Advice, Evo 2 v1 fell from the sky

[Liver]

So the drone is gone. It was almost 2 miles away in heavy wooded area, the area is inaccessible (and private property). So the drone is gone.

Besides selling the remaining gear I have, is there anything I can realistically do with it? The stuff isn't worth much of anything since it’s been obsolete for awhile. I have 3 batteries, AlienTech antenna (only 2.4), v1 remote, LiftThor mount and the hard case. I have a bunch of props and some other random stuff.

I know I can use the TriplTek tablet again.

I do NOT think looking for another v1 is cost effective, and I can not use any of the v1 stuff with the latest version. I suppose I could still use the hard case, but aside from that?

I am asking, before I either sell it for not much or recycle it (lithium). Can I use the remote for a DIY drone project? Is that possible?

 

[GM Dave]

So the drone is gone. It was almost 2 miles away in heavy wooded area, the area is inaccessible (and private property). So the drone is gone.

Besides selling the remaining gear I have, is there anything I can realistically do with it? The stuff isn't worth much of anything since it’s been obsolete for awhile. I have 3 batteries, AlienTech antenna (only 2.4), v1 remote, LiftThor mount and the hard case. I have a bunch of props and some other random stuff.

I know I can use the TriplTek tablet again.

I do NOT think looking for another v1 is cost effective, and I can not use any of the v1 stuff with the latest version. I suppose I could still use the hard case, but aside from that?

I am asking, before I either sell it for not much or recycle it (lithium). Can I use the remote for a DIY drone project? Is that possible?

So Sorry about your loss. That had to be a bad day. I'd be mortified loosing a $1500.00 drone.

After hearing all the horror stories like yours, I keep a close eye on mine.
Any ideas on the run away or loss of connection why you lost the drone ?

I would post you stuff for sale with pictures and your asking price in Classifieds.
The battery's usually get a lot of attention and sell fast.
Good Luck in the future.

 

[Liver]

I had 17 minutes left on fly time. Almost immediately dropped to zero and that was that.

So aside from getting another v1, can I use anything I currently have for a new DIY drone? I mean, something relatively easy. I am thinking that’s not possible.

 

[GM Dave]

I had 17 minutes left on fly time. Almost immediately dropped to zero and that was that.

So aside from getting another v1, can I use anything I currently have for a new DIY drone? I mean, something relatively easy. I am thinking that’s not possible.

That scares me. The unexpected like you had. I am over cautious now and becoming paranoid to explore any more. As soon as the weather breaks I have a new friend I meat on the 2way radio that has a lot of land in the hills of the Finger Lakes and will be there from now on. Away from danger and The Man.

Like you said not much you can do with the left over stuff except the box. The done box is very high quality compared to the Harbor Freight boxes so I'd keep that maybe.
As for DIY stuff I don't know my self. I haven't done any FPV yet.
I will continue to fly my Evo 2 and love it but, I'm going back to DJI stuff. The Avata is looking real good to me.

 

[Liver]

Thanks. I’m thinking about going out there again to look for it.

I’ll go a different direction and see if I can get across. I’ll go during the bright part of the day. Quite literally getting shot is a hard reality out here. That’s part of the reason I’m ok with not pursuing it.

The DJI Avata is a lot of fun. I have that one as well. I was having ESC errors over and over. I got on their app and had a new drone in my hand the next day. That was amazing. I had the new drone before I even boxed up the old one.

 

[herein2021]

So the drone is gone. It was almost 2 miles away in heavy wooded area, the area is inaccessible (and private property). So the drone is gone.

Besides selling the remaining gear I have, is there anything I can realistically do with it? The stuff isn't worth much of anything since it’s been obsolete for awhile. I have 3 batteries, AlienTech antenna (only 2.4), v1 remote, LiftThor mount and the hard case. I have a bunch of props and some other random stuff.

I know I can use the TriplTek tablet again.

I do NOT think looking for another v1 is cost effective, and I can not use any of the v1 stuff with the latest version. I suppose I could still use the hard case, but aside from that?

I am asking, before I either sell it for not much or recycle it (lithium). Can I use the remote for a DIY drone project? Is that possible?

That is quite unfortunate, sorry for your loss. I know it is too late now, but the #1 cause that I see for a sudden loss like that is battery problems. I don't know anything about your charging habits or LiPo battery experience but I know many people pull batteries out of storage, the indicator shows its full, and they then go fly like that.

With LiPos you always have to put them back on the charger and let the battery rebalance before flying. If its cold weather, you have to heat the battery to around 70+ degrees before flying or they are very unreliable.

Also, with your description of the location it is entirely possible that it was brought down due to lead poisoning. I have had a few hairy situations myself. I am working on 2.5yrs now, original FW and my EVO 2 V1 still flies like the day I got it.

 

[Liver]

I did more research on my particular issue, of course after the fact. You guys are correct, my battery management was not adequate.

I did not follow best practices in battery management prior to flight. Nor did I hover for a minute after take off to equilibrate.

Live and learn.

 

[Detritalgeo]

Maybe you can team up with another and do a recon flight in the area it went down?

 

[Wargamingdrone]

Just buy some wrecked ones and build one.... I built about 5 birds from parts and have plenty of parts to build XPS, 1s 2s and even Nanos and lites.... fun hobby. I only crashed one in several years due to miscalculation on a wire I couldn't see. But I rebuilt that one too.

 

[Eagle928]

Could have been a motor failure, prop failure, cracked then broken arm, battery died or was ejected. So many things are possible.

Sucks when this happens. Sorry to hear it. Usually a bad battery will give a little warning. Many times enough to land it rather than let it fall.

 

[uas_gian]

Also, with your description of the location it is entirely possible that it was brought down due to lead poisoning.

Is this an internal joke or a typo: "lead poisoning" of a drone?

 

[Eagle928]

Is this an internal joke or a typo: "lead poisoning" of a drone?

Shot from the sky.

 

[AndrewS]

So the drone is gone. It was almost 2 miles away in heavy wooded area, the area is inaccessible (and private property). So the drone is gone.

Besides selling the remaining gear I have, is there anything I can realistically do with it? The stuff isn't worth much of anything since it’s been obsolete for awhile. I have 3 batteries, AlienTech antenna (only 2.4), v1 remote, LiftThor mount and the hard case. I have a bunch of props and some other random stuff.

I know I can use the TriplTek tablet again.

I do NOT think looking for another v1 is cost effective, and I can not use any of the v1 stuff with the latest version. I suppose I could still use the hard case, but aside from that?

I am asking, before I either sell it for not much or recycle it (lithium). Can I use the remote for a DIY drone project? Is that possible?

Can’t you use the batteries on a V2or V3?

 

[pongnut]

I may be overstating the obvious, and I don't know the "neighborhood" there, but I would take a look at the flight log data to determine the coordinates of the last transmission. Then I would reach out to the landowner and explain what transpired, and ask if I could venture to the spot it may be resting at. Who knows, he may even be eager to join you in the treasure hunt.

 

[Liver]

@Eagle928

How do I get the flight log?

What I have done. I took a picture of the flight screen (the one with the map) and I narrowed it down to 2 acres where it may have gone down. I contacted the land owner, wore red (and a vest) and walked it.

It’s really really dense woods. I didn’t find it. I understand that it may be in a tree as well. I looked and looked.

With the last flight log, I may be able to narrow it down to less than 9000 square yards.

 

[ivolin]

@Eagle928

How do I get the flight log?

What I have done. I took a picture of the flight screen (the one with the map) and I narrowed it down to 2 acres where it may have gone down. I contacted the land owner, wore red (and a vest) and walked it.

It’s really really dense woods. I didn’t find it. I understand that it may be in a tree as well. I looked and looked.

With the last flight log, I may be able to narrow it down to less than 9000 square yards.

For example you can connect your device to PC and find your logs here(Android): This PC\*Name of Device*\Internal Memory\Android\data\com.autelrobotics.explorer\files\flightLog

 

[Liver]

Thanks.

I found this official tutorial as well.

 

[uas_gian]

For example you can connect your device to PC and find your logs here(Android): This PC\*Name of Device*\Internal Memory\Android\data\com.autelrobotics.explorer\files\flightLog

The flight log will narrow it down to a much smaller area. Then you have to take wind conditions, wind direction and altitude into account. If the battery failed, the engines should have stopped. When a drone falls in horizontal position the rotors will reverse by airflow and cause some drag, slowing down the fall. If there was a lot of wind that day, the drone itself might begin tumbling and rotating on the way down. (There is a nice video online of someone that lost control of a drone high above the clouds and later recovered it, the video footage shows the possible behaviour of the drone while falling back to earth). Taking such possible behaviour into account you can determine your search area. Good luck!

 

[GeekOnTheWing]

Can’t you use the batteries on a V2or V3?

My understanding is that you can, but will have to run a firmware update on them with the new drone. I can think of all kinds of ways that that could go bad...

 

[Liver]

Wow guys. Wow.

I found it. Using the advice here, I was able to get the flight logs. I was able to get the last latitude and longitude recorded. I had to take a kid with me, which is great.

It’s a hobby and I’m learning!

It was just sitting on the ground. Two propellers had some nicks and small cracks, and I have replacement props.

The battery was dead (as expected), but it charged right up. Then I flew it around the pasture for 25 minutes on that same battery and no issues (I own 60 acres that I flew on at a low altitude). No issues at all! Gimbal was perfect.

Thanks so much.