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Cleaning up Spark's sensor and camera
2972 20 2017-10-12
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djiuser_Kf4iPA3
First Officer
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Israel
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I had a strange incident today - my Spark got attacked by some bees... I oculd actually see sereval of them flying around it and charging it.
Apparently some of the bees were slashed by the propellers, and some bee residue remained on the front end of the body, including the front sensor, camera, and gimbal.

Bee remains can be quite sticky, so a dry cloth would not suffice in this case.
What is the recommended way to clean the Spark from that - and especially the sensor and camera?

2017-10-12
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S-e-ven
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Thailand
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I would probably use a moist cloth.
Or one with alkohol in it.
You are not dipping it in water, only put a cloth around!
2017-10-12
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El Diablo
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Germany
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Tip: the author has been banned or deleted automatically shield
2017-10-12
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S-e-ven
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El Diablo Posted at 2017-10-12 06:29
I use a tempered glass protector for the infrared sensor

but he has to clean it first, now!
2017-10-12
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djiuser_Kf4iPA3
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S-e-ven Posted at 2017-10-12 06:01
I would probably use a moist cloth.
Or one with alkohol in it.
You are not dipping it in water, only put a cloth around!

Yes, I didn't consider dipping it in water.............
But is alcohol actually good for that?
2017-10-12
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djiuser_Kf4iPA3
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Israel
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Ended up getting some alcohol-free moistened cloths, like the ones used when changing diapers on babies.
Gently wiped each dirty part and immediately wiped it with dry toilet paper too.
Upon visual scan I found some more "leftovers" on the left rear propeller arm, so I wiped that too, and then wiped all the propellers.
Seems fine to the naked eye. I'll see when I fly again.

I hope those bees were picked up on video... That'll be an interesting shot.
2017-10-12
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S-e-ven
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I hope those bees were picked up on video

I would have checked that before cleaning, methinks
2017-10-12
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Mark Blaide
Second Officer
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The Spark sounds like a swarm of bees...I wonder if that noise somehow affected them???
2017-10-12
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Zbig
Second Officer
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Poland
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That's gnarly, dude!
2017-10-12
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nottuppaware
First Officer
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Australia
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Poor bees ! I wonder if they are attracted to the sound of the drone ?

2017-10-12
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LouisP
Captain
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United States
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I had the same thing happen with dragon flies.
2017-10-12
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Oracle Miata
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As an aspiring entomologist, and a bee keeper... I do not approve.  Honey bees are an expiring species and their demise will lead to ours eventually.
2017-10-12
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djiuser_Kf4iPA3
First Officer
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Israel
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Then they shouldn't try to attack a working drone with spinning propellers in mid-air, should they...
It would only make them expire faster.
2017-10-12
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Zbig
Second Officer
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Poland
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Given the drone means a male bee originally, I really wanted to come up with some clever punchline but got nothing. On a more serious note, yeah, too bad about the critters but I'm pretty sure the OP hasn't done this on purpose. Let this be a lesson for the rest of us reading this that it's not a good idea to fly near bees as they apparently are cheeky enough to go suicidal on our aircrafts. I wouldn't have thought, would guess they'd get scared and chicken out.
2017-10-12
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forbsie
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Oracle Miata Posted at 2017-10-12 14:52
As an aspiring entomologist, and a bee keeper... I do not approve.  Honey bees are an expiring species and their demise will lead to ours eventually.

Seriously?!? .. is this a troll comment? As if he did it on purpose!
2017-10-12
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Oracle Miata
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Lol, everyone is so salty.  You mad bros?  Calm down, it ain’t that serious.
2017-10-12
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DJI Thor
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If it is just the appearance, for this special situation, you can use a soft cotton pad with alcohol for cleaning. If they came inside the drone, you can send it back and we will help to take care of it.
BTW, avoid flying around the animals if possible.
2017-10-12
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deMarco73
Flight distance : 53675 ft
France
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Hmmm ... Bees?! Spark?! Was indeed some of my first shots with the Spark

2017-10-12
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djiuser_Kf4iPA3
First Officer
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Israel
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Here it is - Attack of the Bees!
2017-10-12
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Zbig
Second Officer
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Poland
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For those of you who might have missed it, here's a still frame from the original footage:


Bee attack.png
2017-10-13
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DJI Elektra
DJI team
Hong Kong
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djiuser_Kf4iPA3 Posted at 2017-10-12 22:51
Here it is - Attack of the Bees!
https://youtu.be/8OqDOmXLzhM

It will be better to fly in places without those bees. They may damage the camera.
But I think it is a special first shot and you will never forget.
2017-10-14
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