you can see them on the P3. I think everyone situation if different and for me smaller more convent (something that fits in the bag) is my ideal situation. I think the balls are a great add but don't suit my needs or situation.

 

[Andrew F]

Inflatable bladders that compact down small and weigh little but can be easily clipped onto the bottom of the Mavic would be ideal. In the meantime, I'll try the balls and hope I don't need them!

 

[Fishstiq]

Well, I have a buddy who always wants whatever accessories I buy so I always buy two--how much would it be for everything if we took all three. There's another couple of neighbors who have Mavics, one would probably take one, or we could just keep it as a spare.

And the lake has been full for at least 8 months now, thank the rain gods!!

If the 3rd one doesn't have a home, I'd take it. How much for shipping and parts and labor?

 

[LakeTravis]

If the 3rd one doesn't have a home, I'd take it. How much for shipping and parts and labor?

Sorry, it's already reserved for--local buddy with a Mavic and a boat. If he doesn't want it, it's yours.

 

[gburns53]

Subscribed! Can you give us more detail on the strapping system you used for the noodles? Also how did you shave down the noodle to 2.5 from 3"? I'd like to see a water bottle float in action as well seems like a good idea.

Neutral buoyancy for 2 inch cylinders is only 15 inches. Did the math. Therefore 21 inches of 2 inch cylinders should float well.. I tested an initial design using 3.99 Mavic extenders you can find online. Also put little 2 1/2 foam feet on the front legs just like this. It failed in my sink, or would have without my hands interference

One of the problems with my design is I set the floats more towards the back as well (away from camera) and it needs to be more balanced. The foam will apply upwards force upon submerging, and if that force is unbalanced because the weight isn't central, It'll float... float face first in the water.

I like the idea of 3 inch snug in this design

 

[kydroneman]

Anyone tried these float balls available on Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAIKPR9

wonder what size those balls are

 

[LakeTravis]

Smaller than my Schweddy Balls.

 

[LakeTravis]

Not with a drone no been lucky. But yes with my rods flying off during blast offs They are not hard to see .
Also here everyone has a boat so that's not an issue as far as getting out there .
Hopefully if mine ever goes down I can tell from my app close to where it is .
You don't believe in em don't use them. I do and am .Is better than nothing
and were not designed for keys .
View attachment 3921 Everyone will come up with what suits them . Me ..this is it
Sorry @Matt for this getting off your topic .

Bass fishing is super popular on Lake Travis, the Bass Tour comes here at times, and I've thrown my line in the water quite a bit--but with friends who have bass boats. Always had a GetterBack rod (that sounds kinda dirty). The problem with using it for the Mavic, at least on this lake is that it is 150'-200' deep out in the middle in many places. Just would never make it to the surface

 

[gburns53]

Bass fishing is super popular on Lake Travis, the Bass Tour comes here at times, and I've thrown my line in the water quite a bit--but with friends who have bass boats. Always had a GetterBack rod (that sounds kinda dirty). The problem with using it for the Mavic, at least on this lake is that it is 150'-200' deep out in the middle in many places. Just would never make it to the surface

Yeah any kind of current is going to reduce that 100 ft limit as well.

Plus it's not as if the refresh program is free. It costs money, takes time and you get a used drone that is not your own. Might as well put floats on it that give it a good chance of staying dry.. but not those big *** balls, those are horrible.

 

[dirkclod]

Bass fishing is super popular on Lake Travis, the Bass Tour comes here at times, and I've thrown my line in the water quite a bit--but with friends who have bass boats. Always had a GetterBack rod (that sounds kinda dirty). The problem with using it for the Mavic, at least on this lake is that it is 150'-200' deep out in the middle in many places. Just would never make it to the surface

No it does have it's limitations but here I don't have that depth of water so it works fine .I hope

 

[LakeTravis]

No it does have it's limitations but here I don't have that depth of water so it works fine .I hope

I think you'll be fine as long as the water depth doesn't exceed the length of the line. However, the other thing I think about is the additional 4.3psi (in fresh water) exerted by the water for each additional 10' that something is submerged. In 50' you'd have 21.5psi being exerted on the water and it could/would penetrate "more places", I would think especially in the camera and gimble. I've seen at least one video where someone's Mavic (and a number of Phantoms) fell into a creek/river and was in the water for some time, he retrieved it, turned it off, took it home and put in a container with rice and let it dry out and it worked fine. I think that's far more likely the more shallow the water is, and the less time that it was submerged--none of this matters so long as I still have DJI Care Refresh, but then comes year 2 and so on.

 

[Chris23]

How water/splash proof is the mavic, anybody have experience in that area?

 

[Matt]

How water/splash proof is the mavic, anybody have experience in that area?

I have read that DJI uses conformal coating on its boards. This provides a protective barrier and why you read stories about people pulling these out of rivers and them working after they dry out. Also what i have seen is if you submerge a electronic device it is best to displace the water before its dries with isopropyl alcohol at 100% concentration. This displaces the water off the electronic and doesn't allow it to deposit the minerals you find in water as it dries. These minerals short out the electronic when left behind by just simply letting it dry out in rice of damprid. its best to do this before it dries so its a good idea to keep a bottle around.

 

[waverider969]

I will be in Florida in about a month so I defently will have them on out over the ocean and intercostal. Then I can see if they effect the battery time. I don't see any loss in flight characteristics and they do not show up in the footages

What part of Florida? Im in south florida- north palm beach. I'd love to see the setup you have there so I can replicate cause I live near the beach so water is part of every day life if I fly around here. I will be shooting surfing videos so a life jacket would be great.

BTW will dipping the mavic in Isopropyl Alcohol after it falls into the ocean help in saving the components from getting salt deposits on it prior to drying or is it a lost cause if these go into the ocean.

 

[Matt]

What part of Florida? Im in south florida- north palm beach. I'd love to see the setup you have there so I can replicate cause I live near the beach so water is part of every day life if I fly around here. I will be shooting surfing videos so a life jacket would be great.

BTW will dipping the mavic in Isopropyl Alcohol after it falls into the ocean help in saving the components from getting salt deposits on it prior to drying or is it a lost cause if these go into the ocean.

Sarasota and the Tampa area. Salt water is a different animal i would think you would be pretty lucky to get it working. But you never know i would think definitly woth the effort. I fly mostly over the Great lakes so i would have more of a chance. As for Salt water more of a recovery opearation to excise my DJI refresh

 

[Gator232]

Very interesting thread. I bought the Mavic to primarily use on the boat mostly in saltwater. Now studying all the worst case scenarios and how to deal with them. I would be happy if I could just retrieve the drone if it splashes down and hope for Refresh to replace it. That being said I have looked at all the options like Waterbuoy(Buoy actually does not inflate enough to float object), Getterback(float too small and line not long enough) etc.. none really work well. My wish would be someone to design a miniature pfd that would only inflate immediately when partially submerged. Buoyant enough to support a Mavic, add a second if you have a bigger drone. Small enough when stowed to not cause too much drag. Someone should Kickstarter this idea. If designed well, it could be attached to anything. Not only drones. Add more units if item is heavier and requires more buoyancy.

 

[gburns53]

Very interesting thread. I bought the Mavic to primarily use on the boat mostly in saltwater. Now studying all the worst case scenarios and how to deal with them. I would be happy if I could just retrieve the drone if it splashes down and hope for Refresh to replace it. That being said I have looked at all the options like Waterbuoy(Buoy actually does not inflate enough to float object), Getterback(float too small and line not long enough) etc.. none really work well. My wish would be someone to design a miniature pfd that would only inflate immediately when partially submerged. Buoyant enough to support a Mavic, add a second if you have a bigger drone. Small enough when stowed to not cause too much drag. Someone should Kickstarter this idea. If designed well, it could be attached to anything. Not only drones. Add more units if item is heavier and requires more buoyancy.

I'd prefer a quick buoy detachment with a low profile and almost no performance degradation. I don't want to pay $80, wait a month and wind up with your former salty dead drone if I can avoid it!

The floats I want to make probably would not keep it dry with great lake or ocean waves. The OP's design is good but I think it can be even sleeker with leg extension attachments.

 

[Felipe]

Another option is to use this very light weight system: GetterBack Rod Recovery System with Black Velcro Strap, Yellow https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GIYIU8Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_jE8CybP4703NG

Although it could be challenging to see the small float that deploys from the submerged object. Because the DJI Care insurance now covers water damage the main issue is actually finding the drown if it goes down in water.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

I am curious if there are other versions on the same principle of the "GetterBack"? I have some self inflating live vests that are water activated. I would need something that could inflate with enough buoyancy to lift the Mavic, because the water is much deeper than 100 feet in the Puget Sound where I fly. Has anyone seen anything that works on a water activated system that deploys a inflated float of some kind?