fell outa the sky

carpy · Sep 8, 2017

@Mauiwind Look closely at that battery-- @jimloss did a nice job summing up. I could not find anything in the log indicating you had a problem. Did you hot swap the battery for this flight?

Mauiwind · Sep 8, 2017

carpy said:
@Mauiwind Look closely at that battery-- @jimloss did a nice job summing up. I could not find anything in the log indicating you had a problem. Did you hot swap the battery for this flight?

its possible... My mission was to test my batteries for their approxamate run time. looking at tbe battery, its cracked open, but I would venture to guess it bappened as a fesult of impact with the ground.
so, you dont see a terminated signal in mid air?

carpy · Sep 8, 2017

Mauiwind said:
its possible... My mission was to test my batteries for their approxamate run time. looking at tbe battery, its cracked open, but I would venture to guess it bappened as a fesult of impact with the ground.
so, you dont see a terminated signal in mid air?

No, nothing like that.
The only weird thing I see (but can't tell if it's just the way Mission Planner (MP) is extracting the parameters) is the capacity of that battery was at 2028. Which is about 37% of a good battery. However, MP might have extracted the capacity of the previous battery and so that's why I asked about a hot swap. I'm a little suspicious of the hot swap and what it might have done to the Solo...but that's pure speculation on my part. The TLog didn't even roll from battery to battery...which is kinda interesting too.

jimloss · Sep 8, 2017

jimloss said:
Flight lasted about 4.5 minutes
Battery went from 97% to 5% in that time
Never went far - maybe 100 yards from home
At about 216' AGL, battery was at 50%
At 275' AGL, battery was at 25% - Low Battery Warning
Went into RTL and Solo started climbing
At 316' AGL mode was switched to Fly and battery was at 17%
By the time Solo hit the ground under power the battery was at only 5%

Why did the battery only last 4.5 minutes? I'm not sure if the Tlog can show that. This was the primary failure, but it was not catastrophic.

Hind sight is 20/20, and I don't mean to hit you while you are down, but this is a learning opportunity for us all:

Why was RTL Altitude set to something higher than necessary - in this case over 316'? RTL Altitude should always be set to the minimum height necessary to clear nearby obstacles. In this case valuable power was wasted during the climb from 275' to 316' when you realized what was going on and switched back to Fly. Battery drained from 25% to 17% in this unnecessary climb.

Why continue the flight when power was dropping so fast? The battery was already down to 50% by the time Solo reached 216' at 3.5 minutes into the flight - this was not the time to start climbing higher. Under normal circumstances, the next 25% of the battery power might get used in a similar time as the first 50% got used.

Something went wrong to cause the power to drain so fast, but the crash looks like it might have occurred while in Fly mode and scrambling to get the Solo home and on the ground before power was out completely.

I looked a the logs again. It turns out that the flight described above was a troubled flight, but not what ended your Solo - there was one more take-off after this flight. Will look later to see if I can spot what when wrong. Maybe @carpy or someone else will have time before I do.

Mauiwind · Sep 9, 2017

jimloss said:
Flight lasted about 4.5 minutes
Battery went from 97% to 5% in that time
Never went far - maybe 100 yards from home
At about 216' AGL, battery was at 50%
At 275' AGL, battery was at 25% - Low Battery Warning
Went into RTL and Solo started climbing
At 316' AGL mode was switched to Fly and battery was at 17%
By the time Solo hit the ground under power the battery was at only 5%

Why did the battery only last 4.5 minutes? I'm not sure if the Tlog can show that. This was the primary failure, but it was not catastrophic.

Hind sight is 20/20, and I don't mean to hit you while you are down, but this is a learning opportunity for us all:

Why was RTL Altitude set to something higher than necessary - in this case over 316'? RTL Altitude should always be set to the minimum height necessary to clear nearby obstacles. In this case valuable power was wasted during the climb from 275' to 316' when you realized what was going on and switched back to Fly. Battery drained from 25% to 17% in this unnecessary climb.

Why continue the flight when power was dropping so fast? The battery was already down to 50% by the time Solo reached 216' at 3.5 minutes into the flight - this was not the time to start climbing higher. Under normal circumstances, the next 25% of the battery power might get used in a similar time as the first 50% got used.

Something went wrong to cause the power to drain so fast, but the crash looks like it might have occurred while in Fly mode and scrambling to get the Solo home and on the ground before power was out completely.

Maxim Mahalo, but you're describing a flight that wass not the last one. Yes, on the flight you describe, that indeed did happen but it's not the last flight.
tim

Lon Denard · Sep 9, 2017

Maddog said:
Did you lose all the LED covers? If not, I could use one to replace one I lost.

B & H had them for a dollar a set.

Solo Keith · Sep 10, 2017

Why did the battery only last 4.5 minutes?NewFlight lasted about 4.5 minutes
Battery went from 97% to 5% in that time

I've got a couple batteries that will dive just like this scenario. They both have unknown but at least 50 flights on each. Was able to determine each battery had a cell that would not keep charge.

skyhax · Sep 10, 2017

I bet the sun there could kill a black battery dead. But I must admit I don't even know if this is your hot season or not.

Lon Denard · Sep 10, 2017

skyhax said:
I bet the sun there could kill a black battery dead. But I must admit I don't even know if this is your hot season or not.

Yea I could see this as a excuse if this unit was new... From the previous post, he got approx 50 cycles? From a $200 each (retail) battery? I don't know but I'm hoping that my new unit does better for $90 each!

Mauiwind · Sep 11, 2017

jimloss said:
Flight lasted about 4.5 minutes
Battery went from 97% to 5% in that time
Never went far - maybe 100 yards from home
At about 216' AGL, battery was at 50%
At 275' AGL, battery was at 25% - Low Battery Warning
Went into RTL and Solo started climbing
At 316' AGL mode was switched to Fly and battery was at 17%
By the time Solo hit the ground under power the battery was at only 5%

Why did the battery only last 4.5 minutes? I'm not sure if the Tlog can show that. This was the primary failure, but it was not catastrophic.

Hind sight is 20/20, and I don't mean to hit you while you are down, but this is a learning opportunity for us all:

Why was RTL Altitude set to something higher than necessary - in this case over 316'? RTL Altitude should always be set to the minimum height necessary to clear nearby obstacles. In this case valuable power was wasted during the climb from 275' to 316' when you realized what was going on and switched back to Fly. Battery drained from 25% to 17% in this unnecessary climb.

Why continue the flight when power was dropping so fast? The battery was already down to 50% by the time Solo reached 216' at 3.5 minutes into the flight - this was not the time to start climbing higher. Under normal circumstances, the next 25% of the battery power might get used in a similar time as the first 50% got used.

Something went wrong to cause the power to drain so fast, but the crash looks like it might have occurred while in Fly mode and scrambling to get the Solo home and on the ground before power was out completely.

Wrong file....good analysis, but it wasnt the last file.

Mauiwind · Sep 11, 2017

skyhax said:
I bet the sun there could kill a black battery dead. But I must admit I don't even know if this is your hot season or not.

It's petty much the same all year long. 80 degrees. sometimes down to 70. (not often) Certainly, not always sunny.

Dobie Ardmore · Sep 11, 2017

Mauiwind said:
yeah, I never looked around for them. before I do anything about anything, I want to allow some time to pass to disconnect the emotional part of it.

Sucks. It is a part of the gamble to this hobby. Same with riding sportbikes. However, Solo crashes are cheeeeeaapp compared to motos; for both moto AND rider.

First rule of crash site recovery: Don't be so quick to pick up the quad! It's not going anywhere. Unplug, and then collect your thoughts. Observe and observe. Scan the entire area and then start to pick up pieces. Keep looking; in a bad crash you will find more and more stuff scattered about.

Mauiwind · Sep 11, 2017

Dobie Ardmore said:
Sucks. It is a part of the gamble to this hobby. Same with riding sportbikes. However, Solo crashes are cheeeeeaapp compared to motos; for both moto AND rider.

First rule of crash site recovery: Don't be so quick to pick up the quad! It's not going anywhere. Unplug, and then collect your thoughts. Observe and observe. Scan the entire area and then start to pick up pieces. Keep looking; in a bad crash you will find more and more stuff scattered about.

I agree that forensic examination is warranted. I'd add that it is available to us these days, to simply take phone pictures. Much like any accident scene, pictures before touching. Cheap, karma free.

Lon Denard · Sep 12, 2017

Dobie Ardmore said:
Sucks. It is a part of the gamble to this hobby. Same with riding sportbikes. However, Solo crashes are cheeeeeaapp compared to motos; for both moto AND rider.

First rule of crash site recovery: Don't be so quick to pick up the quad! It's not going anywhere. Unplug, and then collect your thoughts. Observe and observe. Scan the entire area and then start to pick up pieces. Keep looking; in a bad crash you will find more and more stuff scattered about.

Yea but sport bikes don't just run off on their own... At least mine doesn't. Hahaha!

Dobie Ardmore · Sep 12, 2017

Lon Denard said:
Yea but sport bikes don't just run off on their own... At least mine doesn't. Hahaha!

Yeah that's true. But sometimes they just don't turn or stop like you want.

Lon Denard · Sep 12, 2017

Dobie Ardmore said:
Yeah that's true. But sometimes they just don't turn or stop like you want.

Nah, the bike will do so much more than you're capable of. Any shortcomings are yours or mine. The problem with some of these drones is that it doesn't matter how much main't you do, how careful you are, how prepared you are or whatever the thing can still just fly away.

Dobie Ardmore · Sep 12, 2017

Lon Denard said:
Nah, the bike will do so much more than you're capable of. Any shortcomings are yours or mine. The problem with some of these drones is that it doesn't matter how much main't you do, how careful you are, how prepared you are or whatever the thing can still just fly away.

True again. Mine always did it what I wanted it to do with room to spare. It would go faster than I was willing to push it. However, there were some turns that I "cooked." It's where you don't move, you don't breathe, you just hang on and hope; my moto didn't even sweat. My motorcycle never failed me. 2000 Honda VFR.
So far my trust in Honda and Solo has not let me down

Lon Denard · Sep 12, 2017

Dobie Ardmore said:
True again. Mine always did it what I wanted it to do with room to spare. It would go faster than I was willing to push it. However, there were some turns that I "cooked." It's where you don't move, you don't breathe, you just hang on and hope; my moto didn't even sweat. My motorcycle never failed me. 2000 Honda VFR.
So far my trust in Honda and Solo has not let me down

Well I have a 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 that has never had any major work done, still has the stock clutch with over 100,000 miles on it.

I personally don't have the patience for Solo. I still have one that's stock, almost brand new. I haven't touched it in months. I did a quick Gear 360 test, during which it tried to take off after gps loss, and parked it ever since. Been flying my Karma and then my Mavic almost daily. I paid less than $200 for the Solo, so I couldn't care less what happens to it but I don't want to lose a camera! It's a bit like owning a Harley back in the day vs a Japanese cruiser. The Jap bike was always ready to go while the Harley was more problematic...

Dobie Ardmore · Sep 12, 2017

Lon Denard said:
Well I have a 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 that has never had any major work done, still has the stock clutch with over 100,000 miles on it.

I personally don't have the patience for Solo. I still have one that's stock, almost brand new. I haven't touched it in months. I did a quick Gear 360 test, during which it tried to take off after gps loss, and parked it ever since. Been flying my Karma and then my Mavic almost daily. I paid less than $200 for the Solo, so I couldn't care less what happens to it but I don't want to lose a camera! It's a bit like owning a Harley back in the day vs a Japanese cruiser. The Jap bike was always ready to go while the Harley was more problematic...

Hmmmmm. I have heard/read many disparaging things about Karma. Bad battery life, to bad drifting, to spendy, to just plain ugly. Karma doesn't seem to have a good following at all. Mavic is crticized too. It's small and transportable but other than that it is not regarded as superior in any way. Bad reviews on the camera and such. And let's not forget that DJI has has many problems from flyaways, to crashes, to crap customer service, to lonnnnnggggg repair times.

My Solo has never let me down ever! My GPS capture time is consistently less than a minute and it is ready to fly. It performs as advertised and I am very happy with everything about Solo. By adding some simple mods (mikroTIK, LRFPV antenna, and GPS shield) Solo becomes a STRONG performer with long distance range and fast GPS acquisition for start up. It handles and flies well. Looks great and feels good in the hand. Sturdy. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Self repair is easily done. Plug and play gimbal. Complete ariframe replacement is inexpensive. Easy camera swaps and many camera possibilities. Add a great community for knowledge and troubleshooting and open source coding. (Geez, come to think about it I love Solo even MORE now)

For those reasons, in my way of thinking, make it a hands down stand out and great performing platform that is hard to beat!

Lon Denard · Sep 12, 2017

Dobie Ardmore said:
Hmmmmm. I have heard/read many disparaging things about Karma. Bad battery life, to bad drifting, to spendy, to just plain ugly. Karma doesn't seem to have a good following at all. Mavic is crticized too. It's small and transportable but other than that it is not regarded as superior in any way. Bad reviews on the camera and such. And let's not forget that DJI has has many problems from flyaways, to crashes, to crap customer service, to lonnnnnggggg repair times.

My Solo has never let me down ever! My GPS capture time is consistently less than a minute and it is ready to fly. It performs as advertised and I am very happy with everything about Solo. By adding some simple mods (mikroTIK, LRFPV antenna, and GPS shield) Solo becomes a STRONG performer with long distance range and fast GPS acquisition for start up. It handles and flies well. Looks great and feels good in the hand. Sturdy. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Self repair is easily done. Plug and play gimbal. Complete ariframe replacement is inexpensive. Easy camera swaps and many camera possibilities. Add a great community for knowledge and troubleshooting and open source coding. (Geez, come to think about it I love Solo even MORE now)

For those reasons, in my way of thinking, make it a hands down stand out and great performing platform that is hard to beat!

Wait, I can't tell if you're kidding! Plentiful, inexpensive parts? Tell that to this guy! Where are you getting those plentiful and inexpensive gimbals? Camera choices? You mean the GoPro, the Go Pro or the Go Pro? Karma/ Mavic too expensive? Solo is around $800 with a case, camera and gimbal. Then you need to add those "easy" upgrades you mentioned for another $200+. I'm here to tell you that the battery life is easily on par with the Karma and far superior with the Mavic. As far as camera goes, I did like the Go Pro Hero 4 Black but I definitely am learning to live without fisheye in my videos! Besides, it's not in question whether or not the Hero 5 is better than the Hero 4... I'm not sure what you're smoking. Drift? Stock Solo vs the Mavic? Are you kidding? I've measured a consistent rth on the Mavic within 2 inches! Dream on with either the Solo or Karma. The Karma and the Solo use basically the same type of sat system so I'd call that a draw. Customer service? I contacted 3DR months ago and never got any response, ended up taking my spare back to Best Buy. I emailed DJI Aug 19 and received an answer Aug 20th. DJI sold me a warranty for $100 that will replace my drone for $80 if I crash it. I never said that the other companies or products were perfect but I have a long history with 3DR (I've owned several Solos) I've owned Go Pro products since the first camera and the Mavic is my first DJI product,we'll just see who's still happy in 6 months. Besides, you want to talk to me about what you've heard, I'll tell you what I know.