Help Please: Mavic 2 Pro Lost Yesterday

[DanMan32]

Note in the RTH OA description, OA is disabled during landing. Could that have been what that OA message was about?

RC would have had to be connected to AC for that to be reported.

 

[paulatkin73]

The M2 (and MA) retraces its last 60 seconds of flight path to attempt to regain uplink before resorting to RTH. It's not a setting - it's the default behavior.

But, if gps signal is also lost, will it be able to retrace?

 

[Prmath]

If...... the drone has reflective tape on it, there is a possibility of finding it at night. Having a drone fitted with a bright light and knowing the approximate location really helped me.(found it on an old abandoned golf course).........

 

[sar104]

But, if gps signal is also lost, will it be able to retrace?

No - if it loses uplink in ATTI mode it will immediately land. In its vision positioning (opti) mode it will hover until low battery, and then land.

 

[paulatkin73]

No - if it loses uplink in ATTI mode it will immediately land. In its vision positioning (opti) mode it will hover until low battery, and then land.

hmm. interesting.
it is exactly what i was asking about, as in many cases it saves the day. the failsafe action is getting executed AFTER the mandatory climb - you set that to 50m something and in many cases it re-enables the link and fixes gps hdop to a correct level, then it would do RTH or landing, if chosen so.

so, in dji settings there is no way to enforce a mandatory climb prior to execution of a failsafe rth or landing? anyway, it was a very good info to know. i could also probably get into same trouble, as i would not expect that.

the GPS puck - is it under the plastic cover on mavic, or exposed out? **** gearbest still did not ship my unit out. can`t wait to get my paws on it.

 

[sar104]

hmm. interesting.
it is exactly what i was asking about, as in many cases it saves the day. the failsafe action is getting executed AFTER the mandatory climb - you set that to 50m something and in many cases it re-enables the link and fixes gps hdop to a correct level, then it would do RTH or landing, if chosen so.

so, in dji settings there is no way to enforce a mandatory climb prior to execution of a failsafe rth or landing? anyway, it was a very good info to know. i could also probably get into same trouble, as i would not expect that.

the GPS puck - is it under the plastic cover on mavic, or exposed out?

That's correct - it will not climb on signal loss in ATTI mode, even though in some cases that would obviously help restore the uplink. I would guess that the reasoning is to prevent further uncontrolled drift and get the aircraft on the ground as quickly as possible.

 

[paulatkin73]

If...... the drone has reflective tape on it, there is a possibility of finding it at night. Having a drone fitted with a bright light and knowing the approximate location really helped me.(found it on an old abandoned golf course).........

well, what is really needed is either a telemetry feed that transmits an exact gps coordinates and keeps it on the screen after the crash or disconnect - so you can grab your phone and literally walk to that exact coordinates location, like in the geocaching game, or, what i have on the big tarot and can be used on expensive machines - a dedicated waterproofed gps tracker wiht its own power source. that is the best, but, on mavic it will probably be too bulky, so, it is an interesting question what to do. i will think about it when i get mine. i bet it should be a way to get last gps coordinates from the mavic to be shown somewhere in real time, as usually it is good enough.

 

[sar104]

well, what is really needed is either a telemetry feed that transmits an exact gps coordinates and keeps it on the screen after the crash or disconnect - so you can grab your phone and literally walk to that exact coordinates location, like in the geocaching game, or, what i have on the big tarot and can be used on expensive machines - a dedicated waterproofed gps tracker wiht its own power source. that is the best, but, on mavic it will probably be too bulky, so, it is an interesting question what to do. i will think about it when i get mine. i bet it should be a way to get last gps coordinates from the mavic to be shown somewhere in real time, as usually it is good enough.

The "Find My Drone" function does exactly what you are asking for - shows the last recorded coordinates on a map.

 

[paulatkin73]

The "Find My Drone" function does exactly what you are asking for - shows the last recorded coordinates on a map.

so, why then OP could not find his model using it? were there some other dependencies that would render it unreliable?

 

[sar104]

so, why then OP could not find his model using it? were there some other dependencies that would render it unreliable?

There are at least a couple of possibilities. It may not have been at that location - it likely switched to ATTI very soon after the disconnect, since it only had 7 satellites locked and that number was dropping rapidly, and would have drifted with the wind after that. The terrain may have been inaccessible, so even if the aircraft were there the OP may not be able to retrieve it.

 

[GullyMcBillam]

I hope you find your drone, I had a similar experience where my M2P lost signal well within range. I had flown 3-4 times the distance (same elevation and same location) and had never lost signal. The find my drone function showed a location where my drone should have been and it was roughly 100 meters off when I finally found it. I played and replayed the path my M2P was flying and retraced that path, which led to its discovery just shy of 300 feet away from the location that was shown via the app. I had full signsl connection with GPS, I had "Hover" mode enabled if I had ever lost signal and I was flying well above tree heights. It took me 2 days to locate but to the OP I suggest retracing its flight path (with the help of your kind friends) and work it backwards and hopefully you find where it landed. Mine had crashed into some thick brush (idk since it should have hovered) and I had only broken one of the landing legs off. Good luck

 

[paulatkin73]

There are at least a couple of possibilities. It may not have been at that location - it likely switched to ATTI very soon after the disconnect, since it only had 7 satellites locked and that number was dropping rapidly, and would have drifted with the wind after that. The terrain may have been inaccessible, so even if the aircraft were there the OP may not be able to retrieve it.

makes sense. what do you think of this device? i saw it before but did not want to waste money on it, as i do not need it on my arducopter models. but i feel it maybe handy for this mavic, as, well, it is a much more $.
https://www.amazon.com/Marco-Rocket...acker&linkId=89513fa47dc19c3a1cd27bff80f4eaf5

 

[sar104]

makes sense. what do you think of this device? i saw it before but did not want to waste money on it, as i do not need it on my arducopter models. but i feel it maybe handy for this mavic, as, well, it is a much more $.
https://www.amazon.com/Marco-Rocket...acker&linkId=89513fa47dc19c3a1cd27bff80f4eaf5

I have one of those. It works pretty well as a homing beacon. The effective range depends on terrain and tree cover, but it's good for at least half a mile everywhere that I've tested it. It takes a little practice to use efficiently - a bit like an avalanche beacon.

 

[paulatkin73]

I have one of those. It works pretty well as a homing beacon. The effective range depends on terrain and tree cover, but it's good for at least half a mile everywhere that I've tested it. It takes a little practice to use efficiently - a bit like an avalanche beacon.

ok, excellent, then i will get it, as i intent to fly this mavic in mountains quite a lot, and, a 100m last location error there will mean a lost drone. thx for your responses, it was very helpful, i do appreciate it.

 

[Mossiback]

...when my phone screen was saying "Connection Lost". I pushed the hardware "Return Home" button on the controller as it was still saying "Connecting"...

When the RC displays "Connecting " there is no connection between it and the AC. Pushing the RC RTH button will have no effect.

 

[ff22]

well, what is really needed is either a telemetry feed that transmits an exact gps coordinates and keeps it on the screen after the crash or disconnect - so you can grab your phone and literally walk to that exact coordinates location, like in the geocaching game, or, what i have on the big tarot and can be used on expensive machines - a dedicated waterproofed gps tracker wiht its own power source. that is the best, but, on mavic it will probably be too bulky, so, it is an interesting question what to do. i will think about it when i get mine. i bet it should be a way to get last gps coordinates from the mavic to be shown somewhere in real time, as usually it is good enough.

There are a variety of third party products that attach to the drone to accomplish that purpose. Marco Polo is one that uses another "remote" to home in on the device. Others use a cell phone and cellular subscription to find it. As SAR notes, the Mavic also has such a function.

 

[Meta4]

so, why then OP could not find his model using it? were there some other dependencies that would render it unreliable?

It's somewhere down there - plenty of places to lose it.

 

[ff22]

It's somewhere down there - plenty of places to lose it.

Maybe if it were neon pink or orange it could be spotted in a tree or tangled in a shrubs. But from that angle it looks like a dense jungle!

 

[Roamer105]

Wow - just similar to my loss in very rugged mountain terrain. I wish the M2 was a very bright color! Ideally "air-craft-orange" allover. Stickers/strips might help, problem with some reflective material is that they may contain metallic particles which will interfere with radio and satellite (GPS) signals.

 

[Rnl]

Still was very hard to find.