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Genuine Discussion-Inspire falling out of the sky for no apparent reason?
1853 20 2015-5-3
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FictitiousPerso
Second Officer
Flight distance : 303356 ft
Italy
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Can we have some input about the dreaded epxperience of this to see if theres a common link to the bird falling out of the sky and/or the remote shutting off midflight.

My questions are:Was the update file left on the card and maybe the bird started one(even though all was updated prior)???
Was your ipad/tablet in using cell, was it only wifi mode, was it in airplane mode?


NO TROLLS PLEASE

2015-5-3
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leoamartinez
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I would recommend to have a unique sd cards only for the updates files, also, to get a USD dongle sd card reader and update the RC with it. It works at perfection!
2015-5-3
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RichJ53
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once the updates are completed remove these files or... use a dedicated micro SD for firmware updates. I use the original µSD card for the updates and use a 64gig Sandisk Extreme Plus for filming.
2015-5-3
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averbouwens
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Well, I just lost Bird 1.

My sd card contained the firmware update.  Do you think this was the reason for my loss?
2015-5-3
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Rockeyes
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averbouwens Posted at 2015-5-4 00:21
Well, I just lost Bird 1.

My sd card contained the firmware update.  Do you think this was the reas ...

Don't worry I cant see anywhere in the manual where it says remove it. By the way I don't.

I would be helpful if you any anyone else that had this issue. List exactly what happen and the birds config etc.

Well done FictitiousPerso Its about time someone did this. Maybe if we could have some standard reporting form drafted up with some quick tick boxes etc for the guys to complete. It would help getting the info collated / standardised.  Then keep them first post.
2015-5-3
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hcpilot
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I use a different SD card for updates too and I have had no problems!!!!
2015-5-3
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PeteGould
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I always leave the update files on the microSD card in the camera, and have had no problems at all.   I believe the unit only looks for the update files when it is initially powered up. It would be almost unthinkable for the software to look for those files and commence an update midflight.   What I think is more likely is a sudden, catastrophic failure of the battery system. I think that's the direction DJI is probably looking, and the one we should be looking as well.  

There have been several descriptions of sudden voltage drops, resulting in an aircraft going from 50% remaining charge to 15% remaining charge in just a few seconds. If that triggers a RTH, which involves a significant climb to reach the preset RTH altitude, the remaining battery capacity could be consumed in the climb.   Although there is a critical low at which the aircraft is supposed to land in place without returning home, if the voltage drop is fast enough it may not have time.   Sooner or later, the pack will simply shut off.     I've been wondering if  The sudden drops result from  some variant of that scenario.
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Rockeyes
lvl.4

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PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-4 02:53
I always leave the update files on the microSD card in the camera, and have had no problems at all.  ...

I'm sold on that.

Just seen another post with ESC fail.  Lucky bird was not in flight. WTF is happening?
2015-5-3
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PeteGould
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Rockeyes Posted at 2015-5-4 03:22
I'm sold on that.

Just seen another post with ESC fail.  Lucky bird was not in flight. WTF is ha ...


I don't know.  But it's getting really damned creepy.

I flew four packs yesterday without incident.  Varying altitudes, distances, etc.

Thus far there are only two issues that I've seen in my own experience.  In one, I ran into an issue after programming a distance boundary and when the Inspire encountered it, it became impossible to disengage from it until RTH triggered.  This could have been user error - the bird was very new.  The other issue involves loss of video feed when running dual controllers (haven't seen it with a single controller).  Other than that, my own experience has been flawless.  I never fly on a partial charge and I always start heading for home at 50% and am prepared to land shortly after the first critical battery warning.  I always run the current firmware and current app, and I keep the firmware update .bin file in the root folder of the MicroSD card as a matter of habit.  I use an iPad Air 2 which is kept in airplane mode.  Since it is wifi only, I use an iPhone 6+ running as a hotspot to update the map.

With that said, a number of these incidents involve Inspires that have had many successful previous flights and then suddenly, out of the blue, Something Goes Wrong.  So there is nothing magical about what I'm doing.  I hope we can collate enough data to establish a pattern.
2015-5-3
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jimhare
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PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-4 04:48
I don't know.  But it's getting really damned creepy.

I flew four packs yesterday without inciden ...

Hey Pete,

I recently learned that when using dual remotes they communicate with each other via wifi and having wifi on in your phone/tablet will screw the signal.  

A friend did a test and was getting contacts video dropouts but after turning wifi off it worked perfectly.
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PeteGould
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jimhare Posted at 2015-5-4 05:50
Hey Pete,

I recently learned that when using dual remotes they communicate with each other via wi ...

This continues the confusion coming out of DJI.  What you say makes perfect sense.  However, DJI_Autumn reported that while the remotes communicate directly in terms of gimbal and camera control signals, each one is *supposedly* getting video direct from the bird, which seems to be comfirmed by the below excerpt from the manual.  So that wouldn't explain losing the image on the second remote (which seems to be the most common problem), it would explain losing camera and gimbal control.

I wonder if it's just that having wifi turned on, with the phone or ipad in such close proximity to the controller, creates enough RF pollution that it just can't get a clear channel.  That would be consistent with the firmware update reducing the number of available channels.

Either way - I'll definitely try ensuring that wifi is OFF on everything and seeing if that makes a difference.

Thanks.


InspireManual1pt2P29.PNG
2015-5-3
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jimhare
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PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-4 06:25
This continues the confusion coming out of DJI.  What you say makes perfect sense.  However, DJI_Au ...

Not sure why wifi would interfere with the video signal if that's the case.    I keep wifi on all the time and never have a problem with the video signal on the main remote.  Only have issues with video on the second remote, which turning wifi off corrects.

My friend spoke to Ed, who said this was the case and turning it off certainly worked.  

Wonder what's going on...
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PeteGould
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jimhare Posted at 2015-5-4 07:26
Not sure why wifi would interfere with the video signal if that's the case.    I keep wifi on all t ...

I dunno - but I'm certainly going to try it!

Thanks for the info.
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Marktho1
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jimhare Posted at 2015-5-4 07:26
Not sure why wifi would interfere with the video signal if that's the case.    I keep wifi on all t ...

Not sure if this is relevant...the other night I had the bird in the air doing time-lapse just one controller on... While it was setting there I checked my email with my phone right next to the controller. As soon as I "checked" for mail the video signal dropped. I tried it a few times and each time while checking for mail the video signal dropped... I tried it on safari also and during page load the signal would drop... Its weird tho because the only time I have signal issues is when I am using my phone on the second controller but I always have it on airplane mode...
2015-5-3
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mtnred
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jimhare Posted at 2015-5-4 05:50
Hey Pete,

I recently learned that when using dual remotes they communicate with each other via wi ...

Just a thought and I am no expert .We own a Spin Studio and our teachers are using wireless mics . If they have a cell phone near the transmitter and a call/text comes in ,we get feed back and the signal fails .We now put phones on aircraft mode to stop this .Even if the Teachers are not using the phone to play the music and using a CD the same problem can happen .Took me a long time to work out what the problem was .May be not relevant .  
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techellc
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Marktho1 Posted at 2015-5-4 09:21
Not sure if this is relevant...the other night I had the bird in the air doing time-lapse just one ...

LTE causes havoc with many things, one of them is 2.4Ghz where I believe lightbridge transmits and receives.

Now I am def going to make sure devices in airplane mode
2015-5-3
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Airosa
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PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-4 04:48
I don't know.  But it's getting really damned creepy.

I flew four packs yesterday without inciden ...

Same here.
Several successful flights yesterday.
The issue with intermittent vid feed loss went away after the latest app update and the fact that I started to switch off wifi on the Galaxy 8.4 tab. Now I keep it only on 3G to load the maps and nothing it's running on the background. Fresh start before loading the app.
so far so good. Flawless.
2015-5-3
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Rockeyes
lvl.4

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Confused:
I thought was not to use airplane mode as it knocks out the GPS on the iPhone, tablet or what ever and the Inspire can depend on getting this information.  

DJI. Please give us some decent manuals.
2015-5-4
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PeteGould
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Rockeyes Posted at 2015-5-4 16:24
Confused:
I thought was not to use airplane mode as it knocks out the GPS on the iPhone, tablet or w ...

Doesn't caching the map address what we need from the iPhone/iPad?  I'm not sure what we lose by going to airplane mode after that.  Am I missing something?

(+1 on more complete and detailed manuals).

2015-5-4
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Ph02on
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I use Dual remotes regularly with two android devices.  I always have both my devices switched into Airplane mode even before I power up the inspire.  (It is part of my preflight check list).  I have never yet had a problem with video feeds dropping out on either controller.  As I understand it, the 5.8Ghz link that connects the two controllers has very limited range, so my son who operates the camera usually stands next to me.
So far, everything is working perfectly and we haven't had any real issues to speak of.
Really loving the Inspire at the moment.

Jason
2015-5-4
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Rockeyes
lvl.4

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PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-4 22:12
Doesn't caching the map address what we need from the iPhone/iPad?  I'm not sure what we lose by go ...

Yes but once the caching has been done by searching around the area you wish to fly that's it. No more internet connection via WiFi or 3G needed.

If we go to 'Airplane mode' on the iPad the GPS no longer works. On iPads with the cellular option there is built in GPS which is supported by WiFi referencing. Those iPads without the cellular option do not have a GPS module built in and depend solely on WiFi.

Over on a post that Genettico put up he discovered that in 'Airplane mode ' on the iPad the controllers location became erratic and inaccurate.  DJI posted that the controller used the tablets built in GPS system.

So something is either broken down in the language barrier or since the last firmware upgrade the GPS source priorities have been messed with.

If access to the detailed manuals is restricted at the moment. Maybe a detailed list of what was carried out over each firmware upgrade could be made available now.  
2015-5-4
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