That was a close one!

[Robert(Winnipeg)]

Took my Spark out to a friend's in the country. Very little interference. I am use a direct connection with a OTG cable and it really makes for a stable connection between controller and my Samsung tablet, when it connects!
Was impatient so just conceded by WiFi.
Wind on ground 5 to 10. At 90m it started to drift. Hard to keep visual account of. STUPID TABLET lost conception. 2 minutes reconnect and Spark is 350m away. Still not responding so tried RTH button! Nothing. Tried RTH on app. Slide to left but no, screen froze!
Got disconnected. Reconnected for a sec . Drone at 767m! Lost connection for good!
I only found it after 2 hours of walking through soybeans because I had screen capture for references.
Close one! Any suggestions?
Bought a bluetooth tile. For short range help!
Very scary!

 

[aviscomi]

Not sure if the bluetooth tile is a wise idea...DJI recommends turning off bluetooth while using the Spark.

 

[Freebird32]

Connect tablet last when using OTG. Make sure your tablet is in Airplane Mode, it will be less likely to disconnect due to messages, mail, notifications if you do that. I'm using iPad now, but was using a Nexus 7 2013 with Mavic and Spark. Cable that works is the issue. I'd search threads and see what OTG cable combos people have used successfully to connect.
Did you have GPS lock/10-16 satellites/home point before you lifted off? It should have initiated an RTH after the disconnect especially since the controller didn't seem to have an effect. Check your settings too, make sure it is set to RTH, not just set to land where its at when signal lost.

 

[Dronason]

Are you sure of your RTH settings ?
From your description, with Wifi, it would not have gone more than 100 meters away on its own, whatever the tablet would do, so I would guess the wind just took it. Can be also a bug or some compas calibration issue.
If you want to know more, you can retrieve the flight record that is in the Spark to see the full story. On your tablet you will have only the flight record when it was connected, so it will be only partial.

 

[Robert(Winnipeg)]

How do you check flight record?

 

[Robert(Winnipeg)]

I am sure there was 14 sat. I'm going to test the return to home under controlled conditions.

If a Bluetooth locator is not advisable what does it cost for a GPS tracker? You need a sim card so a monthly fee?

 

[aviscomi]

I am sure there was 14 sat. I'm going to test the return to home under controlled conditions.

If a Bluetooth locator is not advisable what does it cost for a GPS tracker? You need a sim card so a monthly fee?

I use Trackimo

 

[Dronason]

How do you check flight record?

Check at DJI Spark Accessories & Tips - Spark Help, a lot if information there.
Section "Data Log", I personally use CsvView, the support for Spark will be released very soon.

To retrieve the flight record from the Spark, you will need the DJI software Assistant 2 (Spark – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads).

Your Spark should be listed:


The using DATA UPLOAD, you get the current list of flight record in the Spark:


Select the one or more (simpler if you deal with one flight at a time) you are interested and use button SAVE TO LOCAL:


Select the folder where you want your .DAT file.
It will take several minutes till you get the file, then you can press the COMPLETE button and check for your file.

In my example, it will create file DJI_ASSISTANT_EXPORT_FILE_2017-07-10_21-15-15.DAT

If you are more a tech guy, then CsvView will be your tool:
Then you install the software CsvView, it will install also program ExtractDJI that could be needed if you selected more than one file for retrieval through DJI assistant 2.
ExtractDJI will create .DAT as one per flight.

Then you launch the CsvView program.
Select location of your .DAT file.
It is all about plotting parameters recorded during flight.
There will be by default some sample set of parameters to directly plot, you can then create your own.
You can also plot with google map your flight.

As alternative you can also try Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones
which provide good typical flight analysis but you have a limited number of free trial. You will also need to convert your .DAT to a .TXT file using the DatCon utility found on CsvView WEB SITE.

 

[His415]

I experienced the same thing except no controller, so at 200m I had no hope of reconnecting.

Here's my solution rubber band and a kite string until my controller arrives.

 

[aviscomi]

View attachment 472 I experienced the same thing except no controller, so at 200m I had no hope of reconnecting.

Here's my solution rubber band and a kite string until my controller arrives.

You're not worried about that string getting sucked into the props?

 

[His415]

Yeah I was worried but after a couple of test flights it was clear that the downforce was enough to keep the string pretty much pointed straight down .

 

[Freebird32]

Here's my solution rubber band and a kite string

Wow! Expensive kite you got there. I feel your anxiety. I was afraid of losing the first 'GPS microcomputer-controlled 6 axis gyro stabilized gopro/gimbal equipped quad' I got ($$$$ 3DR solo when they first sold them, especially after having to add a GoPro and a Tablet to the bill) but I never tied a string to it. I saw a post where a guy put a string on it to carry something to his kids and it got into the rotors and didn't end well. I did get a Traxxas Alias to improve my flying skills tho. Nice little quad with optional camera and no gimbal.

 

[His415]

Yikes! Yeah that does sound like trouble! But with DJI care refresh I'm a little more confident about thw string. I even did some night flying with it last night.
The controller arrives tomorrow!

I've been flying hubsan for a long time so I'm an experienced pilot. But they are considerably cheaper, so I'm nervous with my DJI.

Next I think I'm gong to look at a tracker