My DJI Phantom 4 Went Swimming

Started by Solar, November 01, 2017, 02:45:27 PM

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Solar



Not intentionally mind you, but I was flying over the creek at water level and leaves were falling all around, so I raised it up to pull out and it hit a tiny branch I couldn't see at my distance, instantly, it flipped upside down and went to the bottom about 3' deep.
Luckily I was wearing water shoes and shorts, so I ran like Hell and found it upside down calling for help with all its lights flashing red.

I grabbed it, shook all the water out I could and grabbed the blower and did all I could to clear it, oh, and I took the battery out immediately, I noticed the lens glass was cracked and water was inside, so I broke the glass cover out, that was on Saturday.
I brought it up to the house, packed it with 100 packets of silica gel and stuck it in a small trash bag and sealed it.

Today at 2:00 I took it out, crossed my fingers, because I know from others horror stories, these things don't usually turn out so well, and the insurance pack I bought for it, doesn't cover water damage.

Well, I fired it up, it made all the right sounds, set it on the ground and turned on the app, problem was, there was no image, I stood there a moment, glad that it at least checked out OK, but thought I'd have to send it in for repair, when after about a minute, the camera came back to life.
I fired it up, hovered about 12' off the ground, everything checked out, so with a green light, I took it up and did a systems check and it worked perfectly.

When I get time, I'll post a video of my campsite and the drone eating creek as well.
Man, that was scary, that would have been the second drone I'd killed, all due to operator error, or rather, doing stupid shit and taking too many risky chances. :biggrin:
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walkstall

Quote from: Solar on November 01, 2017, 02:45:27 PM

Not intentionally mind you, but I was flying over the creek at water level and leaves were falling all around, so I raised it up to pull out and it hit a tiny branch I couldn't see at my distance, instantly, it flipped upside down and went to the bottom about 3' deep.
Luckily I was wearing water shoes and shorts, so I ran like Hell and found it upside down calling for help with all its lights flashing red.

I grabbed it, shook all the water out I could and grabbed the blower and did all I could to clear it, oh, and I took the battery out immediately, I noticed the lens glass was cracked and water was inside, so I broke the glass cover out, that was on Saturday.
I brought it up to the house, packed it with 100 packets of silica gel and stuck it in a small trash bag and sealed it.

Today at 2:00 I took it out, crossed my fingers, because I know from others horror stories, these things don't usually turn out so well, and the insurance pack I bought for it, doesn't cover water damage.

Well, I fired it up, it made all the right sounds, set it on the ground and turned on the app, problem was, there was no image, I stood there a moment, glad that it at least checked out OK, but thought I'd have to send it in for repair, when after about a minute, the camera came back to life.
I fired it up, hovered about 12' off the ground, everything checked out, so with a green light, I took it up and did a systems check and it worked perfectly.

When I get time, I'll post a video of my campsite and the drone eating creek as well.
Man, that was scary, that would have been the second drone I'd killed, all due to operator error, or rather, doing stupid shit and taking too many risky chances. :biggrin:

You need to spray it with a water repellent.   :lol:
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Solar

Quote from: walkstall on November 01, 2017, 03:01:51 PM
You need to spray it with a water repellent.   :lol:
I wish it was that easy, but they have it vented to keep the motors cool, as well as the battery and CPU.
I guess it gets hot, so they have all these inlets you can't seal off.
I have a pretty good idea that some manufacturer will build one soon that can land on water and fly under water very soon.
Mine did, but not very well. :lol:
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