This is my 4th DJI drone after a Phantom 3A, Spark and Phantom 3SE. I lost the P3A due to inexperience, got the Spark and thought it was a bit unstable so I got a P3SE, which I find of inferior quality so I don't fly it much. I've been flying a year now and while I am not exactly a newbie, I am not very proficient. The Spark helped me gain confidence flying further and higher, and understanding how to manage imagery. I really want to be able to get videos like those I see at AirVuz.
Anyway, two weeks ago, the 8-month old Spark had a motor shutdown at 80 metres while in landing mode. Very fortunately, it hit my awning, bounced and surprisingly, the motors restarted and I caught it and brought it to a normal landing. It wasn't the battery falling out obviously (which I read about) and an expert who looked through my flight log didn't find anything unusual. Anyway, I could repair it (it still flies) but I have completely lost confidence in it. I was very lucky it fell in my compound but if it happens again, it may be on a busy highway. The risk is there so I have put the Spark aside and may use it in places where if it disappears, too bad.
So I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to a Mavic Pro. The guy at the shop kept trying to push the Mavic Air to me but having read about the superior transmission capability of the Mavic Pro, I decided to pay the extra money to get it. I expected to move to it eventually when I gained more proficiency flying, but didn't think it would be in just a year of flying.
Day 1 after opening the box - had difficulty linking and activating. That didn't bother me a lot since I had the same difficulties with the other drones and eventually things were ok. I could activate and the RC linked to the drone (I checked by operating the camera) but it could not link to my Samsung tablet which I had bought specially for flying as I found using my phone inadequate. I gave up after 3 hours of trying as it was midnight and I was just tired.
Day 2 - I decided to just take it out to one of the open places that I have been flying and after connecting the USB cable to the port underneath (not the side), it connected. I marked the cable since it worked. Firmware checked up to date and I started flying. It flew fine and responded to controls but then the imagery got blurry and I got a message 'signal lost'. That message stops my heart! But I could still control the drone so I brought it back quickly.
I exited DJIG04 and restarted everything and launched again. The imagery still was blurry and I didn't know what it could be so after a few minutes, I landed and packed up.
Day 3 - wasn't free to fly.
Day 4 (today, Sunday) - I went out looking forward to flying and went to another spot I usually fly. Everything connected up and the camera worked fine. I was happy. I sent it up about 10 metres and flew around a bit. Then imagery was lost and I got a message on the top left corner SIGNAL LOST. Stopped my heart again as the drone was hovering over a public road. But it responded to controls so I brought it back safely.
I exited the app and started it again and had Go Fly appear. Next screen and everything looked fine with a Ready to Fly (GPS) in green message. Launched and when it went into hover, SIGNAL LOST appeared. iI also noticed that the tail light was blinking in red. Connection levels looked okay and strong. This time, the sticks didn't seem to work and for a moment, I was terrified that I would not be able to land it or shut down the motors and it would just drift with the wind and crash. I had such an experience with the Spark and had to grab it to try to bring it down. But when I hit RTH, it responded and landed straight down.
I tried another two times and exactly the same thing happened, so I have given up. I am cautious when flying and I am really scared of being up at 100 metres and then SIGNAL LOST comes one. I have had it with the other drones but they were very momentary, just a second as the message flashed and then went away. I assumed it might have just been an atmospheric condition. But this condition worries me.
I have read about others experiencing SIGNAL LOST and not finding out what exactly happened. Some retain control to land, some do not. I chatted with a guy who has sent his Mavi Pro 3 kms away and it has returned safely and I would like to be able to do that but if this fault exists, I just won't dare. I am already paranoid about motor shutdown and I understand the Mavic Pro can go very high but a shutdown at 100 metres will be a nightmare.
I plan to reinstall GO4 and see if there is any improvement. Some suggest that as being one solution. It has worked fine with the Spark so I don't know why it should have a problem. I know many will say send it in and although it has an official warranty, it is a hassle to go to the shop although I will do it eventually.
Comments and advice appreciated.
Chips
(Malaysia)
Anyway, two weeks ago, the 8-month old Spark had a motor shutdown at 80 metres while in landing mode. Very fortunately, it hit my awning, bounced and surprisingly, the motors restarted and I caught it and brought it to a normal landing. It wasn't the battery falling out obviously (which I read about) and an expert who looked through my flight log didn't find anything unusual. Anyway, I could repair it (it still flies) but I have completely lost confidence in it. I was very lucky it fell in my compound but if it happens again, it may be on a busy highway. The risk is there so I have put the Spark aside and may use it in places where if it disappears, too bad.
So I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to a Mavic Pro. The guy at the shop kept trying to push the Mavic Air to me but having read about the superior transmission capability of the Mavic Pro, I decided to pay the extra money to get it. I expected to move to it eventually when I gained more proficiency flying, but didn't think it would be in just a year of flying.
Day 1 after opening the box - had difficulty linking and activating. That didn't bother me a lot since I had the same difficulties with the other drones and eventually things were ok. I could activate and the RC linked to the drone (I checked by operating the camera) but it could not link to my Samsung tablet which I had bought specially for flying as I found using my phone inadequate. I gave up after 3 hours of trying as it was midnight and I was just tired.
Day 2 - I decided to just take it out to one of the open places that I have been flying and after connecting the USB cable to the port underneath (not the side), it connected. I marked the cable since it worked. Firmware checked up to date and I started flying. It flew fine and responded to controls but then the imagery got blurry and I got a message 'signal lost'. That message stops my heart! But I could still control the drone so I brought it back quickly.
I exited DJIG04 and restarted everything and launched again. The imagery still was blurry and I didn't know what it could be so after a few minutes, I landed and packed up.
Day 3 - wasn't free to fly.
Day 4 (today, Sunday) - I went out looking forward to flying and went to another spot I usually fly. Everything connected up and the camera worked fine. I was happy. I sent it up about 10 metres and flew around a bit. Then imagery was lost and I got a message on the top left corner SIGNAL LOST. Stopped my heart again as the drone was hovering over a public road. But it responded to controls so I brought it back safely.
I exited the app and started it again and had Go Fly appear. Next screen and everything looked fine with a Ready to Fly (GPS) in green message. Launched and when it went into hover, SIGNAL LOST appeared. iI also noticed that the tail light was blinking in red. Connection levels looked okay and strong. This time, the sticks didn't seem to work and for a moment, I was terrified that I would not be able to land it or shut down the motors and it would just drift with the wind and crash. I had such an experience with the Spark and had to grab it to try to bring it down. But when I hit RTH, it responded and landed straight down.
I tried another two times and exactly the same thing happened, so I have given up. I am cautious when flying and I am really scared of being up at 100 metres and then SIGNAL LOST comes one. I have had it with the other drones but they were very momentary, just a second as the message flashed and then went away. I assumed it might have just been an atmospheric condition. But this condition worries me.
I have read about others experiencing SIGNAL LOST and not finding out what exactly happened. Some retain control to land, some do not. I chatted with a guy who has sent his Mavi Pro 3 kms away and it has returned safely and I would like to be able to do that but if this fault exists, I just won't dare. I am already paranoid about motor shutdown and I understand the Mavic Pro can go very high but a shutdown at 100 metres will be a nightmare.
I plan to reinstall GO4 and see if there is any improvement. Some suggest that as being one solution. It has worked fine with the Spark so I don't know why it should have a problem. I know many will say send it in and although it has an official warranty, it is a hassle to go to the shop although I will do it eventually.
Comments and advice appreciated.
Chips
(Malaysia)
