Hello Fellow Yuneec Pilot!
Join our free Yuneec community and remove this annoying banner!
Sign up

Power loss resulting in spectacular deconstruction of C23

Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Messages
19
Reaction score
9
Age
49
Hi Guys. < Warning! > - Post contains images that some may find upsetting! ??

I've been flying this drone for months with no issues at all, till over the weekend when i was climbing up Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales (Uk). As we reached the summit, i set the drone up to catch the sunrise. i setup and took off as normal, after a good 10 min flight and capturing some good shots, i landed safely, packed the drone up and continued towards the top. The second flight is where things went wrong, i set up as normal, did some checks and took off. i hovered for a few seconds at about 3 meters height while i set the video up but couldn't because the SD card wasn't registering with the ground station, it just said no SD. so i had to land and power cycle the drone off and back on, which appeared to resolve that issue. i then repeated the above and sent the drone outwards off the side of the mountain, i got about 20 meters away, and about 20 meters from the ground, when it just lost all power and dropped like a brick landing camera first onto a rock.

I have no idea what happened, When i packed the drone up from the first flight, i left the half spent battery inside the it because i didn't want to mix it up with the full batteries. Knowing i would no doubt be stopping to take some more ad-hoc shots along the way, i figured that battery would be sufficient, and i wanted to save the other batteries for the summit. i do remember that i pulled the used battery out a little to make sure it wasn't making contact with the battery terminals. Looking back, before i took off on the second flight i don't remember clipping the battery back in, or even making sure the battery was fully clipped in before i took off, so am 100% certain that's what caused the power loss. Are there any logs stored either on the GS or the drone that can help me trace what happened? I always fly my drone when no one is around, and thank god i do! i cant image what would have happened if it had hit someone so would really need to find out what happened. Im already working on the assumption that it was my error and will be using a prefight check list that has to be completed before each flight. Does anyone else do this or have a template you'd share?

I've examined the camera, and there are no serviceable parts, its busted good! i was hoping to find another broke one online and make a goodn out the two, i don't even think Yuneec skins will accept this one on a trade in.

The drone itself isn't too bad, the bottom housing has a little crack, and 5 of the arm clips have broke along with a bracket for a antenna. I've ordered those parts in and will thoroughly test the drone before ordering in another camera.

I upgraded the firmware's to the latest ones not long ago, when i did i also read that i can load my H Plus with the H520 and use the E90 camera along with data pilot? Effectively turning my H+ into a H520. has any one managed to do that?

Finally, anyone selling a camera??

Mike.
 

Attachments

  • Busted Drone Cam (1).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (1).jpg
    636.1 KB · Views: 57
  • Busted Drone Cam (2).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (2).jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 56
  • Busted Drone Cam (3).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (3).jpg
    856.5 KB · Views: 56
  • Busted Drone Cam (4).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (4).jpg
    811.2 KB · Views: 53
  • Busted Drone Cam (5).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (5).jpg
    913 KB · Views: 52
  • Busted Drone Cam (6).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (6).jpg
    728.5 KB · Views: 49
  • Busted Drone Cam (7).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (7).jpg
    1 MB · Views: 52
  • Busted Drone Cam (8).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (8).jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 50
  • Busted Drone Cam (9).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (9).jpg
    644.2 KB · Views: 49
  • Busted Drone Cam (10).jpg
    Busted Drone Cam (10).jpg
    878.5 KB · Views: 52
  • Sad
Reactions: Yuneec Skins
Ouch, that looks painful, sorry for your loss. With a complete power loss as you describe, the log data would look normal and then just stop the instant the battery lost contact so it would not show anything. I think you should be able to find a camera, good luck.
 
Are there any logs stored either on the GS or the drone that can help me trace what happened?
That is one big heartbreaker for sure.

See Attachment 62 (Typhoon H Plus Flight Log Retrieval) of the PDF document attached to Way To Fix Drones project. The logs can at least confirm your suspicion.
 
That is an unfortunate sight... I have always said that the way the cameras in all H series aircraft are just hanging out there... well it's like playing rugby in a kilt... you'll enjoy that refreshing breeze right up until impact. :eek:
 
It's always the Poor Camera that Cushions the Fall... my bet is you didn't re-insert the Battery Fully.
The Deans connectors inside your H+ are approximately 3/8" long, and most likely the Battery Vibrated Out causing a Complete Power Loss.
 
That is an unfortunate sight... I have always said that the way the cameras in all H series aircraft are just hanging out there... well it's like playing rugby in a kilt... you'll enjoy that refreshing breeze right up until impact. :eek:
I like your analogy, your to much
 
What I'm not understanding is why you released the battery, is there a reason for doing so ? I'm looking at it like do you take the battery out of your phone when you turn it off for the night ?
 
As everyone has said, it's sad to see a nice camera in pieces! Wish it had gone better. As to your question related to the H Plus vs. H520 and their firmware: while the E90 and C23 can be used interchangeably on either the H Plus or the H520, the firmware for the drones is not interchangeable. The mainboards are functionally quite different though similar in design. Each of the mainboards has a hardware coded number that only allows the firmware loader to proceed if it's the appropriate board. You can convert between the Typhoon H Plus and H520 if you replace the mainboard. All of the hardware other than the mainboard is the same for the Typhoon H Plus and the H520.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Microsmith
Yep like slw stated all you need in the board, and firmware, I've done it,and use the 23 camera, but your limited with it as far as missions, so your better off with the 50, or 90 ???
 
Update.
I've popped it on the bench and stripped the drone apart to assess the damage. The bottom housing is cracked, as is 1 antenna bracket. To get her flying again i needed 6 of those spring / clips that lock the arms into place. And the landing gear needing resetting. So with no camera fitted I took her out for a test flight. Everything appeared to be ok, accepted a few little odd bits of behaviour such as I couldn't set the maximum height and the one side of landing gear wouldn't move, whereas the opposite side moved half way then stopped.

I took the landing gear motor apart and found one of the cams had cracked and popped off, the motor works ok, so hopefully a new cam / thing will sort that. Ive got the other parts on order and i managed to get a new / not used C23 on eBay for around £330, i just hope it is 'as described' If i gotta spent £1000 on a new camera, i may as well buy a new drone.
 

Attachments

  • More Busted Drone (1).jpg
    More Busted Drone (1).jpg
    2.4 MB · Views: 24
  • More Busted Drone (2).jpg
    More Busted Drone (2).jpg
    615.7 KB · Views: 24
  • More Busted Drone (3).jpg
    More Busted Drone (3).jpg
    808.8 KB · Views: 20
  • More Busted Drone (4).jpg
    More Busted Drone (4).jpg
    677.9 KB · Views: 19
  • More Busted Drone (5).jpg
    More Busted Drone (5).jpg
    717.2 KB · Views: 18
  • More Busted Drone (6).jpg
    More Busted Drone (6).jpg
    845.7 KB · Views: 18
  • More Busted Drone (7).jpg
    More Busted Drone (7).jpg
    784.3 KB · Views: 19
  • More Busted Drone (8).jpg
    More Busted Drone (8).jpg
    234.7 KB · Views: 18
  • More Busted Drone (9).jpg
    More Busted Drone (9).jpg
    1,015.7 KB · Views: 16
  • More Busted Drone (10).jpg
    More Busted Drone (10).jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 22
  • Like
Reactions: WTFDproject
That is one big heartbreaker for sure.

See Attachment 62 (Typhoon H Plus Flight Log Retrieval) of the PDF document attached to Way To Fix Drones project. The logs can at least confirm your suspicion.
Ah cool! Thanks for the info. I've extract the logs, and opened it up with the reader. i don't know exactly what im looking at, but i can see the first flight where i had to power cycle the drone off and back on, and i can see the next flight where it died. Theres not much there after that. :/
 
It's always the Poor Camera that Cushions the Fall... my bet is you didn't re-insert the Battery Fully.
The Deans connectors inside your H+ are approximately 3/8" long, and most likely the Battery Vibrated Out causing a Complete Power Loss.
I cant believe how much damage the poor camera took. ??
 
Ouch. I should have mentioned "don't open the file with a reader". It corrupts the file by adding a marker, and makes it unreadable by the software used by most reviewers. If you want to download a fresh copy of the file and post it to the forum, we may be able to help with it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Microsmith
Sorry for your loss, have send many years working in S-Wales beautiful country, maybe a cheeky request, to load your first video prior to the accident so that the forum members can see what S-Wales look like
Im quite lucky, i live 20 mins away from Brecon Beacons. over the last few weeks we.ve climbed the Skirrid, the Sugar Loaf the Blorenge and Pen Y Fan. It really is a lovely place to live.

This is the last video i took with the drone,

Pen y Fan (8).JPGPen y Fan (6).JPGPen y Fan (5).JPGPen y Fan (4).JPG
Pen y Fan (1).JPGPen y Fan (9).JPG
 

Attachments

  • Pen y Fan (2).JPG
    Pen y Fan (2).JPG
    11.2 MB · Views: 6
  • Pen y Fan (3).JPG
    Pen y Fan (3).JPG
    8.9 MB · Views: 5
  • Pen y Fan (7).JPG
    Pen y Fan (7).JPG
    10.5 MB · Views: 4
Sorry for your loss, have send many years working in S-Wales beautiful country, maybe a cheeky request, to load your first video prior to the accident so that the forum members can see what S-Wales look like
And these are a few of the Sugar Loaf
 

Attachments

  • Best one.jpg
    Best one.jpg
    12.5 MB · Views: 9
  • Best one2.jpg
    Best one2.jpg
    12.7 MB · Views: 9
  • Best one3.jpg
    Best one3.jpg
    15.6 MB · Views: 8
  • Sugar Loaf Fav1.jpg
    Sugar Loaf Fav1.jpg
    11.1 MB · Views: 9
  • Sugar Loaf.jpg
    Sugar Loaf.jpg
    11.5 MB · Views: 7
  • Sugar Loaf2.jpg
    Sugar Loaf2.jpg
    11.1 MB · Views: 9
  • Sugar Loaf3.jpg
    Sugar Loaf3.jpg
    10.9 MB · Views: 8
  • Sugar Loaf4.jpg
    Sugar Loaf4.jpg
    10.7 MB · Views: 9
What I'm not understanding is why you released the battery, is there a reason for doing so ? I'm looking at it like do you take the battery out of your phone when you turn it off for the night ?
Climbing the mountain i knew there was gonna be a lot of movement on the backpack cos the paths are very rocky. I was getting worried that something could accidently tap the power button when the drone was packed away in the back pack and deplete the battery. Lesson learnt, I wont be doing that again tho! ?
 
As everyone has said, it's sad to see a nice camera in pieces! Wish it had gone better. As to your question related to the H Plus vs. H520 and their firmware: while the E90 and C23 can be used interchangeably on either the H Plus or the H520, the firmware for the drones is not interchangeable. The mainboards are functionally quite different though similar in design. Each of the mainboards has a hardware coded number that only allows the firmware loader to proceed if it's the appropriate board. You can convert between the Typhoon H and H520 if you replace the mainboard. All of the hardware other than the mainboard is the same for the Typhoon H and the H520.
That's interesting! Least i know for certain now, i wasnt aware that the E90 and C23 can be used interchangeably.
 
Ouch. I should have mentioned "don't open the file with a reader". It corrupts the file by adding a marker, and makes it unreadable by the software used by most reviewers. If you want to download a fresh copy of the file and post it to the forum, we may be able to help with it.
No probs, yeah if no one minds i will upload the logs tomorrow. Thanks for your help. :)
 

New Posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
20,941
Messages
241,489
Members
27,247
Latest member
Kubetlegal