Has anyone gotten the phantom camera wet?  If so, what damage did it do?   I was flying, very slowly, a couple feet over the water when I lost the video feed to my monitor (that's a whole different issue) and I looked up just in time to see my Phantom 4 Pro about to dip into the river.   I pulled up but not before the very bottom of the camera went into the water.  I flew back with the camera/gimbal working fine.  After regaining my composure from the near catastrophic event I changed batteries and prepared for another flight.   When I turned her on, instead of the gimbal coming to the normal horizontal position, the gimbal motors started and the gimbal just moved quickly and repeatedly up and down a fraction of an inch.  I turned it off and am letting it dry out now.   How bad do you think it is?  

Wont know extent of damage untill its dried out but you may need a new gimbal control board.
Luckily you didnt dip the whole drone in the river.
The big mistake you made was trying to refly. if ever your drone gets wet you need to pull the battery asap and not fly untill its completely dried out.
Sometimes this means stripping the drone down to dry it out.

Good luck

Maybe you hit it lucky.  Just put a fan on it and let it dry, see what happens.

I'm wondering why the drone lowered while you were occupied with lost video feed.
Did you have Downward Positioning activated? Close over water this needs to be off.

I'll have to look to see if downward positioning is activated.   As I think back, I was having some issues with it earlier in the day when it was hovering.  It was floating up and down a little but I attributed it to the wind.  When I was flying low to the water, it was out of the wind but the drone was below the level from which it took off.  The altitude was showing on the monitor as a negative number (-1... ft).  Is that normal?

Yes the negative height number is normal.

You could place the drone in a container of raw rice to help remove any residual moisture in the drones camera.


RedHotPoker

Hairdryer will do the job.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-3-4 15:24
Hairdryer will do the job.

Hair dryer is ok but make sure its on its lowest setting.
The p4 cameras are very well sealed i dont think tho op will have a issue with that.
The problem will be in the gimbal motors or the motor control circuit.
This circuit can easily be accessed by taking the rear cover off the gimbal arm.
Once thoroughly dried out i would test the drone with props off.
Did that flight battery get wet at all?
If so then DO NOT USE IT AGAIN. Throw it away.
If the battery didnt get wet then insert battery and turn on the drone.
If fault persists then you will need to get it repaired.
If all looks ok then perform a gimbal calibration.
If everything still looks good then i would take it outside and perform a very cautious test flight no more than a couple mtrs off the ground and go slow.
Test all the functions of not only the gimbal but also the drone.
If everything tests ok then you should go buy a lotto ticket cause you would be a very lucky person if you get to that point.

Good luck

Just a note to also consider if your camera was in the water then so was the landing gear which contains your compas sensor this may give compass errors if it got wet or not dried out properly

I'm working on getting a link up to footage of the incident.   Such a small amount of the camera got wet I'd be surprised if the water even got up to the side motor on the gimbal but obviously something got wet because of it's behavior when I started it back up.   I'm keeping my fingers crossed and thank you all very much for the info.   I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.   I hope I don't need it but I've still got a few months of DJI refresh left.

Wow you are so very lucky you better go buy that lotto ticket

smoky289 Posted at 2018-3-4 15:00
I'll have to look to see if downward positioning is activated.   As I think back, I was having some issues with it earlier in the day when it was hovering.  It was floating up and down a little but I attributed it to the wind.  When I was flying low to the water, it was out of the wind but the drone was below the level from which it took off.  The altitude was showing on the monitor as a negative number (-1... ft).  Is that normal?

One possibility for your altitude shift downward is when flying low over a water surface it can cause the VPS to establish an incorrect altitude reading and it then attempts to compensate, in this case incorrectly.
The manual states to avoid flying low over water for this very reason.  See page 29 cautionary statements in v1.4.
Glad you escaped as well as you did, wish you the best with it.

Just about within magnetic range of that bridge, maybe that was the cause?
The VPS getting confused with reflections seems more likely, or maybe both together.

It probably just splashed some water into a sensor and it will be fine once dry, might take a few days to dry inside though.

I would leave it to dry naturally at room temperature for a couple of days. Don't turn it on. It should just dry out fine with no long term damage. It's salt water that kills drones. BTW, I turn off VPS when flying over water to prevent these situations.

I'm sorry to read the accident. It is not suggested to fly above the water so closely. For the watered drone, some internal parts might be oxidized and the stability cannot be ensured. I'd suggest to start a case and send it in: https://www.dji.com/support

A CW Posted at 2018-3-5 00:50
I would leave it to dry naturally at room temperature for a couple of days. Don't turn it on. It should just dry out fine with no long term damage. It's salt water that kills drones. BTW, I turn off VPS when flying over water to prevent these situations.

Drones are like a cactus, little or no watering is recommended.  (Sorry I couldn't resist)  

Anokadrone Posted at 2018-3-5 06:24
Drones are like a cactus, little or no watering is recommended.  (Sorry I couldn't resist)

I know that but given the OP's situation allowing the drone to dry out naturally is his best chance of minimising any potential longer term damage.

A CW Posted at 2018-3-5 06:31
I know that but given the OP's situation allowing the drone to dry out naturally is his best chance of minimising any potential longer term damage.

In all seriousness, I would concur. Using a dessicant like (rice) is also pretty benign as long as you dont let the dust and small particles get into the system.

Anokadrone Posted at 2018-3-5 07:46
In all seriousness, I would concur. Using a dessicant like (rice) is also pretty benign as long as you dont let the dust and small particles get into the system.

Just place the drone atop the rice, and close the lid.
No need to bury the camera and gimbal.
Close proximity should suffice.


RedHotPoker

Judging from your video, it looks like the lense was maybe halfway submerged, at the most. You were lucky you didn’t dunk the whole thing. Those shots low over the water are so cool looking though. I shot video of a slough on Saturday, and when I saw the ripples from the ground effect I thought I had dipped the legs in the water for a moment.

Atlanta Falcon Posted at 2018-3-5 16:32
Judging from your video, it looks like the lense was maybe halfway submerged, at the most. You were lucky you didn’t dunk the whole thing. Those shots low over the water are so cool looking though. I shot video of a slough on Saturday, and when I saw the ripples from the ground effect I thought I had dipped the legs in the water for a moment.

Just a final post for anyone interested in how this turned out.   I should've taken Hellsgates' advice and played the lottery that day.  After 2 days of dry time,  I powered the drone on and the gimbal snapped to life just like new.   I checked everything this newbie knows to check.   Calibrated the IMU, compass, and gimbal and everything seemed to be working fine.   She's flying like new.   Thank to all who offered helpful advice and to DJI for building a quality product.