Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-5 16:11
Wow, this is fantastic news! I have always been hoping for it to happen. Did you find it yourself or did someone else contact you?

A neighbor texted me.  A contractor found it near the lake,  I had searched that area myself but must have missed it.

Malakai_UK Posted at 2017-12-5 17:12
Great news. How do the battery clips look on the spark?

The clips look ok, but much easier to slide a battery into then my replacement Spark.  I had a few miles on it.

S.J Posted at 2017-12-5 21:10
I think it must be the battery .  A sudden loss of signal and flight log points to this direction.  Did you fully charge the batteries ?
Did you see any irregularities in the battery voltage.  How long since  you bought  the SPARK ?

The battery is missing, but it did fall from 395ft. Bought the Spark in September.  Rainy and cold here today, or I'd go look for the battery.  One theory is brown out and reboot, another is that the battery fell out.  I'm sending it in to DJI and hopefully, we can get an answer.  Thanks to all for the following and suggestions.

I copied the black box before shipping my Spark back to DJI this morning.  There are no flight logs, any particular files I should look at?

SPARK LOSS BLACKBOX

Bump to see if anyone can tell me if they see anything abnormal from the black box.  thanks!

Really interesting forum post, its  unbelievable how amazing your community is in assisting in finding your Drone.
Hopefully they replace the drone.

julpap Posted at 2017-12-7 14:05
Really interesting forum post, its  unbelievable how amazing your community is in assisting in finding your Drone.
Hopefully they replace the drone.

After neighbors saw the map, they were getting ladders out and climbing their roofs!  I bought another Spark and used it to search the flight path but it ended up being between the lake and the houses.  We have good people down here in Texas.  

Just got an email that is being repaired under warranty (3-6 business days)

This has been a great story to follow - so glad you found it!! Still very curious as to what caused the problem initially, but that brownout theory seems solid (especially if you eventually find the battery near where the drone was found)...if not, maybe the repair guys can tell you if the board fried? ::popcorn eating emoji:: lol.

This was a great story to follow. That’s awesome news they are going to repair it under warranty! Everyone has great info in this forum and I’ve been following most threads while I patiently wait for my spark.

Wow.
Great to see that you got your spark back.

Also good to know that the batteries should be calibrated over and over again.
@DJI: Wouldn´t it be possible to have a reminder in the djigo-app (based on the serialnumber of the battery) to remind the pilot of recalibration?

xfirf_ Posted at 2017-12-18 22:55
Wow.
Great to see that you got your spark back.

So happy that you got it back. What a great bunch of people you have in your community.
This whole thread has been one of the best I have read. Kudos to everyone who came in with ideas and suggestions to help you.
The forum certainly has a lot of knowledgeable people willing to help.

bjr981s Posted at 2017-11-25 01:01
100 flights on a battery is quite a few.

Have you been doing the complete battery drain every dozen or so flights?

Thanks so much for the full depletion advice as I will now be doing this about every 12 charges.
Sounds like something a lot of people would not even think about until something happens during a flight.
I now know also know, to get rid of older batteries with a lot of flight time.

Thanks again !!

Great thread. Learned a lot especially about draining the battery to calibrate the charge levels. Glad you found your drone and thanks for sharing.

Repair complete, now awaiting shipment!  Glad ya'll followed along.  I learned a lot too about batteries.  Going to return the Spark I bought recently and purchase the Mavic Pro Fly More Combo!

If the drone wasn't found I'd be in a much different position.  I attached a TILE tracker.  Hopefully, if I lose one in the future the DJI App will get me close, and the tracker will beep and I'll find it much faster.

DarylMax Posted at 2017-12-19 10:48
Repair complete, now awaiting shipment!  Glad ya'll followed along.  I learned a lot too about batteries.  Going to return the Spark I bought recently and purchase the Mavic Pro Fly More Combo!

If the drone wasn't found I'd be in a much different position.  I attached a TILE tracker.  Hopefully, if I lose one in the future the DJI App will get me close, and the tracker will beep and I'll find it much faster.

thanks for updating this story.. good to follow. i recently bought a battery strap because im concerned about batteries falling out

tvon Posted at 2017-12-19 10:54
thanks for updating this story.. good to follow. i recently bought a battery strap because im concerned about batteries falling out

Not a bad idea at all! Especially on drones with several hundred flights on them.

....and Friday, the brand new Spark arrived at the door.

The End

Happy ending but what was the cause? Did they confirm the battery story? If they repaired it under warranty then maybe it wasnt the battery as they are coverd by a very limited warranty(usually).

Elettrone78 Posted at 2017-12-25 13:06
Happy ending but what was the cause? Did they confirm the battery story? If they repaired it under warranty then maybe it wasnt the battery as they are coverd by a very limited warranty(usually).

No, they never told me the cause. Memory card and cached video stop at the same point 495 feet up. Power loss from something.  It did power up so I could download the black box, no the board wasn't fried.

Its good to see your neighbors came together to help you out and DJI stood tall behind their warranty and took care of you!  

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-11-26 09:10
This is very good information, thank you for that! What do you mean with "complete battery drain" to be done after 12 charges in your previous post?

The percentage charge that is displayed is a calculation worked out by the amount of charge in Watt Hours from a flat battery. This then takes into account the age of the battery. This is the DJI "Smarts" of a Smart battery. They ask you to completely drain so this can be regularly calculated as the battery ages.

If you do not perform this regular full drain it cant calculate the percentage charge and it will be wrong and over stated.

Cheers

so are you saying that we need to drain the battery occasionally , in order to have a recalibrated battery and indications through the mobile device.

bjr981s Posted at 2018-1-2 08:55
The percentage charge that is displayed is a calculation worked out by the amount of charge in Watt Hours from a flat battery. This then takes into account the age of the battery. This is the DJI "Smarts" of a Smart battery. They ask you to completely drain so this can be regularly calculated as the battery ages.

If you do not perform this regular full drain it cant calculate the percentage charge and it will be wrong and over stated.

Thank you very much for the explanation!

I think it is safe to say that this is the best beginning to end story/journey on the forum. So glad your Spark was found, I think you have inspired me to set looks aside and get my info on mine asap!

bjr981s Posted at 2017-11-25 01:01
100 flights on a battery is quite a few.

Have you been doing the complete battery drain every dozen or so flights?

Does this mean to discharge the battery to 0%? The DJI battery manual says:

1) Never over-discharge, as this may lead to battery cell damage
2)...
3) Fully charge and discharge the battery at least once every 3 months to maintain battery health.

So what is the difference between "fully discharge" and  "over-discharge"?

marlowe Posted at 2018-1-2 16:43
Does this mean to discharge the battery to 0%? The DJI battery manual says:

1) Never over-discharge, as this may lead to battery cell damage

As a new Spark user, i would also be interested to know whats the best option to do that battery calibration, in the few flights i done until now, usually i land it after the low battery warning, and usually ends up with around 10 to 15%, is that too low?

Thanks

DJi recommend on all their batteries that you discharge them till the battery will no longer start. Then immediately recharge, to allow them to calibrate.

Its not great for the batteries but if you don't leave them at low charge for very long it minimises any damage. This is the only way that you can determine what the real battery capacity is on a battery that is ageing.

Cheers Brian

DarylMax Posted at 2017-12-25 12:22
[view_image]

....and Friday, the brand new Spark arrived at the door.

Just jumped back on this thread and am so happy for your great ending. This certainly was a great thread for an education into battery procedures.

Thanks so much to all for the input and education. Certainly a great help to me !!!!!!

bjr981s Posted at 2018-1-27 20:53
DJi recommend on all their batteries that you discharge them till the battery will no longer start. Then immediately recharge, to allow them to calibrate.

Its not great for the batteries but if you don't leave them at low charge for very long it minimises any damage. This is the only way that you can determine what the real battery capacity is on a battery that is ageing.

Since DJI says to fully discharge and charge it "at least once every 3 months" (as quoted before), I won't do it more often than that, to minimise damage to the battery. I have made really good experiences by using my batteries (phones, computers) conservatively (never go below 30%).

In an earlier post, it has been said that "100 flights on a battery is quite a few". Really? 100 cycles on a LiPo is a lot? I am typing this on a notebook which is 4 years old, just like its battery, which has 652 cycles today, and still has 90% of its original capacity. If Tesla cars only had 100 cycles, they would need to change their multi-thousand dollar battery packs after 30-40'000 miles. I will be VERY disappointed if I don't get more than 100 cycles out of this batteries.

Lithium batts are a bit vague. 7 or so years ago, it was said that 3 volts per cell was the discharge limit. Then 3.3,3.6, and some now say 3.7+.
Going under 3 was very likely permanently destructive, but some survived worse in my aircraft, and some didn't.
I prefer not to go under 20 per cent, but I may get inaccurate stats.
So I will time them as it hovers one day down to 10 per cent and assess.
All my considerable experience in model helis and planes has convinced me they are entirely unsuitable for use in cars.As for airliners....

PS useage in your notebook etc is quite different, discharge rate ofless than 1 C probably. Spark uses I estimate 4 to 6 C which is not high by today's standards but is asking more. Basically if it gets hot, it's cooking itself = less cycles.

Man I feel for your loss, after noting your a Flight Distance I would believe the Drone is well settled and prone to no failure. Just makes us all take note to be cautious with our flying. I sincerely hope DJi is able to assist you.

Any flyaway posts are just heartbreaking, its an expensive equipment and sad to hear you lose it . I wish you the best of luck!

KurtVD Posted at 2018-1-30 08:37
Since DJI says to fully discharge and charge it "at least once every 3 months" (as quoted before), I won't do it more often than that, to minimise damage to the battery. I have made really good experiences by using my batteries (phones, computers) conservatively (never go below 30%).

In an earlier post, it has been said that "100 flights on a battery is quite a few". Really? 100 cycles on a LiPo is a lot? I am typing this on a notebook which is 4 years old, just like its battery, which has 652 cycles today, and still has 90% of its original capacity. If Tesla cars only had 100 cycles, they would need to change their multi-thousand dollar battery packs after 30-40'000 miles. I will be VERY disappointed if I don't get more than 100 cycles out of this batteries.

Yes that is what I do. I have a schedule every 3 months to refresh the batteries and also refresh those I have in Storage.

Your laptop and the Tesla cars do not use Lipos.

Lipos are for High Power storage and High Current output at the cost of longevity.

Your laptop would be Lithium Ion or maybe LiFe.

Still Lithium Batteries but completely different chemistry.

Bright Spark Posted at 2018-1-30 09:51
Lithium batts are a bit vague. 7 or so years ago, it was said that 3 volts per cell was the discharge limit. Then 3.3,3.6, and some now say 3.7+.
Going under 3 was very likely permanently destructive, but some survived worse in my aircraft, and some didn't.
I prefer not to go under 20 per cent, but I may get inaccurate stats.

Yes much confusion.

The problem arises as there are many variations of Lithium Batteries.

e.g.
LiFe fully charged cell is 3.8V
LiPo fully charged cell is 4.2V
LiHv fully charged cell is 4.4V. DJI use LiHv batteries not standard LiPo's.

And of course their discharged values change accordingly.

7 years ago was standard Li Ion batteries not LiPos.

The chemistry in a LiPo starts to breakdown below 3.3V per cell. 3.3V is real 0 charge.

I dont know how I've missed this post until today.. such a great story with an awesome ending!! I wish I had faith in my neighbors.. they'd find it and hide it.  Glad you got it back for sure!  I'm definitely on board with the battery voltage theory.  LiPo's are funny when they get some age on them for sure.

bjr981s Posted at 2018-1-31 06:16
Yes much confusion.

The problem arises as there are many variations of Lithium Batteries.

On the Spark battery label, it says Lithium Ion Polymer, which is LiPo. So what is it, LiPo or LiHv? What does LiHV stand for?

KurtVD Posted at 2018-1-31 08:16
On the Spark battery label, it says Lithium Ion Polymer, which is LiPo. So what is it, LiPo or LiHv? What does LiHV stand for?

It is a LiHv

Lithium Ion Polymer High Voltage.