I just learned an expensive lesson when flying near a dam. I was flying my drone at Lake Hartwell, GA and was backing away to get a shot of the lake from around 175 feet. I was 1,000 feet away and all of a sudden lost contact with the drone; never to be seen again. It would've been great if DAM's were part of the no-fly zone database, but I guess they aren't.

I was hoping to buy a replacement drone from DJI and that's when I learned they are no longer in production. So, should I try to sell the 3 batteries, controller, back-pack and various accessories and upgrade or take a chance on buying a used one?

Hi, thank you for reaching out and we're deeply sorry to know the incident happen to your DJI Phantom 4 Pro. Upon checking on our store website, we only have available refurbished units for the DJI Phantom 4 Pro and currently we don't have stocks for the brand new one. Also, hope that you could get the best recommendation and suggestions from our valued DJI members here in Forum. Thank you for your kind and continued support!

DJI Gamora Posted at 10-17 09:30
Hi, thank you for reaching out and we're deeply sorry to know the incident happen to your DJI Phantom 4 Pro. Upon checking on our store website, we only have available refurbished units for the DJI Phantom 4 Pro and currently we don't have stocks for the brand new one. Also, hope that you could get the best recommendation and suggestions from our valued DJI members here in Forum. Thank you for your kind and continued support!

I would consider a refurbished unit at this time. How can I find out the cost for just the drone, I already have the controller.

What does the no-fly zone database have to do with the loss of your drone?

Labroides Posted at 10-17 13:01
What does the no-fly zone database have to do with the loss of your drone?

He wished there was a no fly zone, to prevent the loss.


RedHotPoker

The presence of a dam has no bearing on the loss of your aircraft, and having a no fly zone would simply have stopped you taking off and drawn even more criticism of DJI. If you want to find out what happened, and possibly where your aircraft is, go here and follow the instructions to upload your flight data: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/ Then come back and post a link to the results.

When I think back to the Brazeau Dam construction, there was tons of rebar inside its concrete mix.
That couldn’t have been good for the drones compass, flying near a dam.


RedHotPoker

Dennis D Posted at 10-17 10:03
I would consider a refurbished unit at this time. How can I find out the cost for just the drone, I already have the controller.

Hi, you can check out our other dealers and re-sellers using the link below for you to possibly purchase a drone with no RC, You may refer to the link below. Thank you for your continued support!

www.dji.com/where-to-buy

Geebax Posted at 10-17 13:20
The presence of a dam has no bearing on the loss of your aircraft, and having a no fly zone would simply have stopped you taking off and drawn even more criticism of DJI. If you want to find out what happened, and possibly where your aircraft is, go here and follow the instructions to upload your flight data: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/ Then come back and post a link to the results.

Geebax, why are you being so hostile? I was not criticizing DJI and the presence of a dam run by the Army Corp of Engineers means they might have safeguards that prevent any type of drone from flying near or over the dam. If a database with locations of airports can be put together then I was only saying it would've been great if dams were included.

I took your advice to retrieve the flight log and it had around 18 occurrences of "Strong wireless interference. Please fly with caution". I searched this forum and found this has been something being reported for quite a while. I'm still going with my conspiracy theory that my drone was taken down electronically.


I'm also a huge fan of DJI and looking at my loss as an excuse to get the next model

Dennis D Posted at 10-18 15:15
Geebax, why are you being so hostile? I was not criticizing DJI and the presence of a dam run by the Army Corp of Engineers means they might have safeguards that prevent any type of drone from flying near or over the dam. If a database with locations of airports can be put together then I was only saying it would've been great if dams were included.

I took your advice to retrieve the flight log and it had around 18 occurrences of "Strong wireless interference. Please fly with caution". I searched this forum and found this has been something being reported for quite a while. I'm still going with my conspiracy theory that my drone was taken down electronically.

Not hostile, concise. I don't have time to spend with long winded explanations. As I have already said, the presence of the dam has no bearing on the incident. No-one spends thousands of dollars to bring down a drone because it is being flown near a dam. Have you any idea what would happen to a dam if you crashed a drone into it? Nothing....

The last thing any drone pilot needs is even more locations being added to the Do-Not-Fly database, much less a dam where the drone is no threat to anyone.

Strong Wireless Interference gets reported from time to time, and the reason is that we share a non-essential radio frequency allocation with thousands of other radio devices, the most common of which are WiFi services.

RedHotPoker Posted at 10-17 14:48
When I think back to the Brazeau Dam construction, there was tons of rebar inside its concrete mix.
That couldn’t have been good for the drones compass, flying near a dam.

Sure ... if he was flying closer than 10 feet from the dam.
Flying over an 800 ft long steel ship at 30 feet has no effect on the compass.
And magnetic issues don't bring drones down anyway.

Dennis D Posted at 10-18 15:15
Geebax, why are you being so hostile? I was not criticizing DJI and the presence of a dam run by the Army Corp of Engineers means they might have safeguards that prevent any type of drone from flying near or over the dam. If a database with locations of airports can be put together then I was only saying it would've been great if dams were included.

I took your advice to retrieve the flight log and it had around 18 occurrences of "Strong wireless interference. Please fly with caution". I searched this forum and found this has been something being reported for quite a while. I'm still going with my conspiracy theory that my drone was taken down electronically.

a dam run by the Army Corp of Engineers means they might have safeguards that prevent any type of drone from flying near or over the dam.
There's no chance of that, it's beyond unlikely.
Why would they bother?  Drones pose no threat to the dam.

I took your advice to retrieve the flight log and it had around 18 occurrences of "Strong wireless interference. Please fly with caution". I searched this forum and found this has been something being reported for quite a while. I'm still going with my conspiracy theory that my drone was taken down electronically.
If you post your flight data, someone may be able to analyse it and give some more information.
An electronic takedown would show very clearly in the flight data if such a thing happened.

Interference is commonly seen when flying in urban areas but it doesn't cause a drone to fall from the sky.
At worst it might cause a loss of signal which would trigger a return to home.
On a list of possible causes for the loss of your drone, electronically shooting it down wouldn't even rate in the top 100.
I've investigated hundreds of flight incidents and still not seen or heard of one where the drone was brought down by electronic methods.

Labroides Posted at 10-18 20:06
Sure ... if he was flying closer than 10 feet from the dam.
Flying over an 800 ft long steel ship at 30 feet has no effect on the compass.
And magnetic issues don't bring drones down anyway.

So out side a ten foot perimeter you would be safe to fly?



RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 10-18 21:36
So out side a ten foot perimeter you would be safe to fly?

Easily .. no problem at all

Labroides Posted at 10-19 00:20
Easily .. no problem at all

I must have been thinking because We always tell people not to take off, from driveways or roads where underlying steel rods are placed for stability.  Yet people continue to do it, everyday.
I thought the greater amount of steel would have further reaching magnetisms.


RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 10-19 00:46
I must have been thinking because We always tell people not to take off, from driveways or roads where underlying steel rods are placed for stability.  Yet people continue to do it, everyday.
I thought the greater amount of steel would have further reaching magnetisms.

Take off from a reinforced concrete surface or a wooden deck with steel bolts, and if your luck is bad, the compass might be only an inch from the steel.
Get a common handheld compass and pass a steel nail or bolt just an inch away and see how it affects it.
Move a foot away and the effect is what?
Fly at normal distances to the largest ship or bridge (or dam) and there's no compass effect at all.

Labroides Posted at 10-19 00:55
Take off from a reinforced concrete surface or a wooden deck with steel bolts, and if your luck is bad, the compass might be only an inch from the steel.
Get a common handheld compass and pass a steel nail or bolt just an inch away and see how it affects it.
Move a foot away and the effect is what?

Yet guys fly from ships and yachts.  


RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 10-19 02:12
Yet guys fly from ships and yachts.  

Yet guys fly from ships and yachts.  
Yes and .... ?
They don't take off from the steel deck of a ship with their compass an inch from the steel or just above the engine on a smaller boat.
They hand launch or launch from a wooden/fibreglass etc surface a few feet off the deck.

Labroides Posted at 10-19 04:26
Yet guys fly from ships and yachts.  
Yes and .... ?
They don't take off from the steel deck of a ship with their compass an inch from the steel or just above the engine on a smaller boat.

You seem more knowledgeable than many or most people here. Which is great, for the community and those who feel more safe just by standing.

Thanks a lot for your willingness to continue answering the same questions in your friendly manner.

You’ve helped far more people than perhaps you realize. ;-)


RedHotPoker

.

All, I must concede that my issue was something other than flying near the dam; however, I did spark some useful dialog I uploaded the flight log and it doesn't show anything unusual. I lost contact way before the dam and just off the shore from a dock.  https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/2NQEYGY0XYJ4X5IQIV7I

Dennis D Posted at 10-19 09:51
All, I must concede that my issue was something other than flying near the dam; however, I did spark some useful dialog  I uploaded the flight log and it doesn't show anything unusual. I lost contact way before the dam and just off the shore from a dock.  https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/2NQEYGY0XYJ4X5IQIV7I

There is nothing unusual showing up in the log. I wonder if you might have had a bird strike. If it was a deliberate electronic take-down, the log would be full of interference warnings.

Warning Message, Your Drone Is being dispelled by laser beam.



RedHotPoker

Thank you all for indulging me. I'm putting this experience behind me and patiently waiting for the Phantom 5 to come out

Dennis D Posted at 10-19 17:31
Thank you all for indulging me. I'm putting this experience behind me and patiently waiting for the Phantom 5 to come out

Let us know when they release it.


Inquiring minds want to know. Hahaha




RedHotPoker

I've had quite a few encounters with birds, esp when flying across waterways or close to edge. The P4P got ganged up by 3 ravens once, and they were not happy, gave it a good go, i could see the drone getting knocked.   Other time was couple seaguls, but they didn't put up much of a fight.    I was also stalked by a falcon (i believe) once.

Labroides Posted at 10-18 20:14
a dam run by the Army Corp of Engineers means they might have safeguards that prevent any type of drone from flying near or over the dam.
There's no chance of that, it's beyond unlikely.
Why would they bother?  Drones pose no threat to the dam.

Drones are a threat to the dam according to the army corp of engineers. It is the surveillance thing, not the drone crashing into it.  I flew over 15 miles from the Burnsville dam over a small waterfall. I was still on corps property  and my wife brought the no drone flying signs to my attention. Totally surprised me. I brought her in and left.
Another time I checked before I flew over the Tagart Rive Dam. No signs anywhere. I was 2,000 feet across the dam and 2 guys started yelling at me. I brought it right back. They were nice, but said I wasn't allowed to fly over the dam or reservoir. Surveillance issue.  

Evidence of a birdstrike or collision shows up clearly in recorded flight data.
It can be eliminated in this incident as the flight data ends with the drone in stable flight.
The ultimate cause will have been a sudden total loss of power.

fans9d4538a0 Posted at 10-20 16:41
I've had quite a few encounters with birds, esp when flying across waterways or close to edge. The P4P got ganged up by 3 ravens once, and they were not happy, gave it a good go, i could see the drone getting knocked.   Other time was couple seaguls, but they didn't put up much of a fight.    I was also stalked by a falcon (i believe) once.

I’d love to see videos of birds attacking your drone. ;-)

Do you have any footage?
.

RedHotPoker

RHP,  you love Nascar,  YES?



Randy

rwynant V1 Posted at 10-20 19:56
RHP,  you love Nascar,  YES?

Well yeah, who doesn’t?


Crash boom bang... and a great drum solo. Hahaha


RedHotPoker

Goldenseal Posted at 10-20 18:29
Drones are a threat to the dam according to the army corp of engineers. It is the surveillance thing, not the drone crashing into it.  I flew over 15 miles from the Burnsville dam over a small waterfall. I was still on corps property  and my wife brought the no drone flying signs to my attention. Totally surprised me. I brought her in and left.
Another time I checked before I flew over the Tagart Rive Dam. No signs anywhere. I was 2,000 feet across the dam and 2 guys started yelling at me. I brought it right back. They were nice, but said I wasn't allowed to fly over the dam or reservoir. Surveillance issue.

Drones are a threat to the dam according to the army corp of engineers. It is the surveillance thing, not the drone crashing into it.  ...
They were nice, but said I wasn't allowed to fly over the dam or reservoir. Surveillance issue.  
Yeah .. a surveillance issue
Who knows what harm might be done if someone was to take a photograph from an elevated perspective?
I assume they do everything possible to keep you from seeing the dam at ground level too?
As well as prevent aircraft flying over and people looking at the dam on Google Earth?

Regardless of their silly surveillance position, they aren't forcing errant drones out of the air.

That Damn Dam. ;-)


RedHotPoker

Dennis D Posted at 10-19 09:51
All, I must concede that my issue was something other than flying near the dam; however, I did spark some useful dialog  I uploaded the flight log and it doesn't show anything unusual. I lost contact way before the dam and just off the shore from a dock.  https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/2NQEYGY0XYJ4X5IQIV7I

Looks like a sudden loss of power to me,  no signs of compass errors etc.

No feathers.




RedHotPoker

Labroides Posted at 10-20 21:00
Drones are a threat to the dam according to the army corp of engineers. It is the surveillance thing, not the drone crashing into it.  ...
They were nice, but said I wasn't allowed to fly over the dam or reservoir. Surveillance issue.  
Yeah .. a surveillance issue

I mentioned those things. They said the immediate new information was the threat.  I also asked, "Why no drone flying signs?" I said that they have schools marked as NFZ, so why not a 2,000 + foot dam?

Goldenseal Posted at 10-23 15:38
I mentioned those things. They said the immediate new information was the threat.  I also asked, "Why no drone flying signs?" I said that they have schools marked as NFZ, so why not a 2,000 + foot dam?

They said the immediate new information was the threat.
Because there's so much new information around a dam ... like it looks exactly as it did last year and the year before that, and having that knowledge could make a person dangerous.

This is the same silly mindset that was using police to stop tourists photographing famous bridges in New York back in Sept 2001.
It's pointless and stupid.
It's hard to deal with that level of small-minded paranoia.