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Power failure over water

Posted by Ian Lyons on May 13, 2013 at 5:20am

Really wanted to capture that sunset over the estuary. With no warning the engines stopped and it fell out of the air on the second flight out. Really should have had that GoPro in its waterproof case - at least the memory card worked. Spent about 30 min in that knee deep stinking mud.

A few lessons learned ...

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Comments

  • mP1 May 13, 2013 at 8:05pm

    Has anybody tried to build a parachute system for these ? Add a servo that releases the chute, so one could maybe glide in or something.

    I know in this case the machine would still hit the water but there are other times.

  • Ian Lyons May 13, 2013 at 3:37pm

    I've been curious the lens of the GP3. Does it come off? Can it be unscrewed?

    The lens can be taken off but it's not for the feint of heart. iFixit has a great tear down ... http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/GoPro+Hero3+Teardown/12457/1?singlePage

  • Parke @ ParkeFlyer May 13, 2013 at 2:09pm

    Serious bummer about the crash. Sorry. At least you took the opportunity to dismantle your GoPro. I've been curious the lens of the GP3. Does it come off? Can it be unscrewed? What is that little notch on the side of the lens for? If you feel like investigating, I'd love to hear what you find out.

  • Charlie May 13, 2013 at 11:53am

    I had exactly the same problem with 2.9.1b

    http://www.diydrones.com/forum/topics/how-to-analyze-a-crash?xg_sou...

    Nobody has answer yet. I lost almost all electronics and 4 out of 6 motors. I decided to go with a better AVRoto motors instead of the 3DR ones to see if that is the problem, and changed all ESCs. Got new apm, new gps, new radio, new battery, new wires. Let's hope a new hexa fix the problem... but if it's a bug?

    I don't know if I feel better or not knowing that there are some users with the same problem. Any idea developers?

  • Chuck May 13, 2013 at 11:24am

    Not that it helps now, but here in the states we have a company called BestBuy that is one of those local big box electronics store. They sell an insurance for the GoPro for about 50-$75 for 2 years, no deductible, no questions asked. I even asked "So if I tie it to a plane then drop it out of the air, is that covered?" They stated as long as you can bring back the pieces of it you can get a replacement. So basically everything but lost is covered.

    I did end up breaking it once already and received a replacement without issue. $75 is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

  • T3
    Richard Boyhan May 13, 2013 at 10:12am

    Sorry about your crash.  I know the feeling.  Maybe your next copter will be a BoxCopter.  Tupperware with props.  LOL.  I also have seen posts on Google about saving a GoPro after it goes swimming.  Not sure if it would help this late in the game.  By the way, the BoxCopter is a reality. Jake Wells came up with the design.  http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/the-boxcopter-weekly-3

  • R. D. Starwalt May 13, 2013 at 9:49am

    I see a new product... mud shoes.

    They would look like snow shoes without grid-work or holes in them.

    Now to register www.multi-rotorrecovery.com and set the store up...

    Nice photo op and sorry to see the failure consequences. Thank you for sharing.

    +1 with TC3's comment.

    -=Doug

  • criro1999 May 13, 2013 at 9:23am

    BTanny, When I try to open your log from the other link, I have access denied. Try to simple attach thew log directly to DIYDrones

  • Btanny May 13, 2013 at 8:30am

    I had the exact same problem twice with my APM

    I'm looking for answers..  Links to LOG files on my post here. 

    http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/power-failure-2-9-1b-crashes-quad...

  • John May 13, 2013 at 8:06am

    Are you positive that gopro is dead? I've got a gopro1 that has been through it all, including submerged for about 5 minues in water. It's still kicking (though it's out of focus)

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