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Bye bye Sparkie!

I was until yesterday, the proud owner of a spark. It was a brief but exciting relationship. I purchased a Trello in December and was hooked! I upgraded to a Spark a month later. We shared many fun times together but yesterday it filed for divorce and I haven’t seen it since. It was 50m up and 100m out (not far at all) in a light breeze in a built up residential area when it suddenly disconnected and disappeared out of site. I pressed the return to home button after a minute or two (usually it auto returns) but 15 minutes later there was still no sign of it. It had GPS lock, I never take off without that and the home point was verified as correct just after takeoff. I spent the next hour pacing up and down the field but no success.
I tried the “find my drone” app but as far as I can tell it just indicated the location at the time it became disconnected.

Anyone have any advice as to my next step, I miss her terribly
Wow a divorce and never to see her again , that's unheard of, they just keep reoccurring usually, only if we were talking about the same thing youd have your drone back by now . Hahahahahaha
 
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I will name my next drone “317”

Aww, I'm blushing.;)

You don't have to do that, but if you think about getting another one, use it to look for Spark #1.:)
 
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The drop in GPS satellites should be gradual and not abrupt. Could be a problem with GPS unit of the spark. If it was a temporary compass interferance, spark should have auto fixed itself once cleared. I have seen my spark auto calibrate compass midair after I launch from top of washing machine. I was testing to see what it does and was surprised to see message displayed on GO4 app. It was within VSP range so stable hovering regardless of problems from taking off.
 
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I seen on the news just yesterday that the North Pole magnetic field is shifting if I remember correctly, and that will interfere with GPS in general,so maybe that could of been a problem,as I read your post made me think twice of putting my drone up in the air, my spark that is
The magnetic North pole is shifting but the magnetic South pole isn't . I don't think the compass readings in Australia would notice any change caused by the shifting magnetic North pole.
 
The Spark is becoming very famous for it's GPS unit failures . It indicates " Weak GPS " but it really means that the GPS is somehow sending bad data to the IMU. Unfortunately DJI doesn't want to admit that it's selling a product that's faulty.

It happens often enough that I’m not certain I’m going to open the spark they’re sending to replace the one that flew away, and I might just sell it. I recently bought a pro and a pro platinum. Keeping the platinum, it’s such a difference with connection, distance and flight time. But unfortunate the Spark isn’t more reliable, I like its size and sturdiness more than the pros.
 
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This is exactly why it is illegal to fly drones in residential areas. As a professional drone pilot I understand why drone laws are getting tighter and tighter. Keep up the good work.
 
It happens often enough that I’m not certain I’m going to open the spark they’re sending to replace the one that flew away, and I might just sell it. I recently bought a pro and a pro platinum. Keeping the platinum, it’s such a difference with connection, distance and flight time. But unfortunate the Spark isn’t more reliable, I like its size and sturdiness more than the pros.
If you decide to fly the Spark , I would set it up to optionally fly in ATTI mode . The following video shows how to do it .
 
This is exactly why it is illegal to fly drones in residential areas. As a professional drone pilot I understand why drone laws are getting tighter and tighter. Keep up the good work.

This is not true in the U.S.

There is no regulation that specifically prohibits flying over houses in a residential neighborhood.

Flying over groups of people is a no-no. But groups of houses is a not a problem.
 
If you decide to fly the Spark , I would set it up to optionally fly in ATTI mode . The following video shows how to do it .

Was reading g about Atti Mode last night trying to understand it more. I understand the altitude flight itself, just not exactly why it goes in and out of it during flights as much as mine did, and what the biggest risks are.
I’ve read people say never fly in Atti Mode and all sorts of things. To be more specific, I didn’t grow up with technology and I’m not a big user of it. I have common sense and a basic knowledge of what what’s going on with a WiFi connection and gps, and how to manually fly the drone, but a lot of the technical details people talk about is sometimes over my head. Reading the other topic about the guy who’s not sure about unboxing his either was encouraging though, I’m thinking I’m going to keep it.
 
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I am a Newbie to Drone flying and have only done 30 flights in total. 10 of these have have switched to ATTI mode and its the best thing to have happened. I now know to be familiar with:
My surrounding so i have my visual RTH in my head.
Getting to know my flight logs.
Pre flight checks.
Etc.

I actually enjoy ATTI mode and took a cool clip of a seal on a beach in strong wind in ATTI mode.
It should be an option to switch too out of the box, it helps when you loose GPS signal.

I found the most important thing is not too panick when ATTI mode enables get it up high and get you reference point looking at your video on the screen then bring it back.



Was reading g about Atti Mode last night trying to understand it more. I understand the altitude flight itself, just not exactly why it goes in and out of it during flights as much as mine did, and what the biggest risks are.
I’ve read people say never fly in Atti Mode and all sorts of things. To be more specific, I didn’t grow up with technology and I’m not a big user of it. I have common sense and a basic knowledge of what what’s going on with a WiFi connection and gps, and how to manually fly the drone, but a lot of the technical details people talk about is sometimes over my head. Reading the other topic about the guy who’s not sure about unboxing his either was encouraging though, I’m thinking I’m going to keep it.
Was reading g about Atti Mode last night trying to understand it more. I understand the altitude flight itself, just not exactly why it goes in and out of it during flights as much as mine did, and what the biggest risks are.
I’ve read people say never fly in Atti Mode and all sorts of things. To be more specific, I didn’t grow up with technology and I’m not a big user of it. I have common sense and a basic knowledge of what what’s going on with a WiFi connection and gps, and how to manually fly the drone, but a lot of the technical details people talk about is sometimes over my head. Reading the other topic about the guy who’s not sure about unboxing his either was encouraging though, I’m thinking I’m going to keep it.
 
Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Davebrmc.

That is the experience I have had the few times my Spark went into Atti-mode... don't panic, gain altitude and fly it back.

I'd keep an eye your Spark if going into Atti-mode that often, there may be a reason why depending on the area or the Spark itself.

Welcome to the Forum.:cool:
 
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Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Davebrmc.

That is the experience I have had the few times my Spark went into Atti-mode... don't panic, gain altitude and fly it back.

I'd keep an eye your Spark if going into Atti-mode that often, there may be a reason why depending on the area or the Spark itself.

Welcome to the Forum.:cool:
Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Davebrmc.

That is the experience I have had the few times my Spark went into Atti-mode... don't panic, gain altitude and fly it back.

I'd keep an eye your Spark if going into Atti-mode that often, there may be a reason why depending on the area or the Spark itself.

Welcome to the Forum.:cool:

When mine would go into Atti Mode it seemed to come right out of it, and often it would say Atti Mode Atti Mode, so I’m not really certain it ever stayed in Atti Mode long enough for me to have to deal with it. But if the compass and gps are off then you don’t have the small map with the drone icon in the left corner, but just have the video on your phone? I wouldn’t even need video view if I had the corner info up, but if you still have video feed in Atti Mode what’s hard about flying in it, or am I completely wrong about what is and isn’t going on in A mode?
 
Thanks Spark 317.
This forum is awesome!

I think the main reason for my spark is loss of GPS signal due to terrain, it mainly happens where GPS signal is weak surrounding mountains very close etc.

My second flight it disconnected and took off, i was not using an OTG cable then. I wont fly in a footy feild with 4 massive metal light poles again....

Cheers

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Davebrmc.

That is the experience I have had the few times my Spark went into Atti-mode... don't panic, gain altitude and fly it back.

I'd keep an eye your Spark if going into Atti-mode that often, there may be a reason why depending on the area or the Spark itself.

Welcome to the Forum.:cool:
 
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When mine would go into Atti Mode it seemed to come right out of it, and often it would say Atti Mode Atti Mode, so I’m not really certain it ever stayed in Atti Mode long enough for me to have to deal with it. But if the compass and gps are off then you don’t have the small map with the drone icon in the left corner, but just have the video on your phone? I wouldn’t even need video view if I had the corner info up, but if you still have video feed in Atti Mode what’s hard about flying in it, or am I completely wrong about what is and isn’t going on in A mode?


Same here, a brief interruption and not that big of a deal if you have eyes on the Spark and the camera view can help to pilot it in the correct direction should you need to get it home. When it happened to me at the time, I didn't think about the map.
 
Looks like you where flying in sport mode as well, it can move along at a great speed if you are not experienced and lose sight of it. Best not fly in sport mode in built up areas or if you are not too experienced !
 
When mine would go into Atti Mode it seemed to come right out of it, and often it would say Atti Mode Atti Mode, so I’m not really certain it ever stayed in Atti Mode long enough for me to have to deal with it. But if the compass and gps are off then you don’t have the small map with the drone icon in the left corner, but just have the video on your phone? I wouldn’t even need video view if I had the corner info up, but if you still have video feed in Atti Mode what’s hard about flying in it, or am I completely wrong about what is and isn’t going on in A mode?
I think the main differences between Atti and GPS when flying manually are drift due to wind and braking distances. So in Atti you have to be more cautious to avoid obstacles. Correct me if i'm wrong.
 
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