Spark flying less than perfect

[MrSan]

Hi all.
I have a spark that's barely 1 year old.

• It doesn't fly straight and I have to correct on the stick.
• It drops GPS suddenly (enters atti) despite plenty of satellites and open locations such as beaches etc.
• It drops in unexplainable way is forward speed

It generally seems tired and worn out.
I've tried calibrating and such but with little or no effect.
I've always looked after it but it's been flown to the limits regarding conditions and performance.
And its had 2 minor crashes.

Any suggestions regarding cause or methods of fixing?

Thanks in advance ???

 

[Northwood Mediaworks]

Hi all.
I have a spark that's barely 1 year old.

• It doesn't fly straight and I have to correct on the stick.
• It drops GPS suddenly (enters atti) despite plenty of satellites and open locations such as beaches etc.
• It drops in unexplainable way is forward speed

It generally seems tired and worn out.
I've tried calibrating and such but with little or no effect.
I've always looked after it but it's been flown to the limits regarding conditions and performance.
And its had 2 minor crashes.

Any suggestions regarding cause or methods of fixing?

Thanks in advance ???

Hi MrSan

I too had this same experience, my Spark is about 1 year old, and 100 flights or so. I actually had to do the IMU calibration and compass calibration several times, but last time was a charm. I made very sure the table in my house where I did the IMU cal was perfectly level. Following that, I took it outside, to a wide open area, away from anything metal, (farmers field) and ensure that I was not wearing anything with metal in it. I got the wife to hold the smartphone at a distance, and had her start the compass cal. She called out what it was asking us to do, and we successfully calibrated it. Since then its been flying much much better. So it may be where you are choosing to do your calibration... My spark, however, has not been pushed to its limits as you say yours has, and I have no crashes. Perhaps one of those crashes did some damage internally?

 

[ol' Sparky]

Pretty much what happened to me once. Sent the flight data to DJI, they looked it over and instructed me to send it to Texas. Replaced it under warranty @ 3 months old. Prior to that I was getting brief ATTI mode warnings, but by the time I looked down @ the screen, it was back in GPS mode. Didn't pay attention much till one day it stayed in ATTI and took off. Wrestled it back with the RC and reported to DJI thru their forum. No issues at all with the new one, but am a bit gun-shy now and slowly increasing my distances with each flight.

 

[MrSan]

Thanks for your input guys?
My main concern is the atti thing.
In a few weeks I'm going canoeing. And an unstable drone combined with a lake, a canoe and a platform with a fire on it - dragged by the canoe = possibility for amazing shots and/or a rogue drone ??
My atti issue sometimes last af few minutes.
Some weeks ago the drone went into atti above a forest, the wind took it out of signal range and I was sure it was lost.
Luckily it regained GPS mode while out of range and returned home ?

Guess I'll repeat all calibrations etc a few times and see if it helps - otherwise I have to contact dji.

Are there any diagnostic systems for the spark?