My fictitious friend Tom likes to travel. Right before his next trip, which was to Hong Kong, he decided to buy a used Mavic Pro off of eBay. Tom isnt of the reading kind, so, not only does he not like reading product manuals, but he also doesnt like participating in online forums. He also didnt read that this particular seller had -3 (negative) eBay feedbacks.
Tom was in a rush to get to the airport, and he had not packed the night before. He threw the drone and controller into his carry-on, and raced to the airport. Tom enjoyed the short 14 hour flight to Hong Kong, and when he landed, he was so excited to go fly, that he ripped open his bag, pulled out his drone and controller, went out to the balcony of his 10th story hotel room, and turned everything on. He couldnt figure out why the drone wouldnt start, so he examined the drone and found that, still in Toms apartment at home, were his batteries and props.
Undeterred, Tom Googled Mavic Props Hong Kong and found a DJI store. However, in an attempt to save $1.00 on the props and a little money on the batteries, he decided not to buy OEM DJI parts but instead, patronize the business of "HK's finest parts for the Maverick" and buy them there. As he opened the door of the shop, located on a back alley, he was delighted to see props and batteries of all sizes colors, and all had the words "Works with DJI Maverick" written on the label. Tom bought 3 blue "Power Exra" batteries for $15 each and 2 full sets of props in Carbon Fiber because they looked cool. Since Tom had also forgot his charger, his decided to buy a "Charging Higher" brand charger which looked exactly like an OEM DJI charger.
Tom raced back to his room, put the props on, which didnt fit perfectly, but seemed tight enough. He charged his new batteries and left the room for a while to grab some chop suey. When he came back to the room, there was a distinct burning smell, and he saw that the battery on the charger had gone up in smoke. He thought, "why not charge another one, that one might just have been bad." Sure as you know, in 2 hours, the next battery charged up to 80% and Tom went to fly.
He took the Mavic to the balcony, tried a hand launch, but immediately the drone climbed up out of his control. Not only that, but the motors seemed to surge for no reason, and the drone just didnt fly in a stable manner at all. Away and away it went, further out over the Hong Kong skyline. Tom was very sad for his loss, and spent the night sobbing into his pillow. He could not bear the thought of continuing his trip without his drone.
End of story.
What would you have done differently if you were Tom?
Tom was in a rush to get to the airport, and he had not packed the night before. He threw the drone and controller into his carry-on, and raced to the airport. Tom enjoyed the short 14 hour flight to Hong Kong, and when he landed, he was so excited to go fly, that he ripped open his bag, pulled out his drone and controller, went out to the balcony of his 10th story hotel room, and turned everything on. He couldnt figure out why the drone wouldnt start, so he examined the drone and found that, still in Toms apartment at home, were his batteries and props.
Undeterred, Tom Googled Mavic Props Hong Kong and found a DJI store. However, in an attempt to save $1.00 on the props and a little money on the batteries, he decided not to buy OEM DJI parts but instead, patronize the business of "HK's finest parts for the Maverick" and buy them there. As he opened the door of the shop, located on a back alley, he was delighted to see props and batteries of all sizes colors, and all had the words "Works with DJI Maverick" written on the label. Tom bought 3 blue "Power Exra" batteries for $15 each and 2 full sets of props in Carbon Fiber because they looked cool. Since Tom had also forgot his charger, his decided to buy a "Charging Higher" brand charger which looked exactly like an OEM DJI charger.
Tom raced back to his room, put the props on, which didnt fit perfectly, but seemed tight enough. He charged his new batteries and left the room for a while to grab some chop suey. When he came back to the room, there was a distinct burning smell, and he saw that the battery on the charger had gone up in smoke. He thought, "why not charge another one, that one might just have been bad." Sure as you know, in 2 hours, the next battery charged up to 80% and Tom went to fly.
He took the Mavic to the balcony, tried a hand launch, but immediately the drone climbed up out of his control. Not only that, but the motors seemed to surge for no reason, and the drone just didnt fly in a stable manner at all. Away and away it went, further out over the Hong Kong skyline. Tom was very sad for his loss, and spent the night sobbing into his pillow. He could not bear the thought of continuing his trip without his drone.
End of story.
What would you have done differently if you were Tom?
