Allow me to preface this entire thread with the understanding of how much of an idiot I am. I already know this haha

Okay so let me start this by saying this is both a question and a PSA:

I think I have royally screwed myself, and others should hopefully find this thread before making the same mistakes.

So about a week ago I was flying my drone in sport mode, just messing around. I had a lapse in concentration and in not accounting for momentum, no matter how hard I pulled back, and much to my heart-stopping terror, my drone flew straight into a tree. It crashed to the ground and its arm was slightly cracked (enough that the props on that arm had bent so they were scraping the cover of the spark).

I'm very disappointed at this stage. Absolutely gutted. Money is extremely tight at the moment so I was racking my brain for any solution. I naturally thought about glue but thought it'd be better to get the arm fixed (big mistake, glue would've been a better option at least temporarily haha). So I looked up the going rate for repairing a Spark's arm. From what I could see, anywhere between $150-200 AUD, which was just too expensive for me (plus the wait). I decided to look on ebay for a replacement body. Found one for $25 AUD. Perfect, I thought. WRONG.

Fast forward to last night. I took apart the Spark no problem, very easy device to get around (props to DJI for some solid engineering in this bad boy). I worked at removing all the motors, the motherboard etc and put them all into the new body (I used to work with electrical engineers, so I wasn't scared at all by the disassembly and assembly process). All was going very well (aside from the fact I soldered the motors into the opposing corners, meaning the drone when trying to take off actually pushes itself into the ground :facepalm. But then when I went to test the drone, disappointment reached whole new levels. No GPS signal indoors or outdoors and errors galore surrounding the front and bottom facing sensors. I don't think this was because of my repair, I was very careful, but rather from the crash itself that I didn't look into and just assumed it was the arm.

So now to the point of this thread: I am screwed. I didn't buy DJI care refresh because I just couldn't afford it, and now I've basically destroyed in the most obvious way any warranty I had. What is left for me to do now? I'm anticipating any repairs from DJI (if they even want to deal with me anymore) to be in the neighbourhood of at least the cost of a new drone. D:

Please please please do not repair your own drones. Or at the very least, make sure everything else is functional before even considering the undertaking.

Well, it wouldn't help any, but I'd cry.

Tentoes Posted at 2018-10-20 16:30
Well, it wouldn't help any, but I'd cry.

At this point, it helps

Hi KillerB, we are so sorry for the crash accident and what happened after the self-repairing, we do not recommend customers to repair by themselves since repairing the drone is not easy, it needs professional technical ability, especially when it crashes, there may be some more damages that customers cannot see. Currently, we still recommend to send in the drone to the official repair center for further evaluation and the repair, hope you will get back in the air soon.

Sorry to read that mate
At least you learn a lesson this time
It will be great if you just sent to dji to fix it

Btw welcome to the forum!

Sorry to read that - lesson learned I guess and thanks for sharing your experience.

you could try a go fund me page??

The price of experience seems a bit steep in your case. I hope DJI give you a good price for the repair and that you're back in the air soon.

Hi KillerB

Sorry for your troubles. That's a perfect example why one does a thorough examination what still works and what does not, before starting to repair things. Its the case with almost every thing containing electronics. BTDT.
Not helpful, but anyway.

Cheers
Wolferl

You have gained in experience and a good story to tell, too bad it comes at such a high price. Welcome to the forum.

iTS GOOD THAT YOU SHARED YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE. NEXT TIME SOMEBODY DOES THIS, THEY WILL THINK TWICE '!

S.J Posted at 2018-10-21 06:25
iTS GOOD THAT YOU SHARED YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE. NEXT TIME SOMEBODY DOES THIS, THEY WILL THINK TWICE '!

But only AFTER they repeat the mistake.

This is so sad!

Wow,, quite an intersting event,,, maybe DJi can help ??    however thanks for sharing and you get sorted and back in the air,,,

Sorry for all your trouble.

However if you have the motor thing fixed here are several links for a GPS replacement module.

Here is a cut and paste of a response I made several days ago to guy that was having GPS problems.

Quote: Sounds like the GPS module has an antenna problem. The GPS antenna is an integral part of the receiver and probably cannot be replaced. The antenna is some sort of a ceramic capacitance design which makes them very small and light. In any case I do not think antenna itself is replaceable. However the entire GPS module is easily changed and the modules are available on eBay for $35-50. I would suggest you change the module if the bird is out of warranty. If it is still in warranty send it in for repair.

Here is a link to the spark tear down instructions; https://www.rcgeeks.co.uk/blog/dji-spark-teardown-whats-inside

Here is a link to an eBay search; https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html? ... module&_sacat=0

Also available on Amazon.

~Bill

You have gone this far, replace the GPS module and you might be good to go.

Good luck ~ Bill

Similar thing happened to me, But Mine dropped 66m after I lost connection (found it a day later) and it had hit a building, after that I couldn't afford the repairs and still have the remaining pieces, It turns on but is completely destroyed.

H. Arif - 6IX Posted at 2018-10-21 13:11
Similar thing happened to me, But Mine dropped 66m after I lost connection (found it a day later) and it had hit a building, after that I couldn't afford the repairs and still have the remaining pieces, It turns on but is completely destroyed.

You found it!!! Well at least good job in finding it
You didn’t have the DJI care, did you?
You can try to find out how much it’s gonna cost to repair it,
Also ask DJI if you can use the 50% off coupon for repairing the drone;) I doubt it though
And you can sell it for spare parts I guess if everything else fails.

And KillerB, sorry to read this.
Welcome to the forum and I hope you get back in the air ;)

Fly safely all and enjoy
Alex

Alex B. Posted at 2018-10-21 14:26
You found it!!! Well at least good job in finding it
You didn’t have the DJI care, did you?
You can try to find out how much it’s gonna cost to repair it,

No I didn't find it, I had one before too. but That one was completely my fault so I didn't say anything or even open up a case.

H. Arif - 6IX Posted at 2018-10-21 15:11
No I didn't find it, I had one before too. but That one was completely my fault so I didn't say anything or even open up a case.

Damn! Tough luck man.
Two birds gone down and one lost forever!
So far I have 1 spark lost, and I hope it stays that way!
I’m going to do everything in my power to keep it that way!
I’m sure that it would hit me hard if something happend to one of another of my drones, they are not cheap!

Fly safely all
Alex

Alex B. Posted at 2018-10-21 17:56
Damn! Tough luck man.
Two birds gone down and one lost forever!
So far I have 1 spark lost, and I hope it stays that way!

exactly. I need to get a job to buy this stuff.

Thank you everyone for your kind words of welcome - a definite change from the rest of the internet!

I really do hope someone finds this (and I hope we've all typed enough keywords) before attempting repairs to fully weigh up their options.

Given how monumentally screwed my drone seems to be, I think my best bet at this stage is just to send it into DJI and see what they say. I can't expect the repair to be cheap, but it's gotta be cheaper than a whole new drone!

Thank you all again!

Heartwrenching story dude........... I feel your pain!! Could still be worth sending it as DJI MINDY says above they be able to unravel this sh*t storm for you! I hope you're flying again soon dude!!!

I feel so bad for you, I can only imaging the feeling of your heart dropping and the pit forming in your stomach when you witnessed the drone crash. I hope you can get it fixed somehow, i wouldnt get a new one if I were you just because i tend to get attactched to things I own.

I feel so bad for you, I can only imaging the feeling of your heart dropping and the pit forming in your stomach when you witnessed the drone crash. I hope you can get it fixed somehow, i wouldnt get a new one if I were you just because i tend to get attactched to things I own.

Thank you for sharing your experience to help the newer flyers (aka me) not make mistakes. We need it!

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-22 01:18
Or you can send him the money to buy a new drone... are you serious?

Haha now THAT sounds like a good deal

El Diablo Posted at 2018-10-22 01:18
Or you can send him the money to buy a new drone... are you serious?

I was teasing!!!!!!!!! geeeee

Don't go hard on your self. Nobody is safe from crashes. At least you know that it is better to start with glue fixing next time lol. I'm not bragging but 200$ is not the biggest money in the world. I was filming a fishing once with my boys. I can't say that I was really drunk but something well wrong and long story short my  YUNEEC TORNADO H920+ (PLUS) PRO BUNDLE is now somewhere at Montana's Missouri bottom. And I still had a loan at www.wisconsinpaydayloans-wi.com. It's like crushing a car when you still have a few months to pay for it.

KillerB Posted at 10-21 23:15
Thank you everyone for your kind words of welcome - a definite change from the rest of the internet!

I really do hope someone finds this (and I hope we've all typed enough keywords) before attempting repairs to fully weigh up their options.

I would take your drone, power it up, and see if you can fly it indoors using only the vision system.  If all goes well with flight, try out the camera / gimbal and see if it focuses and records properly.  If it does, then it's likely that your drone is fine, less a now defective GPS board - and they are relatively cheap via e-bay.