I made a little video detailing the terrible experience of crashing my spark, and then another one about repairing it.  Hope you like!

Pretty good skills with the soldering iron. What was the cost savings versus sending it in to DJI for repair? And why do you fly so close to babies? One wrong move could be disastrous.

Dunes09 Posted at 2018-2-19 12:01
Pretty good skills with the soldering iron. What was the cost savings versus sending it in to DJI for repair? And why do you fly so close to babies? One wrong move could be disastrous.

Hi Dunes

Thanks, the soldering was very tedious and I had to walk away from it out of frustration on several occasions!

I do not know how much DJI would charge for a repair like this, but I am definitely more of a DIYer,  I love ripping stuff apart and seeing how it works.

Thank you for your concern regarding my child.  It looks like it's closer than it actually was, and generally I don't fly indoors period.  I was just itching to test the drone out after doing all that work.

Good videos. May get more views/subscribers with the normal speed repair.

miketmtpro Posted at 2018-2-19 12:22
Good videos. May get more views/subscribers with the normal speed repair.

Hey Mike!

I considered showing it normal speed, but the combination of malfunctioning cameras (user error) and repeated repairs due to my own ignorance made that a VERY long video, and there are links to other how to videos in the description. Maybe next time I crash my drone I will film it and post it in real time now that I know how everything goes together.

Thanks for he comments!

courageous! intrepid! what necessitated the antenna mod?

Solestacz Posted at 2018-2-19 12:43
courageous! intrepid! what necessitated the antenna mod?

Yeah, that what inquiring minds want to know. lol

miketmtpro Posted at 2018-2-19 12:22
Good videos. May get more views/subscribers with the normal speed repair.

agree with you.  great video but need to trim your video to capture the important parts of your repair experience.

Solestacz Posted at 2018-2-19 12:43
courageous! intrepid! what necessitated the antenna mod?

Hi Solestacz

When I was putting the green cover back on the top, I crimped and almost severed the cable to the antenna.  I thought about soldering it, but then remembered that it is coaxial, which makes that pretty much impossible, especially with such a small diameter cable.  Rather than disassemble the electronics inside of the body to reach where the antenna is glued, I just adhered it to the outside in the same location.  Luckily the new body came with new antennas, so I had a spare!

This antenna, by the way, is only in charge of video transmission.  There is another antenna on the other side of the body that receives commands, so if for some weird reason this mod were to fail, RTH would still work.

Thanks for the comments!

miketmtpro Posted at 2018-2-19 12:46
Yeah, that what inquiring minds want to know. lol

Yes, I am realizing that I totally forgot to mention the WHY in the video!  Sorry about that!

Sparky_17 Posted at 2018-2-19 12:52
agree with you.  great video but need to trim your video to capture the important parts of your repair experience.

Agreed.  Next time!

If you're curious about the innards of the Spark, there are two links in the video description which will take you to others who have made videos like that.  Those are the ones that I used as reference while I was working.

Good job!   I don't think I would have problems with the soldering... but I certainly would have destroyed at least one of those little flex cable connectors inside.. I can't seem to touch those things without breaking them.

LouisP Posted at 2018-2-19 13:47
Good job!   I don't think I would have problems with the soldering... but I certainly would have destroyed at least one of those little flex cable connectors inside.. I can't seem to touch those things without breaking them.

The connectors are very nerve racking.  I am scared that something will come unplugged at a very inopportune time.  I'll probably fly in very safe areas (read as sparsely populated or over water) so that if something happens I don't hurt anyone or damage anything.  I'm sure everything is fine though.  Just the nerves talking.

It was really fun to see all of the pieces taken apart and laying on my workbench.  I think too many people treat stuff like this like a black box.  I love seeing what's inside!

Interesting vid - thanks for posting

A CW Posted at 2018-2-19 13:54
Interesting vid - thanks for posting

I'm glad you liked it!

That was awesome. Glad it worked. But after watching all of that I would just order a new Spark.

Mavic Ace Posted at 2018-2-19 18:53
That was awesome. Glad it worked. But after watching all of that I would just order a new Spark.

Haha I am actually with you! Or maybe buy one off craigslist.   The cost differential does not justify repairing it... especially since the repairs are inevitably more expensive than the initial estimate.
It was a fun exercise, but if I had it to do over again, I would definitely consider just upgrading to a mavic.

Interesting watch.

So now you own a DIY Spark

Pretty cool to bring the SPARK to the baby. It shows that SPARK is as safe as handling a baby !!

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-2-20 02:47
So now you own a DIY Spark

A bit!

Thanks for watching!

S.J Posted at 2018-2-20 03:13
Pretty cool to bring the SPARK to the baby. It shows that SPARK is as safe as handling a baby !!

In my experience, the Spark has done exactly what I’ve told it to do and nothing different. I do fly it around my kids a lot because it gives interesting perspectives.

Good work thanks for sharing

RobertWSimpson Posted at 2018-2-20 05:37
A bit!

Thanks for watching!

You're welcome!

JoeCec Posted at 2018-2-20 06:06
Good work thanks for sharing

Thank you, I am glad that you liked it!

Nice video! And definitely award goes to the best acting part of the year in dji forums ... to the Mr. Simpson!!! Congratulations!
And for the serious part, my condolences for your loss.

Raimenzio Posted at 2018-2-20 09:53
Nice video! And definitely award goes to the best acting part of the year in dji forums ... to the Mr. Simpson!!! Congratulations! [view_image]
And for the serious part, my condolences for your loss.

haha thanks for that award.  Do I have to do a speech now???

Not necessarily, but feel free if you want =)

Raimenzio Posted at 2018-2-20 10:45
Not necessarily, but feel free if you want =)

I think I'm ok, but thanks for the opportunity!

Lovely shots and a sad story... but hey! You got it back up! Good job! <celebration mode>

That means passion!!!
And that is what a 'model maniac' requires!
Respect!

GoldenSun Posted at 2018-2-20 12:41
Lovely shots and a sad story... but hey! You got it back up! Good job!

indeed! going to lake tahoe this weekend, should make for some interesting shots!

dj_dread Posted at 2018-2-20 13:03
That means passion!!!
And that is what a 'model maniac' requires!
Respect!

thank you sir!

RobertWSimpson Posted at 2018-2-20 13:15
indeed! going to lake tahoe this weekend, should make for some interesting shots!

Be sure to share them with us!

GoldenSun Posted at 2018-2-20 13:34
Be sure to share them with us!

oh I definitely will.