An update to my mad canal story

[James McLennon]

Just an update people, I've tried to contact DJI about possible repair work on the drone. They were extremely slow to reply to me and after sending back this repair word document I've not had a reply in a week. I've sent them multiple emails asking if they received my emails but I'm not getting anything in reply. Its looking like I'll have to get out my soldering kit and begin repairing the thing myself. I've spotted P3S ESC center board replacements from around £80 and I'll be ordering a new battery as my old one got fried and no longer even flashes or responds when plugged in.

Here's a bonus link to images of the drone and also right before it hit the water: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

I'm still really embarrassed about this and my friends and family don't know the full story (I told them it fell into a puddle) as its humiliating but I'm starting to see the funny side of the events that occurred so feel free to have a laugh . Thanks for all the advice and support in the original post, I felt the empathy from other drone users and it was a nice feeling that I wasn't the only one this had happened to.

I'm not demanding anything at all but it was suggested so I set up a gofundme with my story, it would be greatly appreciated if even just a penny was donated. Anyway here's the link Click here to support Money for new ESC and Drone battery by James McLennon

If anyone wants to send me money via PayPal my email is [email protected] . Thanks so much in advance if anyone decides to donate.

 

[deltamike]

Hi James,

Hope you get the £££'s. I would donate a something but no way I am putting in a card number in the donate link. Call me suspicious in these days of scams.

PM me with an e-mail and I shall send it via Pay Pal.

Any way to help a fellow Scot.

Hope you get your UAV airborne soon.

 

[BDOG]

I second the suggestion to setup a Paypal link that funds the GoFundMe page. Google it ! Someone has to have done it this way before.

Its nice to see someone verbose enough to convey such a story and not just holding out their hand.

I will consider donation if you can get the Paypal puzzle piece figured out. It will be more than 1 penny and less than the entire campaign amount of 180 $.

 

[James McLennon]

I second the suggestion to setup a Paypal link that funds the GoFundMe page. Google it ! Someone has to have done it this way before.

Its nice to see someone verbose enough to convey such a story and not just holding out their hand.

I will consider donation if you can get the Paypal puzzle piece figured out. It will be more than 1 penny and less than the entire campaign amount of 180 $.

Hi James,

Hope you get the £££'s. I would donate a something but no way I am putting in a card number in the donate link. Call me suspicious in these days of scams.

PM me with an e-mail and I shall send it via Pay Pal.

Any way to help a fellow Scot.

Hope you get your UAV airborne soon.

Cheers, I'll try and figure out a way to add PayPal to the page, thanks for the messages its much appreciated.

 

[Reed L]

It's hard to believe that the esc fried like that underwater.... wow!
+1 on the Paypal. Go GoFundMe helped pay for my sons needs after he had his accident that left him a quadriplegic and using credit cards to set up an account like that is different then this, so simply adding a paypal email addy here in your post would probably pay for itself.

 

[BDOG]

Those IC's (Integrated Circuits) fried as current was allowed to flow where it should not have. The funny thing is that its not the water itself that causes the bridging between discrete components and IC's its actually the minerals in the water itself.

There are electronic circuits (motherboards in fact) that run in a bath of oil that function just fine.

Here is one I like

Its soo cool watching the CPU fan spin ultra slow due to the viscosity of the oil around it.

 

[James McLennon]

It's hard to believe that the esc fried like that underwater.... wow!
+1 on the Paypal. Go GoFundMe helped pay for my sons needs after he had his accident that left him a quadriplegic and using credit cards to set up an account like that is different then this, so simply adding a paypal email addy here in your post would probably pay for itself.

There was black smoke coming from the water below and the battery is completely fried so it must have got pretty heated up, it looks even worse on the underside of the board. Wow that's awful sorry to hear about that, I'm guessing you're from the US if you had to raise funds then?

 

[Reed L]

There was black smoke coming from the water below and the battery is completely fried so it must have got pretty heated up, it looks even worse on the underside of the board. Wow that's awful sorry to hear about that, I'm guessing you're from the US if you had to raise funds then?

He raised funds to buy a house and a modified Van that he can drive his chair into. He did it for himself to keep him out of the hospitalized care system that is provided but not comfortable. As far as the medical expenses it's all taken care of by the State of Texas that he lives in, so yes we are in the US but half a country apart as we are original Californian's...

 

[deltamike]

Hello Jimmy,

Thanks for the Pay Pal link. That's much better. Who is Jordan Davies though. The cash seems to have gone to that name rather than a MacLennon?

However, I have sent you something to help you on your way.

Where about in the Bonnie land are you out of interest.

 

[James McLennon]

Hello Jimmy,

Thanks for the Pay Pal link. That's much better. Who is Jordan Davies though. The cash seems to have gone to that name rather than a MacLennon?

However, I have sent you something to help you on your way.

Where about in the Bonnie land are you out of interest.

Wow thanks so much for the donation, it means so much to me, your generosity is appreciated. I share an account with my dad as I didn't have a credit card when I wanted to set up a PayPal account to buy things of eBay.
I just ordered one of these DJI Phantom 3 Standard STD Drone - NEW ESC Center Board/MC & Receiver (Part 76) so hopefully it comes in working order and I'm praying that the camera and gimbal weren't ruined by the water, guess I'll only find out once I get a new battery and everything is soldered together. I live in Glasgow and the drone happened to crash in the Clyde Canal.

 

[Stealthmatt]

Wow thanks so much for the donation, it means so much to me, your generosity is appreciated. I share an account with my dad as I didn't have a credit card when I wanted to set up a PayPal account to buy things of eBay.
I just ordered one of these DJI Phantom 3 Standard STD Drone - NEW ESC Center Board/MC & Receiver (Part 76) so hopefully it comes in working order and I'm praying that the camera and gimbal weren't ruined by the water, guess I'll only find out once I get a new battery and everything is soldered together. I live in Glasgow and the drone happened to crash in the Clyde Canal.

Really sorry to hear about your drone man. I know its hard to hear but don't waste good money after bad. The camera will have dirt in it, the electronics could be more fried than what you see on the surface.

Honestly, I would cut my loss and use the money for a new one

I wish I could buy you a new one, but I don't have that much funds sorry.

 

[James McLennon]

Really sorry to hear about your drone man. I know its hard to hear but don't waste good money after bad. The camera will have dirt in it, the electronics could be more fried than what you see on the surface.

Honestly, I would cut my loss and use the money for a new one

I wish I could buy you a new one, but I don't have that much funds sorry.

I've been fixing electronics for quite a while so I feel confident I can get it running again. If I fail and I cant revive it then I'll just resell the parts so I will only be losing money on postage.

 

[Stealthmatt]

I've been fixing electronics for quite a while so I feel confident I can get it running again. If I fail and I cant revive it then I'll just resell the parts so I will only be losing money on postage.

Have you looked on ebay for parts? the p3 is going cheap now that the phantom 4 has come out

 

[deltamike]

Wow thanks so much for the donation, it means so much to me, your generosity is appreciated.

Glad to be of Help James.

If I may say that these UAV's take a LOT of learning to fly. My suggestion is for you to find an open space - and not over water but I guess you know that now - and practise flying in all modes for at least ten hours and all flights within 500 yards at a max altitude of 200 feet. After all, how long does it take someone to learn how to drive? You cant just climb in a car and 'have a go' . Its the same with UAV's. You need practise - practise - practise. It may sound boring but - trust me - it is necessary to make a good pilot.

As an adage, I advise people to be aware of the following :-

So, you want to buy a Radio Controlled UAV?

You may have seen U-Tube video clips and thought, “I think I will buy one. They look okay and everyone says they are easy and safe to fly with GPS”.
​

Well - NO! - Its not true.

The GREATEST mistake beginners make is assume that they can unpack an aircraft – charge the battery and then fly it before reading the instructions and learning about the aircraft characteristics. Trust me, that is the scenario for a crash situation.

Any type of radio controlled aircraft in beginners’ hands is likely to crash and cause damage to property or persons, so it is STRONGLY advised to have help in flying at the start - such as a flying club.

Here’s something to think of - if , while you are having fun with your new aircraft and you accidentally hit and cause damage to a person or to property, are you rich enough to pay for the medical expenses and any other damages that your aircraft has caused? Can you meet all the necessary legal fees incurred? Or is it a case of “Oooops. Sorry your honour – I was not aware that insurance would be needed”.

People have lost their homes and businesses to pay compensation to injured parties in the past which shows you how serious this can get, so don’t be stupid and fly it near people – not even the mother-in-law. Ignorance is NO defence.

To protect yourself in the case of an accident, insurance is a good idea. e.g. (BFMA) British Flying Model Association (UK). Click on the link to view their web site :-

http://www.bmfa.org/

It costs £32 at the time of writing. The next thing to do is join a flying club to learn the ropes. Its more than likely there will be members only too glad to help out with advice.

Are you aware of CAA regulations? Here is a summary of UK CAA rulings :-

Provided the aircraft has a mass of 20 kg or less, the current regulations state:-

1. The operation must not endanger anyone or anything.

2. The aircraft must be kept within the visual line of sight (normally taken to be within 500 m horizontally and 400 ft vertically) of its remote pilot (i.e. the ‘person in charge’ of it). Operations beyond these distances must be approved by the CAA (the basic premise being for the operator to prove that he/she can do this safely).

3. Small unmanned aircraft (irrespective of their mass) that are being used for surveillance purposes are subject to tighter restrictions with regard to the minimum distances that you can fly near people or properties that are not under your control. If you wish to fly within these minima, permission is required from the CAA before operations are commenced.

4. CAA permission is also required for all flights that are being conducted for aerial work (i.e. in very simple terms, you are getting paid for doing it). Under current CAA rules it is not permissible to operate a UAV for 'hire or reward' unless you are a commercial operator. If you want to take a video of your house and put it on U-tube, that’s fine, and if something happens near you that you think is newsworthy and you think it will be 'cool' to rush out and get some aerial shots to send to the BBC and expect payment you will be out of luck.

5. The 'remote pilot' has the responsibility for satisfying him/herself that the flight can be conducted safely.




Good luck

Regards

Pete