Spark has disappeared

[Markod86]

Hi folks, just looking to see if anyone can help or has had the same problem as me. I got a new drone at the weekend and had it out flying on Sunday. I flew the drone with no problems a few times and it worked perfect including the RTH function. On Sunday I lost signal while the drone was quite far away (was in direct line of sight and higher than anything around). While on the RTH journey the drone just disappeared. Using the find my drone function it tells me that the drone is in a tree, bug it is not. The flight log says that I was flying at 40 odd meters and this tree is no more than 15 meters. I have searched the area for hours but it is nowhere to be found. I have tried contacting dji support bug they are abosolutely useless and will not get back to me.

Here is a link to my flight
Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones

Thanks

 

[msinger]

Please upload your TXT flight log here and post a link back here. You'll find instructions for locating your TXT flight log at that link.

 

[Markod86]

 

[Markod86]

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Link added

 

[Lastrexking]

You had nowhere near enough battery to make the return journey.

 

[DesertWindAero]

You had nowhere near enough battery to make the return journey.

Exactly what my diagnosis was.

 

[DesertWindAero]

Hi folks, just looking to see if anyone can help or has had the same problem as me. I got a new drone at the weekend and had it out flying on Sunday. I flew the drone with no problems a few times and it worked perfect including the RTH function. On Sunday I lost signal while the drone was quite far away (was in direct line of sight and higher than anything around). While on the RTH journey the drone just disappeared. Using the find my drone function it tells me that the drone is in a tree, bug it is not. The flight log says that I was flying at 40 odd meters and this tree is no more than 15 meters. I have searched the area for hours but it is nowhere to be found. I have tried contacting dji support bug they are abosolutely useless and will not get back to me.

Here is a link to my flight
Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones

Thanks

You could see the Spark from a mile away? At 160 feet of altitude? Really?

 

[Lastrexking]

Exactly what my diagnosis was.

Unbelievable really. 4000 feet away when they turned it around. Battery warning had kicked in. 21% battery with 3600 feet left to rth.

 

[msinger]

Look for it in this yellow box:

 

[MannyCAM2001]

Look for it in this yellow box:

View attachment 3758

I do hope you find it. Don’t give up. It’s out there.
Just always remember to leave plenty of battery for your return trip.
And don’t be fooled by the warning message at 10-20% telling you only enough battery for return to home, You still have to do the math.

 

[Markod86]

Unbelievable really. 4000 feet away when they turned it around. Battery warning had kicked in. 21% battery with 3600 feet left to rth.

I was led to believe when buying this that it will tell you when it has enough battery to come home. I didn’t know any better really.

 

[Markod86]

Look for it in this yellow box:

View attachment 3758

Thanks for that I will give it a try. Any idea why it lost all data with 21% battery left?

 

[Barennes]

Thanks for that I will give it a try. Any idea why it lost all data with 21% battery left?

good question indeed... would suspect a brutal crash with another lost Spark

 

[Lastrexking]

I was led to believe when buying this that it will tell you when it has enough battery to come home. I didn’t know any better really.

Did you read the manual?

 

[Markod86]

Did you read the manual?

I asked for help not grief, my main question is why all data is gone with 21% if I didn’t have enough battery fair enough but it should have recorded up to when the battery died!

 

[Lastrexking]

I asked for help not grief, my main question is why all data is gone with 21% if I didn’t have enough battery fair enough but it should have recorded up to when the battery died!

The last part of the battery drains quick. Also, the weather for that area at the time of the flight shows at -4oC at ground level, probably colder at the altitude you were at - which is below the operating temperature of the Spark, so a mostly drained battery, probably then failed because of low temperature.

 

[Lastrexking]

Also, you got several high wind velocity warnings. Looks like you were flying into the wind coming back. Given the distance you went, the temperature and the high wind I very much doubt there was actually 21% battery left. You lost the data connection to the Spark shortly before you it went down, I doubt the data was up to date when you regained signal.

 

[msinger]

I was led to believe when buying this that it will tell you when it has enough battery to come home. I didn’t know any better really.

The Spark will attempt to start returning back to the home point when it calculates it only has enough battery power to safely return home. It's not able to account for flying into the wind though. If you know it's windy (or aren't sure), you should definitely manually pilot it back to the home point before it decides it needs to return home.

Any idea why it lost all data with 21% battery left?

DJI GO can only record data in the TXT flight log on your mobile device while the downlink is connected. In your flight log, you can see the downlink disconnected a few times (by the "Downlink Restored" messages).

I'm not sure why the Spark completely disconnected at the end of your flight log. It looks like you were standing behind a house (which could have blocked the signal).

 

[Barennes]

guess it may be there after a critical 10% battery autoland. Also keep in mind that RTH should come back on a straight line... you have to walk on this axis.

 

[Markod86]

I guess it may be there after a critical 10% battery autoland:

Thanks for that I will check and let you know!