Propellers scuffed but not cracked, bent. Replace?
1769 33 2020-10-3
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Stillworshiping
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Hi all,

This is my first question and post. I just purchased my first drone, Mavic mini. Like a typical nube, I was super excited, charged everything up, and was testing it inside, no prop guard. I accidentally ran it into the wall. (I know, I know). The aircraft has no damage at all and flies fine, but the front and rear props on the side that tagged the wall are scuffed. They are not cracked or warped, etc, just scuffed. you can see it in the pic. Should I replace them, or is it not necessary?

Scuffed prop pic

Scuffed prop pic
2020-10-3
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GaryDoug
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Ok, I will post my unpopular opinion on this. I would replace them if you have a spare set already. But I would not throw away the ones on there now or replace them if you have no spares right now. Mine are in about the same condition on Mini#1 after hitting a small tree trunk while flying at a snail's pace on the 3rd day and they have performed perfectly over many rough flights since then. I do draw the line at deep nicks or cuts.
And yes, I have checked the motor speeds for balance.

2020-10-3
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Donut
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I know I’ll get in trouble. I run my finger lengthwise on the bottom lightly and if I feel a burr I use emery fingernail file and carefully just smooth the burr off.
2020-10-3
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Donut
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I know I’ll get in trouble. I run my finger lengthwise on the bottom lightly and if I feel a burr I use emery fingernail file and carefully just smooth the burr off.Then when I fly if it dosent hover and drifts I change the blades. But that's just me.
Doug
2020-10-3
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Electromen
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Mine were similar, I notice it wasn't hovering steady. It wavered a little.  I replaced the props and it's steady again.
2020-10-3
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Traxx119
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If you look closely, one of the prop tips looks damaged. I would just change them. Good luck on your next flights!
2020-10-3
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K6CCC
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  Do a test flight where you take off and hover in zero wind for a couple minutes.  After the flight download the flight data and compare the motor RPMs.  On the Mini, the fronts are usually a little slower than the rears.  If the RPMs are about the same, you should be OK at least for a while.  If they are way off, plan on replacing.  In my opinion, err on the side of caution.  At about $1.50 for a prop, it's just not worth risking a flight.  Get in the habit of looking at the data files on an at least somewhat regular basis.
  This is a screen capture from CsvView of the motor RPMs on my Mini for a flight last night.  The yellow line is the right rear and the blue line is the left rear.  You can see that the right rear is fairly consistently running 1,000 to 1,500 RPM faster than the left rear, and at times as much as 3,000 RPM faster.  A few days earlier I had gotten an overspeed warning on that motor.  The first about nine minutes of that flight was a hover with very little movement.
That prop pair was replaced today and looked much better on a test flight this evening.
2020-10-3
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Stillworshiping
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Thank you all for your prompt feed back! I did get the Fly More Combo so I have a few sets and I will replace them. Im just smacking myself in the forehead having to use a set already
2020-10-3
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GaryDoug
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Yep, do as K6 demonstrated above.
2020-10-3
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Stillworshiping
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Please forgive me as I am new. Is there a program that  Dji has that you are using K6 or is that an independent program. In short, how do I do this?
2020-10-3
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K6CCC
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There are several programs and websites that will do data analysis.  The above screen shot was from CsvView:
http://datfile.net/CsvView/downloads.html

Another is FRAP which was written by forum regular JJB, and you can read all about at:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-203659-1-1.html
2020-10-3
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Suren
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Just replace them, props are cheap
2020-10-3
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K6CCC
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GaryDoug Posted at 10-3 20:07
Yep, do as K6 demonstrated above.

Thanks for the endorsement Gary.  I value your opinion.

2020-10-3
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A J
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The props are damaged, cheap to replace and have no redundancy - protect your drone and replace them.
2020-10-4
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A J
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Suren Posted at 10-3 21:51
Just replace them, props are cheap

2020-10-4
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Woe
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Replace them. Better safe than sorry.
2020-10-4
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GaryDoug
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After checking the current price, at just $12 a set, you could replace all 8 blades if it makes you feel better. I am not a fan of "shotgun" maintenance, which wastes resources and can introduce more problems than originally experienced.
2020-10-4
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A J
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Woe Posted at 10-4 05:03
Replace them. Better safe than sorry.

2020-10-4
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K6CCC
Second Officer
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BTW, assuming you replace one or more prop sets.  Make sure you get the screws tightened.  If you are going to replace all 8 blades (likely not needed), do them one motor at a time.  The reason is that you can use the existing blades as a comparison for the fit and play on the ones you replace.  When I replaced the pair that I replaced a couple days ago it was very nice to be compare the amount of play and seating of the screw between the blades I was installing and the others on the aircraft.
Also, suggest you start a maintenance log, so that two years from now you can go back and see when it was that you did whatever maintenance.  Similarly, number and date your batteries.  I have a P-Touch label with the battery number and the purchase date on each battery.  In my records, I have that along with who I purchased the battery from, and the serial number (hint, your phone can likely read the QR code with the S/N far easier than you trying to real the REALLY TINY PRINT - especially for us older pilots).
2020-10-4
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littlefoot
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If you have to ask or have any doubt , just change them for the peace of mind.
2020-10-4
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DAFlys
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Replace them.  not worth the risk.
2020-10-5
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amir_KING
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Which, 12$s or 500$ + sd card?

I would be cautious, just me.
2020-10-5
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Stillworshiping
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Thanks everyone. I replaced them and took it out for my first "real' flight yesterday. It was pretty awesome!
2020-10-5
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Stillworshiping
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K6CCC Posted at 10-3 21:31
There are several programs and websites that will do data analysis.  The above screen shot was from CsvView:
http://datfile.net/CsvView/downloads.html

Thank you K6!
2020-10-5
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amir_KING
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Stillworshiping Posted at 10-5 07:39
Thanks everyone. I replaced them and took it out for my first "real' flight yesterday. It was pretty awesome!

2020-10-5
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K6CCC
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Stillworshiping Posted at 10-5 07:39
Thanks everyone. I replaced them and took it out for my first "real' flight yesterday. It was pretty awesome!

Congrats!  Enjoy your Mini.
2020-10-5
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A J
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Stillworshiping Posted at 10-5 07:39
Thanks everyone. I replaced them and took it out for my first "real' flight yesterday. It was pretty awesome!

2020-10-5
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Flaming
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K6CCC Posted at 10-3 19:13
Do a test flight where you take off and hover in zero wind for a couple minutes.  After the flight download the flight data and compare the motor RPMs.  On the Mini, the fronts are usually a little slower than the rears.  If the RPMs are about the same, you should be OK at least for a while.  If they are way off, plan on replacing.  In my opinion, err on the side of caution.  At about $1.50 for a prop, it's just not worth risking a flight.  Get in the habit of looking at the data files on an at least somewhat regular basis.
  This is a screen capture from CsvView of the motor RPMs on my Mini for a flight last night.  The yellow line is the right rear and the blue line is the left rear.  You can see that the right rear is fairly consistently running 1,000 to 1,500 RPM faster than the left rear, and at times as much as 3,000 RPM faster.  A few days earlier I had gotten an overspeed warning on that motor.  The first about nine minutes of that flight was a hover with very little movement.
That prop pair was replaced today and looked much better on a test flight this evening.

i have downloaded CsvView and loaded my last DJIFlightRecord_xxxx.txt .. i see a bunch of stuff and graph but i have no idea where to find the motors RPM graph  ... is there a tutorial somewhere ? i am totally lost.   there is no DAT file on my phone .. only DJIFlightRecord_xxx.txt files.


2020-10-5
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K6CCC
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On a quick look at one of my .txt files, the motor speeds are not there.  However in the .DAT files the motor speeds are there.

On my Motorola g7 Power, the .txt files are in:


And the .DAT files are in:


Note that if you have "Sync Flight Data" turned on the the DJI Fly app under Settings, the .DAT files will be automatically deleted some time in a day or two after they are uploaded.  The .txt files do not delete (unless you do it).

Now to look at a .DAT file in CsvView:


Click on "Motor Speeds" (the Red arrow), and you will get a chart that looks something like this:


Click on "Expose SigPicker" (the Blue arrow), and you will get an additional section at the bottom of the chart:


Scroll down on that (the orange oval) and you will see you lots of options.  All of those can be expanded with the + sign.  One of those is Motor Speeds:


You can select or de-select any item or group of items, and then press "Update Plot" (the purple arrow) to see the updated plot.
2020-10-5
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Lucas775
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Replace, cheaper than a new drone.
2020-10-5
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Flaming
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K6CCC Posted at 10-5 18:00
On a quick look at one of my .txt files, the motor speeds are not there.  However in the .DAT files the motor speeds are there.

On my Motorola g7 Power, the .txt files are in:

Thanks a lot K6CCC , much appreciated.
And yes I had sync files on ..so that's the reason why the DAT files are gone.  Thanks again for the walkthrough I will look into it for my next flights.
2020-10-5
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K6CCC
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Flaming Posted at 10-5 19:05
Thanks a lot K6CCC , much appreciated.
And yes I had sync files on ..so that's the reason why the DAT files are gone.  Thanks again for the walkthrough I will look into it for my next flights.

You're welcome.  Here is what  do Data Sync.  I have a P-Touch label on my controller, that reminds me to turn Data Sync off before I fly.  After I fly, I download the .DAT and .txt files to my desktop PC, then I turn Data Sync back on in the Fly App.  That way, the .DAT files get uploaded to DJI, but I retain copies of them for my own purposes.
2020-10-5
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DJI Stephen
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Hello there Stillworshiping. I am sorry for read and to know about your DJI Mavic Mini and thank you for reaching out. Since the said propellers of the said drone were damaged it would be best to replace the said propellers with new once to avoid and unwanted incident on your future flights. In addition, I will post a link where in you can check the DJI Mavic Mini Propeller User Guide ( https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... lers_User_Guide.pdf ) and the DJI Mavic Mini Safety Guidelines ( https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... y_Guidelines_EK.pdf ). Thank you and fly safe always.
2020-10-5
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GaryDoug
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DJI Stephen Posted at 10-5 20:39
Hello there Stillworshiping. I am sorry for read and to know about your DJI Mavic Mini and thank you for reaching out. Since the said propellers of the said drone were damaged it would be best to replace the said propellers with new once to avoid and unwanted incident on your future flights. In addition, I will post a link where in you can check the DJI Mavic Mini Propeller User Guide ( https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/Accessories/Mavic_Mini_Propellers_User_Guide.pdf ) and the DJI Mavic Mini Safety Guidelines ( https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/20191030/Mavic_Mini_Disclaimer_and_Safety_Guidelines_EK.pdf ). Thank you and fly safe always.

Stephen, you must know that the prop guide is not very useful. It only says to replace the props if they are "broken". It does not even specify a maximum length of service for replacement or any other information.
2020-10-5
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