DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out at DVinfo.net

Noa Put · January 9th, 2015, 05:34 AM

Good thing the water was not too deep :)

Roger Gunkel · January 9th, 2015, 05:51 AM

That's what happens when you don't use a timer or keep an eye on the warning light -the Phantom goes into low voltage auto land. Great save though :-0

Roger

Chris Medico · January 9th, 2015, 06:34 AM

If you read on the RC forums that is also that happens when you update your firmware to the latest versions. There is something seriously wrong with the battery monitoring in the newest versions that has led to a number of autoland events with negative outcomes. Phantoms have been going into autoland when just seconds before showing more than 50% battery.

James Manford · January 9th, 2015, 06:41 AM

Great save though ! ha

I read that you can program a safe landing zone with your phone within seconds ? So is it really an issue.

I'm considering one of these soon just for fun. I highly doubt i'll have the time or energy to pull it out at an event unless I have additional help with me.

Chris Medico · January 9th, 2015, 06:53 AM

The issue is when it trips into autoland it descends to land where ever it is. Your selected home location doesn't matter. It stops and lands as soon as the critical battery warning is reached. You loose control of it in GPS mode. You can get some control back in ATT mode. You can't keep it from descending but you can input some directional control.

The main problem is that phantoms have been tripping into autoland long before the battery is truly depleted. If that happens you need to be in NAZA mode and be ready to go to ATT mode so you can at least guide it around anything it could be descending into.

Mark Dobson · January 9th, 2015, 07:16 AM

Great video and truly heroic save.

I also had an early auto land problem with my Phantom 2 a month or so back and in trying to counteract and steer the craft away from a clifftop inadvertently caused the motors to stop and the drone to fall out of the sky.

I heard the sound from about 300 metres away and immediately knew I had a big problem.

What I was doing was both steering the craft down and towards me which is also the same signal as stopping the motors. I only worked this out afterwards when I started to analyse what had happened. Initially I had though that the battery had run out of juice but it still had over 40% on it. What broke was the ZenMuse Gimbal and the DJI iOSD mini cable. The actual aircraft has cracks on one of the arms but with a new shell will be OK.

This all happened after I upgraded the firmware. I should have held back and researched whether anyone had had problems. I found out from a more specific DJI Phantom forum that others had had the same problem and also posted my experience.

I don't know what solution to the early land problem is and rather than mend the machine and buy a new gimbal I have bought an Inspire 1. The next time I am offered a firmware update I will see whether there are any problems reported on this and other forums before installing it and I realise that I have learnt a lot from my experience.

Chuck Spaulding · January 9th, 2015, 12:42 PM

What's remarkable about that clip is all the other places it could have landed safely it went into the water. Great save!

I had a similar experience to Mark. I was flying a hex in high wind trying to land in a small space. Without any payload the Hex lifted off at about 35% throttle, so it was very light, when I kept lowering the throttle it just powered down and crashed:

This was about four years ago when DJI was telling everyone this could not happen. After more people started reporting similar experiences they told everyone they resolved it in firmware. Of coarse that didn't make me feel much better, the damage was done and they basically blamed it all on the users at the time so I have never purchased another DJI controller.

If you want to prevent auto land, turn off the power management and time your flights.

A note: The video doesn't prove what actually happened, after replacing a boom and a couple of prop I powered up the NAZA, it armed and flew fine. After a couple of flights I replaced the controller and never had this issue again.

Roger Gunkel · January 9th, 2015, 05:30 PM

I didn't think there was much different between the main NAZA functions of the Phantom 1 & 2, and having had over 125 flights with my Phantom 1, I have never had an auto land caused by a low battery. I have used the return to home function on two occasions when it was too far away to see the orientation. That worked faultlessly both times, bringing it back to about 6ft from the take off point automatically.

I do run a ground timer to keep a visual and audible warning of battery life as I like to keep within the limits at all times. You can also set up a perimeter area which the quad will automatically stay within. Flying over water though, I would also allow extra return time just in case of head winds etc.

Roger

Michael Bradshaw · January 10th, 2015, 09:14 AM

Unlikely we'll see this in DJI's next showreel? I'll refrain from updated my firmware for a while then.

Bill Sherren · January 10th, 2015, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Bradshaw

Unlikely we'll see this in DJI's next showreel? I'll refrain from updated my firmware for a while then.

From what I can gather the latest firmware for the Intelligent Battery is to prevent early autolandings rather than cause them. One issue was where a battey if left fully charged (never a good idea) tended to swell and perhaps become damaged. The new firmware for the batteries both has better balancing to improve the lifetime of the batterry. But also auto discharges to 50% storage state if the battery is not powered up for 10 days. There is also a newer version 2 of these intelligent batteries as well.

I have been flying my P2 for about couple months now without issue and do hope that any battery issues are pilot error rather than built in!

cheers

bill

Jim Michael · January 10th, 2015, 10:46 AM

Do those autorotate or just fall out of the sky if there is a total battery failure?

Chris Medico · January 10th, 2015, 10:48 AM

Autorotation isn't possible on a craft such as this with fixed pitch rotors. It falls like a rock.

Tom Bostick · January 10th, 2015, 06:55 PM

A nice edit of the original

Chuck Spaulding · January 11th, 2015, 11:20 AM

Noa, was that you that made the miraculous reception?

Noa Put · January 11th, 2015, 01:16 PM

No! :) I probably should have mentioned that, I just came across that video.

January 9th, 2015, 05:34 AM	#1
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Good thing the water was not too deep :) YouTube (Short URL)

January 9th, 2015, 05:51 AM	#2
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out That's what happens when you don't use a timer or keep an eye on the warning light -the Phantom goes into low voltage auto land. Great save though :-0 Roger

January 9th, 2015, 06:34 AM	#3
Chris Medico Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Efland NC, USA Posts: 2,322	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out If you read on the RC forums that is also that happens when you update your firmware to the latest versions. There is something seriously wrong with the battery monitoring in the newest versions that has led to a number of autoland events with negative outcomes. Phantoms have been going into autoland when just seconds before showing more than 50% battery. __________________ http://www.LandYachtMedia.com

January 9th, 2015, 06:41 AM	#4
James Manford Trustee Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,393	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Great save though ! ha I read that you can program a safe landing zone with your phone within seconds ? So is it really an issue. I'm considering one of these soon just for fun. I highly doubt i'll have the time or energy to pull it out at an event unless I have additional help with me.

January 9th, 2015, 06:53 AM	#5
Chris Medico Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Efland NC, USA Posts: 2,322	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out The issue is when it trips into autoland it descends to land where ever it is. Your selected home location doesn't matter. It stops and lands as soon as the critical battery warning is reached. You loose control of it in GPS mode. You can get some control back in ATT mode. You can't keep it from descending but you can input some directional control. The main problem is that phantoms have been tripping into autoland long before the battery is truly depleted. If that happens you need to be in NAZA mode and be ready to go to ATT mode so you can at least guide it around anything it could be descending into. __________________ http://www.LandYachtMedia.com

January 9th, 2015, 07:16 AM	#6
Mark Dobson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Horsham / United Kingdom Posts: 328	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Great video and truly heroic save. I also had an early auto land problem with my Phantom 2 a month or so back and in trying to counteract and steer the craft away from a clifftop inadvertently caused the motors to stop and the drone to fall out of the sky. I heard the sound from about 300 metres away and immediately knew I had a big problem. What I was doing was both steering the craft down and towards me which is also the same signal as stopping the motors. I only worked this out afterwards when I started to analyse what had happened. Initially I had though that the battery had run out of juice but it still had over 40% on it. What broke was the ZenMuse Gimbal and the DJI iOSD mini cable. The actual aircraft has cracks on one of the arms but with a new shell will be OK. This all happened after I upgraded the firmware. I should have held back and researched whether anyone had had problems. I found out from a more specific DJI Phantom forum that others had had the same problem and also posted my experience. I don't know what solution to the early land problem is and rather than mend the machine and buy a new gimbal I have bought an Inspire 1. The next time I am offered a firmware update I will see whether there are any problems reported on this and other forums before installing it and I realise that I have learnt a lot from my experience.

January 9th, 2015, 12:42 PM	#7
Chuck Spaulding Trustee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Thousand Oaks Posts: 1,099	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out What's remarkable about that clip is all the other places it could have landed safely it went into the water. Great save! I had a similar experience to Mark. I was flying a hex in high wind trying to land in a small space. Without any payload the Hex lifted off at about 35% throttle, so it was very light, when I kept lowering the throttle it just powered down and crashed: HEXACOPTER-NAZA CRASH - YouTube This was about four years ago when DJI was telling everyone this could not happen. After more people started reporting similar experiences they told everyone they resolved it in firmware. Of coarse that didn't make me feel much better, the damage was done and they basically blamed it all on the users at the time so I have never purchased another DJI controller. If you want to prevent auto land, turn off the power management and time your flights. A note: The video doesn't prove what actually happened, after replacing a boom and a couple of prop I powered up the NAZA, it armed and flew fine. After a couple of flights I replaced the controller and never had this issue again. Last edited by Chuck Spaulding; January 9th, 2015 at 12:45 PM. Reason: To be fair to DJI

January 9th, 2015, 05:30 PM	#8
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out I didn't think there was much different between the main NAZA functions of the Phantom 1 & 2, and having had over 125 flights with my Phantom 1, I have never had an auto land caused by a low battery. I have used the return to home function on two occasions when it was too far away to see the orientation. That worked faultlessly both times, bringing it back to about 6ft from the take off point automatically. I do run a ground timer to keep a visual and audible warning of battery life as I like to keep within the limits at all times. You can also set up a perimeter area which the quad will automatically stay within. Flying over water though, I would also allow extra return time just in case of head winds etc. Roger

January 10th, 2015, 09:14 AM	#9
Michael Bradshaw Regular Crew Join Date: May 2010 Location: Newtownabbey, UK Posts: 66	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Unlikely we'll see this in DJI's next showreel? I'll refrain from updated my firmware for a while then.

January 10th, 2015, 10:46 AM	#11
Jim Michael Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 895	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Do those autorotate or just fall out of the sky if there is a total battery failure?

January 10th, 2015, 10:48 AM	#12
Chris Medico Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Efland NC, USA Posts: 2,322	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Autorotation isn't possible on a craft such as this with fixed pitch rotors. It falls like a rock. __________________ http://www.LandYachtMedia.com

January 10th, 2015, 06:55 PM	#13
Tom Bostick Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Austin TX Posts: 292	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out A nice edit of the original My first day with my drone (Love Edition - Whitney Houston Recut) - YouTube

January 11th, 2015, 11:20 AM	#14
Chuck Spaulding Trustee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Thousand Oaks Posts: 1,099	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out Noa, was that you that made the miraculous reception?

January 11th, 2015, 01:16 PM	#15
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: DJI phantom 2 when the battery runs out No! :) I probably should have mentioned that, I just came across that video.