odd behavior + crash during return home

[BenTheCAflyer]

Just wanted to share this with the group - I was doing some night flying outside an old building using only the remote (no phone). The drone battery ran low and auto-home took over. It went through the motions of what it normally does when I have my phone connected, but instead of going up 60m it only went up about 2, and shot frighteningly low and fast over peoples' heads on the way home, and missed some obstacles by sheer luck.
I put a new battery in and kept flying, and when that one was low it auto-homed again. This time it only went up about 3m and crashed itself into the side of the building on the path home, like it didn't even see it.
I don't have much experience flying the Evo II at night (I was using it as an overhead light source for photography), and this was my first time flying it without a phone connected. Which of those two variables would have most likely contributed to its behavior?
(I think the drone's ok - all the propellers are chewed up but there's no apparent body damage and it powers up and connects to the remote. I haven't flown it again yet though, waiting on some new propellers)

UPDATE: gave the Evo a fresh set of propellers and recalibrated everything, and flew it last weekend for about 30 mins at dusk with no issues. Very impressed it took a hard crash with no real damage! Still don't know why it behaved strangely when it crashed.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

i would attach your phone to the remote and repeat teh scenario and see if the drone continue to rise only 2m or 3m before returning to home on low battery.

 

[Robertvan]

Around last December, 2021, I was trying to catch the sunset but couldn't get my phone to connect to the transmitter for my Autel Pro II V2, so I took off just using the transmitter. Right away I noticed there was a bit of video lag as well as lag in the response of my aircraft. I suspect that the app from the phone definitely seems to give a better response both for video and flying. Given the sluggish control from using just the transmitter, I opted not to use the return to home function, after hearing your experiences I'm glad I didn't try.

 

[Robertvan]

Also, for the last couple of months I have been working on a documentary project filming the renovation and repairs to 100 year old steel suspension bridge up-state NY, and have for the first time encountered electromagnetic field interruption with control of my drone... So I researched about electromagnetic fields and found out that it could interrupt both your compass and GPS settings on the aircraft. Given your experience possibly also interrupts the altimeter setting as well, if you were flying close to a structure with a strong magnetic field. My checklist when I first takeoff, is to let my aircraft hover to see how well it holds position, and then I try all my controls backward forward left right and observe how well that response to my commands from the transmitter. If it's sluggish I move further away from the bridge that I am photographing and it has made a difference.

 

[Robertvan]

FYI: attached is a link to my video work on my bridge project. All the aerial footage was shot using my Autel EVO Pro II V2. 6K. The 6K camera works really well, letting me use four-times zoom in, I've been able to get really good shots while staying away from that electromagnetic field that the bridge puts out.

 

[Robertvan]

i would attach your phone to the remote and repeat teh scenario and see if the drone continue to rise only 2m or 3m before returning to home on low battery.

Very good advice...

 

[BenTheCAflyer]

Around last December, 2021, I was trying to catch the sunset but couldn't get my phone to connect to the transmitter for my Autel Pro II V2, so I took off just using the transmitter. Right away I noticed there was a bit of video lag as well as lag in the response of my aircraft. I suspect that the app from the phone definitely seems to give a better response both for video and flying. Given the sluggish control from using just the transmitter, I opted not to use the return to home function, after hearing your experiences I'm glad I didn't try.

thank you for the context! It wasn't my preference to fly w/o my phone but I'd lost the supplied cable earlier in the day, and the 3rd party cables I brought wouldn't connect (topic for another thread I just opened).
The drone was acting a little funny the whole time I was flying it that night with just the remote -- I constantly had to do micro-adjustments to keep it in place because it would drift and get really close to walls and overhangs. Not having used just the remote before (or flown at night) I just assumed that I made some rookie mistakes -- I don't actually know if the settings from the phone are kept in the remote when the two aren't paired. I was in a bit of a rush not to lose the last of the sunlight so I didn't take the time I should have to check all the readings. I just needed the LED so I just put it up and got to shooting on the ground.
When I turn my remote / drone on now, the remote reads 'ATTI Mode'. I didn't knowingly turn that on and don't recall seeing that the night it crashed, but it might explain some of the weird flight behavior if it defaulted to that. I can't fully diagnose yet because I need new blades and a cable that connects.
Have you ever had sensor issues flying at night other than electromagnetic interference?

 

[BenTheCAflyer]

FYI: attached is a link to my video work on my bridge project. All the aerial footage was shot using my Autel EVO Pro II V2. 6K. The 6K camera works really well, letting me use four-times zoom in, I've been able to get really good shots while staying away from that electromagnetic field that the bridge puts out.

wow, amazing footage! I don't shoot much video with mine, I got it mostly for photography but am just starting to get into the flight features.
I admit I actually really like flying it without my phone, just in terms of how fast it is to get it up. I shoot a lot of car-related events and improvise a lot, and it's the difference between having it up in 30 secs vs. 1.5 mins with a phone. I just wish it was more responsive, and for the little time I've spent with it, it seems really fussy to find / toggle through settings once you're flying.

 

[Brock Inspector]

RTH is not infallible, and Obstacle Avoidance does not work in the dark, period. Set your critically low battery voltage to a percentage that you'll never hit rather than leaving it at the default setting. It will also greatly lengthen your battery life never to run them lower than 25%. Avoid using RTH except as a last resort, and never at night or around people! You can set your RTH height limit with Autel Explorer.(Did you update firmware since you set that height and then switched to the Standard Controller? Did you check that setting before flight?)

 

[Brock Inspector]

ATTI mode is the fly-by-sight mode. Your GPS receiver is not working; you may have disconnected the antenna in that crash. It's also possible to obstruct the GPS by using the most inviting flat spot on the top rear half of the Evo II shell to mount a collision-avoidance strobe. (Because of the location of the GPS receiver, strongly recommend attaching a strobe on top of the front part of the shell instead)

 

[BenTheCAflyer]

RTH is not infallible, and Obstacle Avoidance does not work in the dark, period. Set your critically low battery voltage to a percentage that you'll never hit rather than leaving it at the default setting. It will also greatly lengthen your battery life never to run them lower than 25%. Avoid using RTH except as a last resort, and never at night or around people! You can set your RTH height limit with Autel Explorer.(Did you update firmware since you set that height and then switched to the Standard Controller? Did you check that setting before flight?)

really good info, thank you. I'd assumed that obstacle avoidance didn't rely on visible light.
I updated the firmware and gave a fresh pass over the settings a few days before the crash, but I don't recall if I set the height before or after the firmware update.

 

[BenTheCAflyer]

ATTI mode is the fly-by-sight mode. Your GPS receiver is not working; you may have disconnected the antenna in that crash. It's also possible to obstruct the GPS by using the most inviting flat spot on the top rear half of the Evo II shell to mount a collision-avoidance strobe. (Because of the location of the GPS receiver, strongly recommend attaching a strobe on top of the front part of the shell instead)

do you recommend a strobe?

 

[Brock Inspector]

I assumed you might have mounted one already since you mentioned your night flight ( here in the US, they're required after sundown)

 

[BenTheCAflyer]

I assumed you might have mounted one already since you mentioned your night flight ( here in the US, they're required after sundown)

It was more of a dusk shoot, and I didn't give it much thought since I was just putting it up stationary about 15' over a subject as a light source, about 15' away. But thank you and noted, and I now have a Lume strobe mounted, as I do want to do more proper nighttime shooting.

 

[BenTheCAflyer]

RTH is not infallible, and Obstacle Avoidance does not work in the dark, period. Set your critically low battery voltage to a percentage that you'll never hit rather than leaving it at the default setting. It will also greatly lengthen your battery life never to run them lower than 25%. Avoid using RTH except as a last resort, and never at night or around people! You can set your RTH height limit with Autel Explorer.(Did you update firmware since you set that height and then switched to the Standard Controller? Did you check that setting before flight?)

Really good info, thank you! Helpful to know that obstacle avoidance doesn't work at all at night. Firmware was updated and the drone was fully recalibrated just a few days before, and I did go through all my settings including RTH then (I was going on a road trip and wanted everything in top shape). I'd done a few quick flights with it during the day since then, with no issues.

 

[KANSAS KILLSHOT]

Yea when fly at night I always make sure avoidance is off to save whatever power it consumes when there running. The two speakers on the bottom are ultrasonic sensors that don't require daylight to detect an object. Why didn't they use ultrasonic for avoidance all they way around for night-time? Idk. That be cool if they did though.