Lost control during family photos

[mexner]

Hello,

Been really enjoying reading all the posts about safety, gotcha's, how-to's and other informative posts. This evening I took the family out to grab some blue-bonnet pictures here in Texas. Took the MP2 up and snapped away, got some great shots. After approximately 15 minutes and all the pictures finished, I was showing my 10 year old son how to manage the controls. I put the controller in his hand and he was very cautious and timid. My hands were wrapped around his - and we just did simple turns and basic maneuvers.

Then out of nowhere, the drone begins flying "left" at full speed, over the lake. I grabbed the remote from my son and looked at the controls. All stick movements were static and in stationary positions. I applied movements to each stick, up/down & left/right -- no change in attitude or direction of the drone. As you review the flight log, you'll see the right stick shows full "left". I can promise you -- the stick was static in the primary position (center) - and was not stuck, or pushed left. I verified by moving the stick 360 degrees, and back to center - and the drone had no response to any of my stick movements. BUT -- the video feed was live and updating real-time. My son also didn't do a "crazy" gesture on the controller - and don't forget, my hands were wrapped around his on the controller. So, I started to panic...

But then I remembered some of the readings in this forum! I have built a solid take-off check list which includes verifying "home" location. So I hit RTH on the controller. But nothing happened. Mind you - there were no warnings or other displays on my phone display during this incident. No IMU, Compass, or interference issues. And I had been flying just great for the previous 15 minutes, also without warning.

So I banged the RTH button a few more times and LUCKILY, it responded! Flew up to my RTH altitude - and did come back exactly where I had originally taken off, safe and sound.

So I'm writing to all of you experts to help me identify why my MP2 went un-responsive and flew "left" for approximately 30'ish seconds (which seemed like an eternity). This is the second isolated event like this for me and this MP2. My first event ended by having the MP2 dangling from a tree; that incident was approximately 6 months ago. Very similar scenario; un-explainable.

I've downloaded my log files and posted them here,

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

I've also attached my log and DAT file.

http://reccepukes.com/downloads/Archive.zip

If anyone can help provide clarity on my situation, I'd really appreciate the feedback. I'm a bit timid now to fly the MP2, not knowing what is causing this behavior.

Thanks in advance!

cc @sar104

 

[JSKCKNIT]

Sorry to hear that. I can't view your log at the moment. You mentioned that you "hit RTH on the controller. But nothing happened".

You have to press and hold that button for a second or two to activate RTH. (In case you accidentally press it while flying)

 

[brett8883]

Hello,

Been really enjoying reading all the posts about safety, gotcha's, how-to's and other informative posts. This evening I took the family out to grab some blue-bonnet pictures here in Texas. Took the MP2 up and snapped away, got some great shots. After approximately 15 minutes and all the pictures finished, I was showing my 10 year old son how to manage the controls. I put the controller in his hand and he was very cautious and timid. My hands were wrapped around his - and we just did simple turns and basic maneuvers.

Then out of nowhere, the drone begins flying "left" at full speed, over the lake. I grabbed the remote from my son and looked at the controls. All stick movements were static and in stationary positions. I applied movements to each stick, up/down & left/right -- no change in attitude or direction of the drone. As you review the flight log, you'll see the right stick shows full "left". I can promise you -- the stick was static in the primary position (center) - and was not stuck, or pushed left. I verified by moving the stick 360 degrees, and back to center - and the drone had no response to any of my stick movements. BUT -- the video feed was live and updating real-time. My son also didn't do a "crazy" gesture on the controller - and don't forget, my hands were wrapped around his on the controller. So, I started to panic...

But then I remembered some of the readings in this forum! I have built a solid take-off check list which includes verifying "home" location. So I hit RTH on the controller. But nothing happened. Mind you - there were no warnings or other displays on my phone display during this incident. No IMU, Compass, or interference issues. And I had been flying just great for the previous 15 minutes, also without warning.

So I banged the RTH button a few more times and LUCKILY, it responded! Flew up to my RTH altitude - and did come back exactly where I had originally taken off, safe and sound.

So I'm writing to all of you experts to help me identify why my MP2 went un-responsive and flew "left" for approximately 30'ish seconds (which seemed like an eternity). This is the second isolated event like this for me and this MP2. My first event ended by having the MP2 dangling from a tree; that incident was approximately 6 months ago. Very similar scenario; un-explainable.

I've downloaded my log files and posted them here,

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

I've also attached my log and DAT file.

http://reccepukes.com/downloads/Archive.zip

If anyone can help provide clarity on my situation, I'd really appreciate the feedback. I'm a bit timid now to fly the MP2, not knowing what is causing this behavior.

Thanks in advance!

cc @sar104

Looking at the Log the aircraft is responding correctly to the way it interprets what the RC inputs are. I believe what you are saying that the sticks were center and it is somewhat backed up by the data because the when the incident starts it goes from 0 to -10000 which is full stick roll and stays there for awhile without any other RC input which is almost difficult to do. It even shows a hard roll command from the remote when it is returning to home which it ignores but I cant see why anyone would do that.

So if this is the case the issue is with the remote. To start it needs to calibrated. You can do this in the DJI Go 4 app. If it keeps happening you may want to get in touch will DJI support.



This view is zoomed in on just the flight from where you exit tripod mode. The redish purple shaded area is when it goes into RTH. The roll of the aircraft is in gold and the aileron is in the darker purple. The issue starts at 760 where your rc input for roll is 0 but then goes full stick basically the rest of the flight.

This is the full flight and you can see how out of place that looks compared to the rest of the flight. The RTH is again the red shaded area.

I havent had a whole lot of experience looking at these so hopefully somebody who has will confirm what I see. To tell you the truth if you hadnt said otherwise I would have said this was user induced but if the sticks were center then something is up with the remote because it told the drone to do this.

hopefully thats helpful

 

[sar104]

This doesn't look like a remote control calibration problem. The data do show what the OP describes in terms of flight behavior:



The aileron input abruptly when to full left at 761 seconds, and 30 seconds later the aircraft switched to RTH. The aileron input held steady for another 30 seconds before returning to centered. The aircraft returned home correctly.

However, looking at all the stick inputs, it's apparent that no other stick inputs were registered from the start of the problem at 761 seconds until what looks like the throttle down motor stop input at the end of the flight, even though the OP was manipulating both sticks to try to get control:



That implies to me a major problem with either the aircraft or the RC.

@mexner - if that kind of event happens the best solution is simply to switch off the remote control to trigger failsafe RTH - that will remove any other spurious stick inputs.

 

[Joe4flight]

I’m very impressed with the analytical knowledge out there to interpret flight data. I’m fairly new at drone flying. How did you all learn the methods to interpret flight data?

 

[offtheback]

I’m very impressed with the analytical knowledge out there to interpret flight data. I’m fairly new at drone flying. How did you all learn the methods to interpret flight data?

I agree with that.SAR 104 is a combination brain surgeon/rocket scientist!?

 

[mexner]

@brett8883 @sar104 - thank you very much for the analytics and input! From what I am learning, I should likely contact DJI support and share the log files with them. Sounds like I may have a malfunctioning MP2 body and/or controller.

If I may, follow up question(s)?
- I haven't seen this behavior with other pilots and MP2. I do read of fly-aways and such, but they seem to come back to user error or poor take-off check list procedures and could have been avoidable. Am I alone in this experience described above? As I mentioned, this is the second time in 6 months (about 100 flights) this has happened to me.
- I use an Apple MacBookPro running latest OS, Mojave. I have downloaded the latest DJI Assistant 2 for "Mavic Pro" and I know the consensus from online audiences -- it's terrible! I am unable to retrieve and view logs thru the Assistant 2. My question - what app are you using to analyze the flight logs? I can't seem to locate any viewer software that would allow me to analyze my logs as @bret8883 and @sar104 have done. Would love to know how I can do this - and if it's possible to do on a mac?

Thanks everyone - what's the best way to contact DJI support for my issue? And any advice on how I might encourage them to resolve this matter quickly?

Again - thank you to all the helpful experts on this forum, appreciate your time to help and input!

 

[sar104]

@brett8883 @sar104 - thank you very much for the analytics and input! From what I am learning, I should likely contact DJI support and share the log files with them. Sounds like I may have a malfunctioning MP2 body and/or controller.

If I may, follow up question(s)?
- I haven't seen this behavior with other pilots and MP2. I do read of fly-aways and such, but they seem to come back to user error or poor take-off check list procedures and could have been avoidable. Am I alone in this experience described above? As I mentioned, this is the second time in 6 months (about 100 flights) this has happened to me.
- I use an Apple MacBookPro running latest OS, Mojave. I have downloaded the latest DJI Assistant 2 for "Mavic Pro" and I know the consensus from online audiences -- it's terrible! I am unable to retrieve and view logs thru the Assistant 2. My question - what app are you using to analyze the flight logs? I can't seem to locate any viewer software that would allow me to analyze my logs as @bret8883 and @sar104 have done. Would love to know how I can do this - and if it's possible to do on a mac?

Thanks everyone - what's the best way to contact DJI support for my issue? And any advice on how I might encourage them to resolve this matter quickly?

Again - thank you to all the helpful experts on this forum, appreciate your time to help and input!

This is not an event that I have seen before with any DJI aircraft. I would open a ticket with DJI.

DJI Assistant 2 seems to work just fine for me, but it's not going to be any use for retrieving the aircraft flight data logs (.DAT files) because on the Mavic 2 they are encrypted and we don't have the keys to decrypt them.

You can (and did) retrieve the txt and DAT logs from your mobile device, which are readable. The txt logs are converted using TXTlogToCSVtool, and the DAT logs are converted using DatCon. I do this exclusively on a Mac, although if you don't have a Windows VM running you will need to use the PhantomHelp or Airdata websites to convert the txt logs. After converting them you can use CsvView or other dedicated data analysis software packages to manipulate and view the data.

 

[brett8883]

@brett8883 @sar104 - thank you very much for the analytics and input! From what I am learning, I should likely contact DJI support and share the log files with them. Sounds like I may have a malfunctioning MP2 body and/or controller.

If I may, follow up question(s)?
- I haven't seen this behavior with other pilots and MP2. I do read of fly-aways and such, but they seem to come back to user error or poor take-off check list procedures and could have been avoidable. Am I alone in this experience described above? As I mentioned, this is the second time in 6 months (about 100 flights) this has happened to me.
- I use an Apple MacBookPro running latest OS, Mojave. I have downloaded the latest DJI Assistant 2 for "Mavic Pro" and I know the consensus from online audiences -- it's terrible! I am unable to retrieve and view logs thru the Assistant 2. My question - what app are you using to analyze the flight logs? I can't seem to locate any viewer software that would allow me to analyze my logs as @bret8883 and @sar104 have done. Would love to know how I can do this - and if it's possible to do on a mac?

Thanks everyone - what's the best way to contact DJI support for my issue? And any advice on how I might encourage them to resolve this matter quickly?

Again - thank you to all the helpful experts on this forum, appreciate your time to help and input!

I have a MacBook Pro running Mojave as well but I run Windows in bootcamp mode which is an alternative to the way @sar104 does it with a vertical machine. Boot amp is an Apple product built into Nac which allows you to install a full copy of Windows on a Mac machine. It’s Quite a bit easier than running a VM but means you have to buy a copy of Windows 10. When my computer starts up it asks me if I want to start up in Windows or MacOS.

I too used a program called CsvView which has TXTlogtoCSV and datcon built into it so it’s a one stop shop for me. There is all kinds of data that gets logged so from there it’s a matter of choosing the right data and truthing it with what the OP says to find what you are looking for.

 

[sar104]

I have a MacBook Pro running Mojave as well but I run Windows in bootcamp mode which is an alternative to the way @sar104 does it with a vertical machine. Boot amp is an Apple product built into Nac which allows you to install a full copy of Windows on a Mac machine. It’s Quite a bit easier than running a VM but means you have to buy a copy of Windows 10. When my computer starts up it asks me if I want to start up in Windows or MacOS.

You need a copy of Windows 10 whether you use Bootcamp or a VM, but that's a free download. Personally I think a VM is much easier than Bootcamp unless you need the faster performance gained by running Windows natively. I use VirtualBox, which is also free.

 

[brett8883]

You need a copy of Windows 10 whether you use Bootcamp or a VM, but that's a free download. Personally I think a VM is much easier than Bootcamp unless you need the faster performance gained by running Windows natively. I use VirtualBox, which is also free.

I never had any luck with virtual box but maybe I was just doing something wrong.

 

[mexner]

Just wanted to update the group. I sent the MP2 into DJI care, they paid for shipping. After reviewing, they determined the core board was defective. They replaced those parts (for free) and are shipping it back. Hopefully all is well now. I will certainly review my pre-flight check list and be sure I know how to handle a "un-responsive" drone (ie: RTH or Turn off controller).

 

[mexner]

Has anyone ever had their "core board module" replaced?

 

[GregD]

I never had any luck with virtual box but maybe I was just doing something wrong.

I run VB in Win 10 for programming radios (on a Lenovo laptop) and I run it in Mojave to run Win 10. I initially had an issue getting the virtual machine built, but I was messing up. Both installations have been solid.

 

[brett8883]

I run VB in Win 10 for programming radios (on a Lenovo laptop) and I run it in Mojave to run Win 10. I initially had an issue getting the virtual machine built, but I was messing up. Both installations have been solid.

I must need a step by step instructions... did you find anything like that?

 

[sar104]

I must need a step by step instructions... did you find anything like that?

Running Windows 10 under Mojave, which is what I do too, there was really nothing to set up. It installed, loaded Windows 10, and was done. I'm not sure about running it under other operating systems.

 

[brett8883]

Running Windows 10 under Mojave, which is what I do too, there was really nothing to set up. It installed, loaded Windows 10, and was done. I'm not sure about running it under other operating systems.

I must be missing something then. I downloaded VM box from oracle and then created a machine and then nothing. But I’m relatively happy with bootcamp and some of the stuff I do on Windows requires full processing power so Inguess maybe it’s what I should do anyway

 

[sar104]

I must be missing something then. I downloaded VM box from oracle and then created a machine and then nothing. But I’m relatively happy with bootcamp and some of the stuff I do on Windows requires full processing power so Inguess maybe it’s what I should do anyway

Yes - I'm not sure how you got to "then nothing". It guides you through the process of loading the guest operating system.

 

[brett8883]

Yes - I'm not sure how you got to "then nothing". It guides you through the process of loading the guest operating system.

Yea weird. It’s been awhile since I tried so many I’ll try again at some point.

 

[GregD]

I must be missing something then. I downloaded VM box from oracle and then created a machine and then nothing. But I’m relatively happy with bootcamp and some of the stuff I do on Windows requires full processing power so Inguess maybe it’s what I should do anyway

Did you load the extension pack? Are you starting the virtual machine and then nothing?