Help Please: Mavic 2 Pro Lost Yesterday

[Rnl]

Ping tracker on it's back, didn't work out in country where I am.

 

[paulatkin73]

realistically what i posted up the thread - that 12g marcopolo gps tracker seems to be the one and only viable option to find anything in the bush or forest. there is no other way...

 

[Jake37]

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.

I have a Trackimo which uses GPS, 3G Phone towers and Blue tooth once you get close for the blue tooth to pick up on your phone.... Better option I think.. Trackimo® 3G GPS Tracker + 1 Year GSM + Free US Shipping
It is small, light weight and battery will last about 6 to 7 days... I fasten it on top front of my Mavic with valcro. Tracimo pic link on Mavic PIC #1 IMG_1489 PIC #2 https://mavicpilots.com/media/img_1488.1643/full?d=1519592718

 

[paulatkin73]

I have a Trackimo which uses GPS, 3G Phone towers and Blue tooth once you get close for the blue tooth to pick up on your phone.... Better option I think.. Trackimo® 3G GPS Tracker + 1 Year GSM + Free US Shipping
It is small, light weight and battery will last about 6 to 7 days... I fasten it on top front of my Mavic with valcro. Tracimo pic link on Mavic PIC #1 IMG_1489 PIC #2 https://mavicpilots.com/media/img_1488.1643/full?d=1519592718

Yep, but, if i go to the mountains, usually there is no 3g or sometimes any cell coverage in there, at all. There are still plenty of such places in VT, NH and upstate NY.
Thx for the info, i am looking at it now.

Looked, price wise it is pretty much same as that marcopolo thing. what makes it better? i am really not sure about bluetooth coverage distance, as in foreign country or with no coverage from cell towers it is pretty much the only signal left?

 

[Mavhawk]

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I think you came to the right place to look for help. These guys are awesome at reading charts, giving good tips, finding drones, you name it. You might be able to look for it with another drone, but, ,,, that might be pretty risky. Maybe you could kind of "grid" it out. I have the Marco Polo, but in some cases, you have to grid it out or at least have a pretty good idea whereabouts it went down. There's one guy on here who can almost figure out where it probably went down by reading the flight log, and give some good high probabilities. Forgive me if he''s already spoken on this post, but at any rate, give it your all and you know we want you to find it. Marc.

 

[paulatkin73]

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I think you came to the right place to look for help. These guys are awesome at reading charts, giving good tips, finding drones, you name it. You might be able to look for it with another drone, but, ,,, that might be pretty risky. Maybe you could kind of "grid" it out. I have the Marco Polo, but in some cases, you have to grid it out or at least have a pretty good idea whereabouts it went down. There's one guy on here who can almost figure out where it probably went down by reading the flight log, and give some good high probabilities. Forgive me if he''s already spoken on this post, but at any rate, give it your all and you know we want you to find it. Marc.

what is your experience with that marcopolo unit, Marc? is it of any help in the forest or mountain terrain, on the slopes, etc?

 

[Mavhawk]

what is your experience with that marcopolo unit, Marc? is it of any help in the forest or mountain terrain, on the slopes, etc?

I haven't had to use it for a drone retrieval yet, but I tested it around my neighborhood. I know that's not even close, really, to trees and slopes, but I had the "tag" or "send" unit that you put on the drone, inside my house and I was able to find it from a couple of blocks away. It took some doing, but of course the houses were blocking a lot. Honestly, I can't give you a straight answer on that. There are numerous videos on Eurika's website, I believe it is, where your actually seeing real drone retrievals, and I know some of them involved trees and bushes. I'll make a plan to find some trees and slopes and try and do a better test. You can also see videos of search examples on YouTube. The manual states that you can find something 2 miles away under perfect, flat conditions. Never tried that, but I just tested it on a playground last week. I set the drone down about a ball field and a half away and I could read it and find it. I'll post anything I do that might help you or others. Marc. P.S. This is a post to the Robot Shop where they sell the Marco Polo. I think you'll be impressed. I sure was.

I should have written to you much earlier to thank you for your great product. When I was in Anchorage and had received your parcel, I mounted the Marco Polo tracker onto a crossbar which is an optional extra for the Phantom 3 to protect the camera from rocks in rough landing areas. Then, of course, I was eager to give my new toy a whirl. I did that at a very rural area in the middle of nowhere, at a lake about a hundred miles out of Anchorage. Absolutely no GSM-reception in that area. So any other tracking device wouldn’t have worked anyway.
Would you believe it? Your tracker was able to save my drone on it’s third flight, already!
Inexperienced, as I was, at that time, I must have taken off before my Phantom had enough satellites to lock on. At some feet in the air it started a maneuver which they call “toilet seat circles” here in Germany. Small circles which I couldn’t compensate or control with my remote control. Meanwhile I learned, that my correct reaction should have been to switch the Phantom out of the GPS- into the “attitude” mode. Instead I lifted my copter quickly to a presumed “safe” altitude which turned out to be a bad idea. There I completely lost my control, when the copter started to fly backwards, away from me. Not even the “return to home” (RTH) button worked any more. Fortunately it flew into rising terrain with very dense vegetation, where, after dropping through branches and leaves, it ended up on soft duff – but well hidden from view. Thanks to your device, I was able to recover it.
Guenter O. – Germany
​

Posted on

 

[Shaunh]

Sorry to hear about this.

Sounds like the most likely scenario as worked out by others is the loss of GPS, then Atti mode auto land or crash.

Just a reminder though: I’m presuming if you were in the car park and you flew up over trees then descended 40m you could not see the drone.

This would make the flight illegal in Australia unless you hold a RPAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight license (which I understand CASA are not very forthcoming with).

Under Australia regulations you must maintain visual line of sight with the UAV.

If you were able to see the drone:

- It’s very unlikely you would have had a signal loss

And

- you would have been able to fly even in ATTI mode to avoid a crash and land safely

I hope you either manage to find the drone and get it replaced under refresh or get a new one so you can get back up ‘eyes in the sky’ soon.

 

[PTBperegrine]

Thanks Goldengate98! Maths is NOT my strong point but even I could use the info on that page.
As an update, our search was unsuccessful so I'm taking this one on the chin, have learned an enormous amount and really come to appreciate the skills, support and insights on this forum!

 

[PTBperegrine]

I haven't had to use it for a drone retrieval yet, but I tested it around my neighborhood. I know that's not even close, really, to trees and slopes, but I had the "tag" or "send" unit that you put on the drone, inside my house and I was able to find it from a couple of blocks away. It took some doing, but of course the houses were blocking a lot. Honestly, I can't give you a straight answer on that. There are numerous videos on Eurika's website, I believe it is, where your actually seeing real drone retrievals, and I know some of them involved trees and bushes. I'll make a plan to find some trees and slopes and try and do a better test. You can also see videos of search examples on YouTube. The manual states that you can find something 2 miles away under perfect, flat conditions. Never tried that, but I just tested it on a playground last week. I set the drone down about a ball field and a half away and I could read it and find it. I'll post anything I do that might help you or others. Marc. P.S. This is a post to the Robot Shop where they sell the Marco Polo. I think you'll be impressed. I sure was.

I should have written to you much earlier to thank you for your great product. When I was in Anchorage and had received your parcel, I mounted the Marco Polo tracker onto a crossbar which is an optional extra for the Phantom 3 to protect the camera from rocks in rough landing areas. Then, of course, I was eager to give my new toy a whirl. I did that at a very rural area in the middle of nowhere, at a lake about a hundred miles out of Anchorage. Absolutely no GSM-reception in that area. So any other tracking device wouldn’t have worked anyway.​

Would you believe it? Your tracker was able to save my drone on it’s third flight, already!​

Inexperienced, as I was, at that time, I must have taken off before my Phantom had enough satellites to lock on. At some feet in the air it started a maneuver which they call “toilet seat circles” here in Germany. Small circles which I couldn’t compensate or control with my remote control. Meanwhile I learned, that my correct reaction should have been to switch the Phantom out of the GPS- into the “attitude” mode. Instead I lifted my copter quickly to a presumed “safe” altitude which turned out to be a bad idea. There I completely lost my control, when the copter started to fly backwards, away from me. Not even the “return to home” (RTH) button worked any more. Fortunately it flew into rising terrain with very dense vegetation, where, after dropping through branches and leaves, it ended up on soft duff – but well hidden from view. Thanks to your device, I was able to recover it.​

Guenter O. – Germany​

​

Posted on

Great post, thank you!

 

[ilc]

Sorry to hear about this.

Sounds like the most likely scenario as worked out by others is the loss of GPS, then Atti mode auto land or crash.

Just a reminder though: I’m presuming if you were in the car park and you flew up over trees then descended 40m you could not see the drone.

This would make the flight illegal in Australia unless you hold a RPAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight license (which I understand CASA are not very forthcoming with).

Under Australia regulations you must maintain visual line of sight with the UAV.

If you were able to see the drone:

- It’s very unlikely you would have had a signal loss

And

- you would have been able to fly even in ATTI mode to avoid a crash and land safely

I hope you either manage to find the drone and get it replaced under refresh or get a new one so you can get back up ‘eyes in the sky’ soon.

Was just about to post the same. Also, the ascent to 500 ft is illegal. There is a walking track and viewing platform at the base of the falls, and this being a popular tourist attraction on the Gold Coast in the peak holiday season there is a fair chance you were flying over people as well.

I learn a lot from this forum, and I appreciate those who lose drones posting details of their misfortune so others can learn. I hate to be "that guy" but you broke several regulations, I hope that your report to National Parks doesn't come back to bite you on the arse.

Whilst many of us might bend the rules with regard to LOS and altitude, this is not the place to do it. Let's hope this incident doesn't result in a local ban on drone flying, or a blanket ban in National Parks.

 

[PTBperegrine]

Sorry to hear about this.

Sounds like the most likely scenario as worked out by others is the loss of GPS, then Atti mode auto land or crash.

Just a reminder though: I’m presuming if you were in the car park and you flew up over trees then descended 40m you could not see the drone.

This would make the flight illegal in Australia unless you hold a RPAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight license (which I understand CASA are not very forthcoming with).

Under Australia regulations you must maintain visual line of sight with the UAV.

If you were able to see the drone:

- It’s very unlikely you would have had a signal loss

And

- you would have been able to fly even in ATTI mode to avoid a crash and land safely

I hope you either manage to find the drone and get it replaced under refresh or get a new one so you can get back up ‘eyes in the sky’ soon.

Thanks Shaunh
I realise that here in Australia, it's not legal but I bought my drone because I'm stuck in a wheelchair and I wanted to see what most people take for granted. I'm very careful to avoid flying near or over people but almost inevitably there will be trees or a rise up 80 odd steps between me and the view.

 

[PTBperegrine]

Was just about to post the same. Also, the ascent to 500 ft is illegal. There is a walking track and viewing platform at the base of the falls, and this being a popular tourist attraction on the Gold Coast in the peak holiday season there is a fair chance you were flying over people as well.

I learn a lot from this forum, and I appreciate those who lose drones posting details of their misfortune so others can learn. I hate to be "that guy" but you broke several regulations, I hope that your report to National Parks doesn't come back to bite you on the arse.

Whilst many of us might bend the rules with regard to LOS and altitude, this is not the place to do it. Let's hope this incident doesn't result in a local ban on drone flying, or a blanket ban in National Parks.

Thanks for your insight, the max height of 500 ft was above my launch point, not above ground level. I first flew to the north and had to climb to get above some trees. I knew about the lookout and the path down to the falls, so approached from the north east to avoid over flying the track. I was flying using drone vision until I lost signal but I was then over the centre of the pool....

 

[paulatkin73]

Thanks Shaunh
I realise that here in Australia, it's not legal but I bought my drone because I'm stuck in a wheelchair and I wanted to see what most people take for granted. I'm very careful to avoid flying near or over people but almost inevitably there will be trees or a rise up 80 odd steps between me and the view.

I am truly sorry you got into this situation. Some people will try to rub it in, it is an unfortunate part of any public forum. But it is good to remember that we are all adults and we make mistakes, as it is a human nature. Do not feel discouraged, it is a great hobby, just takes some time to learn how to be cautious. Dji makes machines that make it look easy, i do diy drones and went over ton of errors to learn how to avoid fly aways, radio link loss, etc.
Any model comes with a learning curve. Check FAA rules, try not to break them and, always expect hardware to fail, as, sometimes it just does.
No one got hurt, no kid got hit with props. Lesson learned, life goes on...

 

[ilc]

Thanks for your insight, the max height of 500 ft was above my launch point, not above ground level. I first flew to the north and had to climb to get above some trees. I knew about the lookout and the path down to the falls, so approached from the north east to avoid over flying the track. I was flying using drone vision until I lost signal but I was then over the centre of the pool....

From your log;

6m 39.2s P-GPS 16satellites 502.0ft N/A 0mph 5.4ft

So you ascended directly from launch to 500 ft and stayed at that altitude until you descended over the falls.

Here is a picture from the top of the falls;



You would have been well within the 30m exclusion zone.

I know I'm coming across as a bit of a d*ck, but that's not my intention. I know you lost a drone and that you have mobility problems, and I sincerely thank you for sharing your loss, I for one have learnt some things from it. I often reflect upon what I would have done in a similar situation, and in this case I would not have flown in the manner you did, right from the start.

From a purely selfish point of view, drone flyers in Australia are under the hammer, and it is incidents like uncontrolled loss of aircraft at popular tourist spots that will get us banned. Perhaps it is inevitable anyway.

Again, I would hate to be the subject of a reply like mine, I'm not trying to be harsh or mean. I have tried to present an objective evaluation of the facts.

EDIT: spelling

 

[PTBperegrine]

From your log;

6m 39.2s P-GPS 16satellites 502.0ft N/A 0mph 5.4ft

So you ascended directly from launch to 500 ft and stayed at that altitude until you descended over the falls.

Here is a picture from the top of the falls;

View attachment 59727

You would have been well within the 30m exclusion zone.

I know I'm coming across as a bit of a d*ck, but that's not my intention. I know you lost a drone and that you have mobility problems, and I sincerely thank you for sharing your loss, I for one have learnt some things from it. I often reflect upon what I would have done in a similar situation, and in this case I would not have flown in the manner you did, right from the start.

From a purely selfish point of view, drone flyers in Australia are under the hammer, and it is incidents like uncontrolled loss of aircraft at popular tourist spots that will get us banned. Perhaps it is inevitable anyway.

Again, I would hate to be the subject of a reply like mine, I'm not trying to be harsh or mean. I have tried to present an objective evaluation of the facts.

EDIT: spelling

Thanks ilc, I'm not taking offence, I think you're being very reasonable. However, I read that after 6 minutes and 39 seconds I'm well into the flight and have climbed to 502 feet, with the terrain, not launched straight up to that height?

 

[PTBperegrine]

As a follow up to all of the above, a friend spoke to the head ranger by phone about my drone loss and his comment was, "The pool is full of Drones and it's even worse downstream at the next falls".

 

[ilc]

As a follow up to all of the above, a friend spoke to the head ranger by phone about my drone loss and his comment was, "The pool is full of Drones and it's even worse downstream at the next falls".

I might take a swim up there!

With regard to the flight, you reach 500 when you were 5.4ft from home, so pretty much overhead. You moved laterally for a few seconds at 19.0 and 29.6 seconds before home point was recorded at 36.5 seconds, but you were only a few feet up at this stage. You started the main ascent at 0m 38.2s, hit 500 ft at 6m 39.2s, and flew off at 7m 23.2s.

 

[PTBperegrine]

I might take a swim up there!

With regard to the flight, you reach 500 when you were 5.4ft from home, so pretty much overhead. You moved laterally for a few seconds at 19.0 and 29.6 seconds before home point was recorded at 36.5 seconds, but you were only a few feet up at this stage. You started the main ascent at 0m 38.2s, hit 500 ft at 6m 39.2s, and flew off at 7m 23.2s.

I see my mistake, I was reading 6m as six minutes, not 6 metres! My apologies, I thought I had flown to 118 metres after takeoff.

 

[Shaunh]

Thanks Shaunh
I realise that here in Australia, it's not legal but I bought my drone because I'm stuck in a wheelchair and I wanted to see what most people take for granted. I'm very careful to avoid flying near or over people but almost inevitably there will be trees or a rise up 80 odd steps between me and the view.

I totally get it - and I do think that a UAV must be an amazingly enabling device for you!

Just keep the drone in sight and you’ll be a lot safer and legal.

I’m by no means an experienced pilot, but I’ve just completed my RPAS license and this stuff was drummed into us. We had to learn to fly in ATTI mode for just this type of situation (loss of GPS) - and it’s tricky even when you can see the UAV. When you can’t see it - it would be nigh on impossible depending on the wind.

I’m a film maker and so I need the RPAS license as part of my job (everyone wants drone shots these days yet budgets are shrinking).

My main concern is that someone will get killed or badly injured as the result of a UAV accident.

When you lost signal, you lost all control. The drone could have drifted anywhere. Who’s to say there weren’t a team of rangers recovering the last unfortunate drone to have crashed down there.

I’m hoping the technology gets better - with parachutes, maybe lidar and other sensors, so that BVLOS becomes possible for more flyers.

I’d also strongly recommend you consider doing the RPAS certification. It’s great fun and you learn a hell of a lot.

Have fun flying