2 lost Mavic pros

[radio5991]

I have lost 2 drones in a little over 2 months and am looking for some advice to maybe find whats left Similar circumstances: 1st was a mavic pro with about 250 flights logged when it just lost communication with controller It was 3500 feet away at 320 feet high with 70% battery left It was a wooded area but I had coordinates of last position Looked several hours and have returned several times with no luck I bought a new Platinum but did not even unpack the new controller- just used the other with the Ipad attached Used it for 25+ flights when same thing happened- sudden loss of communication Drone was RTH 2500 feet away at 360 feet up over a cotton field Not quite in sight but I was looking at screen when it lost Again good location but after hours walking in waist high cotton- no drone Obviously I suspect controller is just shutting down drone and will never use this controller again Any ideas on what happens? Does drone go straight down? Would it veer left or right? Could it continue flying till battery ran out? Appreciate your thoughts

 

[vindibona1]

What else could it be but a bad controller?

 

[boblui]

....	I suspect controller is just shutting down drone ....

I have never seen any evidents of such occurrence in all cases I have seen here in the past.

Any ideas on what happens?

Can you post the .TXT and .DAT flight log files in the ipad ? following this thread to get the files : Mavic Flight Log Retrieval and Analysis Guide

 

[Alex Baxter]

I'd guess it would do whatever you set it up to do on communication loss, rth, hover or land.

 

[Meta4]

Obviously I suspect controller is just shutting down drone and will never use this controller again
Any ideas on what happens?

What else could it be but a bad controller?

Time for a little revision of what's in the manual.
Turn to page 13 - the RTH section and read all about Failsafe RTH:

If the Home Point was successfully recorded and the compass is functioning normally, Failsafe RTH will be automatically activated if the remote controller signal is lost for a specified amount of time (3 seconds when using the remote controller and 20 seconds when using Wi-Fi). ​

So a bad controller isn't the explanation.

There are some possible reasons for Mavics not returning home on losing signal.
One is that losing signal isn't the problem, losing the drone is.
If your drone has a loss of power, it falls from the sky and you are left with nothing to connect to.

Some other possible explanations are:
1. Home point not recorded before flying and gets recorded somewhere else as you fly.
Drone returns to where home point is rather than launch point.
2. Strong wind prevents return flight
3. Obstacle prevents return flight
4. The owner changed the loss of signal action from the default (RTH).

Post your recorded flight data from both flights and perhaps someone will be able to spot a clue in the data or at least eliminate some possible causes.

 

[radio5991]

Time for a little revision of what's in the manual.
Turn to page 13 - the RTH section and read all about Failsafe RTH:

If the Home Point was successfully recorded and the compass is functioning normally, Failsafe RTH will be automatically activated if the remote controller signal is lost for a specified amount of time (3 seconds when using the remote controller and 20 seconds when using Wi-Fi). ​

So a bad controller isn't the explanation.

There are some possible reasons for Mavics not returning home on losing signal.
One is that losing signal isn't the problem, losing the drone is.
If your drone has a loss of power, it falls from the sky and you are left with nothing to connect to.

Some other possible explanations are:
1. Home point not recorded before flying and gets recorded somewhere else as you fly.
Drone returns to where home point is rather than launch point.
2. Strong wind prevents return flight
3. Obstacle prevents return flight
4. The owner changed the loss of signal action from the default (RTH).

Post your recorded flight data from both flights and perhaps someone will be able to spot a clue in the data or at least eliminate some possible causes.

Will work on that today Thanks

 

[Meta4]

Will work on that today Thanks

It only takes a couple of minutes.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

I have lost 2 drones in a little over 2 months and am looking for some advice to maybe find whats left Similar circumstances: 1st was a mavic pro with about 250 flights logged when it just lost communication with controller It was 3500 feet away at 320 feet high with 70% battery left It was a wooded area but I had coordinates of last position Looked several hours and have returned several times with no luck I bought a new Platinum but did not even unpack the new controller- just used the other with the Ipad attached Used it for 25+ flights when same thing happened- sudden loss of communication Drone was RTH 2500 feet away at 360 feet up over a cotton field Not quite in sight but I was looking at screen when it lost Again good location but after hours walking in waist high cotton- no drone Obviously I suspect controller is just shutting down drone and will never use this controller again Any ideas on what happens? Does drone go straight down? Would it veer left or right? Could it continue flying till battery ran out? Appreciate your thoughts

I expect that with the help of the guys who have posted advice that you will eventually get your drone issues resolved. Beyond that, my suggestion is to test and observe the RTH capabilities of your next drone. First, set the RTH parameters. Then fly 50 to 100 ft away in an open area keeping VLOS. Then activate RTH. If it’s not working, cancel it and take control.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Meta 4 posted:
There are some possible reasons for Mavics not returning home on losing signal.
One is that losing signal isn't the problem, losing the drone is.
If your drone has a loss of power, it falls from the sky and you are left with nothing to connect to.

Just offering a possible explanation as to why a drone would drop out of the sky.
My M2Z just fell out of the sky after losing signal.
I was watching it when the battery separated from the drone and both fell into water.
I have since learned that the Mavic 2 series (Pro or Zoom) have recorded a significant number of incidents where the battery ejects from the drone in mid-flight.
It is possible that this has happened to your drone.
But your flight logs should clarify that with the help of other members here that can do the analysis.

 

[Meta4]

My M2Z just fell out of the sky after losing signal.

Actually, your drone lost power and after that there was no signal, for obvious reasons.

 

[dave canada]

i,ve done the same now i have marco polo and it takes me right to them

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Yes Meta4, when a battery ejects from the drone, it does lose power. I have posted on this within the past month with detailed explanations. It is a known issue.

 

[radio5991]

It only takes a couple of minutes.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.

 

[radio5991]

Did I do this correctly?

 

[Meta4]

Did I do this correctly?

That's right for the most recent flight.
It looks like this and I'm just about to start looking into it.

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

 

[radio5991]

Here is end of 1st Mavic Pro

 

[Meta4]

Here is end of 1st Mavic Pro

That earlier flight looks like this:

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

For both flights:
Terrain was good - no obstacles on any potential RTH path
Wind was not an issue and would not have prevented the Mavic from returning
Battery level was more than enough to return
Failsafe Action was set to RTH for both flights, the second flight ends after RTH commenced.
Recorded data for both flights ends with the drone in stable flight indicating no collision.

All the simple and obvious potential causes of failure to return have been eliminated.
The controller was not a factor.
That leaves the cause of the losses in the unexplained category.
That might include sudden loss of power due to a swollen battery loosening its connection or a random hardware fault but we have no data to show any details.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Has the pilot identified the drone to be a Mavic Pro or a Mavic 2 series (M2P or M2Z)? Or other type?

How many cycles on the batteries? I suspect the drone lost power due to battery ejection (swollen battery).

 

[Meta4]

Has the pilot identified the drone to be a Mavic Pro or a Mavic 2 series (M2P or M2Z)? Or other type?

They were Mavic Pros

How many cycles on the batteries? I suspect the drone lost power due to battery ejection (swollen battery).

Maybe it was, maybe not.
Without any data to show, we won't know.

 

[radio5991]

Thanks for your imput
Let me add one incident that I did not think of because of it's minor effect
After getting the 2nd(new) drone, I was RTH from a crop scouting flight-drone came in at 164 feet, located landing zone and started down
I put controller down on tailgate and walked about 10 feet to meet drone and change battery after landing
Everything fine till about 4 feet off ground- drone just dropped- area was soft so no damage done but it was a hard fall
I thought the elevation was just off and continued to fly
Thinking back maybe that happened again but much higher

In any event in your opinion both drones should be very close to their last position?
You think they both went straight down?
Do you know of any way they could have flown off on their own without sending data back to controller?
The old bat out of hell flight to freedom?
Thanks again

Don't really know of cycles on batteries but as much as 50 cycles possible 300 flights on 4 batteries but sometimes make short flights without changing battery