Lost connection, lost Spark. What next?

[PascalG]

34 flights, 4 1/2 hours, many in the 2500-3500' range, almost all glitch free until...


Lost connection a couple of days ago. First the video link, then got the red light on the RC and aircraft disconnected error. Spark was hovering at that time about 1900' away, line of sight, antennas pointed the right way. Should have RTH but didn't. Yes I made sure hom point was set before take off and had 17 sats when connection was lost which is more than enough to RTH. Drone was over an empty section of the island so interference had to come from near the RC.


While 1900' may seem far, I had never had issues before all the way to 4000'. the only difference I can think of was that I was flying from the boat docked at a marina with a number of land based wifi hot spots using external antennas which probably affected the range. Once the connection was lost the RC couldn't reconnect


In any case the drone should have RTH. I ll contact customer service but not holding my breath... have limited connectivity here so I cant upload log yet.


Trying to decide what to do next...


1)- get another spark since I have the RC and 3 batteries although obviously this experience makes me feel the limited the range and connection issues of the spark make it not suited for my needs. Or I could just sell the RC and batteries and...


2)- get a Mavic. I used one a few months ago and like it. Better range, stabilized gimbal in sports mode, and just as portable and small as the spark. Downside is risking not $500 but $1000 in case of a problem. 90% of my use is from a boat, over water.


My main question about the Mavic is whether the occusync connection really make it more reliable and less vulnerable to interference and lost signal. And i won't be fligying it close to the max range, as I was with Spark making it safer.


3)- get the new splash drone 3. It's waterproof, can land and take off from the water and can even shoot under water. Could get some really cool footage in the clear water of the Bahamas.... downsides: it's new, use regular wifi like Spark so same range and interference issues, mayb evem worst as specs say 1km. Also hasvery little feedback on line and at $1600 it s even more money at stake!

 

[Mikel Manitius]

What date, time and general location?

I'm trying to see if these disconnects can correlate to a high kp-index.

 

[Dronason]

What date, time and general location?

I'm trying to see if these disconnects can correlate to a high kp-index.

Location is at bottom of screencopy, time and date is at top of it.

 

[Ronsenvy]

This is a real disappointment, I know, to you, and us other pilots. So successful up to now, this makes me want to be so tentative when flying, waiting for the inevitable failure, never going any distance, for that perfect shot. Dji definitely has a problem with these drones, and we are the test pilots. Only if we loose one we pay for it!

 

[Spark 317]

...and we are the test pilots. Only if we loose one we pay for it!

Sounds about right.

 

[actionjack]

Bummer. Anytime you fly you might lose the AC. In your case Id probably get A Mavic.

Did you retrieve it?

 

[Mikel Manitius]

Location is at bottom of screencopy, time and date is at top of it.

d'oh. thanks.
It looks like the kp-index was not that high on Aug 15 (a max of 2), so I think that idea is ruled. out.

 

[PascalG]

No didn't retrieve it. At that distance even searching along a path between where I lost connection and the home point would have taken forever and who knows which way it went. Island is covered with bushes.

On a positive note I accumulate hours of footage and hundreds of nice pics. So while I hate loosing $500 the cost per pic and minute of video isn't bad . Yeah I am glass is half full kind of guy

 

[Dronason]

No didn't retrieve it. At that distance even searching along a path between where I lost connection and the home point would have taken forever and who knows which way it went. Island is covered with bushes.

On a positive note I accumulate hours of footage and hundreds of nice pics. So while I hate loosing $500 the cost per pic and minute of video isn't bad . Yeah I am glass is half full kind of guy

In some other thread there was complain of no RTH on signal lost and that the Spark just stay in the air. Then it should land on low battery or just fall.
There is a tracking function "Find my drone" in the 3 bar menu of main page (top right). It is based on your location and the last know location of the Spark. Maybe?

Regarding your option, 1) and 2), both are valid, matter of money, how often you would use it and what you expect as output media. If you where happy with what you get from Spark, 1) seems an economical solution. You can still buy another one for the price of the Mavic.
3) Buy a submarine or a good drone.

Forget to ask if you where using latest firmware / app versions ?

 

[PascalG]

No as mentioned in the original post I had not upgraded the firmware or app because it was working well and I don't need Jedi mode I never upgrade anything incl apps on my phone and iPad or OS before a trip

After loosing connection and realizing it wasn't reconnecting I went up the creek in our dinghy figuring I may get lucky and reconnect or at least see it coming back home since it had followed the creek on the way out. Didn't see it and again terrine is too rough to even try finding the needle in the haystack.

 

[actionjack]

Me I would have looked at the end of the flight log - assuming time and access allowed.

After experiencing such a failure with the Spark I may or may not buy another. I know the Mavic has its own foibles or did early but there legitimately seems to be enough concern with the Sparks's reliability. I'm loving mine until it doesn't love me back.

I am a wait and see guy on upgrades and to me the latest setup works flawlessly. At some point it doesn't make sense not to upgrade both for features and certainly some bugs are being squashed.

Next summer me and my family will volunteer to serve on the crew for a week. I will be the drone rescue crew.

 

[asaulo1]

that's a shame and yes, I believe DJI needs to improve the software on the Spark with some type of firmware to at least limit the "fly aways". The mavic uses a different technology for connectivty and works a lot more reliable than the spark. I've had the mavic loose connection and automatically RTH to me and just as soon as I have sight of it, get out of RTH and continue on flying without missing a beat. Hell, even my P3P does the same thing and RTH when out of range. Let's hope DJI fixes this issue soon.

 

[Dronason]

that's a shame and yes, I believe DJI needs to improve the software on the Spark with some type of firmware to at least limit the "fly aways". The mavic uses a different technology for connectivty and works a lot more reliable than the spark. I've had the mavic loose connection and automatically RTH to me and just as soon as I have sight of it, get out of RTH and continue on flying without missing a beat. Hell, even my P3P does the same thing and RTH when out of range. Let's hope DJI fixes this issue soon.

My Spark too but it has all latest soft/firmware. That said, I am always happy to see it coming back on its own as my first trial in June was that it never have done a RTH.

 

[Glen e]

I own both. The occusync is just rock solid. If I was using primarily over water I'd use the Mavic. A solid 24 min flight time too.

 

[Lancelot]

Wow this is a bummer, no issue so far and now this. I am now very concerned as I am also one of those guys that dont have issues - but then you will never know.
If I were you I would jump off the boat and look for it like a crazy man. I am not ready to swallow the 500$ pain just yet.

 

[TJ Alex]

 

[OldBlueHeron]

I also have zero problems to report, but I think I'm gonna ground this bird for a bit and wait and see. I have a Mavic, so I'll fly that bird for a bit. I was just gonna chalk this up to early adoption jitters, and newbs... but I think this has perhaps escalated into something. It sucks cause I hate sitting on $700+ worth of...

 

[Spark 317]

I'm starting to read too many post(s) about Sparks falling out of the sky.

How many new Spark Pilots are out there with their drones falling out the sky and not being reported?

At least on a forum like this because they don't know about it and can't spread the word.

There must be a lot of chatter out there on the web about this and I wonder if DJI does have a problem with the Spark?

So far so good for me but I've only had it for a month and probably only flown a few dozen times well within sight, nothing major yet.

Although on my second flight of an inexperienced newbie, I did lose the Drone. But the return home function workrd perfect and it came back within range and I was able to get the Drone and land it. Wow! Talk about sweating bullets on a maiden flight.

 

[PascalG]

Here is the log that I finally had a chance to pull out of the app and upload

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

There are no error message at the end, it just stops making me wonder if the drone just simply shutdown and dropped like a stone... I took the tender and went up the creek to the last position and didn't see on the ground. Although after a 250' drop it was probably quickly buried in the sand especially if it fell in the creek

Here is the video of that final flight

 

[Lanron]

View attachment 956

34 flights, 4 1/2 hours, many in the 2500-3500' range, almost all glitch free until...


Lost connection a couple of days ago. First the video link, then got the red light on the RC and aircraft disconnected error. Spark was hovering at that time about 1900' away, line of sight, antennas pointed the right way. Should have RTH but didn't. Yes I made sure hom point was set before take off and had 17 sats when connection was lost which is more than enough to RTH. Drone was over an empty section of the island so interference had to come from near the RC.


While 1900' may seem far, I had never had issues before all the way to 4000'. the only difference I can think of was that I was flying from the boat docked at a marina with a number of land based wifi hot spots using external antennas which probably affected the range. Once the connection was lost the RC couldn't reconnect


In any case the drone should have RTH. I ll contact customer service but not holding my breath... have limited connectivity here so I cant upload log yet.


Trying to decide what to do next...


1)- get another spark since I have the RC and 3 batteries although obviously this experience makes me feel the limited the range and connection issues of the spark make it not suited for my needs. Or I could just sell the RC and batteries and...


2)- get a Mavic. I used one a few months ago and like it. Better range, stabilized gimbal in sports mode, and just as portable and small as the spark. Downside is risking not $500 but $1000 in case of a problem. 90% of my use is from a boat, over water.


My main question about the Mavic is whether the occusync connection really make it more reliable and less vulnerable to interference and lost signal. And i won't be fligying it close to the max range, as I was with Spark making it safer.


3)- get the new splash drone 3. It's waterproof, can land and take off from the water and can even shoot under water. Could get some really cool footage in the clear water of the Bahamas.... downsides: it's new, use regular wifi like Spark so same range and interference issues, mayb evem worst as specs say 1km. Also hasvery little feedback on line and at $1600 it s even more money at stake!