Great tips. My DJI FPV didn't like to be switched from manual back to "angle" mode so it decided to go berserk and disappear. I could not find it with my DVR recording as all fields here looks the same, but as a HAM'er I ended up using your RSSI technique (goggles on the stomach to use body as a shield) and home in on the direction it was located. And I found it. It is now grounded! Great to see you included that tip into this video. Tnx.
Your tip of always using the DVR saved the prize quad I won from you. I was flying LOS but had the goggles going and a GPS module installed. I was testing Betaflight's RTH function, and it promptly shot the quad up heading for low-earth orbit instead of returning home to me. I cut the throttle and it fell like a brick. I was sure it was lost forever, as the RSSI trick was sending me into a duck pond and heavy briars. But after two days of mourning, I watched the DVR and through very sketchy analogue static I got two more GPS coordinates that, when plotted on Google Maps, created a line in the wind's direction. Hooray! It showed that, as it plummeted, the quad had drifted past the pond, past the briars, and into a cornfield. It only took 5 minutes to find it there by following the drift line. GPS had broken off on impact, so its final coords did not get transmitted. Battery ruined by heavy discharge, only minor repairs needed. Yay, happy ending!
I have GPS on all my models. There's a widget you can run on your EdgeTX radio that will create a QR code of the last GPS coordinates received from the model. If you scan the QR code with your phone it will drop a pin on the map at the location of the last recorded signal. Haven't had to use it yet but it's great for peace of mind.
This is my procedure: 1. GPS rescue 2. Telemetry widget 3. Telemetry logging on SD card 4. Vrx recording 1. Beeper with own battery If the battery is still connected, then there is the radar method with patch antennas I learned from you
Thanks for the excellent advice, Lee! Another idea I added recently: _reflective_ tape. Searching in the dusk/dark with a strong flashlight should find it more easily. On my most expensive wing, I use the t-Beacon which I use a shortwave radio to activate and it calls the GPS coordinates back to me, further than my ELRS can return telemetry and has its own battery. I got my ham license to be able to use it legally.
Also practice how you van playback the DVR in the goggle because when you almost never do that, it’s sometimes difficult to remember which buttons to push to start the playback when you are in the field…
Really excellent tips, Lee! 😃 The name and telephone number are a great idea! They sell sheets of small adhesive labels you can use for it. And if you have a laser printer, even better because water won't make it into a blob! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
That's easy - fly it control-line! 🙂 - - Beepers of various kinds are great - providing the battery stays connected! We're still looking for a battery that fell off when a velcro strap failed, got the model back no problem, but you cannot watch two separate falling objects at the same time!
I allways push waay too much :D ! I lost my planes 4 times , but got them back sooner or later (in good condition) due to allways having them labeled with my name and phone no. ... that's part of the fun :D
If the quad or plane is unplugged and down in tall grass, you can use phone apps like Map My Walk, OnTheGoMap or similar which will help you walk a consistent grid pattern and show any places you might have unknowingly skipped over.
Great video….great reminder that sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest difference. In this case, adding small, inexpensive measures to protect your valuable possessions. I’ll just add another small tip…. Whether you have a gps unit or not, you can also spend a couple bucks and buy an AirTag and stick it on your plane, drone, heli, or whatever you’re flying as it acts as a locator via gps as well. Great if you don’t have a gps, but also a great redundant backup if you do have a gps unit. I bought a pack of 5 from AE for about €10 and I put them in every plane I’m flying. One last awesome little thing about AirTags is that some of them let you track them in real time on the phone app so you can see your flight path and speed traveled. Very handy little device to have.
Thanks for the comment. Those things are very handy if they are in range of a somthing like an iPhone but typically the range in the open is only about 30 feet. Great if someone found the lost model and took it home, less handy if it ends up in the middle of nowhere, stuck in a tree.. Happy flying!
@@Painless360 of course IPhone has their branded AirTag, but these AirTag work differently than what you are referring to. These were created to find both lost and stolen objects, and they are able to be located anywhere in the world as long as the gps satellites can pick up the signal. They have a little internal battery, so all you have to do is register the tag on the app and the satellite pings the tag to start it working. Then you can track it on the app anywhere it goes, to within a 7m radius
all good tips and best practice. All my models bar one very cheap bang good plane has at least a gps and telemetry. I don't use a buzzer as I have hearing damage. The bigger models are all on ardupilot connected to a ground station so even if I loose rc signal I can use the mavlink to fly the model home. The send/receive units from 3dxr for the mavlink has never lost signal even in tough urban conditions.
Thanks for the video. I recently crashed my SU-27 into a concrete barrier on takeoff. nose pointing down so less upward lift, grass runway, less than 30mph. I tried to disarm and it lost link at the same time and tried to RTH. it steered itself into the barrier at 30mph and destroyed the nose. RP3 ELRS receiver, antennas turned 90 degrees from each other on either side. This had never happened before until i modified the CG point and it kept trying to RTH on takeoff twice. i should have saw the signs and stopped. 2:45 my radio battery was really low but i flew anyways. my battery dropped quickly below 5v and cut power to my ELRS module. my penguin was 2.5 miles away when it RTH. i tried to charge up but it was too late. The plane did an auto land and landed in the hay field on its own. no damage.
I flew a 4 inch long range up a mountain. I lost video signal and hit a tree and crashed. Was probably halfway up the mountain. The video signal oddly enough came back after it crashed. It was in a ditch. No idea where it was. I took the antennas off my goggles and started hiking up. I used the goggles as a directional finder as when I pointed the goggles away from the quad it was all snow but got a faint image when I had it in the right direction. Took me about 30 mins but miraculously found it. it was a ski mountain so was easy to get up the mountain on the ski trail. Installed GPS on since and RTH works amazingly well in the latest BF version. Just gotta get the hover throttle settings nailed down.
flying over short grass only.... one of the best tips that nobody ever gives. You can NOT hear whoop & toothpick ESC beepers outside at all lol You NEED to be able to spot those
I had a prop come loose and my quad and it fell out of the sky a long ways away and after a few hours of searching in that general area I was unable to find it so I went home and later that night after dark I was able to spot the flashing LED on my Vifly from a half mile away with a set of binoculars and successfully recover after a long walk
Lee. Have you ever had the scenario when instead of a fail-safe with gps rescue you had your tx turn off. My mate is presently trying out go's rescue and the failsafe works fine but in the event he turns off his tx hoping for failsafe to work out just drops out of the sky. Ie rth dosnt work??? Any tips??
While the Airtag is a useful tool for finding lost items, it also has some important limitations and restrictions to consider: - Limited range: The Airtag uses Bluetooth technology to connect to nearby Apple devices. This means that its range is limited to about 10 meters indoors and about 30 meters outdoors.
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Great tips. My DJI FPV didn't like to be switched from manual back to "angle" mode so it decided to go berserk and disappear. I could not find it with my DVR recording as all fields here looks the same, but as a HAM'er I ended up using your RSSI technique (goggles on the stomach to use body as a shield) and home in on the direction it was located. And I found it. It is now grounded! Great to see you included that tip into this video. Tnx.
You said google instead of goggle . But thanks i never thought of that or never caught it
@@gregorydahl I discovered the typo and edit it . Glad I could contribute.
Your tip of always using the DVR saved the prize quad I won from you. I was flying LOS but had the goggles going and a GPS module installed. I was testing Betaflight's RTH function, and it promptly shot the quad up heading for low-earth orbit instead of returning home to me. I cut the throttle and it fell like a brick. I was sure it was lost forever, as the RSSI trick was sending me into a duck pond and heavy briars. But after two days of mourning, I watched the DVR and through very sketchy analogue static I got two more GPS coordinates that, when plotted on Google Maps, created a line in the wind's direction. Hooray! It showed that, as it plummeted, the quad had drifted past the pond, past the briars, and into a cornfield. It only took 5 minutes to find it there by following the drift line. GPS had broken off on impact, so its final coords did not get transmitted. Battery ruined by heavy discharge, only minor repairs needed. Yay, happy ending!
I have GPS on all my models. There's a widget you can run on your EdgeTX radio that will create a QR code of the last GPS coordinates received from the model. If you scan the QR code with your phone it will drop a pin on the map at the location of the last recorded signal. Haven't had to use it yet but it's great for peace of mind.
Hi Lee, Great video and info on losing your quad. Yeah, I screwed up ! 3 weeks and still looking. Thanks for the video and info on losing your quad.
This is my procedure:
1. GPS rescue
2. Telemetry widget
3. Telemetry logging on SD card
4. Vrx recording
1. Beeper with own battery
If the battery is still connected, then there is the radar method with patch antennas I learned from you
Thanks for the excellent advice, Lee! Another idea I added recently: _reflective_ tape. Searching in the dusk/dark with a strong flashlight should find it more easily. On my most expensive wing, I use the t-Beacon which I use a shortwave radio to activate and it calls the GPS coordinates back to me, further than my ELRS can return telemetry and has its own battery. I got my ham license to be able to use it legally.
That is a fantastic tip
Also practice how you van playback the DVR in the goggle because when you almost never do that, it’s sometimes difficult to remember which buttons to push to start the playback when you are in the field…
Really excellent tips, Lee! 😃
The name and telephone number are a great idea! They sell sheets of small adhesive labels you can use for it. And if you have a laser printer, even better because water won't make it into a blob!
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Hey Lee, Great video and info on these tips. Thanks for the video.
That's easy - fly it control-line! 🙂 - - Beepers of various kinds are great - providing the battery stays connected! We're still looking for a battery that fell off when a velcro strap failed, got the model back no problem, but you cannot watch two separate falling objects at the same time!
I allways push waay too much :D ! I lost my planes 4 times , but got them back sooner or later (in good condition) due to allways having them labeled with my name and phone no. ... that's part of the fun :D
Aha the RSSI trick i need to do this now thanks Lee!😃😎🙏
If the quad or plane is unplugged and down in tall grass, you can use phone apps like Map My Walk, OnTheGoMap or similar which will help you walk a consistent grid pattern and show any places you might have unknowingly skipped over.
Great video….great reminder that sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest difference. In this case, adding small, inexpensive measures to protect your valuable possessions. I’ll just add another small tip…. Whether you have a gps unit or not, you can also spend a couple bucks and buy an AirTag and stick it on your plane, drone, heli, or whatever you’re flying as it acts as a locator via gps as well. Great if you don’t have a gps, but also a great redundant backup if you do have a gps unit. I bought a pack of 5 from AE for about €10 and I put them in every plane I’m flying. One last awesome little thing about AirTags is that some of them let you track them in real time on the phone app so you can see your flight path and speed traveled. Very handy little device to have.
Thanks for the comment. Those things are very handy if they are in range of a somthing like an iPhone but typically the range in the open is only about 30 feet. Great if someone found the lost model and took it home, less handy if it ends up in the middle of nowhere, stuck in a tree.. Happy flying!
@@Painless360 of course IPhone has their branded AirTag, but these AirTag work differently than what you are referring to. These were created to find both lost and stolen objects, and they are able to be located anywhere in the world as long as the gps satellites can pick up the signal. They have a little internal battery, so all you have to do is register the tag on the app and the satellite pings the tag to start it working. Then you can track it on the app anywhere it goes, to within a 7m radius
all good tips and best practice. All my models bar one very cheap bang good plane has at least a gps and telemetry. I don't use a buzzer as I have hearing damage. The bigger models are all on ardupilot connected to a ground station so even if I loose rc signal I can use the mavlink to fly the model home. The send/receive units from 3dxr for the mavlink has never lost signal even in tough urban conditions.
Thanks for the video. I recently crashed my SU-27 into a concrete barrier on takeoff. nose pointing down so less upward lift, grass runway, less than 30mph. I tried to disarm and it lost link at the same time and tried to RTH. it steered itself into the barrier at 30mph and destroyed the nose. RP3 ELRS receiver, antennas turned 90 degrees from each other on either side. This had never happened before until i modified the CG point and it kept trying to RTH on takeoff twice. i should have saw the signs and stopped.
2:45 my radio battery was really low but i flew anyways. my battery dropped quickly below 5v and cut power to my ELRS module. my penguin was 2.5 miles away when it RTH. i tried to charge up but it was too late. The plane did an auto land and landed in the hay field on its own. no damage.
I flew a 4 inch long range up a mountain. I lost video signal and hit a tree and crashed. Was probably halfway up the mountain. The video signal oddly enough came back after it crashed. It was in a ditch. No idea where it was. I took the antennas off my goggles and started hiking up. I used the goggles as a directional finder as when I pointed the goggles away from the quad it was all snow but got a faint image when I had it in the right direction. Took me about 30 mins but miraculously found it. it was a ski mountain so was easy to get up the mountain on the ski trail. Installed GPS on since and RTH works amazingly well in the latest BF version. Just gotta get the hover throttle settings nailed down.
I was there with John when we lost it 😭 and we haven't given up looking, it's just its a lot of rough terrain.
flying over short grass only.... one of the best tips that nobody ever gives.
You can NOT hear whoop & toothpick ESC beepers outside at all lol You NEED to be able to spot those
Thanks
I had a prop come loose and my quad and it fell out of the sky a long ways away and after a few hours of searching in that general area I was unable to find it so I went home and later that night after dark I was able to spot the flashing LED on my Vifly from a half mile away with a set of binoculars and successfully recover after a long walk
Lee. Have you ever had the scenario when instead of a fail-safe with gps rescue you had your tx turn off. My mate is presently trying out go's rescue and the failsafe works fine but in the event he turns off his tx hoping for failsafe to work out just drops out of the sky. Ie rth dosnt work??? Any tips??
Check the settings for Failsafe on the radio. I normally set no pulses.. Best of luck
I was flying mine over Langley for 10 days and never once lost it.
Air tags. Got 4 of mine back by beating on the door and asking for it back.
A household smoke detector beeping constantly
Well, wait a sec… I’ve only got so much room. If I don’t lose one every now and then where am I going to put the new stuff I buy???
But another shed? 😁 Happy flying!
Airtag
While the Airtag is a useful tool for finding lost items, it also has some important limitations and restrictions to consider: - Limited range: The Airtag uses Bluetooth technology to connect to nearby Apple devices. This means that its range is limited to about 10 meters indoors and about 30 meters outdoors.
perfectly tune your RTH and then fly so you never need to use it lol
Yep, the law of sod applies here! 😁