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Suggestions on finding my lost drone

Tiddy

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Jun 16, 2019
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Unfortunately I lost my drone yesterday and crashed into some trees. I looked for the GPS coordinates from the dji app and traced this back using google maps to no avail.

The area is fairly thick in trees and undergrowth so I was wondering how best to approach trying to recover the drone. I've thought about;

-Going to location, sending another drone up to scan the area above
-Wait for autumn to finish so the leaves fall off which should increase viability above
-Setting a bounty for others to try their luck and find it

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks


UPDATE-21/10/2019

FOUND IT. See my post further down for recovery pics.
 
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Thanks I uploaded my flight log and its shown me the same area roughly as the GPS coordinates I extracted from the app. Guess I'll just have to search the trees alot
 
Thanks I uploaded my flight log and its shown me the same area roughly as the GPS coordinates I extracted from the app. Guess I'll just have to search the trees alot

It's not a link for you, it's for us to analyze your logs :)
Post the flight log here.
 
Nah, you're good man. Doesn't look like anything special in the flight log so there's little to comment on.
Just a low battery landing in some trees. Luckily the search area should be pretty small.
The Mavic can look very stick-like when sitting in a tree so keep your eyes on branches more than leaves. Good luck!!
 
While I know it doesn’t help now. It’s why I use an independent tracker... I use a Marco Polo. That would at least let you know which tree and when you got directly beneath the drone.

I hope you find your drone, and udamaged before any precipitation. Best of luck.
 
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Flight logs are all over find my drone info to get better location point, but not many can do that in the field (if at all) having enough experience in the data.
A tracker to get you close, AND strobes to help locate within visual range is probably the best combo, someone will end up making one combined for drone ops, if they haven’t already.
 
Nah, you're good man. Doesn't look like anything special in the flight log so there's little to comment on.
Just a low battery landing in some trees. Luckily the search area should be pretty small.
The Mavic can look very stick-like when sitting in a tree so keep your eyes on branches more than leaves. Good luck!!
Thanks I'm eager to go back and look asap with a better mindsight and more time to look.
 
Batteries don’t last forever. Hope you find it before it gets rained on.
Coming back to launch point a bit sooner may be a thought.
 
While I know it doesn’t help now. It’s why I use an independent tracker... I use a Marco Polo. That would at least let you know which tree and when you got directly beneath the drone.

I hope you find your drone, and I damaged before any precipitation. Best of luck.
Funny you mention an independant tracker I was actually looking at those earlier today should I ever recover it or for a new drone. Thanks I'll keep everyone posted If i find it
 
Flight logs are all over find my drone info to get better location point, but not many can do that in the field (if at all) having enough experience in the data.
A tracker to get you close, AND strobes to help locate within visual range is probably the best combo, someone will end up making one combined for drone ops, if they haven’t already.
Find my drone was the first thing I did whilst in the field so I could get a GPS coordinate. I'll look at trackers in the very near future, thanks
 
Batteries don’t last forever. Hope you find it before it gets rained on.
Coming back to launch point a bit sooner may be a thought.
It's almost certainly been rained on, I live in the UK haha. If the weathers OK tomorrow I'll pop back and begin searching. Lesson learnt, I have a stupid tendancy to stay out later than I should.
 
I'll certaintly look into strobes too. I thought adding a high vis decal or similar might be a good idea too in future
Here’s what I did- there’s a reflectorized tape patch on every side and the bottom as well. They are easy to find and see with a spotlight in the air and on the ground:

B18D0438-2082-453C-8D3A-43CAD6A5A9BF.jpeg
Good luck recovering yours!!
 
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You could also wrap it... of course more costly. If so, I personally favor Wrapgrade. They have a wide selection... a few are also on Amazon. Service was very personal and the wraps are thicker than other brands.
 
Just like to say I successfully recovered my drone earlier today. Went back to the same spot and found it within 10 mins. Not an easy find but I had a positive mindset and determination on my side. Looks undamaged, had some water on it in a few places so I've dried it off and will assess later today.


IMG_20191021_115738.jpg
IMG_20191021_115747.jpg
View attachment IMG_20191021_120214.jpg


I've learnt my lesson big time. Cheers everyone! Happy flying
 
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