Lost Mavic Mini in top of a tree

[3DV]

So I crashed my mini in the top of a tree. The beeping of the built-in locator went dead after only an hour, so I couldn't exactly tell which tree it was in.
I was hoping that the drone battery would last till nighttime, then I could see the flashing light.

Long story short, I ended up cutting down two trees and breaking my drone as the tree fell. fortunately this was on my property.

Does anyone know of a solution that would have helped in this situation? Is there anywhere on a Mavic Mini I couldn't mount some kind of additional tracker? Has anyone had success with reflective tape?

 

[TreeHugger]

Same circumstance - could not for the life of me see where in the tree it was but could hear it, until it died.

I use reflective tape which helped.

Drone Retrieval.JPG

Its good to have friends in construction - drone retrieved safely. Didn't even lose a propellor.

mavicpilots.com

 

[gemniii]

So I crashed my mini in the top of a tree. The beeping of the built-in locator went dead after only an hour, so I couldn't exactly tell which tree it was in.
I was hoping that the drone battery would last till nighttime, then I could see the flashing light.

Long story short, I ended up cutting down two trees and breaking my drone as the tree fell. fortunately this was on my property.

Does anyone know of a solution that would have helped in this situation? Is there anywhere on a Mavic Mini I couldn't mount some kind of additional tracker? Has anyone had success with reflective tape?

This is exactly the situation I'm afraid of. I'm thinking of getting "Tile Sticker" The small tracker that sticks to anything | Tile. Weighs 5 grams.

 

[Gratton]

"Find my Drone" should have been able to get you right under the correct tree.

mikeg

 

[vindibona1]

This is exactly the situation I'm afraid of. I'm thinking of getting "Tile Sticker" The small tracker that sticks to anything | Tile. Weighs 5 grams.

Disclaimer: My opinion only...
Tile only work if you or someone close by has the Tile app on their phone. It might work if you can get close to the vicinity. It's suppose to emit a sound when you activate it, but the ones we had weren't really loud enough for outdoor use. My family and I had tried them for 2 years found some faulty and relatively unreliable. At the end we felt that we had wasted our money. I had one on my keys, one or two in musical instrument cases in case of theft. 90% of the time we actually went to use them they didn't work as advertised. It's a nice idea, but IME it has very limited use as a tracker. Maybe they've improved them in the 3 years since we stopped using them? JMO

 

[Thomas B]

Maybe add an ARCXL from Firehouse. 96 dB alarm after no movement for 2 minutes. Lasts 6 hours on a charge.

 

[TreeHugger]

So I crashed my mini in the top of a tree. The beeping of the built-in locator went dead after only an hour, so I couldn't exactly tell which tree it was in.
I was hoping that the drone battery would last till nighttime, then I could see the flashing light.

Long story short, I ended up cutting down two trees and breaking my drone as the tree fell. fortunately this was on my property.

Does anyone know of a solution that would have helped in this situation? Is there anywhere on a Mavic Mini I couldn't mount some kind of additional tracker? Has anyone had success with reflective tape?

When you can stand close enough to hear the beeping of your "Find My Drone" beeping, as you reported - so close that it is a choice of two trees - there is nothing that will get you any closer.
Using reflective tape helps.

 

[TreeHugger]

Maybe add an ARCXL from Firehouse. 96 dB alarm after no movement for 2 minutes. Lasts 6 hours on a charge.

Indeed - but you are already so close that you have already heard the find-my-drone sound - potential for annoying neighbors for 6 hours would be my concern. Unless you are in the boondocks

 

[Terry777]

I use this stuff. Gives off a great reflection in low light as soon as some light hits it!

Hensych 2Pcs Drone Universal Luminous Sticker Lightweight Fluorescent Skin Decoration Decals Night Flight for Mavic Air 2/Autel EVO 2/Mavic Pro/Mavic Air Drone Accessories: Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

Hensych 2Pcs Drone Universal Luminous Sticker Lightweight Fluorescent Skin Decoration Decals Night Flight for Mavic Air 2/Autel EVO 2/Mavic Pro/Mavic Air Drone Accessories: Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[Terry777]

I use this stuff. Gives off a great reflection in low light as soon as some light hits it!

Hensych 2Pcs Drone Universal Luminous Sticker Lightweight Fluorescent Skin Decoration Decals Night Flight for Mavic Air 2/Autel EVO 2/Mavic Pro/Mavic Air Drone Accessories: Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

Hensych 2Pcs Drone Universal Luminous Sticker Lightweight Fluorescent Skin Decoration Decals Night Flight for Mavic Air 2/Autel EVO 2/Mavic Pro/Mavic Air Drone Accessories: Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

www.amazon.co.uk

You can also buy lights that you fit on to your drone if you wanted to go that route too? They aren't expensive and easy to get. Amazon or whatever...

 

[MurMan]

Have a look at this product. I have a "Tag" velcroed on the tail of my Mavic Pro. Lots of range and will help determine if the drone is IN a tree, and which tree, or on the ground... Made for cats, but works as back up locator for the drone.

Loc8tor Pet Handheld Finder Locator Cat/Dog/Keys : Amazon.ca: Electronics

Loc8tor Pet Handheld Finder Locator Cat/Dog/Keys : Amazon.ca: Electronics

www.amazon.ca

 

[lory]

So I crashed my mini in the top of a tree. The beeping of the built-in locator went dead after only an hour, so I couldn't exactly tell which tree it was in.
I was hoping that the drone battery would last till nighttime, then I could see the flashing light.

Long story short, I ended up cutting down two trees and breaking my drone as the tree fell. fortunately this was on my property.

Does anyone know of a solution that would have helped in this situation? Is there anywhere on a Mavic Mini I couldn't mount some kind of additional tracker? Has anyone had success with reflective tape?

I lost a toy drone in a tree a few months ago and I did not know if it was on the ground or up high up somewhere I could touch the throttle and hear a prop turn but the under brush was so thick I had to crawl on hands and knees to get any where near the sound but could not find it so I went home and got my plastic parabolic sound amplifier which looks like a child's toy which I found at a yard sale not only does it amplify the sound but it pin pointed the drone high up in a tree. Well I am too beat up to climb a tree so went home and built a wood spool to attach to my hunting bow , loaded the spool with 50 pound braided fish line and then taped a 3/8th steel rod to several arrows and went back and got the line over the limb it was on ( about 75 feet up ) and let the weight of arrow pull line down to ground now I had 100 pounds of pull power to shake the limb and down it came.
since then I bought a drone with better control...mavic mini.
just an idea.....if it is still beeping.

 

[PDUBPDX]

This just happened to me with my MA2 today. Probably 60 feet up with no chance of easy retrieval. Barely was able to see it with "Find my Drone". Will definitely try the reflective tape once I get it down. Working on finding an arborist to climb up and get it...hopefully before the rains come.