Crashed Phantom - Learning to fly used Phantom prior to Mavic Air purchase

[BudWalker]

Sorry if this is a lame question but what directory are the correct .DAT and .TXT located in using the DJI FLY app?

I haven't needed them but based on reading this thread I want to start storing them on my HDD.

You are probably thinking about the .DAT and .txt for a Phantom 4 or Mavic series. For information on the log files on those platforms have a look at
Mavic Flight Log Retrieval and Analysis Guide

The discussion here pertains to a Phantom 3 which uses the Go App (not the Go 4 or Fly App). The P3 does not record a .DAT on the mobile device - only on the P3 itself.

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

Sorry, I can't use those files. If you follow the instructions in either post #2, #4 or #9 the resulting .DAT may help.

Neither of those files is from the flight you described.
One is just climbing and hovering and landing in the same place and the other goes no further than 15 feet or faster than 2 mph.

I posted the flights after it crashed.

Neither of those files is from the flight you described.
One is just climbing and hovering and landing in the same place and the other goes no further than 15 feet or faster than 2 mph.

Correct. I have uploaded the files post crash. The P3 crashed because I was to impatient to connect to GPS and flew it anyway. I am hoping that you can interpret why it no longer hover and I have to use the up stick to keep it in the air. Additionally, it has a severe wobble. Are these issues fixable.

1. I have re-run the IMU
2. I purchased new props on Amazon - I have been told some props do not mount properly and will cause the drone not to fly properly. (Flypig is what I purchased on Amazon and currently flying - the screw on portion is metal) (The one stated as original is what appears to me to be a better replacement prop if the Flypig props are causing my current flight problems). Thoughts?
3. I uploaded yesterday's flight attempt in .Dat and .Txt. The P3 is extremely difficult to control.

Thank you,

Stephen

 

[BudWalker]

I posted the flights after it crashed.

Correct. I have uploaded the files post crash. The P3 crashed because I was to impatient to connect to GPS and flew it anyway. I am hoping that you can interpret why it no longer hover and I have to use the up stick to keep it in the air. Additionally, it has a severe wobble. Are these issues fixable.

1. I have re-run the IMU
2. I purchased new props on Amazon - I have been told some props do not mount properly and will cause the drone not to fly properly. (Flypig is what I purchased on Amazon and currently flying - the screw on portion is metal) (The one stated as original is what appears to me to be a better replacement prop if the Flypig props are causing my current flight problems). Thoughts?
3. I uploaded yesterday's flight attempt in .Dat and .Txt. The P3 is extremely difficult to control.

Thank you,

Stephen

You're not getting it. The .dat you provided isn't usable. Re-posting the .dat you managed to find on the mobile device won't change the fact that it is unusable. A usable .DAT can only be obtained by following the instructions in either post #2 or #4.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

The nomenclature and size of the DAT's you keep posting are COMPLETELY WRONG.
Once data mode is enabled Windows can see and download them straight off the drone as if the drone where a memory card in a reader or and external nard drive. You do not need iTunes, you need only windows explorer or whatever its name now is.

From memory the name will be something like or include FLYxyz.DAT where xyz are numbers.
The DAT's from my Phantom 3s are measured in Mb and often in the 100's of Mb.
I rename my DAT's so I can not check the original name without accessing a drone

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

You're not getting it. The .dat you provided isn't usable. Re-posting the .dat you managed to find on the mobile device won't change the fact that it is unusable. A usable .DAT can only be obtained by following the instructions in either post #2 or #4.

I wasn't connecting the P3 to the computer without waiting for it to enter ""flight data mode". I am finally pulling the data straight off the P3. Thanks for your help, I am learning a lot. I flew my P3 for only about a minute on 04.20 so one of these 2 is correct.

Now I am getting an error that the file is too large to upload. I compressed or zipped the files down from 39k KB and 45k KB to 22k KBs and 27k KBs, respectively, but they are still to large. I am an accountant, not a technology guy. I am enjoying this though.

Any advice for compressing the file to an up loadable size? Stephen

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Upload the log to the likes of google drive or a similar hosting site, make the log public/shareable and then post a link.
BE CAREFUL to limit public/sharing to only the DAT, nothing else that you might have there.

 

[BudWalker]

I wasn't connecting the P3 to the computer without waiting for it to enter ""flight data mode". I am finally pulling the data straight off the P3. Thanks for your help, I am learning a lot. I flew my P3 for only about a minute on 04.20 so one of these 2 is correct.

Now I am getting an error that the file is too large to upload. I compressed or zipped the files down from 39k KB and 45k KB to 22k KBs and 27k KBs, respectively, but they are still to large. I am an accountant, not a technology guy. I am enjoying this though.

Any advice for compressing the file to an up loadable size? Stephen

They can't be compressed any further. You'll need to upload to a public sharing site like DropBox or GoogleDrive. Then provide the link to the uploaded file.

 

[Meta4]

Correct. I have uploaded the files post crash. The P3 crashed because I was to impatient to connect to GPS and flew it anyway.

Drones don't fly away because you launch before getting GPS.

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

Upload the log to the likes of google drive or a similar hosting site, make the log public/shareable and then post a link.
BE CAREFUL to limit public/sharing to only the DAT, nothing else that you might have there.

I created a Google drive with only these 2 files in it. Here is the link to the flight data:

DJI Phantom Files - Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

Drones don't fly away because you launch before getting GPS.

I tried to fly it while I was getting this error. Stephen

 

[Meta4]

I tried to fly it while I was getting this error. Stephen

That's a warning, not an error.
It was warning you that the drone was to close to some steel.
And that's likely to be the cause of the crash.
You started up in an area of magnetic interference, which caused the compass to be deflected.
That incorrect compass reading was used to initialise the gyro sensor in the IMU and when you moved away from the steel, the compass returned to normal, but the gyro sensor was still reading incorrectly.
The data conflict created a yaw error which caused the erratic flight and crash.

The correct action on seeing the warning would have been to switch off, move away from what your compass was warning about and start again somewhere else.

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

That's a warning, not an error.
It was warning you that the drone was to close to some steel.
And that's likely to be the cause of the crash.
You started up in an area of magnetic interference, which caused the compass to be deflected.
That incorrect compass reading was used to initialise the gyro sensor in the IMU and when you moved away from the steel, the compass returned to normal, but the gyro sensor was still reading incorrectly.
The data conflict created a yaw error which caused the erratic flight and crash.

The correct action on seeing the warning would have been to switch off, move away from what your compass was warning about and start again somewhere else.

You are likely 100% correct. I set the drone on the trunk area of a car while attempting to calibrate. Stupid mistake. It won't happen again. I am completely hooked after flying this thing at a cabin in Eastern, Wa. It is amazing to fly something like this a half mile away from and to be able to take pictures of a lake and other scenery that far away, etc. Thanks!

 

[Meta4]

You are likely 100% correct. I set the drone on the trunk area of a car while attempting to calibrate.

DJI's warning is badly worded.
Recalibration of the compass would never "fix" the problem and moving away and starting again is the correct action.
If a drone is flying normally, it should never need compass calibration unless you have rebuilt or modified the drone.

 

[BudWalker]

@TigerWoodsofFishing
I looked at FLY230.DAT. It's been a long time since I've looked at a P3 .DAT

In this flight there was no indication of a compromised compass. At launch the geomagnetic field strength didn't vary much. In addition, the difference between the flight controller's Yaw value and Yaw based on the geomagnetic field didn't change as the P3 ascended. That difference was about -13° which is consistent with the geoDeclination of 15.7° at the launch site.


The P3 wasn't hard to control but it did drift some - more than is normal. The flight was about 27 secs in duration and drifted about 4 meters. There was almost no pitch or aileron inputs that would have caused the P3 to move laterally.

What method did you use to start the motors? Was it via auto take off? It's unclear if the P3 entered GPS_ATTI. If it stayed in ATTI mode that would explain why it drifted.

If you are interested in the cause of the incident described in your first post you should post the log for that. From your description I suspect there was no GPS at launch. As I recall the P3 would sometimes have trouble making the transition to GPS during a flight. Either the .txt or .DAT will show this.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I will have a look in the morning but mean time here are the 3 flights I see txt logs for, the corresponding DAT number is shown in red text at the RH end of the first line of data below each flights map.

DJIFlightRecord_2022-04-17_[13-17-16] = DAT216 DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

DJIFlightRecord_2022-04-17_[13-24-28] = DAT217 DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

DJIFlightRecord_2022-04-20_[17-55-28] = DAT230 DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

All 3 seem to show the drone descending at unexpected throttle settings. It might be useful to try a recalibration of the controller.

 

[BudWalker]

I will have a look in the morning but mean time here are the 3 flights I see txt logs for, the corresponding DAT number is shown in red text at the RH end of the first line of data below each flights map.

DJIFlightRecord_2022-04-17_[13-17-16] = DAT216 DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

DJIFlightRecord_2022-04-17_[13-24-28] = DAT217 DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

DJIFlightRecord_2022-04-20_[17-55-28] = DAT230 DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

All 3 seem to show the drone descending at unexpected throttle settings. It might be useful to try a recalibration of the controller.

Good find.

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

@TigerWoodsofFishing
I looked at FLY230.DAT. It's been a long time since I've looked at a P3 .DAT

In this flight there was no indication of a compromised compass. At launch the geomagnetic field strength didn't vary much. In addition, the difference between the flight controller's Yaw value and Yaw based on the geomagnetic field didn't change as the P3 ascended. That difference was about -13° which is consistent with the geoDeclination of 15.7° at the launch site.
View attachment 147087

The P3 wasn't hard to control but it did drift some - more than is normal. The flight was about 27 secs in duration and drifted about 4 meters. There was almost no pitch or aileron inputs that would have caused the P3 to move laterally.

What method did you use to start the motors? Was it via auto take off? It's unclear if the P3 entered GPS_ATTI. If it stayed in ATTI mode that would explain why it drifted.

If you are interested in the cause of the incident described in your first post you should post the log for that. From your description I suspect there was no GPS at launch. As I recall the P3 would sometimes have trouble making the transition to GPS during a flight. Either the .txt or .DAT will show this.

I was using the auto take off. Since the crash this method barely works and if I do not use the up stick the P3 will not rise and at least in one attempt shut down. Prior to the crash it would easily rise 4or 5 feet and hover awaiting further command.

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

I was using the auto take off. Since the crash this method barely works and if I do not use the up stick the P3 will not rise and at least in one attempt shut down. Prior to the crash it would easily rise 4or 5 feet and hover awaiting further command.

Also, I am rather certain that it stayed in GPS mode as I do not recall the green color of GPS mode changing to red or yellow. Compared to pre crash the P3 is very difficult to control. For instance, right now I would not attempt to fly it beyond my cul de sac as I would expect that I would definitely crash it for lack of control.

Is it possible that the problems are due to the replacement blades only and possibly no other damage to the P3 other than the broken props. It hit my garage hard enough for the battery to pop out (that seems rather severe crash to me although I do not see any damage to the shell thankfully).

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Ahhh I have had a look at the DATs with CsvView and DatCon and they are not what I was expecting, FLY229 seems 'empty' or corrupt.
Going by the "sigpicker" (Signal Picker?) in Csview, your FLY230.DAT has a completely different layout to the DATs from my Phantom 3Adv & Pro but your drone appears to be a P3S. Maybe the difference is due to that.


I was looking for the motor speeds ( visible in my DATs) but couldn't find them in your FLY230.DAT,
@BudWalker or @Meta4 or @sar104 or @slup or @boblui ? do any of you know if the motor speeds are shown in the P3S DAT or txt? If so where? Ditto motor currents and voltages, I am a bit 'thrown' by the different layout. Thanks.


Could you take and post here photos of.
1) One your replacement props side by side with one of the remaining original props? I am curious to see if they are the same size.
2) An end on shot looking along the length of two blades? To compare pitch etc..
3) One of your replacement props mounted on its motor? The photo being taken to show clearly how the prop sits on the screw-thread/motor-top when fully home.

 

[TigerWoodsofFishing]

Ahhh I have had a look at the DATs with CsvView and DatCon and they are not what I was expecting, FLY229 seems 'empty' or corrupt.
Going by the "sigpicker" (Signal Picker?) in Csview, your FLY230.DAT has a completely different layout to the DATs from my Phantom 3Adv & Pro but your drone appears to be a P3S. Maybe the difference is due to that.

I was looking for the motor speeds ( visible in my DATs) but couldn't find them in your FLY230.DAT,
@BudWalker or @Meta4 or @sar104 or @slup or @boblui ? do any of you know if the motor speeds are shown in the P3S DAT or txt? If so where? Ditto motor currents and voltages, I am a bit 'thrown' by the different layout. Thanks.


Could you take and post here photos of.
1) One your replacement props side by side with one of the remaining original props? I am curious to see if they are the same size.
2) An end on shot looking along the length of two blades? To compare pitch etc..
3) One of your replacement props mounted on its motor? The photo being taken to show clearly how the prop sits on the screw-thread/motor-top when fully home.

Here are the pictures. I also, recalibrated the controller and tried to fly the P3. It is still difficult to control and will not hover in place. There is little change if any.