Not sure what to do. I was flying an already replaced Spark that didn't return to home when in trouble originally and now I have a repeat offense only i have no idea where it is.

Was not far from my house and was trying to fly it back to myself and all of a sudden it DC'd and I couldn' see or hear it anymore. Assumed it fell down but I can't find it anywhere.

Here is my log:

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/MP70JIFLH00QI8ZC3XO4/

I thought these things were supposed to be smart and good at these things.

Any help would be appreciated, could you assume it's last known position would be where it "fell." If so I will scour the area some more.

Thanks

Pete

Also MODS please move to the right section if this is not correct.

Thanks

And yes I see that "home" is in the middle of my house. I checked the roof, it's not there lol.

Hello and good day Pete. I am sorry to know what happened to your DJI Spark. Since this issue happened to your drone the best thing you need to do is to contact DJI Support at https://www.dji.com/support and create a ticket or your drone for further help. Please sync the flight records as well using your DJI Go 4 application for further help. Thank you.

DJI Stephen Posted at 3-4 11:04
Hello and good day Pete. I am sorry to know what happened to your DJI Spark. Since this issue happened to your drone the best thing you need to do is to contact DJI Support at https://www.dji.com/support and create a ticket or your drone for further help. Please sync the flight records as well using your DJI Go 4 application for further help. Thank you.

[view_image]

Thanks, opened a ticket. I have Refresh Care but I assume I am out of luck since I cannot find the drone....

Case Number: CAS-2787023-Y1Z6S2

Hi Pete,

Had a look at your flight.

The reason that HP was not set at take off point because of low GPS reception, just 2 bars.After atke-off distance start to indicate wiith 15, should be about 0 ofcourse.
During flight a warning "Weak GPS signal. Positioning accuracy may be compromised. Please fly with caution."
2 short moments flyinb in OPTI mode. (weak gps/reception)

But after while 20 sats and 5 bars for reception.

At 64 meter high and 38 meters away you lost connection, no errors before disconnection, so what happend?

1) batt dismounted from Spark, so it just dropped out of the sky.
2) after 3 seconds it should RTH, you did check the roof....
3) did a RTH to other position due to 15 meters off set HP <> take-off point.

So it must be close to your house somewhere....hope you will find your Spark.

cheers
JJB

Good luck with your search Hazexban. I see that there are trees in the area, and that your Spark was high enough to descend into one. From experience I can say that it often takes a very careful look to find a  small UAV in a tree.

JJB* Posted at 3-4 12:33
Hi Pete,

Had a look at your flight.

Thanks so much! I will look again!

You didn't get a good GPS lock at take-off and for the initial 15s or so, you were getting repeated GPS warnings. You should have flown back right at that point and took-off again.
However, the GPS reception improved later on and your drone was responsive to stick movements of the RC till the very end. You may have hit something (may be a tree) and the impact caused the battery to pop out.

Oh if only you had a Tile-pro installed!  I'm really thinking that I should get one.  This is a good example where it would be easier to at least get close to it and maybe spot it.

nilanjan118 Posted at 3-4 16:20
You didn't get a good GPS lock at take-off and for the initial 15s or so, you were getting repeated GPS warnings. You should have flown back right at that point and took-off again.
However, the GPS reception improved later on and your drone was responsive to stick movements of the RC till the very end. You may have hit something (may be a tree) and the impact caused the battery to pop out.
[view_image]

Good info but I was also well above the tree line.

MccloudSpark Posted at 3-4 16:44
Oh if only you had a Tile-pro installed!  I'm really thinking that I should get one.  This is a good example where it would be easier to at least get close to it and maybe spot it.

Great idea!

Too many trees block the radio frequency signal?  The band used is high enough that objects can block it along.  It used to be a non-issue since models had to be in line of sight and near by to control them.  The Spark is easy to fly behind something so the operator doesn't have a clear signal path.  

Lots of things can stop a radio control model in the air.  Hard to tell by the view of the terrain but if the neighbor's house is higher than the launch point, its trees could easily be at the Spark's altitude.  Is the neighbor a good shot with a shotgun?  Do crows tolerate intruders in their airspace?

Hazexban Posted at 3-4 16:48
Good info but I was also well above the tree line.

Just speculating. Apart from the weak GPS signal initially, your connection seems solid throughout the flight and then suddenly the log stops. At the last recorded point on your log, you were going at full speed on P-mode and although the front sensor should have detected an obstacle, it can be anything as small as a twig which it failed to sense.

nilanjan118 Posted at 3-4 17:00
Just speculating. Apart from the weak GPS signal initially, your connection seems solid throughout the flight and then suddenly the log stops. At the last recorded point on your log, you were going at full speed on P-mode and although the front sensor should have detected an obstacle, it can be anything as small as a twig which it failed to sense.

Speed last few moments just 3.2 m/s not that fast.
Normally when a drone bumps into it is seen by rapid picth and roll angles.
Not is this flight.

So imo a 'normal' disconnection, wich should have made the drone gets into a RTH mode.
At 64 meters high guess no obstacles there, so mayby it landed top of the tree.

cheers
JJB

Good news...bad news.

Good news I found the battery!

Bad news, no Spark. But I now know the definitive area. It is winter here and it had snowed which is what I was trying to record with the flight. So there are no leaves on the trees and there is white stuff all over the ground. I have to assume it's stuck in the tree or went into the snow at an angle that I cannot see. I will wait for some more melt and look again.

So yeah battery must have fallen out mid flight...

Hazexban Posted at 3-7 11:12
Good news...bad news.

Good news I found the battery!

Good bad news....can you see how the 2 latches looks like?

Guess you have proof now for DJI, flightrecord contains serial number of the batt. [ 2975 / 0C0AE8MB330JU6 ]

cheers
JJB

Hazexban Posted at 3-7 11:12
Good news...bad news.

Good news I found the battery!

This is scary. This battery popping out situation makes the battery retainer a must-have assessorie.

Nilanjan Sharma Posted at 3-7 17:25
This is scary. This battery popping out situation makes the battery retainer a must-have assessorie.

Not really, just push in correct, listen for the click and try to pull out. if OK than no worries.

I fly my SPARK with 4 battery`s without this going to happen.
And if you have batts with short latches, don`t use them.

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 3-8 05:17
Not really, just push in correct, listen for the click and try to pull out. if OK than no worries.

I fly my SPARK with 4 battery`s without this going to happen.

I know JJB. I am yet to use a battery clip myself. I have 3 batteries and have made about 150 flights without any issue. But reading all the battery dropping out stories, I finally got one just a couple of weeks back. Better to be safe than sorry.

nilanjan118 Posted at 3-9 03:37
I know JJB. I am yet to use a battery clip myself. I have 3 batteries and have made about 150 flights without any issue. But reading all the battery dropping out stories, I finally got one just a couple of weeks back. Better to be safe than sorry.

I understand it ofcourse, a clip cost little money and give 100% security. So good choice!

cheers
JJB

oh no...seems like I need that battery guard after all. Ive had the spark for more than a year now and it would be a tragedy to lose it on a battery popping out.  Back in Dec 2017, I travelled 29 km on a boat to get to a beautiful sandbar and was able to get decent footage. I had 3 batteries then and planned to use them wisely but only to suffer a gimbal overload for some reason...another tragedy.

Still never found it but DJI came through with some awesome support. Thanks DJI!

My drone landed by itself after I selected return to home - every time I have used it previously it has had no issue. Despite the home point being updated the drone did not return. It stayed in the same place until the battery eventually died and it landed itself in water. I have dji after care (still valid) and DJI is refusing to honour it. Can someone please help..

djiuser_QZolncaGOsC0 Posted at 6-10 23:44
My drone landed by itself after I selected return to home - every time I have used it previously it has had no issue. Despite the home point being updated the drone did not return. It stayed in the same place until the battery eventually died and it landed itself in water. I have dji after care (still valid) and DJI is refusing to honour it. Can someone please help..

Hiya,

Best to upload your flightlog, using this > https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Mayby start a new thread.

cheers
JJB