DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

NASA Jammed my signal?

pwmullins

Active Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
25
Reactions
49
Age
78
Was in Titusville, FL staying overnight on my boat at the City Marina when I decided to fly my Mavic Pro. Took off from the dock among many sailboat mast. I have flown in many marinas before and had no problem. I didn't realize that I was about 5 miles away from Cape Canaveral and they were preparing for a launch the next night. I'm not saying the folks out there were jamming our drone connections, but it makes you think. Flew up to 125 ft. Then, decided to go up further to about 250 ft. to get a good pix of the marina , that's when I lost connection and it didn't come back. Never did find it, so I assume it went down in the water around the marina
I thought the Mavic Pro was supposed to come back to you when you lost connection....it didn't in this case.
Got a new Mavic Pro , new in the box, from an acquaintance that had moved up to a MP2. Tried to set it up using the latest DJI GO 4 app, Version 4.32. Could not get a connection and DJI Tech told me that the new version of the app wasn't compatible with Android tablets. I had no problem using the tablet flying my old one. Went back to Litchie app and it appears that it will work with it. Oh well, at least I had a backup to be able to fly and take pictures, no thanks to DJI.
 
Was in Titusville, FL staying overnight on my boat at the City Marina when I decided to fly my Mavic Pro. Took off from the dock among many sailboat mast. I have flown in many marinas before and had no problem. I didn't realize that I was about 5 miles away from Cape Canaveral and they were preparing for a launch the next night. I'm not saying the folks out there were jamming our drone connections, but it makes you think. Flew up to 125 ft. Then, decided to go up further to about 250 ft. to get a good pix of the marina , that's when I lost connection and it didn't come back. Never did find it, so I assume it went down in the water around the marina
I thought the Mavic Pro was supposed to come back to you when you lost connection....it didn't in this case.
Got a new Mavic Pro , new in the box, from an acquaintance that had moved up to a MP2. Tried to set it up using the latest DJI GO 4 app, Version 4.32. Could not get a connection and DJI Tech told me that the new version of the app wasn't compatible with Android tablets. I had no problem using the tablet flying my old one. Went back to Litchie app and it appears that it will work with it. Oh well, at least I had a backup to be able to fly and take pictures, no thanks to DJI.

As an ex sar104 conspiracy theorist. I call happy hour, playing "hit the roof" after 22km of the last night shuttle launch. Have you ever witnessed a launch?? It was a gobsmacker @ 15:00.

One could read the day's newspaper, for < 90 seconds....if you were listening, NASA was chatting, and ~100 MILES above was a short flight.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Prismatic
As an ex sar104 conspiracy theorist. I call happy hour, playing "hit the roof" after 22km of the last night shuttle launch. Have you ever witnessed a launch?? It was a gobsmacker @ 15:00.

One could read the day's newspaper, for < 90 seconds....if you were listening, NASA was chatting, and ~100 MILES above was a short flight.
I have no idea.
 
As an ex sar104 conspiracy theorist. I call happy hour, playing "hit the roof" after 22km of the last night shuttle launch. Have you ever witnessed a launch?? It was a gobsmacker @ 15:00.

One could read the day's newspaper, for < 90 seconds....if you were listening, NASA was chatting, and ~100 MILES above was a short flight.
Are you using a translator? It might be the settings are off.
 
Was in Titusville, FL staying overnight on my boat at the City Marina when I decided to fly my Mavic Pro. Took off from the dock among many sailboat mast. I have flown in many marinas before and had no problem. I didn't realize that I was about 5 miles away from Cape Canaveral and they were preparing for a launch the next night. I'm not saying the folks out there were jamming our drone connections, but it makes you think. Flew up to 125 ft. Then, decided to go up further to about 250 ft. to get a good pix of the marina , that's when I lost connection and it didn't come back. Never did find it, so I assume it went down in the water around the marina
I thought the Mavic Pro was supposed to come back to you when you lost connection....it didn't in this case.
Got a new Mavic Pro , new in the box, from an acquaintance that had moved up to a MP2. Tried to set it up using the latest DJI GO 4 app, Version 4.32. Could not get a connection and DJI Tech told me that the new version of the app wasn't compatible with Android tablets. I had no problem using the tablet flying my old one. Went back to Litchie app and it appears that it will work with it. Oh well, at least I had a backup to be able to fly and take pictures, no thanks to DJI.


"about 5 miles away from Cape Canaveral" Did you run into a NFZ at 5 miles from an airport? the runway is on the west of the site and closer to where you were than the rocket launch sites.

If you did stray into their airspace onthe evening before a launch it is possible that one of their radars did mess up your signals. As for deliberate targeting with a weapon? It's possible but less likely or all airports would have similar systems and it would be well publicised.
 
IF its a marina there could easily be a ton of various band radars running on boats not to mention other transmitters.
No need to look to NASA here...
 
IF its a marina there could easily be a ton of various band radars running on boats not to mention other transmitters.
No need to look to NASA here...

That's true but there are lots of drone videos on YT done by people (mainly crews) on the BIG yachts both at sea and inthe big marinas. Also the OP said he has flown in marina's before. Though that is not to say youy are correct and it was something in the marina but I had the impression he was some way above the boats and not directly over the marina. Or he would have seen where the drone came down,
 
There are tons of different type radars and bands along with powers. Flying there before doesnt mean its exposed to that type of radar or even the same boats might not have it turned on.
I get noticeable interference and warnings from ours and have to get it turned off before flying for example. Not all the time but some of the time.

That or just a simple hardware fault (logs would help) are far far more likely than any exotic jamming.
 
I would normally agree that jamming is unlikely. More possible at a NASA launch site but I would think only for the hour before and during the launch. Not the day before and it would expect to to be quite local to the launch site. not a 5 mile radius.

I have been on the receving end of ECM (nothing to do with consumer drones) and it disrupts radios, digital cameras, storage media, computers, etc. People will notice it.
 
Don't think he is. Looking at his post history, seems to be native English speaker. Very entertaining posts though. ?
Thanks, yes born in Washington DC, schooled in Arlington VA, and TX. I give it my best shot. :)
 
There are tons of different type radars and bands along with powers. Flying there before doesnt mean its exposed to that type of radar or even the same boats might not have it turned on.
I get noticeable interference and warnings from ours and have to get it turned off before flying for example. Not all the time but some of the time.
I fly around boats all the time and still haven't noticed anything like that.
But if the re was interference from marine electronics, at worst it might just swamp the control signal which would initiate RTH.
So that's not a likely explanation for a missing drone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jagraphics
Was in Titusville, FL staying overnight on my boat at the City Marina when I decided to fly my Mavic Pro. Took off from the dock among many sailboat mast. I have flown in many marinas before and had no problem. I didn't realize that I was about 5 miles away from Cape Canaveral and they were preparing for a launch the next night. I'm not saying the folks out there were jamming our drone connections, but it makes you think. Flew up to 125 ft. Then, decided to go up further to about 250 ft. to get a good pix of the marina , that's when I lost connection and it didn't come back. Never did find it, so I assume it went down in the water around the marina
Jamming, it it actually happened, wouldn't make your drone disappear or fall from the sky.
I would think it rather unlikely that NASA was involved at all.
Your flight data might provide some clues and without it, you'll never have any idea.
I thought the Mavic Pro was supposed to come back to you when you lost connection....it didn't in this case.
And it usually does, unless there is a problem with winds too strong, obstacles on the return path or not enough battery.
Flight data would be necessary to eliminate these usual suspects.
Tried to set it up using the latest DJI GO 4 app, Version 4.32. Could not get a connection and DJI Tech told me that the new version of the app wasn't compatible with Android tablets.
That makes no sense. The app does not affect your connection.
Anyone that told you that doesn't know what they are talking about.
Went back to Litchie app and it appears that it will work with it. Oh well, at least I had a backup to be able to fly and take pictures, no thanks to DJI.
It's hard to see why you believe DJI is to blame??
 
I fly around boats all the time and still haven't noticed anything like that.

Depends on the band, type and power of the radar and what its actually doing at the time.

But if the re was interference from marine electronics, at worst it might just swamp the control signal which would initiate RTH.
So that's not a likely explanation for a missing drone.

Not only that. The mavics are basically not shielded at all, quite a lot of induction and RF splatter affects various systems when its close enough. I've seen it a few times and other times its fine but i've certainly seen everything from compass errors to IMU errors to gimbal resets when its close enough to the emitter.
So there is more than a simple deafening of the RC to the drone etc.

(on a related note, there's a microwave mast here that whenever i fly within about 100m to in the beam path causes an in-flight gimbal reset. Every single time.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigAl07
Depends on the band, type and power of the radar and what its actually doing at the time.



Not only that. The mavics are basically not shielded at all, quite a lot of induction and RF splatter affects various systems when its close enough. I've seen it a few times and other times its fine but i've certainly seen everything from compass errors to IMU errors to gimbal resets when its close enough to the emitter.
So there is more than a simple deafening of the RC to the drone etc.

(on a related note, there's a microwave mast here that whenever i fly within about 100m to in the beam path causes an in-flight gimbal reset. Every single time.)


On another related note....

I live fairly near a significant mountain peak that is home to several antennae. Honestly I don't even know what they are let alone if they are Antennae or emitters or whatever LOL. I do know they have some Radio Emitters for the local ISP that uses Radio

I do know that when flying from my house directly toward them I have full video downlink until all at once I totally lose signal (video, telemetry etc) and the aircraft initiates a RTH. At the time it's near the equipment it's already well above the preset RTH altitude so it merely turns around and comes back my way. After a few seconds (20 at the most) video signal and telemetry are re-established and I can cancel RTH.

The above scenario is repeatable and predictable. I just have to make sure I don't get on the OTHER side of the equipment because it doesn't ascend for RTH at that point and could fly directly into a piece of it.

Here's a pic looking up at the equipment:
14680534386_084465b31e.jpg


and here's an older pic looking "through" some of the equipment (but more has been added over the last year or so including our P2P Microwave Radio setup):
24713914966_dbc3494ce6_o.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: pelagic_one
I have an analog engineer friend that had a contract to create a circuit specifically to knock drones out of the air by a government entity. Basically it's an aim and pull the trigger gun that emits a scrambled signal.
 
I have an analog engineer friend that had a contract to create a circuit specifically to knock drones out of the air by a government entity. Basically it's an aim and pull the trigger gun that emits a scrambled signal.

Hardly new. They exist and have been deployed for years by many companies from many countries.
 
They probably got those new version of DJI AeroScopes at Cape Canaveral that can take over rogue DJI drones.

DTSWRukW0AElxMF.jpg
 
They probably got those new version of DJI AeroScopes at Cape Canaveral that can take over rogue DJI drones.
That would be an imaginary Aeroscope unit.
Aeroscope only tracks drone data, it doesn't take control.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dawgpilot
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,584
Messages
1,554,091
Members
159,585
Latest member
maniac2000