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Mavic Pro first crash. Need parts

motopokep

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Jan 7, 2018
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Been flying for many years, did some extreme flying, tested its limits in every way possible, no issue. Unknown issue came up that caused the crash. Was flying in Bonneville Salt Flats, doing some cinematic point of interest in Litchi, then decided to switch to active track. Landed it and turned it off to save battery while needing to grab something, turned it back on within a minute and being in a hurry and mind being preoccupied with other things, forgot to wait for satellites and launched it up 20 feet or so to set up active track. Let go of sticks so it would hover, but it started flying away on its own and by the time I realized that a few seconds later it was already out maybe 50 feet. I tried to control it but it kept flying away. I had very valuable footage on the sd card from just before that so I decided to try to land it to at least save the SD card. It wasn't very responsive to the controller and kept flying away at a high speed, so as I pulled down on the left stick, it came down hard and landed sideways with gimble falling off, battery separating, breaking props and damaging the front. Pics below.

I don't know what went wrong. I'm going to download the log file when I return and would be very grateful if someone could tell me the reason for the flyaway. I don't think it was lack of GPS signal as I've flown without GPS in remote areas before and controlled it just fine. There were others flying their drones about .5 mile away, is there any possibility that my drone got connected to their controller? I wouldn't think that's possible.

In any event, I'm debating whether I should fix this drone myself, send it out to a shop, or upgrade to Mavic 3. I am handy and can install the new gimbal and body myself. Is there a parts diagram for Mavic Pro with part numbers and can anyone recommend a website to order quality replacement parts? The damage is not too bad, the camera and gimbal are in one piece, lens does not seem to be scratched, all I need is the plastic brackets that hold the camera and front body casing. Hopefully there is no internal damage.


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Having pranged a Mavic 2 and had similar visible damage, it's not the damage that you can see that is the problem, it's the damage you can not see because it is invisible with out a complete strip or it is damage that you do not initially recognise as damage that is the problem.
It took three or four test flights and subsequent shell splits for me to find all mine.

I wouldn't be surprised if the front sensors are damaged.
Check how each arm moves, where it sits and its range of movement and compare that with its companion on the other side of the drone.
 
@motopokep i am going to be brutally honest with you here,the drone is not worth trying to repair
there are plenty of used ones ,and if you really want to have a similar drone ,but with improved capabilities get a MMP
 
If you do buy another MP I would keep the old one for parts but then I like fixing things.
 
If you decide to look for a replacement, let me know. I have a few.
 
Thunder Drones in Atlanta did repairs for me on one of my M1P's. He was reasonable and a fast return.
 
thats good to know ,I,m not so good with repairs
Ah and I was just about to say a possible cheap source of genuine plastic parts is ex shop display dummy drones, I paid less for a dummy M2P than I paid for a replacement possibly pattern leg and motor.
Ditto drones that have gone into the fresh water or better yet the sea and been recovered. That is providing there aren't idiots bidding in competition but when there are they can go for silly money. A thorough washing will clean out/off the salt from plastics but the innards/rest will most likely be scrap.
 
@motopokep i am going to be brutally honest with you here,the drone is not worth trying to repair
there are plenty of used ones ,and if you really want to have a similar drone ,but with improved capabilities get a MMP

It didn't fall like a brick from the sky. It was flying away from me at a height of maybe 20 feet and I was gradually landing it and it wasn't listening much and landed sideways. The arms move fine, the only visible damage is the body casing and the gimbal attachment. You don't think it's worth it to try to repair this minor damage, even if I have to invest couple hundred into parts, to see if the drone is flying fine otherwise? Now if after that I discover error codes, maybe it's time to upgrade to Mavic 3. I'm going to try to repair it.
 
You don't think it's worth it to try to repair this minor damage
I repeat "Having pranged a Mavic 2 and had similar visible damage, it's not the damage that you can see that is the problem, it's the damage you can not see because it is invisible with out a complete strip or it is damage that you do not initially recognise as damage that is the problem.
It took three or four test flights and subsequent shell splits for me to find all mine."
If the damage is just your "minor damage" I would be inclined to
1) remove the props and set the drone on a table top,
2) start the controller with phone attached and the app open,
3) screen record the screen.
4) holding the gimbal approximately level in such a way that you do not impede its dance,
5) switch the drone on and see what happens and look at the screen capture to see what if any warnings were issued.
 
Consider sending it to DJI. The process is simple, I’ve done it 3 times. They will pay for shipping both ways, quote you a fair price based on the parts abd repairs needed and then send you a brand new Mavic Pro. Whole process takes 5-7 days. I did this and had this result with two out of warranty/no DJI Care Refresh or anything. One was a Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian Edition that was purchased 5 years ago and was literally smashed to bits after falling 200 feet onto concrete. Their estimate involved replacing basically everything, but the total charge for a brand new, not refurbished Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian Edition was just $580. Good experiences with DJI all around.
 

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