Yesterday, Monday 18 March 2019 I made a huge mistake and flew my Mavic 2 pro into some trees high up on a ledge of a large canyon. A marco polo tag was on the Mavic and I had remembered to turn it on. I grabbed my locator thinking I would quickly locate the Mavic and go home with it to check out the damage.
I learned something from this experience that I want to share to help others.
The locator immediately picked up the signal and I was in hot pursuit, however when the signal strength got to about 50% and I walked in the direction indicated on the locator the signal dropped to less than 50%. This was a puzzle to me. My legs gave out before I found it.
During the night I realized that because the Mavic was on a high ledge the signal was being blocked by that ledge when I tried to get closer.
This morning I went back to near the location where I thought the Mavic was. But this time I stayed high up on the ledge and aside from some problems with huge boulders , which partially blocked the signal, I was able to find the Mavic. By the way I replaced two propellers and flew the Mavic this evening with no apparent problems with the flight or the camera.
So the take home lesson, in rough terrain the signal from the tag might not get through to the locator. So keep going in the direction indicated on the locator until boulders and ledges are no longer affecting the signal.
I learned something from this experience that I want to share to help others.
The locator immediately picked up the signal and I was in hot pursuit, however when the signal strength got to about 50% and I walked in the direction indicated on the locator the signal dropped to less than 50%. This was a puzzle to me. My legs gave out before I found it.
During the night I realized that because the Mavic was on a high ledge the signal was being blocked by that ledge when I tried to get closer.
This morning I went back to near the location where I thought the Mavic was. But this time I stayed high up on the ledge and aside from some problems with huge boulders , which partially blocked the signal, I was able to find the Mavic. By the way I replaced two propellers and flew the Mavic this evening with no apparent problems with the flight or the camera.
So the take home lesson, in rough terrain the signal from the tag might not get through to the locator. So keep going in the direction indicated on the locator until boulders and ledges are no longer affecting the signal.
