We decided to attach a coat hanger to my Mini 2 in an attempt to retrievce a whiffle ball.  Needless to say things went sideways (literally).  Hope this serves as a lesson.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/aHHiXB3m87B4JWh29

Sorry for the crash Would be nice to know what happened though. I have seen videos of Mini 2 handling much more weight than you seem to have put on. I wonder whether it is the metal messing with the electronics rather than the weight causing the crash...It might just be the rigid nature of the weight of course.

It's not just the weight, it's the distribution of it as they moved the center of mass too far away from the drone.

You need to use a flexible wire or atach the weigt to the drone as close as possible to the center of mass. For example 30cm of fishing line from the drone to the hook, but using a solid "stick" atached firmly to the drone it's like aplying force with a lever XD

The effect was quite impressive thoug, I didn't expect that at all XDD

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 8-6 16:31
It's not just the weight, it's the distribution of it as they moved the center of mass too far away from the drone.

You need to use a flexible wire or atach the weigt to the drone as close as possible to the center of mass. For example 30cm of fishing line from the drone to the hook, but using a solid "stick" atached firmly to the drone it's like aplying force with a lever XD

It's not the weight, it's screwing up the compass by wrapping steel wire around the drone's body.

Labroides Posted at 8-6 17:02
It's not the weight, it's screwing up the compass by wrapping steel wire around the drone's body.

This is one of those times a calibration would have been in order lol

But, I'm not overly sure the metal was the initial issue,

The 1st thing I thought of was, this is what happens when you add a pendulum to the AC
Mateys left hand that's further away from cog, swings out some to the left and this is what
1st starts the swing off at 12s, from there the hanger swings exponentially and the pilot panics
and sends it towards the building.

You have found the natural oscillation frequency of that combination ;-)

Also, I thought that the compass does not come into play until the operator directs the drone to move horizontally?

Hi there. We're deeply sorry about the incident that happened. Please note that we do not recommend installing any 3rd party accessories or even random materials on the unit as this might affect the stability of the aircraft and might cause an incident. If you are having issues with the crash or if there's damage to the unit, You may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You can contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support. Thank you for your continued support!

The mini 2 can lift 283grams so I doubt the issue was weight related.

As the wire was rigidly attached to the body, the center of mass was moved down and the drone software was not calibrated for that so it started to try to compensate.

Wow, that didn't go well at all Frank.  

sorry if I formulate it so drastically, but the statement with the compass is absolute nonsense in this case!  The flaw is that the wire (could be a different material and would cause the same effect) is rigidly attached to the drone.  Which not only shifted the center of gravity far down, but also created a pendulum whose pivot point is the drone itself.  If you now push the rod down, what happened, this is transferred to the drone, which tries in vain to compensate for it.  A joint would have had to be installed under the drone in order to decouple the rod from the drone for vibrations.  Or, as has already been written, simply attach a rope (fishing line) to the drone instead of the rod.  If the hook begins to swing, this cannot be transferred to the drone and lead to a rollover.  That is why loads on a helicopter are attached with a rope and not rigidly.  The mass of the metal wire is too small to affect the compass in such a way.  To conclude the subject of the compass: everyone should try for themselves how much the compass is really deflected!  After the compass has been calibrated, turn the drone in your hand and watch the compass display change.  Then just go close to a car with it .... Only a few cm * next * to the door, for example, you can see a very slight distraction.  I couldn't see any distraction * above * the bonnet or roof ...

ozoffi Posted at 8-7 05:16
sorry if I formulate it so drastically, but the statement with the compass is absolute nonsense in this case!  The flaw is that the wire (could be a different material and would cause the same effect) is rigidly attached to the drone.  Which not only shifted the center of gravity far down, but also created a pendulum whose pivot point is the drone itself.  If you now push the rod down, what happened, this is transferred to the drone, which tries in vain to compensate for it.  A joint would have had to be installed under the drone in order to decouple the rod from the drone for vibrations.  Or, as has already been written, simply attach a rope (fishing line) to the drone instead of the rod.  If the hook begins to swing, this cannot be transferred to the drone and lead to a rollover.  That is why loads on a helicopter are attached with a rope and not rigidly.  The mass of the metal wire is too small to affect the compass in such a way.  To conclude the subject of the compass: everyone should try for themselves how much the compass is really deflected!  After the compass has been calibrated, turn the drone in your hand and watch the compass display change.  Then just go close to a car with it .... Only a few cm * next * to the door, for example, you can see a very slight distraction.  I couldn't see any distraction * above * the bonnet or roof ...

sorry if I formulate it so drastically, but the statement with the compass is absolute nonsense in this case! ... The mass of the metal wire is too small to affect the compass in such a way.  

When did you become an expert in how the drone's compass works?
It's amusing when someone with so little understanding of the topic speaks nonsense so confidently.

FYI ... the mass of steel isn't what's important.
A single nail can cause problems if it's close enough to the compass.
And the drone in question had a steel coathanger wrapped around the drone body, just a centimetre from the compass sensor.

CemAygun Posted at 8-6 15:07
Sorry for the crash  Would be nice to know what happened though. I have seen videos of Mini 2 handling much more weight than you seem to have put on. I wonder whether it is the metal messing with the electronics rather than the weight causing the crash...It might just be the rigid nature of the weight of course.

Well this is something I will not be trying again.  Fortunately nothing is broken.  Not even a scratch on the propeller blades.

Johnny_J Posted at 8-7 01:13
As the wire was rigidly attached to the body, the center of mass was moved down and the drone software was not calibrated for that so it started to try to compensate.

I am inclined to agree with you.  The wire was ridged and a bit heavy.  I think it acted like a pendulum and when the drone tried to correct to got out of control.

DAFlys Posted at 8-7 01:09
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y13yY2k3dvI&t=14s

Awesome demonstration!  Thank you

Frank Alonso Posted at 8-7 06:49
Awesome demonstration!  Thank you

Yes, the load is not ridigly fastened so the drone can balance. Extremely long-winded video though. Never saw it through because the message was obvious.

Labroides Posted at 8-7 06:04
sorry if I formulate it so drastically, but the statement with the compass is absolute nonsense in this case! ... The mass of the metal wire is too small to affect the compass in such a way.  

When did you become an expert in how the drone's compass works?

and you are an expert ?!  you tell the nonsense .... but you are free to continue believing in it, even if you can clearly see the cause on the video.

ozoffi Posted at 8-7 07:59
and you are an expert ?!  you tell the nonsense .... but you are free to continue believing in it, even if you can clearly see the cause on the video.

I actually agree with Labroides. This behavior has nothing to do with the compass. It's the software that is not written to compensate for a rigid pole underneath.

DJI Paladin Posted at 8-6 19:35
Hi there. We're deeply sorry about the incident that happened. Please note that we do not recommend installing any 3rd party accessories or even random materials on the unit as this might affect the stability of the aircraft and might cause an incident. If you are having issues with the crash or if there's damage to the unit, You may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You can contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support. Thank you for your continued support!

I didn't know that a coat hanger is a "third party accessory"!!
DJI robot strikes again!!!

Johnny_J Posted at 8-7 08:08
I actually agree with Labroides. This behavior has nothing to do with the compass. It's the software that is not written to compensate for a rigid pole underneath.

That's nothing like what I said.

Labroides Posted at 8-7 08:26
That's nothing like what I said.

Que? I never quoted you! Shape up!

ozoffi Posted at 8-7 07:59
and you are an expert ?!  you tell the nonsense .... but you are free to continue believing in it, even if you can clearly see the cause on the video.

and you are an expert ?!
Compared to you, quite a few people in this forum would be.
I've flown thousands of kilometres in 6 years, I've analysed the data to solve hundreds of flight incidents and find lost drones.
What are your qualifications, genius ?

Johnny_J Posted at 8-7 08:32
Que? I never quoted you! Shape up!

Further confirming my opinion of your cognitive abilities
You are the one who wrote:   I actually agree with Labroides.

Labroides Posted at 8-7 08:35
Further confirming my opinion of your cognitive abilities
You are the one who wrote:   I actually agree with Labroides.

Yes, I do! In this case with the compass! Otherwise you seem pretty lost accusing people to be morons and such. I believe you're not feeling well.

Johnny_J Posted at 8-7 08:41
Yes, I do! In this case with the compass! Otherwise you seem pretty lost accusing people to be morons and such. I believe you're not feeling well.

Metal objects wont cause this issue with the compass,  I regularly fly with metal under the drone and not have this issue even with lots of warnings.

DAFlys Posted at 8-7 09:42
Metal objects wont cause this issue with the compass,  I regularly fly with metal under the drone and not have this issue even with lots of warnings.

[view_image]

Of course you are correct!

Frank Alonso Posted at 8-7 06:44
Well this is something I will not be trying again.  Fortunately nothing is broken.  Not even a scratch on the propeller blades.

That is a blessing given that it fell from quite a bit of height. I recon it hit the wall first as well.

Analyzing the logs might produce some valuable information for everyone. If you ever have the chance can you check them?

DAFlys Posted at 8-7 09:42
Metal objects wont cause this issue with the compass,  I regularly fly with metal under the drone and not have this issue even with lots of warnings.

[view_image]

Metal objects wont cause this issue with the compass,  I regularly fly with metal under the drone and not have this issue even with lots of warnings.

You are an idiot.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
Metal is not the problem
Steel will cause compass problems.

What's that stupid clamp made of?
FYI ... your drone already has a camera of it's own.

Mobilehomer Posted at 8-7 08:15
I didn't know that a coat hanger is a "third party accessory"!!
DJI robot strikes again!!!

Thank you for your response and sorry for the confusion. I was indicated in the reply about "random materials". Thank you for your support!

Labroides Posted at 8-7 17:33
Metal objects wont cause this issue with the compass,  I regularly fly with metal under the drone and not have this issue even with lots of warnings.

You are an idiot.

The camera causes compass errors on every flight.   Yes the drone has a camera but it doesn't have a full spectrum IR camera.

DAFlys Posted at 8-8 01:12
The camera causes compass errors on every flight.   Yes the drone has a camera but it doesn't have a full spectrum IR camera.

As it causes compass errors, this is one of those times where you should calibrate the compass when the camera is attached...

Bashy Posted at 8-8 01:43
As it causes compass errors, this is one of those times where you should calibrate the compass when the camera is attached...

I tried that once it and it wont calibrate,  so far its not been a problem,   I always make sure there is a good gps lock before I launch.

DAFlys Posted at 8-8 01:12
The camera causes compass errors on every flight.   Yes the drone has a camera but it doesn't have a full spectrum IR camera.

What's the clamp made from?

Labroides Posted at 8-8 04:11
What's the clamp made from?

The clamp is Petg with a couple of steel bolts to pinch it around the drone and a steel thumb wheel to attach the camera.

Hmmm . . .

Oops.
Not too good.

Labroides Posted at 8-8 04:11
What's the clamp made from?

Just a coat hanger wrapped around the drone.  Bad choice.  It is hysterical because there were about 10 mechanical/electrical engineers in my office who championed this "idea".

Can't imagine how compass interference could cause behaviour like that.

Inertia of the drone and combined attached hanger and extra weight is totally other than the drone itself. In my opinion the algorithm that keeps this little drone levelled couldn't handle the input what was received. Corrective measures are not meant to handle the abnormal inertia.

Arpettaz Posted at 8-13 04:11
What a dumb thing to do

I agree - hopefully this will help prevent someone else from making the same mistake.