What if the phone dies?

[Kulu]

Hi

I have an LG G3 which I no longer use because it has the solder problem on the motherboard, meaning it can spontaneously crash and go to a blue screen. I fly my Spark with a phone and RC, but wondered what would happen if the phone suddenly crashed.

I assume it would mean disaster and so I should avoid using the G£, but can someone let me know if I am right?

 

[msinger]

The Spark is flown with the remote controller. If your phone dies, you'll just have to continue flying with your eyes.

 

[perrylawrence]

As I understand things, the phone talks to the remote and the remote talks to the ac.

So, you will still have control via the Rc if the phone dies.

I have tested this by turning off my phone while flying and was able to pilot the Spark back home.

Pause button on the Rc will stop any ‘mission’ that is active.

 

[Kulu]

Thanks - all good advice. So as long as I have the RTH point properly set, if the phone goes I can initiate an RTH and then when I can see the thing I can bring it in manually?

 

[msinger]

So as long as I have the RTH point properly set, if the phone goes I can initiate an RTH and then when I can see the thing I can bring it in manually?

Yes, you could do that.

 

[Kulu]

Thanks; that saves me a ton of cash on a new device.

 

[webvan]

Happened to me this winter when the cold killed the battery (still at 30+%) in my phone as I was bringing it back. Totally unexpected so I hit RTH in a bit of a panic as the Spark was about 300 meters away and there's no way I was going to bring it back manually. When it got closer I took over by hitting the pause button "II", phew !

 

[The Editor]

Thanks - all good advice. So as long as I have the RTH point properly set, if the phone goes I can initiate an RTH and then when I can see the thing I can bring it in manually?

Yes, you could do that but of course you would never be flying out of VLOS in any case would you so moot point.

 

[Hackeron]

I was flying in the alps and my phone switched off from the cold mid flight at the furthest point away (!). In panic to try to get my phone to switch back on, I lost visual line of sight of the drone in the bright sun.

I pressed the return to home button on the remote and sure enough, it flew the 2km back home and hovered above my head

This is the photo I got:

 

[webvan]

"I lost visual line of sight of the drone" vs "it flew the 2km back home" ? ;-)

Having said that even with a "technical" LOS of 300 meters like I had, i.e. you can "see" there is no immediate danger around the position of the Spark there is no way you can bring it back if you don't know its heading.

 

[The Editor]

I was flying in the alps and my phone switched off from the cold mid flight at the furthest point away (!). In panic to try to get my phone to switch back on, I lost visual line of sight of the drone in the bright sun.

I pressed the return to home button on the remote and sure enough, it flew the 2km back home and hovered above my head

This is the photo I got:

View attachment 5334

I think the McWhirter Foundation will be very interested if you get in contact with them for your eyesight to be included and recorded in the next annual Guinness publication.

 

[Hackeron]

I think the McWhirter Foundation will be very interested if you get in contact with them for your eyesight to be included and recorded in the next annual Guinness publication.

I don't really have the time for that, and it's more my exceptional glasses than my natural eye sight

Here's another image from that day:

 

[Killerbrew]

Do you mean "exceptional glasses = binoculars"?

No way you can keep VLOS at 2 km. And its against regs to use binoculars also.

 

[Hackeron]

Do you mean "exceptional glasses = binoculars"?

No way you can keep VLOS at 2 km. And its against regs to use binoculars also.

No, like Specsavers, 2 for 1 deal, very nice glasses. Here's another photo, to be fair at dust it was a bit harder to see that far away

 

[wsalopek]

This is the photo I got:
View attachment 5334

Really nice image.

 

[wsalopek]

It's odd to me that the Spark remote doesn't have the capability to switch to "course lock" and "home lock". (Unless you use Litchi, but then if the phone dies, do the sticks stay in CL or HL?).

With home lock, no matter which direction the Spark has gone, or which direction it is pointing, you pull the stick back, and Spark comes back to the home point... no need to use RTH...though both depend on GPS.

 

[webvan]

The "special" version of DJI GO lets you activate that mode, but you'd have to do it before your phone dies, and why bother when you have RTH ;-)

 

[wsalopek]

The "special" version of DJI GO lets you activate that mode, but you'd have to do it before your phone dies, and why bother when you have RTH ;-)

Yep... I hear you...agreed...just be nice to have other options... Like if the RTH altitude wasn't high enough, etc

 

[RustyStainless]

Yes, you could do that but of course you would never be flying out of VLOS in any case would you so moot point.

And since true VLOS, meaning that you can tell the orientation of the craft just by sight, is so restrictive, it would never be more that 50m away.

 

[The Editor]

And since true VLOS, meaning that you can tell the orientation of the craft just by sight, is so restrictive, it would never be more that 50m away.

Wrong - there is no such restriction. Only that the aircraft is within unaided VLOS.
Additionally, their are techniques available that enable you to reorientate the aircraft if you are unsure of its direction. This can be done at any distance as long as you can see the aircraft (which of course everyone can at all times right?).
Simply taking the time to learn these little tips and tricks would prevent many from loosing their aircraft.