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Sand particles in motor

Keiz

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Location
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I just came back from Bali, and flew my Mavic a few times. Great place to do it!
Unfortunately , I had to take off and land from the hard packed sand on the beach. Yes I know thats not ideal but circumstances required it so I could fly w/o security guards watching me.
Anyhow, I have some sand in the rear motor and at first the prop wouldn't rotate, then I blew the majority of the sand out. (Not that there was too much)
Started up well enough after that, but I had a message that there may be an issue with the motor.
Problem is, that there are still small particles in there and when I manually turn the prop, you can feel the grit.
I have also noticed that the "dust cover" on the bottom of the motor has gone.
Questions
- Can I get a spare "dust cover" for the motor?
- If there is still a small bit of sand in there, would the motor eventually seize in mid-flight causing the Mavic to crash?
- Any ides on how to get the last remnants of sand out? I'm a bit loathe using anything apart from blowing it out myself!
Thanks,
 
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You are probably screwed with that motor. I highly doubt you will be able to get the remaining sand out.
You can try canned or compressed air, but since you ran it with the sand some grains probably embedded within the coils.
Never, ever take off on sand or fine, powdery dirt. This is what will happen.
 
Thanks. I used compressed air in the motors and cleared most, if not all of the sand particles out.
Just a very slight gritty sound that I will closely monitor.
At the time I didn't have a choice to take off and land from hard packed sand. I haven't yet tried hand held TO and landing.
 
Thanks. I used compressed air in the motors and cleared most, if not all of the sand particles out.
Just a very slight gritty sound that I will closely monitor.
At the time I didn't have a choice to take off and land from hard packed sand. I haven't yet tried hand held TO and landing.

I had some sand in my Vj when i got back from Bali.

I used a whole can of Air duster..

then i cleaned my Vj
 
I take off and land on a pad! I don't want dirt,or sand being blown onto the camera lense,or into the motors! Pad folds up and is easy to take along with you.
 
I take off and land on a pad! I don't want dirt,or sand being blown onto the camera lense,or into the motors! Pad folds up and is easy to take along with you.

Yep, these pads are great.

PGYTECH-NEW-LANDING-PAD_web-1.jpg
 
Agree, I'm always either using the pad or hand-launching /catching.

When I was in Bali a few days ago I had no issues at all with security except when I was in Potato Head where they tracked my down and asked me not to fly over the beach club.

My biggest concern in Bali was that the sky was flooded with kites due to the Kite Festival (July/August) so I couldn't fly everywhere I wanted.
 
Agree, I'm always either using the pad or hand-launching /catching.

When I was in Bali a few days ago I had no issues at all with security except when I was in Potato Head where they tracked my down and asked me not to fly over the beach club.

My biggest concern in Bali was that the sky was flooded with kites due to the Kite Festival (July/August) so I couldn't fly everywhere I wanted.

I think thats the only environment I personally would get annoyed by a drone.
It would have to get "very" close, do multiple back and forths, but yeh
you dont pay to relax, tan by the pool with drone buzz

This is why i dont buzz people (30m and closer) much , just in case there in holiday mode
 
Don't be tempted to spray the " gritty" motors with penetration oil. It will cause mahem. Keep blowing out the motors and eventually they will clear.
 
Maybe try to blow it with an actual air compressor with more psi. Make sure to remove the props.
 
Agree, I'm always either using the pad or hand-launching /catching.

When I was in Bali a few days ago I had no issues at all with security except when I was in Potato Head where they tracked my down and asked me not to fly over the beach club.

My biggest concern in Bali was that the sky was flooded with kites due to the Kite Festival (July/August) so I couldn't fly everywhere I wanted.
You must have been in the same place I was at the same time. I was staying at Alila next to Potato Head , up until last Sunday, and I launched my Mavic on the stone wall between the 2 properties. The security guard from Potato Head came over and wanted me to show him the unit.
 

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If there is still a small bit of sand in there, would the motor eventually seize in mid-flight causing the Mavic to crash?

It's possible that a small bit of sand could could enough friction to bind the motor and cause it to stop working. It might not happen immediately, but could over time. Best way to check it is to feel the motor temperature after you land. If one is hotter than the others, it's on it's way out and you should replace it.

Any ides on how to get the last remnants of sand out? I'm a bit loathe using anything apart from blowing it out myself!

Blow it out from the bottom, since youre missing the cover anyway. Blow it out from the top. Then tap the top of the motor on a table a few times and then the bottom. If you see any sand come out at all, repeat the process until you dont see any.

Personally, if it were my Mavic, I would replace any of the motors that got sand in them, even if they dont feel gritty any more. But if you are vigilant about checking the motor temperatures by hand after every flight, and also checking the friction every time you fly, you might be ok. If you see any error messages about motor errors or esc errors, land it and have it looked at. It's a warning sign.
 
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It's possible that a small bit of sand could could enough friction to bind the motor and cause it to stop working. It might not happen immediately, but could over time. Best way to check it is to feel the motor temperature after you land. If one is hotter than the others, it's on it's way out and you should replace it.



Blow it out from the bottom, since youre missing the cover anyway. Blow it out from the top. The tap the motor on a table top a few times and then bottom. If you see any sand come out at all, repeat the process until you dont see any.

Personally, if it were my Mavic, I would replace any of the motors that got sand in them, even if they dont feel gritty any more. But if you are vigilant about checking the motor temperatures by hand after every flight, and also checking the friction every time you fly, you might be ok. If you see any error messages about motor errors or esc errors, land it and have it looked at. It's a warning sign.
Thanks. There was grit coming out when I first got the compressed air onto it, but none now.
Your advice is sound in checking the temps which I will do as a matter of post flight actions.
Very little if any grating noises right now.
Thanks
 
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At the time I didn't have a choice to take off and land from hard packed sand. I haven't yet tried hand held TO and landing.
You always have a choice, and now you know yours was wrong. Live and learn [emoji4] .

If you haven't learned to hand launch and catch yet, improvise to use a landing pad from the hotel or your rental car, such as a bath towel or a bathroom floor mat, or car floor mat. Buying the right backpack can be useful for this purpose too.

Don't assume property guards will shut you down. Ask them about their policy, they usually offer good advice, advising where others fly from.

Lastly you can always buy a foldable launch pad, as others have suggested, but hand launch and catch isn't difficult with VPS turned off. Just be careful and use common sense, but you really need a neck harness and RC clip to assist with one handed launch enable on your smart device. Practice this before vacation, you don't want to end up in a foreign hospital for stitches on vacation.
 
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You always have a choice, and now you know yours was wrong. Live and learn [emoji4] .

If you haven't learned to hand launch and catch yet, improvise to use a landing pad from the hotel or your rental car, such as a bath towel or a bathroom floor mat, or car floor mat. Buying the right backpack can be useful for this purpose too.

Don't assume property guards will shut you down. Ask them about their policy, they usually offer good advice, advising where others fly from.

Lastly you can always buy a foldable launch pad, as others have suggested, but hand launch and catch isn't difficult with VPS turned off. Just be careful and use common sense, but you really need a neck harness and RC clip to assist with one handed launch enable on your smart device. Practice this before vacation, you don't want to end up in a foreign hospital for stitches on vacation.

Sorry for the off-topic but I hand-launch/catch without turning VPS off, I don't see what's the issue with that.
 
Sorry for the off-topic but I hand-launch/catch without turning VPS off, I don't see what's the issue with that.
When catching, it's possible to do with VPS on, but easier for the novice with it off. With it on, the craft will ascend when sensing your hand approaching from below, if not done quickly. It also fights you less when VPS is off, during the 3 second shut down period.
 
With it on, the craft will ascend when sensing your hand approaching from below, if not done quickly.
You don't move your hand to it, lower _it_ onto your hand.

Regarding the sand in the motor: don't fly like that, if you can feel any grit, then it's grinding the coating off something in the motor. Replace the motor or take the motor bell off and clean out the motor with bluetac / putty. Pack it into the bell, when you remove it, it'll take any sand or crud in there. I used this technique to clean a 2204 motor that was packed with iron filings (black New Zealand sand is more like iron filings than sand).
 
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You don't move your hand to it, lower _it_ onto your hand.
You and I disagree on catch method. I never advise to grab a moving drone, for obvious reasons. I let it hover, settle in, watch it a couple seconds, then grab hold of it. It's safer that way, but that's me. You can certainly catch the way you want.
 
You and I disagree on catch method. I never advise to grab a moving drone, for obvious reasons. I let it hover, settle in, watch it a couple seconds, then grab hold of it. It's safer that way, but that's me. You can certainly catch the way you want.
It's all relative motion ;)

My logic goes: lowering the drone to the hand lets it pick up the hand with the sensors and I don't know whether that lets it lock position better, but at least I don't have to worry about sensors on or off, or grabbing it before it jumps away. I think reaching up/grabbing at it is more prone to people missing the target, or putting their fingers up than keeping flat hand _then_ gripping on contact.
(For skilled practitioners, I don't think it matters so much, since we have our technique down - you aren't going to miss the drone and reach into props, I'm not lowering it into my face)

I get what you're saying, and I use your method if I ever have to hand catch my Solo e.g. beach/heavily sloped ground/cliffs - though mostly I try and keep myself away from from that spinning beast (I don't even want to think about doing it with the X8, that thing is a flying chainsaw - I guess thats when you break out the welding gloves or chain mail gauntlets :p )

I'm using the "hold stick down to activate landing while the drone is in the air" method if that changes anything.
 
You don't move your hand to it, lower _it_ onto your hand.

Regarding the sand in the motor: don't fly like that, if you can feel any grit, then it's grinding the coating off something in the motor. Replace the motor or take the motor bell off and clean out the motor with bluetac / putty. Pack it into the bell, when you remove it, it'll take any sand or crud in there. I used this technique to clean a 2204 motor that was packed with iron filings (black New Zealand sand is more like iron filings than sand).

Same issue, how did you get the bell off?
 

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