Mavic P2 - Lost Connection & Lost Drone

[SteveCA]

It depends precisely what you mean by verifiable. There are plenty of cases reported on this forum where the aircraft, in clear line of sight, has entered failsafe RTH and not responded to control. You can question exactly what caused that but, from an outcome perspective, it makes little difference.

sounds like operator error to me unless proven otherwise

 

[sar104]

sounds like operator error to me unless proven otherwise

Ah - so you are also constraining the situations of uplink loss to other than operator error? But it makes little difference what caused it when your aircraft is ascending, out of your control, to an altitude of 500 m.

 

[Mavic - Pilot]

sorry for your loss. I know some folks will cry foul but I learned the hard way regarding signal loss and now have my RTH set to 500m. That way, if you lose signal, your bird will elevate and you will regain signal at which point you can stop the ascent and regain control of your bird.

Holy ****! I wouldn’t be allowed to fly 100 Meters!

 

[dvarapala]

I’m pretty sure none of you can find a single verifiable instance of the controller losing “uplink” on a Mavic with Occusinc, with direct line of sight except under wifi interference which would clear when the drone elevates.

You'd be wrong about that, it's happened to me multiple times.

 

[Mossiback]

I’m pretty sure none of you can find a single verifiable instance of the controller losing “uplink” on a Mavic with Occusinc, with direct line of sight except under wifi interference which would clear when the drone elevates...

It happened to me with my MP. One time, less than 100 feet away, direct line of sight. RC lost connection, RTH activated and I had to power off and on the RC to re-establish a connection and take control. I had flown in the same area many times without problems before and since.

 

[SteveCA]

Ah - so you are also constraining the situations of uplink loss to other than operator error? But it makes little difference what caused it when your aircraft is ascending, out of your control, to an altitude of 500 m.

your points are very valid and should be considered, so thanks for taking the time to comment. I respect your opinion even if I don’t necessarily agree.

I made my initial comment in that vein, not as a suggestion that everyone do what I do, but to foster useful discussion of what I think may be helpful for many pilots that may inadvertently fly behind an obstacle and lose signal.

For many folks that fly in areas that are not mountainous, perhaps the answer is to set the RTH height to 100 meters or so. I would suggest 50m above the tallest object in the area. I primarily fly in areas with mountainous terrain and set it accordingly.

Lastly, I believe 99%+ of issues with these birds are indeed operator error that experienced pilots can calmly and quickly overcome.

yes I’ve had app freezes, app crashes, monitor disconnects, all of which were corrected promptly by restarting the app, unplugging and replugging the cord, etc.

In over 20 years of flying various RC helicopters and now drones, I have never experienced a controller disconnect, but if I did, I would calmly restart the controller and regain connection long before my bird ascends to the max setting. btw, a controller disconnect in the RC helicopter world would be disastrous if not deadly. To my knowledge, thankfully it has never happened or it would have grounded the entire hobby. RC helicopters did not have any form of self hovering or stability. 3 seconds without control would result in a crash or high speed fly away and crash. RC helis have large, often carbon fiber rotors that can easily decapitate a person so safety is paramount.

also, for those that don’t know this, DJI was founded by a guy that made and sold RC helicopters.

Finally, I knew when I made the comment that it would attract very different opinions and that’s healthy. Thanks to all who commented for keeping it productive and not personal.

 

[Sportking]

No one has suggested a possible bird strike? Out of sight and at that altitude, it is very possible, especially since it was near a river, where birds and other wildlife are normally more abundant.

 

[SpinItUp]

yeah I thought that (bird hit) yesterday I think, but wasn't bothered to reply

 

[hazardtown]

I've had my Mavic 2 pro for just over a week. All the flights have been great and photos/ videos are much better than I expected. Once or twice I have lost connection but it quickly reconnects.

My friend who lives down the river from my house asked if I could get some pictures of his house since he's been gone all summer. After taking a few pics of his house I received a battery alert recomending I fly home. Right after the alert I suddenly lost connection and could not regain connection. I was hoping that the drone would just return home, but after 10-15 min I realized that wasnt going to happen. I drove over to my friends house and tried to use Find My Drone. I searched for hours and climbed a few roofs (with permission) but I still cant find the drone anywhere. Maybe its in the river or maybe it tried to return home and didnt make it. I have DJI Care refresh and opened a case same day, I havent heard back from them since I opened the case which was last Thursday. I understand they dont cover lost drones, but was hoping for some kind of discount towards a new drone.

I've attached my flight records. I know its a long shot but if anybody can point me in the right direction to go search it would be GREATLY Appreciated.

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

this reminds me to get a simple Label Maker and put my Name and Cell phone number on the drone. Good idea right? then if someone finds the drone they call the cell phone number. Any problems with this idea?

 

[SpinItUp]

Good idea right?

Only useful to the finder if you offer a reward

 

[athelllam]

Hello matte.
Sorry for your loss.
I would consider bird or something else strike too. Even a firegun or airgun like rifles.
This suddently lost of connection really appears a shot of something.

Here in Brazil we got some people in the favelas that use to raise “kites” (i dont know if it means the same in the US but thats a piece of supermarket plastic bag with wooden sticks) that fly really high. I almost crashed into one of this last week bcause i could see it through the camera and the front sensor biped. Really close.

But, i believe it could be battery issue or disconnect even attached too. Who knows.

 

[FMR]

150m Altitude being way above regulation Altitude DJI are under no obligation to support your claim.
DJI do state in their conditions of use local laws regulations must be adhered to .

 

[AgPhotoWings]

The aircraft should have had sufficient battery to make it back with over 30% remaining. Winds were out of the east at around 10 mph, but it had already entered one 30 s period of RTH due to signal loss at around 600 s, and the data show that it was able to fly at normal RTH speed towards the home point. Aircraft altitude was sufficient to clear any obstacles as far as I can see. I see no obvious explanation for failure here.

View attachment 46874

A hypothetical! If you were flying at say 500m.high, 3000m out over a hill, and the drone decided it needed to return home or you pushed the RTH. Would the drone go down to the designated RTH altitude say 50m; hence loosing connection?

 

[sar104]

A hypothetical! If you were flying at say 500m.high, 3000m out over a hill, and the drone decided it needed to return home or you pushed the RTH. Would the drone go down to the designated RTH altitude say 50m; hence loosing connection?

If the aircraft is above the RTH altitude it will not descend until it is above the home point.

 

[Sportking]

this reminds me to get a simple Label Maker and put my Name and Cell phone number on the drone. Good idea right? then if someone finds the drone they call the cell phone number. Any problems with this idea?

I bought 2 sets of very nice labels on eBay for 6 bucks. They are are a very nice fit on my MP and P3P. Each set has a cell phone number and my FAA license number. I placed them on the outer edge of the rear legs on my MP and they look really good.

That does 2 things: It makes it possible to MAYBE get my drone back if it is somehow lost or stolen and it also keeps me in compliance with FAA regs.

Here is a link. They are even cheaper now. Very nice labels.

Drone Registration Number Decals / Labels - FAA UAS Compliant - Mavic Pro shown | eBay

 

[Rnl]

Phone # on other side.

 

[Kingram]

Phone # on other side.View attachment 47510

Link just goes to eBay search page.

 

[SpinItUp]

Link just goes to eBay search page.

Drone Registration Number Decals
engage brain cut/paste 'n' search or follow the link in next comment

 

[msinger]

Link just goes to eBay search page.

This link works.

 

[Eraser339]

It depends precisely what you mean by verifiable. There are plenty of cases reported on this forum where the aircraft, in clear line of sight, has entered failsafe RTH and not responded to control. You can question exactly what caused that but, from an outcome perspective, it makes little difference.

There is a bit of redundancy on the AC but none on the RC. Is this a case for a second RC. Or should DJI build a second RF circuit into the RC.

Regards