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Flew up to 350 ft and Spark took off. Lost forever. DJI's respnse:

Thank you for describing what was supposed to happen but didn't. Seems to me that it didn't function as it is supposed to.

BTW, moments after it disappeared behind a tall tree I stopped hearing the motor noise and then heard the crash into the brush/trees/forest. It wasn't just taken by the wind. It was swift (as in sport mode fast), sped off for a few seconds, and powered off and crashed back to the ground. I could hear it all happen. The powering off. The crash. I wish to hell it had gone in any other direction. I probably would have found it.
 
cvansice said:
Seems to me that it didn't function as it is supposed to.
Click to expand...
We can only guess as to what happened since the log is incomplete. Switching to ATTI mode isn't necessarily not functioning as it's supposed to (assuming that's what happened).

FYI for the future, it would be a good idea to attach some kind of tracker (like this one) to your Spark if you're going to fly in locations that make retrieving a lost drone a nearly impossible task.
 
The RF-16 is a lot cheaper ;-) Not sure how the Spark would fly with one though...

That log on phantomhelp is strange, I usually see "markers" for the flight events ? Maybe it's only for the "alerts" though.

Did you lose the connection on the remote too with the led going red ?
 
Ok. So that's it then. All's been said that probably needs to be said. Just thought I'd mention it. I was someone who knew the issues with the Spark but was sure it wasn't going to happen to me. I've built multicopters before but wanted something I could just fly and not tinker with. I read the forums and watched the youtube videos. I maintained line of sight and avoided the intelligent flight modes. The lesson here. Buy DJICare. Buy State Farm insurance. Buy a tracker. Always be aware that it could fly off in any direction at any time and adjust your flight plans accordingly. My bad. Kind of takes the fun away from the thing though.

Edit: Remote, battery, and case coming soon to Ebay.
 
"Did you lose the connection on the remote too with the led going red ?"

Yes. Went red and flew away. None of the errors people report with fly aways like compass error, etc.
 
Sorry about your Spark. The very first thing I tell people when they ask about getting into quads: Be prepared for the day when your beloved flies away never to be seen again, crashes, sinks, etc. I'm not saying it *will* happen, but it's a risk that needs to be mentioned.
 
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Buddy411 said:
Sorry about your Spark. The very first thing I tell people when they ask about getting into quads: Be prepared for the day when your beloved flies away never to be seen again, crashes, sinks, etc. I'm not saying it *will* happen, but it's a risk that needs to be mentioned.
Click to expand...

Indeed, I'm not out forever but just going to take a break. Going to wait a bit for improved tech and costs to go down. It was also a mistake to buy a product with known issues.
 
Last edited:
I think DJI should replace it. If it’s not working as advertised they have a duty to reimburse you.
 
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Along with a tracker, a person who knows how to climb (tree arborist, utility worker, rock climber, etc.) that may have access to climbing gear is good to have on speed dial for recovery missions.:p

I suppose a scuba diver wouldn't be bad either.
 
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Good thing is ... there are deals below 400€ for a new Spark. A Spark flying away isn't the end of all days. A Mavic, Phantom etc. would hurt a lot more ...
 
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So many experts, so little time....

Thanks for the heads up! as for going 350ft up is nothing out of the ordinary..... If your standard commercial drone cant cope that it shouldn't be in the market....

Clearly a software glitch where DJi refuse to take part of
 
I got the exact same email from DJI after i lost mine back in august. Drone was 1500' away, RC lost connection and spark never returned home.

I feel that if the log ends abruptly without any error, it is a sign that the drone malfunctioned. If the drone doesnt RTH, that s sign nr 2. BtH contrwrioy to what was stated earlier in the thread, spark should initiate RTH after 20 seconds when using the RC not 3 (thats without rc)

DJI response was even more frustrating considering that they issued that mandatory FM upgrade a few days later, clearly signaling a serious flaw in the drone FM

In my case the spark didnt go into ATTI (no such message in the log) it just either dropped connection or dropped out of the sky.

I waited a bit before ordering a new one considering other options but sadly there arent too many. Karma isnt that great even the relaunch, splashdrone was tempting but un proven... i almst ordered a mavic but figured another spark 30% off was a good deal for now.
 
PascalG said:
I got the exact same email from DJI after i lost mine back in august. Drone was 1500' away, RC lost connection and spark never returned home.

I feel that if the log ends abruptly without any error, it is a sign that the drone malfunctioned. If the drone doesnt RTH, that s sign nr 2. BtH contrwrioy to what was stated earlier in the thread, spark should initiate RTH after 20 seconds when using the RC not 3 (thats without rc)

DJI response was even more frustrating considering that they issued that mandatory FM upgrade a few days later, clearly signaling a serious flaw in the drone FM

In my case the spark didnt go into ATTI (no such message in the log) it just either dropped connection or dropped out of the sky.

I waited a bit before ordering a new one considering other options but sadly there arent too many. Karma isnt that great even the relaunch, splashdrone was tempting but un proven... i almst ordered a mavic but figured another spark 30% off was a good deal for now.
Click to expand...

It sounds like there could be an issue, but I suspect that the mandatory FW upgrade may have been more-so related to locking the OS to prevent tweaking/hacking?
 
mavicpilot said:
I suspect that the mandatory FW upgrade may have been more-so related to locking the OS to prevent tweaking/hacking?
Click to expand...
Over at RC Groups, DJI employees were saying it was forced since it included an important battery-related fix. That fix was apparently related to the issue where some Sparks were shutting off mid-flight (as noted above).
 
Theoretically, a Spark loosing signal far out there, could go into ATTI mode (loose GPS) for whatever reason *after* signal is lost and *after* recorded log ends. It then would never return. That's a normal (but small) risk when flying a Spark out of VLOS.

Theoretically, I can understand DJI assumes just that and refuses Care Refresh in this instance.

However, in practice this is happening too often and DJI should rethink their policy, assuming technical fault as a likely cause too.
 
Unless something happens to th drone, there is no reason for gps to be lost if the RC disconnects. I ve always suspect the spark gps receiver or antenna is weaker than most or th drone is set to switch to ATTI below a higher number of satelittes

In opn areas Gps signal should never be lost
 

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