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Unable to fly due to freezing Temp.

VdoMemories

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Lately within minutes of being airborne in the cold morning the warning " Battery Temp too Cold "
forcing me to abort my mission !

Yesterday the warning changed to " Unable to charge due to colder temp "
Seems like it needs a wrap around to keep the battery from getting too cold !

Luckily the drone was 25 to 35 feet away from me and I quickly landed to avoid loosing my drone.

I live in the open area and it gets very windy so I don't fly not wanting to loose my drone.
12 pictures stitched with Microsoft ICE
 

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  • ICE Jan 23rd 2022 MAX_0047_12 pic Sat 58 + 28 contrast sky and darker Sm.jpg
    ICE Jan 23rd 2022 MAX_0047_12 pic Sat 58 + 28 contrast sky and darker Sm.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 50
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Lately within minutes of being airborne in the cold morning the warning " Battery Temp too Cold "
forcing me to abort my mission !

Yesterday the warning changed to " Unable to charge due to colder temp "
Seems like it needs a wrap around to keep the battery from getting too cold !

Luckily the drone was 25 to 35 feet away from me and I quickly landed to avoid loosing my drone.

Living in FL I will never see either warnings unless I travel :) ....overheating warnings though I am very familiar with those
 
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Living in FL I will never see either warnings unless I travel :) ....overheating warnings though I am very familiar with those
Yep, I live in Las Vegas and love the spring fall and winter, but the summer is brutal for flying. I have to do all my drone work first thing in the morning no later than 10:00 a.m. By then it's usually over 100° and I usually don't fly in anything over 100-103. Just too hot.
 
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Yep, I live in Las Vegas and love the spring fall and winter, but the summer is brutal for flying. I have to do all my drone work first thing in the morning no later than 10:00 a.m. By then it's usually over 100° and I usually don't fly in anything over 100-103. Just too hot.

And I thought FL was bad, it doesn't go over 95 here but the endless rain kind of ruins the summer and fall. Between the heat, humidity, and rain it is only nice about 5 months out of the year here.
 
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Its so freezingly cold even after aborting the mission and coming back home my hands were numb from being so cold for over an hour.
The temperature this morning was around 22 to 24* I used a different battery today and was able to three 12 picture Panoramic without stitching !
The Microsoft ICE does a good job stitching but at times the edge of the pictures get repetition at times.
Can anyone suggest a better stitching software ( Free one )
Don't want to be ripped off like $149 PT Gui !
 
Its so freezingly cold even after aborting the mission and coming back home my hands were numb from being so cold for over an hour.
The temperature this morning was around 22 to 24* I used a different battery today and was able to three 12 picture Panoramic without stitching !
The Microsoft ICE does a good job stitching but at times the edge of the pictures get repetition at times.
Can anyone suggest a better stitching software ( Free one )
Don't want to be ripped off like $149 PT Gui !
PY Gui is the best and least expensive stitching software, Lightroom Classic works fine as well.
 
I have not ever used Lightroom classic but will try it next.
Thanks for pointing it out.
Regards,
Ajay
 
I got up early this foggy morning to attempt to get above the fog to shoot a beautiful sunrise over the Cascade Mountains. Temperature was below freezing but the drone and full battery were at room temperature. I took off from my back yard and climbed through the fog to 395'. The fog was just breaking up at that altitude but not very clear (see unedited photo below). Hoping that the view would improve, I started a Hyperlapse. At about 9 minutes into the flight, I got a "high battery temperature, flight performance is limited" message. My remaining flight time had dropped to about 9 minutes. So I started descending back into the thick fog. At about 280' elevation I got a message "battery overheated", then "going home", then "critical low battery" warning and then the remaining battery went to 00:00, all within a few seconds. The drone then came rapidly straight down (not home) and "landed" in a grassy field nearby. No damage but the blades had quite a bit of ICE on them. I suspect that the ice overloaded the motors and rapidly drained the battery. Moral of the story; don't fly in freezing fog.
 

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  • Rainier Foggy View.jpg
    Rainier Foggy View.jpg
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I got up early this foggy morning to attempt to get above the fog to shoot a beautiful sunrise over the Cascade Mountains. Temperature was below freezing but the drone and full battery were at room temperature. I took off from my back yard and climbed through the fog to 395'. The fog was just breaking up at that altitude but not very clear (see unedited photo below). Hoping that the view would improve, I started a Hyperlapse. At about 9 minutes into the flight, I got a "high battery temperature, flight performance is limited" message. My remaining flight time had dropped to about 9 minutes. So I started descending back into the thick fog. At about 280' elevation I got a message "battery overheated", then "going home", then "critical low battery" warning and then the remaining battery went to 00:00, all within a few seconds. The drone then came rapidly straight down (not home) and "landed" in a grassy field nearby. No damage but the blades had quite a bit of ICE on them. I suspect that the ice overloaded the motors and rapidly drained the battery. Moral of the story; don't fly in freezing fog.
Exactly, I might add this as well, condition the drone for cold weather flight by setting just the drone outside for about 30 minutes (NOT THE BATTERY). Set it in a area that it is sheltered from precipitation, but at the same ambient temperature. This will allow any condensation on the interior of the lens housing to evaporate/dissipate as well as cool the body and blades so that no snow or frost will stick and accumulate, which as you have seen 1st hand , it can drastically and sometimes even, catastrophically cause the drone to have flight stability issues. You are blessed to have gotten your drone back without damage. Glad to hear you got it back unscathed!
 
And I thought FL was bad, it doesn't go over 95 here but the endless rain kind of ruins the summer and fall. Between the heat, humidity, and rain it is only nice about 5 months out of the year here.
Yeah I miss living in Florida. I used to live in Ocala(slooo-cala) and Leesburg, and near silver springs. Loved it, but as you noted, you can't avoid the rain! That is as certain as the sunrise almost everyday, especially in the summer in one manner or another. From all out downpours, to raining on your house on your side of the street, but my house being dry as a bone. I purchased the wet suit from Phantom Rain and have not installed it. I'm saving it for when flying in the conditions that it will be of the most use. Once it goes on you can't take it off.

We are considering moving back to Florida in the next 3-5 years. We have been in Vegas for almost 20yrs now and it has changed far to much from the wonderful place it once was.
 
Exactly, I might add this as well, condition the drone for cold weather flight by setting just the drone outside for about 30 minutes (NOT THE BATTERY). Set it in a area that it is sheltered from precipitation, but at the same ambient temperature. This will allow any condensation on the interior of the lens housing to evaporate/dissipate as well as cool the body and blades so that no snow or frost will stick and accumulate, which as you have seen 1st hand , it can drastically and sometimes even, catastrophically cause the drone to have flight stability issues. You are blessed to have gotten your drone back without damage. Glad to hear you got it back unscathed!
Thanks for the tip. I'll try that, but only when temps are above freezing.
 
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Biggest issue is keeping your batteries warm.

I was flying E2P last week with temps below 0F and windchills around -20F, other than getting app/device/controller charging warning due to low temp, otherwise all good.

Biggest challenge is keeping fingers/hands warm, I use moshi digit touch screen gloves which help for making adjustments to app/device. Also keep a small pocket warmer in pocket for if needed.

With the cold and particular strong wind combination I tend to keep flights shorter.

Keep batteries warm, if you are outside flying, keep them inside a vehicle or somewhere warm until you need them. Also keep in mind your battery endurance may be lower with the cold, I tend to adjust my low battery alerts higher during winter months based on past expereince as when battery levels drop, they can tend to drop faster in the cold.

Generally will do the aircraft, app/dev/controller setup and prep outdoors giving sensors/lens etc time to adjust to temps before powering up aircraft. Likewise once powered up, will let aircraft sit a little bit longer using the time to make any adjustments with app/device/controller.

If I take a quick break during battery swap, will leave aircraft outside vehicle however its sheltered to avoid having to adjust lens/sensors etc.

Something have noticed is the gimbal can become sluggish at times after it has been out in the cold for awhile, however nothing definitive.
 
This morning January 25th was not that cold so I had no problems, the video feed stopped suddenly and had to re-boot the drone and remote.
Had to quickly land as I was loosing the chance to capture the sky.
When I rebooted the LCD had the video feed but a few minutes later I saw the drone was shooting towards the trees as I had taken off from near the tree this time. The battery had gone down. The " Cancel " needs to be bigger along with a flashing screen right before it tries to land.
My question is, what if I failed to Stop the RTH and would the drone have crashed in to the tree or It would have stopped and Hovered sensing the tree.
I got lucky my drone was saved.

When I start my drone it takes awful long time before it locks in to the GPS and I find myself waving the remote up in the air to hopefully lock the GPS, Why ?

In Precision mode, yes I can choose slower speeds but still it starts moving with a Jerk,
Not being able to choose Gradual pick up of speed from 0 seconds to 8 seconds delay to smoothen and dampen what Autel is best known for " Jerky Moves "
No wonder I can't shoot Video, only pictures !
 

Attachments

  • ICE Jan 25th 2022 Sunrise MAX_0002_12 pic Sat 66 Sharp 151-5.2 + 44 Sat Sky Sm.jpg
    ICE Jan 25th 2022 Sunrise MAX_0002_12 pic Sat 66 Sharp 151-5.2 + 44 Sat Sky Sm.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 12
Last edited:
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I got up early this foggy morning to attempt to get above the fog to shoot a beautiful sunrise over the Cascade Mountains. Temperature was below freezing but the drone and full battery were at room temperature. I took off from my back yard and climbed through the fog to 395'. The fog was just breaking up at that altitude but not very clear (see unedited photo below). Hoping that the view would improve, I started a Hyperlapse. At about 9 minutes into the flight, I got a "high battery temperature, flight performance is limited" message. My remaining flight time had dropped to about 9 minutes. So I started descending back into the thick fog. At about 280' elevation I got a message "battery overheated", then "going home", then "critical low battery" warning and then the remaining battery went to 00:00, all within a few seconds. The drone then came rapidly straight down (not home) and "landed" in a grassy field nearby. No damage but the blades had quite a bit of ICE on them. I suspect that the ice overloaded the motors and rapidly drained the battery. Moral of the story; don't fly in freezing fog.
Glad to hear you got your drone back. Flying in fog is hazardous, frost forming on blades significantly decreases lift so to maintain hover motors have to work harder, and will keep working harder as it accumulates until they can't anymore because either power is depleted or the blades can no longer generate sufficient lift.

The the same reason airplanes have to wait in line forever at O'Hare to de-ice in the winter, the frost and ice disrupts airflow and reduces effectiveness of the wing which could lead to some scary outcomes.

Even when not frozen the very high humidity in fog clouds increases density altitude and you get less lift and performance. Be very careful around fog.
 
Glad to hear you got your drone back. Flying in fog is hazardous, frost forming on blades significantly decreases lift so to maintain hover motors have to work harder, and will keep working harder as it accumulates until they can't anymore because either power is depleted or the blades can no longer generate sufficient lift.

The the same reason airplanes have to wait in line forever at O'Hare to de-ice in the winter, the frost and ice disrupts airflow and reduces effectiveness of the wing which could lead to some scary outcomes.

Even when not frozen the very high humidity in fog clouds increases density altitude and you get less lift and performance. Be very careful around fog.
Thanks. I wonder if the blades were coated with a anti-icing compound, as used on airplanes, or a Teflon coating (see link below) would prevent the ice buildup and subsequent motor/battery overload.
 
Thanks. I wonder if the blades were coated with a anti-icing compound, as used on airplanes, or a Teflon coating (see link below) would prevent the ice buildup and subsequent motor/battery overload.
No compound will stay at that RPM on plastic...
But do a simple thing: Take some Pronto for furniture, spray on a cotton then apply on propellers....the wax will act like a repellent for one flight, not more...but at least you get some protection...Anyway, any flight in temps between +4 and -4 Celsius should be made with care, as this is an interval when the ice is forming on blades...Is more safe at -10 than at -4, as humidity in air will be reduced as the temp is dropping...
 
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No compound will stay at that RPM on plastic...
But do a simple thing: Take some Pronto for furniture, spray on a cotton then apply on propellers....the wax will act like a repellent for one flight, not more...but at least you get some protection...Anyway, any flight in temps between +4 and -4 Celsius should be made with care, as this is an interval when the ice is forming on blades...Is more safe at -10 than at -4, as humidity in air will be reduced as the temp is dropping...
INteresting. I wonder if something like Rain-X would work at all.
 

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