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Lake submersion and camera misting

jamestl

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Joined
Sep 29, 2022
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Staffordshire, UK
Hi all,

Amateur DJI Mavic Mini 2 flyer here.

A couple of weeks ago I was flying over Ullswater on a beautiful misty morning (if it helps set the scene, I’d got married there the day prior). The drone hit critical battery and as I knew I couldn’t get back to where I’d taken off from, I tried to reach dry land to collect. As I was doing so the drone performed an emergency landing and, based on the last recorded footage and a search of the area, it landed just shy of land, sinking into the lake.

By pure chance, whilst I was searching for the drone I bumped into a local dive club member who was planning to dive right where I crashed. Whilst I set off on my honeymoon they did their dives and recovered my drone from a depth of 3 metres. They’ve since posted it back to me and it’s been drying out in rice etc for a few weeks.

I’m yet to try and power the drone up but one thing I’m noticing is that the camera lens/lens glass is misting/coated in condensation. Can anyone advise if it’s possible to disassemble the camera to clean this up/other tactics?

I’ve plugged the battery in to the flymore charger (whilst unplugged) and it’s recognised the battery which I take as a positive.


I’m yet to check the memory card but will post the drones final moments for posterity.

Any tips on drying etc really welcome.

James
 
@jamestl welcome to the forum
a couple of things to be aware of trying to dry the drone in rice is not the best idea ,despite the old wives tales that say otherwise
also the battery should not be used after it has been immersed in water ,the water in the lake is not pure and it could cause issues with shorting out the battery if you try to charge it and cause a fire
likewise the electronics in the drone could have damage as well ,the best way to dry it out is to use a fan type heater or hair dryer on a low setting and have it blowing over and through the drone for a good while ,this should help with the camera misting as well
 
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I take it you didn't have care refresh. One of my Mini 2s sat in a tree for almost a week before being found on the ground. (wind must have blown out of tree) There was plenty of rain during that period too. Long story short, honest person(s) found it and returned my drone. (Suitably rewarded of course).The only damage that I could see was a missing battery compartment door. Tried flying it close to home. Forward, back, left, right, up, down, yaw left, yaw right both 360 degrees all went great, but as I had care refresh, I had a new one in my hands within 5 days.
 
Hi all,

Amateur DJI Mavic Mini 2 flyer here.

A couple of weeks ago I was flying over Ullswater on a beautiful misty morning (if it helps set the scene, I’d got married there the day prior). The drone hit critical battery and as I knew I couldn’t get back to where I’d taken off from, I tried to reach dry land to collect. As I was doing so the drone performed an emergency landing and, based on the last recorded footage and a search of the area, it landed just shy of land, sinking into the lake.

By pure chance, whilst I was searching for the drone I bumped into a local dive club member who was planning to dive right where I crashed. Whilst I set off on my honeymoon they did their dives and recovered my drone from a depth of 3 metres. They’ve since posted it back to me and it’s been drying out in rice etc for a few weeks.

I’m yet to try and power the drone up but one thing I’m noticing is that the camera lens/lens glass is misting/coated in condensation. Can anyone advise if it’s possible to disassemble the camera to clean this up/other tactics?

I’ve plugged the battery in to the flymore charger (whilst unplugged) and it’s recognised the battery which I take as a positive.


I’m yet to check the memory card but will post the drones final moments for posterity.

Any tips on drying etc really welcome.

James
I dont think you will get past the ESC errors coming your way. You most likely will need a new board.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain. Land on the Water.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies so far.

I’ve powered the drone up for the first time this morning.

First the good bits;

The drone powers on and the motors twitch into life. The drone finds GPS accurately and transmits video back to the controller/phone.

Now the bad bits;

I’ve got no gimble control and this displays as an error message

I’ve got error code 30064 and unable to take off

What does this all mean? Is the drone a write off? I’ve not got high expectations, I mean, I never expected it to be raised from the depths, but want to have a go at getting it going again
 
It is not a good idea to simply continue using an aircraft after it has been soaked. It can crash unpredictably.
For example, salt crystals in hidden places can cause unwanted flows, even after weeks of storage. Even if you try to disassemble the aircraft for cleaning, you can't get to all the places, such as under the IC with many contacts.

In case of damage caused by a crash of your aircraft, your insurance company will certainly be interested in such water events!
 

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