Sorry for your loss😢. But yes it was indeed entertaining..I have Walksnail and for now I am trying to understand how much further I can go..but it's true that at least analogue or hd zero give you a better understanding of when the system is reaching its limit so that you don't risk /loose your quad.. unless you go completely out of sight causing the signal to drop completely..it happened to me too😅 keep going testing Walksnail! You live in a wonderful place to test it!
Yea bummer for sure, but it was a great adventure and definitely worth the effort. When WalkSnail is used on an FPV Wing, it’s the “King of Long-Range” in my opinion. Performs really well! My issue, and it’s the same with DJI is simply that little to no warning you get with LOS issues, and the fact that a disconnected transmitter could require extra time to fix the link once LOS is restored… For “Long-Range Proximity” flights I personally feel HDZero/Analog are better tools. (Very specific task here) So I don’t want I come off as an Anti-WalkSnail guy, just pointing out a performance limitation. I’ve completely lost signal dozens of times with analog and HDZero, but always managed to get it back. Anywho, I might continue testing WalkSnail, the Micro kit is just expensive here in Norway, like $160 before shipping, so I haven’t justified a replacement yet… I do have a 1s setup still, so maybe I got fire that up! Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!!
Hey thank you! Glad to hear people enjoy this style of video. On this channel I do mostly testing videos because I’m curious enough to do the tests, and those videos seem to perform well. Historically my cinematic adventure videos never really get a lot of attention… so it’ll be interesting to see how this video does. Ultimately though, I make all my videos, including this one, just for fun.. and this adventure here was really just too good not to share. Bummer I didn’t find the quad, that would have been an awesome ending, but this ending was the reality of mountain surfing. Thanks again for the encouragement and support, cheers!
Yup, taking the day off, hiking a mountain and flying some FPV, definitely totally worth it. I never honestly believed I’d find the quad… but it was a good excuse for an adventure. Yea the beepers are great! The only thing I’ll say is when it’s windy it’s almost impossible to hear them until you’re a few meters (10-20ft away). On a calm day I’ve found their good for about 100 meters (300ft). Appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts, cheers!
Total bummer, but I had low expectations… this whole journey was really just an excuse to take the day off and go hiking! Had I have found it that would have been truly spectacular! Appreciate the comment bud!
Hey thanks, appreciate you watching and leaving a comment. Bummer to lose the quad, but it was a great excuse to take a day off into the mountains! Cheers!
Dude, my man. Huge thanks for your support. I agree, flying the mountains has been my main focus over the last few years. This last year I finally started getting into proper freestyle… mountain flights are incredible, but a lot of work & high stress! Anyway, happy to know people appreciate my efforts, I’ll keep trying to make interesting content. Cheers!
Drone footage is really supposed to be “B-Roll” footage, and so it worked perfectly here! Bummer about the quad, but it was an awesome day in the mountains. Thanks for watching and sharing some thoughts, cheers!
That would be amazing! A story like: “This drone randomly landed next to me while hiking six months ago, now I’m bankrupt, lost my house, job, and family,.. but I’ve almost mastered a Matty Flip!” Hahah! Thanks for watching and commenting bud, cheers!
Thanks, and when. “Majestic Spot” for sure, now it’s actually snow covered.. But yea, honestly I didn’t really expect to find the quad… this was just a perfect excuse to take a day off and have an adventure. It was even better than I anticipated, would have been incredible if I actually found the quad. Oh well, thanks watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!
Wow! That’s some treacherous terrain. Gotta have strong ankles and good boots for that one. After losing a couple I’ve gone to neon TPU parts, and self powered beepers with a strobe led. If you can hear it, that night you’ll see it.
Yea it’s wasn’t a gentle climb… my main mountain surfing quad has bright red batteries and other TPU, that’s super helpful. I actually had a ViFly Finder buzzer on this quad but didn’t get up there until a few days later. Plus with all that wind it probably wouldn’t have help much unless I was right on top of it. Oh well, fun adventure, thanks for watching and leaving a comment, Cheers!
Thanks, I’d have more subscribers if I posted more often… but “Quality over Quantity”. I put a ton of effort into these videos and really appreciate the comments and support! So thanks, and cheers!
@@MikeCarr07 awesome, thanks! “Part II” is coming soon, just crashed a DJI FPV drone on nearby mountain this morning, and spent hours unsuccessfully searching… lol, this hobby! Cheers, appreciate the support!
In honor of you I lost a drone yesterday in a thick group of trees and ground foliage. I ran out of daylight and now I get to have my own adventure to find it.
@@GiantAntCowboy a go pro, but an old session. On my next build I'm getting a beeper with its own battery because the tree limbs ripped the battery out immediately.
@@xJAWAx yea self powered buzzer is key. I did a video with some setup tips that help find a lost quad. Most are maybe obvious to you, but could be interesting. “5 Tips to Avoid Lost FPV Quads” - ruclips.net/video/9i5DXYLmc6s/видео.html I asked about the GoPro because one day my GoPro flew off in tall grass and I couldn’t find it. So I walked around with the GoPro app open, kept re-refreshing and suddenly it appeared! I then connected, went into settings, and turned in the Beeper function. It’s pretty quiet but did help in my situation. GoPros stay “kinda” powered on for a couple hours (depending on battery), too late for you now… but may be useful in the future. Hope you find it!
Bummer man. I lost my first two quads. Arris hobbies, yep like 6 years ago, 5” load cleanflight and fly. Now I’m so paranoid for sending them long range I haven’t yet but I’ll send one I can live without with rth and see har far I can get. I did just buy the HDzero goggles and 3 1w vtx . I’ll use the 10 turn helical antennas from vas and the best patch antenna setup. Hey if you haven’t already you can do a build video on your next got to have frame. I have 2 Rekon 7” pro frames . Building my first HDZero one now. Wtf is up with all that firmware stuff. Open source improvements I guess. Nice video snow just around the corner.
Yea, GPS modules, Telemetry logging, and ViFly Finder buzzers are all super helpful. But no guarantees, especially in rough mountain terrain. How far are you planning to go? I’m assuming you’ve seen some of my antenna/range tests? I just recently/like last week, got a bunch of quads used from a local guy who was quitting the hobby. So I won’t be doing any “new builds” soon, mostly just repair and maintenance. Regarding HDZ firmware, if you’re using Micro V2 cameras, I’d recommend getting an RC5L lens and trying out the 1080p30 mode using this firmware: facebook.com/groups/hdzero/permalink/674517974576167/ It’s working/looking good imo. My go to mode for cruising around with my 7” quad.
Thank you very much, incredible landscape, truly wonderful place for this hobby. Though fairly unforgiving environment for making mistakes… All part of the fun, cheers!
Thanks, fun to share my experiences and practice video editing. Lots of Hobbies! Yea, solo hiking isn’t ideal, but couldn’t find anyone to go with. (I actually brought a GPS tracker, that we use for cows, with me so my wife could track and find me if something happened.) Appreciate the comment, cheers!
We need an ELRS beacon mode. Something like the full sized crossfire beacon mode. Also idea for your next lr mountain surfer. Replace the tiny 1s lipo on the better to something much larger. You'll get more than 2 days of beeper life
Agreed, I’ve been thinking of ways to wire a second battery for the buzzers, ELRS and GPS. None of which should take much power to run… Of course it’ll be winter soon, woke up this morning to snow covered mountains!, 🏔️ and soon any mountain crashes will be 100% beyond rescue… Thanks fir watching and sharing ideas, definitely worth looking into/ developing!
Appreciate the comment! Despite not finding the quad, just taking a day off & having an adventure was totally worth it! Funny because now this mountain is completely snow covered… 🏔️ Stay tuned for more adventures, cheers!
Hi Loren! Thank you for checking out the video! It was quite the adventure for sure, and I had fun making this one. Something a little different than my usual test, build, and review videos.
Thanks, yea bummer, but honestly I didn’t think I’d find it… just a great excuse to go hiking. Haven’t been on a proper hike in 3+ years. Family/work/life you know. Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!
What I'd pay to have the opportunity to fly and lose a quad there. Beautiful area! I've had adventures trying to find my quad but nothing nearly like this.
Well, you could pay for a plane ticket to Norway and come lose a quad! Haha! I moved here 5-6 years ago and soon discovered I needed this FPV hobby! Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment and support, cheers!
Damn that was one hell of a hike. But the view you had from up there. Priceless. I’m in New Jersey and I don’t have any kind of view like that. Sucks you didn’t find it.
Yea, honestly I had pretty low expectations… but it was a great excuse to take a day in the mountains. I know Jersey well, actually lived most my life in NY & DC.
Thanks man, I wish more people saw this video. Was a pretty cool adventure, it would have been insane if I actually found it, but spent 5 hours and ran out of time.. Great comment, very much appreciated, cheers!
You know how they say: every cloud has a silver lining! :) That drone wipeout? It turned into a triple win - hiking adventure, leveled up your FPV flying game, and boom, crafted a rad and entertaining video!@@GiantAntCowboy
Sucks you lost it. But you made some awesome content. I would have looked too. I enjoy hiking so it would have been fun regardless. Awesome story even with the sad ending.
Sucks for sure, but honestly I had extremely low expectations… this journey was really just an excuse to take the day off and go for a hike! When I left in the morning it was sunny and calm… that changed quickly! However that’s pretty typical Norway for you. Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment support, cheers!
rest in piece to the drone, sorry to hear you couldn’t recover it! on a side note, do you find that you enjoy hiking up a mountain to fly from the top? seems like you would get better line of sight to be able to explore other peaks around you. i’ve only flown from the ground up to a mountain. also, that slide down was epic! 😂😂
Yea bummer, but I knew the chances were low… I’d love to go out hiking more and find awesome places to fly with perfect LOS!! The problem is really free-time… family, job, life, weather… finding 5-6hrs to go play in the mountains is rare. That’s why this trip was so great, it was the perfect excuse to take a trip up into the mountains! I haven’t hiked a mountain in like 3-4 years, wasn’t even sure if I’d make it. 😅 The slide down was perfect because knees/legs were killing be by then! Haha! Thanks for watching and sharing thoughts, cheers!
Yup, a sacrifice to the drone gods. It’s only my second lost quad in 3-4 years. The first one was just a dumb mistake that involved using a cinewhoop to hang Christmas lights in a tall tree one very dark & windy night several years ago… lol But yes, what an incredible hobby. Having the ability to fly mountain peaks is a dream come true! Appreciate the comment, cheers!!
Wow wow wow 🤩 sooo adventure to be fpv pilot out there .. sorry for your lost but indeed you brought lots of fun for lots of view because of that quad .. i enjoyed thank you for sharing ❤❤
Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment. We just started to get snow in the mountains so any future rescue attempts will soon be impossible… lol cheers!
Glad you went looking for your Quad, I probably would have attached a Vifly external beeper and would have spent the night if needed for a fresh look in the morning just to give myself the best chance of a recovery but that’s just me! Nice job though!
Yea this quad actually had an ViFly Finder beeper, but due to family obligations and weather I didn’t get up there until 4 days later… I pretty much knew I wouldn’t find it, but it was a great excuse to take the day off and have an adventure! It would have awesome if I actually found it… but oh well. Appreciate the comment! Cheers!
Beautiful mountain scenery at least you lost it flying I left a quad on a rock beside my truck while loading up my son and left it at a lake with a session 5 lol
Thanks, a bummer for sure, but honestly I didn’t expect to find it… was just a great excuse to take the day off and go hiking! Thanks for watching and commenting, cheers!
Sorry about the quad, beautiful area you are in, just was thinking maybe if you have a DJI or Autel camera drone you could give it another try to search if you have the right angle to get on the other side.
Yea, good idea. I’ve been meaning to get a Mavic or something more “normal drone like” for static or calm shots. Would have been great for searching. I actually have two Phantoms but their size makes them impossible to hike with. Appreciate you watching the video and sharing your thoughts, cheers!
Yea, I knew before I got in the car I wouldn’t find it… but had to at least try, and honestly it was the excuse I needed to take a day off and go hiking! “I was never about finding the quad, it was about finding myself…” Haha, that’s the real story! Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!
Most range tests I have seen, HDZero doesn’t to do as well, with the pilot not being able to maintain flight under the same circumstances compared to other digital systems. There is definitely an argument to be made for analog being better for long range. I have not used Walksnail but DJI originally had latency displayed and the new system shows bitrate which is a good indicator of how strong the signal is. They also added a line that shows up at the bottom of the screen when the signal is weak.
For proper long-range, like with a wing, I’d probably use WalkSnail. I recently saw a 50km test flight with beautiful video. My issue with both DJI & WS is very specific to mountain surfing, where LOS can quickly disappear… Both systems are awesome at buffering & fixing images when signal gets poor, and they do this by delaying & retransmitting data. The problem is if you fly behind a peak or ridgeline they will try to fix the lost signal. The screen might freeze or stutter a little, and you as the pilot just keep flying deeper into the problem until there is literally no signal then the image drops. This small delay is a huge problem when you’re 1-2m from a mountain peak. Also once the connection is broken, the systems might even have to re-connect once LOS is restored, which adds time and more potential issues. Analog & HDZero don’t perform as well; but everything you saw is in real-time, then moment you see static you know you need to make a correction. If signal is lost, image is restored within 30ms of the signal retuning. As I said in my previous comment, my WS OSD had perfect image, Bitrate, and Latency, then one frame later completely blank screen, and never came back. If you haven’t seen my PartI test video it’s worth checking out. Shows more details, also you’ll see that the OSD figures don’t always match the live situation. Always happy to discuss further, and ultimately people should just fly what they are comfortable with! Tons of people love DJI, and I understand why!
I love nature, wild and mountains. This video was even more interesting to watch then your regular content :) Just don't get me wrong, love your regular flying/testing too. You speak English fluid, so I guess you are not native Norwegian? What are you doing in Norway? Permanently moved there to live? Country blessed with beautiful nature.
Thanks man. I think this sort of video is cool as well, and hoped it would do better, but currently it’s one of my worst performing videos… However I made it purely for fun, so really doesn’t matter, just surprised. I’m originally from the USA, moved here 5-6 years ago with my wife who is Norwegian. I work remotely for US companies, but we also run a farm here, and have young kids… so we’re super busy! Any free time I have goes into this hobby! Haha! The landscape here is simple incredible, I originally started flying RC planes, but quickly wanted to fly FPV in the mountains. Awesome experience, adrenaline, excitement, & sometimes disaster… Appreciate the comment and support, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy Thanks for sharing the story. I was really interested how people end up in such beautiful places :) I now live in big city, but each weekend with the family we drive to the nature. Would like to live in small city but afraid to go and freelance or work remotely.
@@Mr.Laidukas yea, I lived in East coast cities for most my life. The quiet peaceful landscape is a nice change at the point in my life. Better for FPV that’s for sure! I basically quit my job when I was moving here, and said I’d be happy to support them remotely. Years later still doing remote work. But it’s a gamble…
Did you have 2 quads or did you only use the one with the big bolt?? What only 200 usd? That would be awesome to find HD 7’’ quads at this price :) As for long range and WKS or DJI, I’d say yes keep on learning… But any idea why the return to home failed? Great video and editing. Nice job!!
When I was hiking I only had the one quad; a Chimera 7 with “the big bolt”. And yes, you are right, it wasn’t $200… the WS VTX/Camera alone costs over $160 to replace in Norway! So the build was probably closer to $500 with everything. Ugh, Bummer… This is why I’m not sure if I’m going to replace the WS system yet… despite being a “Famous RUclipsr” haha!.. I don’t have unlimited funds to spend on this is hobby. I was just starting to really like WalkSnail, but I’m also very happy with my HDZero setups, and prefer certain aspects of the system. I’ve been flying in the mountains for years with analog, and HDZero for the last 2-3yrs with good success. As far as why the GPS rescue didn’t work, I’m not 100% sure. But will say I hadn’t checked or tested GPS rescue on this quad for a long time, so it might not have even been set up correctly. (This WalkSnail mountain test was kind of a last minute idea.) Anyway, really appreciate your thoughts, comment & support, cheers!
@GiantAntCowboy Oh wooh you're lucky that big bolt did not play bad earlier! This said the images are simply stunning... Great editing and amazing playground you have :) Costs... Dont tell my wife is all I can say!
@@nikotttin exactly, maybe that’s why I said a couple hundred bucks. Haha! Yea, that GoPro bolt was used because I didn’t bring a wrench for my normal bolt… could have been a disaster. Stress! Thanks again, not a “super popular video” it’s seems, but glad some folks enjoy seeing the adventure! Cheers!
I've heard other folks describe Walksnails video fall off a like over the cliff, and I'd agree with that assesment. There is a feature in WS where a red flashing box displays in googles when your about ready to loose signal. I think it's device -> remind. On one firmware version I swore it stopped working and since using the latest firmware I occasionally see it appear. Not sure it would be real useful in your situation but it might provide that remider that it's time to punch out.
“Fall off a cliff” was 100% accurate in this case.., Haha! I do actually have the RED warning screen enabled, I saw it in my previous test “through the gantlet”. I just don’t think it really had time to even show this warning. I flew around this peak area a couple times and didn’t see an obvious warning signs. (Pretty sure HDZero would have been giving some static feedback), but on the last attempt I just pushed it too far… pilot error for sure, but I’m just so used to getting instant visual feedback that I thought it was ok. According to my telemetry logs it looks like I actually had signal for a couple seconds after when I punched out, but the video didn’t come back. So I either crashed during this time, or sent it deep into the valley below… Oh well, I’ll stick with HDZero for these sort of flights. Not even sure if I’ll continue my WS testing, $160 for a new VTX/Camera here in Norway.. ugh.
@@GiantAntCowboy Ya, I don't know if I trust the red warning box. I do recall some vids from Varty where he would loose signal and it would reconnect. Entirely a different scenario where flying a wing is I image a bit different. Makes sense to use HDZero for what you're doing.
@ShermanKenB yea, if I built a long-range wing I would 100% use WalkSnail. I saw a 50km range test with good image. But latency & random disconnects are non-issues when you’re so far away from any sort of solid object. Great system for most general users and situations!
Flying long range is kind of like gambling. Sometimes you win..... sometimes you lose. I don't gamble, so watching my $500 7 inch fly away actually made me sick to my stomach. Now I know how a gambler feels when he loses.
100% truth. I’ve flown a lot in the mountains over the years and have accepted the potential for lose at this point. There are just so many variables, even beyond pilot error… Surprisingly this is actually the first quad I’ve lost in the mountains! I’ve had dozens of close calls, in my previous video I shared a clip showing like 6 different terrifying LOS mistakes, but I’ve always recovered! Anyway, it’s all part of the thrill really. This quad wasn’t my main long-range quad, but instead a kinda random quad I setup for some WalkSnail testing. So I’m not horribly sad, just a little bummed and not sure if I’m even going to continue my WS testing. ($160 for a WS Micro VTX/Camera in Norway!) Ultimately this has always been my main fear with DJI & WS; perfect beautiful image then suddenly it freezes & disconnects… Oh well, anyway, thanks for watching, appreciate you sharing your thoughts! Cheers!
oh... were are in Norge-Land :) Another thing is, when there is no GPS: a) turning on angle mode b) giving some throttle .. with the hope to get into contact again. 6:25 .. wow indeed 😱 R.I.P little sweet quad..
Oh yea, the @6:25 moment… could you imagine if lost another quad! I couldn’t truly capture it in the video, but the wind was so intense up there. I was having a really hard time standing, and had to roll the quad hard just to maintain and straight line. Didn’t help of course that my prop was hitting the GoPro mount… All good suggestions, I used to do the angle mode trick, but found in a panic I was more likely to hit the wrong switch! Haha! I’ve always had success manually correcting and punching out, but not this time… I have since started to review and test the GPS Rescue settings on my other quads. Removed the Stage 2 delay also. Appreciate the comment. Are you in Norway?
@@GiantAntCowboy From the Alps, I'm from. (I once, while testing out gps-rescue, pushed also the wrong switch .. the arming-switch to off - but the quad survived the hard landing. You always learn from such things, isn't it :)
Great content! Losing that quad was the best thing that's happened to your channel. A couple of thoughts. For some reason, drones are often black, or worse, CAMO! I know it looks cool, but it's so stupid. Why not make them dayglo orange or yellow?! Second, why not add an apple airtag to these so you can find it on a gps? Stupid questions, no doubt, from an amateur, but seems like obvious solutions to ruin your amazing content.
Thanks buddy, glad you enjoyed the adventure! Regarding color, you’re absolutely right, most quads/drones are design looking like stealth fighters… completely miserable to find in the natural environment. With my main long-range quad I made most the add on parts RED, and covered the large batteries on top in RED tape. This works great as most of Norway is gray, black, green and yellow. Apple AirTag would potentially work well when searching for the drone, but Apple AirTags require an internet connected Apple device to be in close proximity to share its location. So if you crash in the middle of nowhere it’s unlikely someone with an Apple device will be walking by it anytime soon. The best solution would be a cellular connected GPS unit that can update its position periodically using a cell network. Of course you’d need cell reception which isn’t always guaranteed in these spots. We use these devices to track the cows, and actually brought one on this hike in case so the wife could track me since I was hiking alone… Anyway, all great thoughts!
bro i lost a 2" quad in my backyard in a 60ft tall tree. still haven't found it. felt the way you did. defeated. hope i see it this summer when some leaves fall off. lol
Ugh bummer. The last quad I lost, (before this one), was like 3 years ago. Lost control of a cinewhoop in the wind late at night… and it flew into the forest. I searched for days, and even still look sometimes, but it’s gone. Since then I have GPS, ViFly Buzzers, ect. on all my quads. Made a short video about my setup actually. “5 Tips to Avoid Lost FPV Quads”: ruclips.net/video/9i5DXYLmc6s/видео.html Sucks to lose a quad, like losing a pet… hope you find yours!
It sounds like you are blaming the Walksnail system for this loss but you had a failsafe on the receiver. The video system didn’t keep you from being able to punch out. Did you have rescue set as the failsafe? That might have saved your quad. I use DJI but don’t think the video system was at fault here. It’s not really fair to blame the video system when the control link also failed. Was the ELRS system 900mHz? I think 900mHz might have a had a little better chance of holding the link.
This was admittedly 100% pilot error…. however according to telemetry logs my ELRS link didn’t actually fail for 2-3 seconds after the video loss. My issue with WalkSnail (& DJI) is that they are actually too good at hiding signal issues! This feature is generally a huge Pro, but in this sort of environment I personally prefer to have real-time image & feedback about signal strength. (i.e. Image Static like Analog/HDZero) When you push the limits with Analog/HDZero image static starts to appear. This is a very obvious warning & you can usually see enough to make corrections. In my WS flight here the Image, Bitrate & Latency were all perfect and then one frame later it was a black screen. Literally zero warning. Not sure if you watched the actually tests, but here’s that video for reference: ruclips.net/video/06fV2vQaxW8/видео.html At the 3min 48sec mark of the test video I show several similar scenarios with my analog & HDZero setups and how i recovered. Anyway, let me know your thoughts, always happy to hear for folks, cheers! (p.s. GPS rescue failed I believe; long story)
HI during your tests and videos in general always post videos recorded with fpv cam with excellent resolution to be an analog fpv cam..! which fpv cam do you use?
It’s actually HDzero that’s you’re seeing. It’s shares a lot of similarities with Analog but has much better resolution. It doesn’t look as good as DJI or WalkSnail but has some other advantages such as: - Fixed Latency & Resolution, - There’s no “Binding” needed so there’s no chance of it “disconnecting” when signal is lost - Image/Signal Static, though annoying for some, works as an excellent warning about signal strength, interference, and antenna aiming. It can be a very useful tool! Those are a few reasons I prefer it for my long-range mountain flights. It’s a high risk environment, and I need a system I can full trust, even at the expense of image quality. More info than your asked for… but hopefully helpful or interesting. Thanks for watching, and good question/comment!
@@GiantAntCowboy sad man thought it was going to be a happy ending but tbf it was some ask with that terrain!! 10/10 for trying m8 it was an adventure for sure 🙏
@@serval_fpv yea.. truthfully my expectations were very low… however this was the perfect excuse to take a day off and have an adventure. Haven’t done a proper hike in over three years, so nice to see I didn’t die. Lol Appreciate you watching and sharing thoughts bud, cheers!
RTH? Even Betaflight does a pretty good job, and an M10 GPS is less than £15 and only a few grams… Walksnail is pretty good, get your failsafe/RTH sorted and you’ll be good
Yea, I had GPS rescue setup, but think the stock delay (1.5secs) between Stage 1 & 2 may have caused a crash before RTH had time to activate. I reviewed the telemetry logs and there’s more to the story, but too much to type here… However I agree, WalkSnail is great, in fact I was just starting to really like it! If you didn’t see the original testing episode, check it out: “WalkSnail Penetration & Mountain Range Tests!” - ruclips.net/video/06fV2vQaxW8/видео.html My main issue with WalkSnail & DJI, is that they work too well… and in situations like this they go from Perfect Video to Blank Screen in an instant. No warning. (See the Delay & Bitrate figures in the test.) I’ve seen this dozen of times on the forums, mostly DJI, over the years. Additionally once they lose video it doesn’t always reconnect instantly once LOS is restored. For me personally I prefer HDZero/Analog in these situations. The screen static gives you lots of warning about LOS issues & your Antenna aiming, plus if you lose video it comes back immediately because it’s a simple one-way transmission system that doesn’t require connecting/binding. Can’t argue about the image though, it was looking amazing during the flight! Thanks for watching & sharing thoughts, cheers!
Yea, good idea. I recently got a DJI FPV drone which would have worked well for that… except the wind was a bit intense! On my proper mountain quads I use Bright Red TPU, and Wrap on my batteries, that helps a lot. This quad was mostly black… bummer. Oh well fun adventures! Thanks for watching and sharing thoughts, cheers!
GPS Rescue was set up, but I hadn’t checked or tested it on this particular quad for a long time. Never really intended on using this quad in the mountains… but there we were, and now here we are. Haha I’m in the process of re-setting up & testing all my quads now. Lesson learned! Great hike though.
@@GiantAntCowboy Jea...happens :/ super interesting video non the less. Thanks for uploading. Ah btw, a question for Mr longrange from a freestyle dude: If you do a mountain dive, and after a few seconds the quad starts powering up by itself (airmode on, definetly no rxloss/failsafe), what would be your idea on how to fix that? Have you had that happen to you ever? Could it have to do with props out orientation? Or could it be my 5" folding props? Thanks in advance!
@@neofotografie thanks appreciate the comment. Regarding the quad powering itself, I’ve never had that happen. The only time that should happen is during an RX Loss or GPS rescue situation. Maybe if there was an aggressive updraft/wind and your i-gains weren’t high enough to fight it, but unfortunately not sure about this issue. If you figure it out let me know!
Let’s hope so… or in 100yrs an autonomous AI drone will find it and have a good laugh!: “Look at this ancient F7 flight controller, and digital FPV system… hahahahah, trash!” 😅
Yea, one thing that’s tricky with WalkSnail is the different options & their expected performance. Power Levels, Frame Rates, Bit Rates, Resolutions, Focus Modes, just so many variables… The obvious assumption would be that 1200mW, High Bitrate, Low Resolution & Focus Mode On would be the best but it’s unclear what actually is the best currently and we often get new firmwares. In a previous WalkSnail video a couple months ago I tested many of these options and saw some clear results, but test aren’t “Lab Experiments” so it’s hard to know for sure. Appreciate the type, if I build another WalkSnail quad I’ll use these settings, thanks!
Yea I encourage everyone to come to Norway and search for it!! Snow up there now though… so better wait til summer. Wasn’t a fail though because I got a day off and an adventure in the mountains! That’s a win! 🏔️
I had GPS rescue set up, but think it might have crashed before it activated. I’ve since re-setup all my quads to immediately Angle Mode, Throttle up, then Activate Stage Two GPS rescue after 0.5s, hopefully that’ll save it next time. I’ve been mountain surfing for 3+ years and it’s my first lost quad, so it was time I guess. Great excuse for an adventure though! Thanks for watching, cheers!
This is unfortunately part of FPV, you never know if you will come back from a session with all the equipment! Personally I have already lost 4 without being able to find them, despite the GPS and the autonomous buzzer. 😢
Absolutely, over the years I’ve learned to just say “Goodbye” every time you “Arm the quad”. I’ve had dozens of close calls with both analog and HDZero, but always managed to bring the quad back. (In my previous video I included a clip showing a bunch of my worst lost signal recoveries) Most places I fly aren’t even hike-able, especially true in the winter months…. 4 lost quads is intense! You flying DJI?
Ugh bummer. Surprisingly I’ve actually only lost one quad and it’s was a dumb mistake… it involved using a cinewhoop to hang Christmas lights in a tall tree one very dark and windy evening several years ago… haha!
I took a day off, hiked a beautiful mountain spot, did some FPV flights, and had an adventure… that’s a pretty solid success in my book! Now if I actually found the quad that would have been unreal! You gotta come to Norway and lose a quad sometime, we’d have a blast! Cheers man!
Yea thanks man. Actually I didn’t have a GoPro on it fortunately, so that’s good news. Still a bummer and substantial loss… but oh well had a great adventure!
Man needs a self powered gps on the drone with a way to view location on map or at least retrieve coordinates from it. I can tell you if i lost a $500 drone, I'd be camping up there for multiple days searching
Haha! Yea… I’ve been looking in to that exact idea. We use a similar thing for our cows. Essentially a tiny cell phone/gps that broadcasts its coordinates a few times per day (variable setting). I would have stayed longer, but I already spent 5hrs & had a wife/kids waiting for me… I’m happy to give you the GPS coordinates if you want to come camping in the summer. (Snow up there now…) Thanks for watching, cheers!
@GiantAntCowboy yah even if it was only accurate to about 50m that should still get you close enough to hear a buzzer if you can get there in time, also that'd be a bit of a trip to search for a lost drone since I'm in the USA lol. I found your video because I'm trying to decide which video system to put in my first 7 inch long range build, was originally gonna build a wing but where I plan to fly there's simply no where large enough to land unless i wanna use a bush as a net, and apparently vtols are extremely finicky, so my best option is a long range quad
@@Catboy-hr2qp yea, the disadvantage of a quad is flight time/distance. Wings have one/two motors & can glide so they use much less battery. Quads however are much more stable and give you way more precision and control. I really like my 7” quad. All the digital systems have their advantages: • DJI will give the best overall performance/image quality. • WalkSnail has similar performance/image quality, it’s a little less expensive & has more flexibility. • HDZero has the lowest image quality & requires a very good antenna setup to perform well, but it offers a real time image, good feel/feedback, and doesn’t freeze/disconnect when pushed too far. I’m originally from the USA, Norway is worth a visit someday, so pack your tent and come on over!
@GiantAntCowboy norway/sweden is on the top of my list of places to visit if I ever cross the pond, I've heard the fishing is good up in the mountains which is another one of my hobbies, that's actually part of my reason for building a 7 inch is to fly around the mountains here and scout the land for cool spots to potentially hike to
@@Catboy-hr2qp as far as mountains scenery Norway is much better than Sweden, especially where we live in the Vestlandet region. Worth a trip, bring a drone and let me know. But yea, 7” quads are so fun for scouting and exploring. Eventually you’ll crash and have an adventure of your own! Haha Cheers!
I didn’t actually show my search efforts, hard to film and search.., but I hiked up & down that second peak 4-5 times. The rocks were really loose which made it not only tricky but a little risky. I even hiked half way down to the water and looked upwards with binoculars. Ultimately I just ran out of time, wife was calling… haha! But also the colors and terrain complicated things. Total bummer for sure, but great day out there!
@trumblez thanks, I’ve actually been very lucky over the years. It was about time, but it’s also about knowing and respecting the limitations of your equipment.. thanks, and happy flying to you!
Ugh, I know, sadly my free-time ran out… I would’ve stayed another hour, but was getting “called home”, & still had an hour hike back down. Note: I didn’t show my actual search efforts in the video because it was hard to film & search at the same time; but I hiked up & down that second peak 4-5 times, & then climbed almost all the way down to the water below. Definitely a bummer, but it was a nice excuse to take the day off & hike in the mountains! Thanks for watching, cheers!
Glad you tried..I lost mine on Mount Ventoux last year,35c heat,granite boulder fields everywhere ,like you experienced,...spent 5 hours and €40 in petrol to search the next day. It's still up near the summit..r.i.p🤗🫣
Yea, even though the wind and rain weren’t ideal, I think it better than 35°c heat and hot rocks! Haha! At least we tried! Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment. Cheers!
Sorry for your loss😢. But yes it was indeed entertaining..I have Walksnail and for now I am trying to understand how much further I can go..but it's true that at least analogue or hd zero give you a better understanding of when the system is reaching its limit so that you don't risk /loose your quad.. unless you go completely out of sight causing the signal to drop completely..it happened to me too😅 keep going testing Walksnail! You live in a wonderful place to test it!
Yea bummer for sure, but it was a great adventure and definitely worth the effort.
When WalkSnail is used on an FPV Wing, it’s the “King of Long-Range” in my opinion. Performs really well!
My issue, and it’s the same with DJI is simply that little to no warning you get with LOS issues, and the fact that a disconnected transmitter could require extra time to fix the link once LOS is restored…
For “Long-Range Proximity” flights I personally feel HDZero/Analog are better tools. (Very specific task here)
So I don’t want I come off as an Anti-WalkSnail guy, just pointing out a performance limitation.
I’ve completely lost signal dozens of times with analog and HDZero, but always managed to get it back.
Anywho, I might continue testing WalkSnail, the Micro kit is just expensive here in Norway, like $160 before shipping, so I haven’t justified a replacement yet…
I do have a 1s setup still, so maybe I got fire that up! Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!!
This was a great video! I'm glad you shared it. I'm sorry you lost your quad. But I'd love to see more long form, adventure content from you.
Hey thank you! Glad to hear people enjoy this style of video. On this channel I do mostly testing videos because I’m curious enough to do the tests, and those videos seem to perform well.
Historically my cinematic adventure videos never really get a lot of attention… so it’ll be interesting to see how this video does.
Ultimately though, I make all my videos, including this one, just for fun.. and this adventure here was really just too good not to share.
Bummer I didn’t find the quad, that would have been an awesome ending, but this ending was the reality of mountain surfing.
Thanks again for the encouragement and support, cheers!
totally worth it! Those beepers can last a few days at least. from experience.
Yup, taking the day off, hiking a mountain and flying some FPV, definitely totally worth it. I never honestly believed I’d find the quad… but it was a good excuse for an adventure.
Yea the beepers are great! The only thing I’ll say is when it’s windy it’s almost impossible to hear them until you’re a few meters (10-20ft away). On a calm day I’ve found their good for about 100 meters (300ft).
Appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts, cheers!
Bummer on lost quad, but great video and enjoyed following along the journey!
Total bummer, but I had low expectations… this whole journey was really just an excuse to take the day off and go hiking!
Had I have found it that would have been truly spectacular! Appreciate the comment bud!
Great content/story!, sorry you didn't recover the quad. It's all a learning experience for everyone.
Hey thanks, appreciate you watching and leaving a comment. Bummer to lose the quad, but it was a great excuse to take a day off into the mountains! Cheers!
Keep up the good work. These mountain missions are exactly what I love the most about flying.
Dude, my man. Huge thanks for your support. I agree, flying the mountains has been my main focus over the last few years. This last year I finally started getting into proper freestyle… mountain flights are incredible, but a lot of work & high stress!
Anyway, happy to know people appreciate my efforts, I’ll keep trying to make interesting content. Cheers!
You combined FPV hobby with mountain climbing beautifully. Such a wonderful place to do both!
Drone footage is really supposed to be “B-Roll” footage, and so it worked perfectly here! Bummer about the quad, but it was an awesome day in the mountains.
Thanks for watching and sharing some thoughts, cheers!
There's always the small chance that somebody else is now learning about FPV with a gift from the heavens!
That would be amazing! A story like:
“This drone randomly landed next to me while hiking six months ago, now I’m bankrupt, lost my house, job, and family,.. but I’ve almost mastered a Matty Flip!”
Hahah! Thanks for watching and commenting bud, cheers!
Couldn't have picked a more beautiful spot to lose a quad. Nice adventure!
Thanks, and when. “Majestic Spot” for sure, now it’s actually snow covered..
But yea, honestly I didn’t really expect to find the quad… this was just a perfect excuse to take a day off and have an adventure. It was even better than I anticipated, would have been incredible if I actually found the quad.
Oh well, thanks watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!
ow r u?~Giant!incredible recording~ sleep well.
Thanks for watching. Appreciate the comment, cheers!
Wow! That’s some treacherous terrain. Gotta have strong ankles and good boots for that one. After losing a couple I’ve gone to neon TPU parts, and self powered beepers with a strobe led. If you can hear it, that night you’ll see it.
Yea it’s wasn’t a gentle climb… my main mountain surfing quad has bright red batteries and other TPU, that’s super helpful.
I actually had a ViFly Finder buzzer on this quad but didn’t get up there until a few days later. Plus with all that wind it probably wouldn’t have help much unless I was right on top of it.
Oh well, fun adventure, thanks for watching and leaving a comment, Cheers!
Really underrated channel !!!
Thanks, I’d have more subscribers if I posted more often… but “Quality over Quantity”.
I put a ton of effort into these videos and really appreciate the comments and support! So thanks, and cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy yeah I'll tell you one thing though this quality content doesn't go unnoticed ! you're doing great!!!
@@lolmetyuri thanks again, new video coming Monday! *hopefully*
@@GiantAntCowboy Just sub'd, good stuff man
@@MikeCarr07 awesome, thanks! “Part II” is coming soon, just crashed a DJI FPV drone on nearby mountain this morning, and spent hours unsuccessfully searching… lol, this hobby!
Cheers, appreciate the support!
In honor of you I lost a drone yesterday in a thick group of trees and ground foliage. I ran out of daylight and now I get to have my own adventure to find it.
Oh man! Hope you find it. Did it have a GoPro? GPS? Or ViFly Finder Beeper?
@@GiantAntCowboy a go pro, but an old session. On my next build I'm getting a beeper with its own battery because the tree limbs ripped the battery out immediately.
@@xJAWAx yea self powered buzzer is key. I did a video with some setup tips that help find a lost quad. Most are maybe obvious to you, but could be interesting. “5 Tips to Avoid Lost FPV Quads” - ruclips.net/video/9i5DXYLmc6s/видео.html
I asked about the GoPro because one day my GoPro flew off in tall grass and I couldn’t find it. So I walked around with the GoPro app open, kept re-refreshing and suddenly it appeared! I then connected, went into settings, and turned in the Beeper function. It’s pretty quiet but did help in my situation.
GoPros stay “kinda” powered on for a couple hours (depending on battery), too late for you now… but may be useful in the future.
Hope you find it!
Bummer man. I lost my first two quads. Arris hobbies, yep like 6 years ago, 5” load cleanflight and fly. Now I’m so paranoid for sending them long range I haven’t yet but I’ll send one I can live without with rth and see har far I can get. I did just buy the HDzero goggles and 3 1w vtx . I’ll use the 10 turn helical antennas from vas and the best patch antenna setup. Hey if you haven’t already you can do a build video on your next got to have frame. I have 2 Rekon 7” pro frames . Building my first HDZero one now. Wtf is up with all that firmware stuff. Open source improvements I guess. Nice video snow just around the corner.
Yea, GPS modules, Telemetry logging, and ViFly Finder buzzers are all super helpful. But no guarantees, especially in rough mountain terrain.
How far are you planning to go? I’m assuming you’ve seen some of my antenna/range tests?
I just recently/like last week, got a bunch of quads used from a local guy who was quitting the hobby. So I won’t be doing any “new builds” soon, mostly just repair and maintenance.
Regarding HDZ firmware, if you’re using Micro V2 cameras, I’d recommend getting an RC5L lens and trying out the 1080p30 mode using this firmware:
facebook.com/groups/hdzero/permalink/674517974576167/
It’s working/looking good imo. My go to mode for cruising around with my 7” quad.
Ive lost over a dozen quads. Look forward to building the next
I’ve been flying for 4 years and this is only the second quad I’ve lost.
FPV and everything that comes with it - Love this channel
Thanks you, really appreciate the comment! Definitely all part of this fun hobby, cheers!
Great video. Beautiful area. Very sorry you lost your quad.
Thank you very much, incredible landscape, truly wonderful place for this hobby. Though fairly unforgiving environment for making mistakes…
All part of the fun, cheers!
Hopefully you won't't make as many mistakes as I do. lol
You make the videos I dream I would make. Thanks. (Not a fan of solo hiking though...)
Thanks, fun to share my experiences and practice video editing. Lots of Hobbies!
Yea, solo hiking isn’t ideal, but couldn’t find anyone to go with.
(I actually brought a GPS tracker, that we use for cows, with me so my wife could track and find me if something happened.)
Appreciate the comment, cheers!
We need an ELRS beacon mode.
Something like the full sized crossfire beacon mode.
Also idea for your next lr mountain surfer. Replace the tiny 1s lipo on the better to something much larger. You'll get more than 2 days of beeper life
Agreed, I’ve been thinking of ways to wire a second battery for the buzzers, ELRS and GPS. None of which should take much power to run…
Of course it’ll be winter soon, woke up this morning to snow covered mountains!, 🏔️ and soon any mountain crashes will be 100% beyond rescue…
Thanks fir watching and sharing ideas, definitely worth looking into/ developing!
What an adventure! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching, thought it was worth a share! Gotta do my “fun adventure edits”, cheers!
Bruuuuuuh!! That was an epic hike!!! Sad u didnt get to find that lost quad man!! I feel u!! *hugs
Thanks for sharing the journey!
Appreciate the comment! Despite not finding the quad, just taking a day off & having an adventure was totally worth it! Funny because now this mountain is completely snow covered… 🏔️
Stay tuned for more adventures, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy appreciate you sharing too!!! Yeah.. despite that, it looked like u had an awesome day!!! Will do! Subbed and awaiting for more! lol
Pete, this is INCREDIBLE!
Hi Loren! Thank you for checking out the video! It was quite the adventure for sure, and I had fun making this one.
Something a little different than my usual test, build, and review videos.
Sad you didn’t find the drone, but at least you gave it a fair try, especially in those conditions.
Lol, love the sliding back down 🤣
Thanks, yea bummer, but honestly I didn’t think I’d find it… just a great excuse to go hiking. Haven’t been on a proper hike in 3+ years. Family/work/life you know.
Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!
What I'd pay to have the opportunity to fly and lose a quad there. Beautiful area! I've had adventures trying to find my quad but nothing nearly like this.
Well, you could pay for a plane ticket to Norway and come lose a quad! Haha!
I moved here 5-6 years ago and soon discovered I needed this FPV hobby!
Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment and support, cheers!
Damn that was one hell of a hike. But the view you had from up there. Priceless. I’m in New Jersey and I don’t have any kind of view like that. Sucks you didn’t find it.
Yea, honestly I had pretty low expectations… but it was a great excuse to take a day in the mountains. I know Jersey well, actually lived most my life in NY & DC.
Now that's some real FPV drone passion right there! Major props, dude! This vid is definitely one of the few gems on RUclips. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks man, I wish more people saw this video. Was a pretty cool adventure, it would have been insane if I actually found it, but spent 5 hours and ran out of time..
Great comment, very much appreciated, cheers!
You know how they say: every cloud has a silver lining! :)
That drone wipeout? It turned into a triple win - hiking adventure, leveled up your FPV flying game, and boom, crafted a rad and entertaining video!@@GiantAntCowboy
Sucks you lost it. But you made some awesome content. I would have looked too. I enjoy hiking so it would have been fun regardless. Awesome story even with the sad ending.
Sucks for sure, but honestly I had extremely low expectations… this journey was really just an excuse to take the day off and go for a hike!
When I left in the morning it was sunny and calm… that changed quickly! However that’s pretty typical Norway for you.
Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment support, cheers!
What a place! Thnx for sharing 😊
Thanks bud!
rest in piece to the drone, sorry to hear you couldn’t recover it!
on a side note, do you find that you enjoy hiking up a mountain to fly from the top? seems like you would get better line of sight to be able to explore other peaks around you. i’ve only flown from the ground up to a mountain. also, that slide down was epic! 😂😂
Yea bummer, but I knew the chances were low… I’d love to go out hiking more and find awesome places to fly with perfect LOS!!
The problem is really free-time… family, job, life, weather… finding 5-6hrs to go play in the mountains is rare.
That’s why this trip was so great, it was the perfect excuse to take a trip up into the mountains! I haven’t hiked a mountain in like 3-4 years, wasn’t even sure if I’d make it. 😅
The slide down was perfect because knees/legs were killing be by then! Haha!
Thanks for watching and sharing thoughts, cheers!
The life of long rangers we lose to get that feeling and the beautiful flight that you cannot feel unless you're up high in the air
Yup, a sacrifice to the drone gods. It’s only my second lost quad in 3-4 years. The first one was just a dumb mistake that involved using a cinewhoop to hang Christmas lights in a tall tree one very dark & windy night several years ago… lol
But yes, what an incredible hobby. Having the ability to fly mountain peaks is a dream come true! Appreciate the comment, cheers!!
Wow wow wow 🤩 sooo adventure to be fpv pilot out there .. sorry for your lost but indeed you brought lots of fun for lots of view because of that quad ..
i enjoyed thank you for sharing ❤❤
Hey thanks for watching! Bummer to lose the quad, but great excuse to take a day off and have an adventure!
Appreciate the comment, cheers!
Loved the slide at the end! Hopefully you don't have to do any more rescue missions any time soon!
Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment. We just started to get snow in the mountains so any future rescue attempts will soon be impossible… lol cheers!
Glad you went looking for your Quad, I probably would have attached a Vifly external beeper and would have spent the night if needed for a fresh look in the morning just to give myself the best chance of a recovery but that’s just me! Nice job though!
Yea this quad actually had an ViFly Finder beeper, but due to family obligations and weather I didn’t get up there until 4 days later…
I pretty much knew I wouldn’t find it, but it was a great excuse to take the day off and have an adventure! It would have awesome if I actually found it… but oh well.
Appreciate the comment! Cheers!
Beautiful mountain scenery at least you lost it flying I left a quad on a rock beside my truck while loading up my son and left it at a lake with a session 5 lol
Haha! I did that once too! But I drove back an hour later and it was still there!
Thanks for watching and sharing a comment, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy you are welcome I enjoy it and also what my new goggles are capable of along with walksnail
Sorry for the quad! The view is amazing!
Thanks, a bummer for sure, but honestly I didn’t expect to find it… was just a great excuse to take the day off and go hiking!
Thanks for watching and commenting, cheers!
And luckily for us you captured the journey. :)
Sorry about the quad, beautiful area you are in, just was thinking maybe if you have a DJI or Autel camera drone you could give it another try to search if you have the right angle to get on the other side.
Yea, good idea. I’ve been meaning to get a Mavic or something more “normal drone like” for static or calm shots. Would have been great for searching.
I actually have two Phantoms but their size makes them impossible to hike with.
Appreciate you watching the video and sharing your thoughts, cheers!
Damned, too bad for your drone =/... But you tried everything to find it, you don't have to blame yourself!
Yea, I knew before I got in the car I wouldn’t find it… but had to at least try, and honestly it was the excuse I needed to take a day off and go hiking!
“I was never about finding the quad, it was about finding myself…” Haha, that’s the real story!
Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy Hahahaha, what a good spirit 😁
Most range tests I have seen, HDZero doesn’t to do as well, with the pilot not being able to maintain flight under the same circumstances compared to other digital systems. There is definitely an argument to be made for analog being better for long range. I have not used Walksnail but DJI originally had latency displayed and the new system shows bitrate which is a good indicator of how strong the signal is. They also added a line that shows up at the bottom of the screen when the signal is weak.
For proper long-range, like with a wing, I’d probably use WalkSnail. I recently saw a 50km test flight with beautiful video.
My issue with both DJI & WS is very specific to mountain surfing, where LOS can quickly disappear… Both systems are awesome at buffering & fixing images when signal gets poor, and they do this by delaying & retransmitting data. The problem is if you fly behind a peak or ridgeline they will try to fix the lost signal. The screen might freeze or stutter a little, and you as the pilot just keep flying deeper into the problem until there is literally no signal then the image drops. This small delay is a huge problem when you’re 1-2m from a mountain peak.
Also once the connection is broken, the systems might even have to re-connect once LOS is restored, which adds time and more potential issues.
Analog & HDZero don’t perform as well; but everything you saw is in real-time, then moment you see static you know you need to make a correction. If signal is lost, image is restored within 30ms of the signal retuning.
As I said in my previous comment, my WS OSD had perfect image, Bitrate, and Latency, then one frame later completely blank screen, and never came back.
If you haven’t seen my PartI test video it’s worth checking out. Shows more details, also you’ll see that the OSD figures don’t always match the live situation.
Always happy to discuss further, and ultimately people should just fly what they are comfortable with! Tons of people love DJI, and I understand why!
I love nature, wild and mountains. This video was even more interesting to watch then your regular content :) Just don't get me wrong, love your regular flying/testing too. You speak English fluid, so I guess you are not native Norwegian? What are you doing in Norway? Permanently moved there to live? Country blessed with beautiful nature.
Thanks man. I think this sort of video is cool as well, and hoped it would do better, but currently it’s one of my worst performing videos…
However I made it purely for fun, so really doesn’t matter, just surprised.
I’m originally from the USA, moved here 5-6 years ago with my wife who is Norwegian. I work remotely for US companies, but we also run a farm here, and have young kids… so we’re super busy! Any free time I have goes into this hobby! Haha!
The landscape here is simple incredible, I originally started flying RC planes, but quickly wanted to fly FPV in the mountains. Awesome experience, adrenaline, excitement, & sometimes disaster…
Appreciate the comment and support, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy Thanks for sharing the story. I was really interested how people end up in such beautiful places :) I now live in big city, but each weekend with the family we drive to the nature. Would like to live in small city but afraid to go and freelance or work remotely.
@@Mr.Laidukas yea, I lived in East coast cities for most my life. The quiet peaceful landscape is a nice change at the point in my life. Better for FPV that’s for sure!
I basically quit my job when I was moving here, and said I’d be happy to support them remotely. Years later still doing remote work. But it’s a gamble…
Did you have 2 quads or did you only use the one with the big bolt??
What only 200 usd? That would be awesome to find HD 7’’ quads at this price :)
As for long range and WKS or DJI, I’d say yes keep on learning… But any idea why the return to home failed?
Great video and editing. Nice job!!
When I was hiking I only had the one quad; a Chimera 7 with “the big bolt”.
And yes, you are right, it wasn’t $200… the WS VTX/Camera alone costs over $160 to replace in Norway! So the build was probably closer to $500 with everything. Ugh, Bummer…
This is why I’m not sure if I’m going to replace the WS system yet… despite being a “Famous RUclipsr” haha!.. I don’t have unlimited funds to spend on this is hobby.
I was just starting to really like WalkSnail, but I’m also very happy with my HDZero setups, and prefer certain aspects of the system.
I’ve been flying in the mountains for years with analog, and HDZero for the last 2-3yrs with good success.
As far as why the GPS rescue didn’t work, I’m not 100% sure. But will say I hadn’t checked or tested GPS rescue on this quad for a long time, so it might not have even been set up correctly. (This WalkSnail mountain test was kind of a last minute idea.)
Anyway, really appreciate your thoughts, comment & support, cheers!
@GiantAntCowboy
Oh wooh you're lucky that big bolt did not play bad earlier! This said the images are simply stunning... Great editing and amazing playground you have :)
Costs... Dont tell my wife is all I can say!
@@nikotttin exactly, maybe that’s why I said a couple hundred bucks. Haha!
Yea, that GoPro bolt was used because I didn’t bring a wrench for my normal bolt… could have been a disaster. Stress!
Thanks again, not a “super popular video” it’s seems, but glad some folks enjoy seeing the adventure! Cheers!
I've heard other folks describe Walksnails video fall off a like over the cliff, and I'd agree with that assesment. There is a feature in WS where a red flashing box displays in googles when your about ready to loose signal. I think it's device -> remind. On one firmware version I swore it stopped working and since using the latest firmware I occasionally see it appear. Not sure it would be real useful in your situation but it might provide that remider that it's time to punch out.
“Fall off a cliff” was 100% accurate in this case.., Haha! I do actually have the RED warning screen enabled, I saw it in my previous test “through the gantlet”. I just don’t think it really had time to even show this warning.
I flew around this peak area a couple times and didn’t see an obvious warning signs. (Pretty sure HDZero would have been giving some static feedback), but on the last attempt I just pushed it too far… pilot error for sure, but I’m just so used to getting instant visual feedback that I thought it was ok.
According to my telemetry logs it looks like I actually had signal for a couple seconds after when I punched out, but the video didn’t come back. So I either crashed during this time, or sent it deep into the valley below…
Oh well, I’ll stick with HDZero for these sort of flights. Not even sure if I’ll continue my WS testing, $160 for a new VTX/Camera here in Norway.. ugh.
@@GiantAntCowboy Ya, I don't know if I trust the red warning box. I do recall some vids from Varty where he would loose signal and it would reconnect. Entirely a different scenario where flying a wing is I image a bit different. Makes sense to use HDZero for what you're doing.
@ShermanKenB yea, if I built a long-range wing I would 100% use WalkSnail. I saw a 50km range test with good image.
But latency & random disconnects are non-issues when you’re so far away from any sort of solid object.
Great system for most general users and situations!
Flying long range is kind of like gambling. Sometimes you win..... sometimes you lose. I don't gamble, so watching my $500 7 inch fly away actually made me sick to my stomach. Now I know how a gambler feels when he loses.
100% truth. I’ve flown a lot in the mountains over the years and have accepted the potential for lose at this point. There are just so many variables, even beyond pilot error…
Surprisingly this is actually the first quad I’ve lost in the mountains! I’ve had dozens of close calls, in my previous video I shared a clip showing like 6 different terrifying LOS mistakes, but I’ve always recovered!
Anyway, it’s all part of the thrill really. This quad wasn’t my main long-range quad, but instead a kinda random quad I setup for some WalkSnail testing. So I’m not horribly sad, just a little bummed and not sure if I’m even going to continue my WS testing. ($160 for a WS Micro VTX/Camera in Norway!)
Ultimately this has always been my main fear with DJI & WS; perfect beautiful image then suddenly it freezes & disconnects…
Oh well, anyway, thanks for watching, appreciate you sharing your thoughts! Cheers!
oh... were are in Norge-Land :) Another thing is, when there is no GPS: a) turning on angle mode b) giving some throttle .. with the hope to get into contact again. 6:25 .. wow indeed 😱 R.I.P little sweet quad..
Oh yea, the @6:25 moment… could you imagine if lost another quad! I couldn’t truly capture it in the video, but the wind was so intense up there. I was having a really hard time standing, and had to roll the quad hard just to maintain and straight line. Didn’t help of course that my prop was hitting the GoPro mount…
All good suggestions, I used to do the angle mode trick, but found in a panic I was more likely to hit the wrong switch! Haha! I’ve always had success manually correcting and punching out, but not this time…
I have since started to review and test the GPS Rescue settings on my other quads. Removed the Stage 2 delay also.
Appreciate the comment.
Are you in Norway?
@@GiantAntCowboy From the Alps, I'm from.
(I once, while testing out gps-rescue, pushed also the wrong switch .. the arming-switch to off - but the quad survived the hard landing. You always learn from such things, isn't it :)
I did the same once, went to test angle mode and hit the disarm switch… quad fell 100m straight down!
Surprisingly it was perfectly fine! Haha phew!
Great content! Losing that quad was the best thing that's happened to your channel. A couple of thoughts. For some reason, drones are often black, or worse, CAMO! I know it looks cool, but it's so stupid. Why not make them dayglo orange or yellow?! Second, why not add an apple airtag to these so you can find it on a gps? Stupid questions, no doubt, from an amateur, but seems like obvious solutions to ruin your amazing content.
Thanks buddy, glad you enjoyed the adventure! Regarding color, you’re absolutely right, most quads/drones are design looking like stealth fighters… completely miserable to find in the natural environment.
With my main long-range quad I made most the add on parts RED, and covered the large batteries on top in RED tape. This works great as most of Norway is gray, black, green and yellow.
Apple AirTag would potentially work well when searching for the drone, but Apple AirTags require an internet connected Apple device to be in close proximity to share its location. So if you crash in the middle of nowhere it’s unlikely someone with an Apple device will be walking by it anytime soon.
The best solution would be a cellular connected GPS unit that can update its position periodically using a cell network. Of course you’d need cell reception which isn’t always guaranteed in these spots. We use these devices to track the cows, and actually brought one on this hike in case so the wife could track me since I was hiking alone…
Anyway, all great thoughts!
bro i lost a 2" quad in my backyard in a 60ft tall tree. still haven't found it. felt the way you did. defeated. hope i see it this summer when some leaves fall off. lol
Ugh bummer. The last quad I lost, (before this one), was like 3 years ago. Lost control of a cinewhoop in the wind late at night… and it flew into the forest. I searched for days, and even still look sometimes, but it’s gone.
Since then I have GPS, ViFly Buzzers, ect. on all my quads. Made a short video about my setup actually.
“5 Tips to Avoid Lost FPV Quads”:
ruclips.net/video/9i5DXYLmc6s/видео.html
Sucks to lose a quad, like losing a pet… hope you find yours!
@@GiantAntCowboy willl make sure to give. Watch! Great content 👌
It sounds like you are blaming the Walksnail system for this loss but you had a failsafe on the receiver. The video system didn’t keep you from being able to punch out. Did you have rescue set as the failsafe? That might have saved your quad. I use DJI but don’t think the video system was at fault here. It’s not really fair to blame the video system when the control link also failed. Was the ELRS system 900mHz? I think 900mHz might have a had a little better chance of holding the link.
This was admittedly 100% pilot error…. however according to telemetry logs my ELRS link didn’t actually fail for 2-3 seconds after the video loss.
My issue with WalkSnail (& DJI) is that they are actually too good at hiding signal issues!
This feature is generally a huge Pro, but in this sort of environment I personally prefer to have real-time image & feedback about signal strength. (i.e. Image Static like Analog/HDZero)
When you push the limits with Analog/HDZero image static starts to appear. This is a very obvious warning & you can usually see enough to make corrections.
In my WS flight here the Image, Bitrate & Latency were all perfect and then one frame later it was a black screen. Literally zero warning.
Not sure if you watched the actually tests, but here’s that video for reference:
ruclips.net/video/06fV2vQaxW8/видео.html
At the 3min 48sec mark of the test video I show several similar scenarios with my analog & HDZero setups and how i recovered.
Anyway, let me know your thoughts, always happy to hear for folks, cheers!
(p.s. GPS rescue failed I believe; long story)
Is it safe to hike up there??😱 I’m so sorry for your loss…
There were some risky parts, lots of loose rocks and steep parts. Total bummer to lose the quad, but I tried!
HI during your tests and videos in general always post videos recorded with fpv cam with excellent resolution to be an analog fpv cam..! which fpv cam do you use?
It’s actually HDzero that’s you’re seeing. It’s shares a lot of similarities with Analog but has much better resolution.
It doesn’t look as good as DJI or WalkSnail but has some other advantages such as:
- Fixed Latency & Resolution,
- There’s no “Binding” needed so there’s no chance of it “disconnecting” when signal is lost
- Image/Signal Static, though annoying for some, works as an excellent warning about signal strength, interference, and antenna aiming. It can be a very useful tool!
Those are a few reasons I prefer it for my long-range mountain flights. It’s a high risk environment, and I need a system I can full trust, even at the expense of image quality.
More info than your asked for… but hopefully helpful or interesting. Thanks for watching, and good question/comment!
I'll save this for tonight 🙏
Smart, it’s definitely better than Netflix! 😂👍
@@GiantAntCowboy that I have no doubt bro 👍
@@GiantAntCowboy sad man thought it was going to be a happy ending but tbf it was some ask with that terrain!! 10/10 for trying m8 it was an adventure for sure 🙏
@@serval_fpv yea.. truthfully my expectations were very low… however this was the perfect excuse to take a day off and have an adventure.
Haven’t done a proper hike in over three years, so nice to see I didn’t die. Lol
Appreciate you watching and sharing thoughts bud, cheers!
nice jacket!!
Thanks, the jacket was necessary up there. Haha!
@@GiantAntCowboy what brand? thanks in advance!!
@k4x4map46 the brand is “Stromberg” here in Norway.
@@GiantAntCowboy Copy that!! Thank you!!!😀
RTH? Even Betaflight does a pretty good job, and an M10 GPS is less than £15 and only a few grams…
Walksnail is pretty good, get your failsafe/RTH sorted and you’ll be good
Yea, I had GPS rescue setup, but think the stock delay (1.5secs) between Stage 1 & 2 may have caused a crash before RTH had time to activate.
I reviewed the telemetry logs and there’s more to the story, but too much to type here…
However I agree, WalkSnail is great, in fact I was just starting to really like it! If you didn’t see the original testing episode, check it out:
“WalkSnail Penetration & Mountain Range Tests!” - ruclips.net/video/06fV2vQaxW8/видео.html
My main issue with WalkSnail & DJI, is that they work too well… and in situations like this they go from Perfect Video to Blank Screen in an instant. No warning. (See the Delay & Bitrate figures in the test.) I’ve seen this dozen of times on the forums, mostly DJI, over the years.
Additionally once they lose video it doesn’t always reconnect instantly once LOS is restored.
For me personally I prefer HDZero/Analog in these situations. The screen static gives you lots of warning about LOS issues & your Antenna aiming, plus if you lose video it comes back immediately because it’s a simple one-way transmission system that doesn’t require connecting/binding.
Can’t argue about the image though, it was looking amazing during the flight!
Thanks for watching & sharing thoughts, cheers!
Pink. Hot pink would stand out the best. Fly over the area, take high res photos, filter everything out but pink.
Yea, good idea. I recently got a DJI FPV drone which would have worked well for that… except the wind was a bit intense!
On my proper mountain quads I use Bright Red TPU, and Wrap on my batteries, that helps a lot.
This quad was mostly black… bummer. Oh well fun adventures! Thanks for watching and sharing thoughts, cheers!
Possibly a stupid question but: did you not have GPS rescue setup? Or did you but it diddn't help?
GPS Rescue was set up, but I hadn’t checked or tested it on this particular quad for a long time. Never really intended on using this quad in the mountains… but there we were, and now here we are. Haha
I’m in the process of re-setting up & testing all my quads now. Lesson learned! Great hike though.
@@GiantAntCowboy Jea...happens :/ super interesting video non the less. Thanks for uploading.
Ah btw, a question for Mr longrange from a freestyle dude: If you do a mountain dive, and after a few seconds the quad starts powering up by itself (airmode on, definetly no rxloss/failsafe), what would be your idea on how to fix that? Have you had that happen to you ever? Could it have to do with props out orientation? Or could it be my 5" folding props? Thanks in advance!
@@neofotografie thanks appreciate the comment.
Regarding the quad powering itself, I’ve never had that happen. The only time that should happen is during an RX Loss or GPS rescue situation.
Maybe if there was an aggressive updraft/wind and your i-gains weren’t high enough to fight it, but unfortunately not sure about this issue.
If you figure it out let me know!
somewhere, sometime someone will find it :D
Let’s hope so… or in 100yrs an autonomous AI drone will find it and have a good laugh!:
“Look at this ancient F7 flight controller, and digital FPV system… hahahahah, trash!”
😅
Walksnail standard bitrate is better than high bitrate I think and more stable
Yea, one thing that’s tricky with WalkSnail is the different options & their expected performance. Power Levels, Frame Rates, Bit Rates, Resolutions, Focus Modes, just so many variables…
The obvious assumption would be that 1200mW, High Bitrate, Low Resolution & Focus Mode On would be the best but it’s unclear what actually is the best currently and we often get new firmwares.
In a previous WalkSnail video a couple months ago I tested many of these options and saw some clear results, but test aren’t “Lab Experiments” so it’s hard to know for sure.
Appreciate the type, if I build another WalkSnail quad I’ll use these settings, thanks!
dont call it a failed rescue mission, call it a free LR quad giveaway for the viewer :D
Yea I encourage everyone to come to Norway and search for it!! Snow up there now though… so better wait til summer.
Wasn’t a fail though because I got a day off and an adventure in the mountains! That’s a win! 🏔️
GPS return to home will save ya everytime this happens bro
I had GPS rescue set up, but think it might have crashed before it activated. I’ve since re-setup all my quads to immediately Angle Mode, Throttle up, then Activate Stage Two GPS rescue after 0.5s, hopefully that’ll save it next time.
I’ve been mountain surfing for 3+ years and it’s my first lost quad, so it was time I guess. Great excuse for an adventure though! Thanks for watching, cheers!
This is unfortunately part of FPV, you never know if you will come back from a session with all the equipment! Personally I have already lost 4 without being able to find them, despite the GPS and the autonomous buzzer. 😢
Absolutely, over the years I’ve learned to just say “Goodbye” every time you “Arm the quad”. I’ve had dozens of close calls with both analog and HDZero, but always managed to bring the quad back.
(In my previous video I included a clip showing a bunch of my worst lost signal recoveries)
Most places I fly aren’t even hike-able, especially true in the winter months….
4 lost quads is intense! You flying DJI?
I've lost 2 analogs and two Walksnail (one because of failsafe and one I loose video) @@GiantAntCowboy
Ugh bummer. Surprisingly I’ve actually only lost one quad and it’s was a dumb mistake… it involved using a cinewhoop to hang Christmas lights in a tall tree one very dark and windy evening several years ago… haha!
Sorry it didn't turn out to be successful but at least you had fun on the adventure
I took a day off, hiked a beautiful mountain spot, did some FPV flights, and had an adventure… that’s a pretty solid success in my book!
Now if I actually found the quad that would have been unreal! You gotta come to Norway and lose a quad sometime, we’d have a blast! Cheers man!
Sorry to hear you lost it. Losing a quad sux - especially when there's a GoPro on it - you lost the Quad, the camera, AND the footage.
Yea thanks man. Actually I didn’t have a GoPro on it fortunately, so that’s good news. Still a bummer and substantial loss… but oh well had a great adventure!
Man needs a self powered gps on the drone with a way to view location on map or at least retrieve coordinates from it. I can tell you if i lost a $500 drone, I'd be camping up there for multiple days searching
Haha! Yea… I’ve been looking in to that exact idea. We use a similar thing for our cows. Essentially a tiny cell phone/gps that broadcasts its coordinates a few times per day (variable setting).
I would have stayed longer, but I already spent 5hrs & had a wife/kids waiting for me… I’m happy to give you the GPS coordinates if you want to come camping in the summer. (Snow up there now…) Thanks for watching, cheers!
@GiantAntCowboy yah even if it was only accurate to about 50m that should still get you close enough to hear a buzzer if you can get there in time, also that'd be a bit of a trip to search for a lost drone since I'm in the USA lol. I found your video because I'm trying to decide which video system to put in my first 7 inch long range build, was originally gonna build a wing but where I plan to fly there's simply no where large enough to land unless i wanna use a bush as a net, and apparently vtols are extremely finicky, so my best option is a long range quad
@@Catboy-hr2qp yea, the disadvantage of a quad is flight time/distance. Wings have one/two motors & can glide so they use much less battery.
Quads however are much more stable and give you way more precision and control. I really like my 7” quad.
All the digital systems have their advantages:
• DJI will give the best overall performance/image quality.
• WalkSnail has similar performance/image quality, it’s a little less expensive & has more flexibility.
• HDZero has the lowest image quality & requires a very good antenna setup to perform well, but it offers a real time image, good feel/feedback, and doesn’t freeze/disconnect when pushed too far.
I’m originally from the USA, Norway is worth a visit someday, so pack your tent and come on over!
@GiantAntCowboy norway/sweden is on the top of my list of places to visit if I ever cross the pond, I've heard the fishing is good up in the mountains which is another one of my hobbies, that's actually part of my reason for building a 7 inch is to fly around the mountains here and scout the land for cool spots to potentially hike to
@@Catboy-hr2qp as far as mountains scenery Norway is much better than Sweden, especially where we live in the Vestlandet region. Worth a trip, bring a drone and let me know.
But yea, 7” quads are so fun for scouting and exploring. Eventually you’ll crash and have an adventure of your own! Haha Cheers!
nice try
Yea, worth a shot. Awesome hike anyway, Thanks for watching, cheers!
So you didnt find it?
But it didnt seem like you made a great effort to find it once you were at the crash spot.
I didn’t actually show my search efforts, hard to film and search.., but I hiked up & down that second peak 4-5 times. The rocks were really loose which made it not only tricky but a little risky. I even hiked half way down to the water and looked upwards with binoculars.
Ultimately I just ran out of time, wife was calling… haha! But also the colors and terrain complicated things. Total bummer for sure, but great day out there!
@@GiantAntCowboy okay, that makes sense, well then good luck with flying your other quads, i hope something like that doesnt happen again 👍️
@trumblez thanks, I’ve actually been very lucky over the years. It was about time, but it’s also about knowing and respecting the limitations of your equipment.. thanks, and happy flying to you!
you gave up!
dont come down till you find it.
Or we will all think you are a quitter.
Ugh, I know, sadly my free-time ran out… I would’ve stayed another hour, but was getting “called home”, & still had an hour hike back down.
Note: I didn’t show my actual search efforts in the video because it was hard to film & search at the same time; but I hiked up & down that second peak 4-5 times, & then climbed almost all the way down to the water below.
Definitely a bummer, but it was a nice excuse to take the day off & hike in the mountains! Thanks for watching, cheers!
Glad you tried..I lost mine on Mount Ventoux last year,35c heat,granite boulder fields everywhere ,like you experienced,...spent 5 hours and €40 in petrol to search the next day.
It's still up near the summit..r.i.p🤗🫣
Yea, even though the wind and rain weren’t ideal, I think it better than 35°c heat and hot rocks! Haha!
At least we tried! Thanks for watching, appreciate the comment. Cheers!