Damaged Evo 2 Pro 6k by hand catching?

Ncuozzo · Jun 2, 2021

Hello all,

New to the drone world. Long story short I was trying to hand catch my Evo 2 pro the other day due to me being on a boat in rough waters. When I went to catch it the motors spooled up really fast and it fought me, it did this for about 20 seconds while I tried to turn the drone off I eventually had to disconnect the battery and ended up nicking my finger on the blades pretty bad! Could this have caused any damage to my drone? Sorry if it's a stupid question and I know I should not be hand catching but I had no other choice.

thanks!

woobirdy · Jun 3, 2021

no damage will be done. when hand catching it takes a few seconds for the drone to cut power and it will want to try and correct itself by spooling up the motors, it takes about 3 seconds with the left stick all the way down for the motors to cut off.. same with all drones, the only damage you could do is to the sd card if you are recording you might corrupt the file..

quinn karter · Jun 3, 2021

Was your drone's toggle set to BOAT MODE? This problem, of the motors staying on and resisting the landing, is caused by any motion relative to the drone's original landing spot. When hand catching on land, I have to keep my hand and arm as steady as the ground I am standing on, otherwise, the drone will fight like a fish and try to go back to the exact gps coordinates where it landed when first landing in my hand. In BOAT MODE, the IMU sensitivity is decreased , which allows you to land on non-static surfaces.

A short Video on Boat Mode and how to use it;

herein2021 · Jun 3, 2021

Ncuozzo said:
Hello all,

New to the drone world. Long story short I was trying to hand catch my Evo 2 pro the other day due to me being on a boat in rough waters. When I went to catch it the motors spooled up really fast and it fought me, it did this for about 20 seconds while I tried to turn the drone off I eventually had to disconnect the battery and ended up nicking my finger on the blades pretty bad! Could this have caused any damage to my drone? Sorry if it's a stupid question and I know I should not be hand catching but I had no other choice.

thanks!

I have never hand caught any of my drones, but another trick that I have read about to get the drone to instantly shut off is to flip it upside down. Not sure if it works, and I would test it on dry land first, but I believe for safety reasons the EVO will shut off immediately if it is flipped upside down.

quinn karter · Jun 3, 2021

herein2021 said:
I have never hand caught any of my drones, but another trick that I have read about to get the drone to instantly shut off is to flip it upside down. Not sure if it works, and I would test it on dry land first, but I believe for safety reasons the EVO will shut off immediately if it is flipped upside down.

Your right, It will shut down when flipped over. I've done it and seen it. But that was accidental, It flipped over during a takeoff. My fault. But it shut off when it tilted just beyond 90 degrees.

But how does one do that safely by hand. I bet the drone's motors will rev up, if your holding it and you try flipping it. It will resist the flip. By how much, I don't know. Just pray it doesn't resist too much and it can be flipped rather easily. Good luck, if any one tries it. WEAR THICK GLOVES.

gschulzuio · Jun 5, 2021

I avoid hand catch and launch, however have had to hand catch my drones in rare situations. Having hand catch land, the last thing I would do or try, particular with a larger diameter prop, aircraft while props are spinning is to try and flip or do anything that turns it. The centrifugal force and the aircraft countering and resisting would make for a dangerous situation. Instead learn how to do a one hand throttle down on the controller. Also learn or practice a hand catch either with somebody else at the controls, or after you have practiced the one hand on the controller, one hand grabbing the aircraft from underneath and clear of the props. Even something like a mavic mini who's props are a fraction the size of an EVO II can leave a nasty mark on your hand.

Ncuozzo · Jun 5, 2021

Thanks all!

quinn karter · Jun 6, 2021

gschulzuio said:
I avoid hand catch and launch, however have had to hand catch my drones in rare situations. Having hand catch land, the last thing I would do or try, particular with a larger diameter prop, aircraft while props are spinning is to try and flip or do anything that turns it. The centrifugal force and the aircraft countering and resisting would make for a dangerous situation. Instead learn how to do a one hand throttle down on the controller. Also learn or practice a hand catch either with somebody else at the controls, or after you have practiced the one hand on the controller, one hand grabbing the aircraft from underneath and clear of the props. Even something like a mavic mini who's props are a fraction the size of an EVO II can leave a nasty mark on your hand.

You certainly wouldn't see me trying flip a running evo 2 over.

gschulzuio · Jun 6, 2021

quinn karter said:
You certainly wouldn't see me trying flip a running evo 2 over.

Likewise

Eagle928 · Jun 8, 2021

It is possible the up and down motion of the boat was being sensed by the aircraft so it would not turn off the motors in this case because it "thinks" it's still flying.

I had this same issue on land with an Air 2S. It would not shutdown even when I turned it sideways so I hit the RTH button while holding down the left stick and it finally shutdown. IDK if the E2 would do the same thing.

Rubik3x · Jun 8, 2021

Would it make a difference if your hand did not cover the downward facing sensors? If you catch an hold it away from the sensors, it may not know it's supposed to shut down.

kenautelevo2pro · Jun 8, 2021

wait, I thought autel got rid of "boat mode.."

autel-myst · Jun 9, 2021

well, not everyone upgrades the firmware, especially if it doesn't have a fix for problems that they're interested in.

uas_gian · Jan 1, 2022

quinn karter said:
You certainly wouldn't see me trying flip a running evo 2 over.

I once tried this but couldn't flip the Evo 2. There was just too much of resistance force before I reached a 90 degree angle. I didn't cut my hands (maybe a miracle) because I had a lucky and firm grip exactly in between the props.

The best method suggested in this forum related to hand catching is to push the stick down an let the lading drone rest in or on your hand for a few seconds for the rotors to turn off. This is for sure difficult on a rocking boat.

I have posted a suggestion to the community to discuss what button sequence on the RC could safely be executed single handed to power down the aircraft in cases of an unusual emergency. I thought it made sense to suggest this to Autel, but many users disagreed such a feature would actually be useful to them.