SD card slot issue? (1st flight on my new P3P.. TOTALLY AWESOME!)

[Mike_G]

Hey Everyone. First off, I just wanted to say that I flew two batteries on my new P3P today. First time flying. This thing is stupid easy to fly. The video is incredible (set it to 1080P/60). Updated all firmware to newest on the quad, RC and batteries before first flight without issue.

Ok.. on to the question/possible issue. After my first battery, I took out the 16GB Panasonic SD card and put it in my PC. Copied movies (to watch them) and put the card back in the P3P (in the camera). I powered everything back up and "No SD card" message on the screen. Long story short, the only way I could get the card to recognize is by holding it in (against the spring like when you push it in to seat it). It was in the camera correctly, but would not detect unless I pushed it in. I tried several times, even powered the quad off and on. I put in my brand new 64GB UHS1 SanDisk and it worked correctly. After my 2nd battery, I removed the SanDisk and re-inserted the Panasonic. Now it seemed to work as it should. I formatted the card and shut everything down. Both batteries are low, so I couldn't test any more.

Is there anything I should do to test this? Is there a trick (like blowing on an old Nintendo cartridge) that I have to do to make it work correctly? lol I don't want to return it, but if I did would that be possible or would they make me ship it to DJI? I just worry about the problem getting worse or having it stop working down the road.

Sorry to be such a newb. -=Mike G.

 

[mikesmiley]

Might have been a speck of dust or something left over from manufacture/assembly. I wouldn't worry unless it happens again on more than one card.

 

[Mike_G]

Thank you sir for the advice. I might have jumped the gun here (posted too soon). I'm just excited and want everything to be OK. Can't wait to get video of the boat (and other cool stuff) on the water. I'll do some more "testing" tomorrow and post if an issue persists. -=Mike G.

 

[mikesmiley]

Feel free to ask anything. I've found that there are a lot of very cool and very sharp people here that are more than willing to offer advice. This place is one hell of a resource, and it's been invaluable to me.

 

[CCDD]

Hey Everyone. First off, I just wanted to say that I flew two batteries on my new P3P today. First time flying. This thing is stupid easy to fly. The video is incredible (set it to 1080P/60). Updated all firmware to newest on the quad, RC and batteries before first flight without issue.

Sorry to be such a newb. -=Mike G.

Stupid easy to fly = stupid easy to make mistakes. Be very careful not to allow complacency to set in with your new Phantom, many crashes occur for this very reason.

 

[Erised]

I found that in my P4 when I inserted a new sd card it did not click. When I pushed to click and removed there was no click so I pulled it out with my finger nails. Tried again and there was a faint click, did it a few more time and the click was firm and the card locked in and clicked out normally. I think new card may have sharp edges that causes the card to jam and not contact properly. I clicked it in and out about 10 times in a row and it works perfectly now. Be gentle and if it does't feel right do not push it in further, try to pull it out gently first, I read a post where somebody jammed it in so far he could not get it out.

 

[4wd]

They are awful fiddly things at best of times, and so easy to drop and almost lose.
Still prefer to pop the card out rather than connect a cable though.
You could imagine a less tricky and precise way to 'load' it along the lines of a tiny CD tray.
Maybe we really need [large] onboard storage and superfast wifi transfer - as soon as you get home it just does it while you have a coffee.

 

[CCDD]

The micro sd card is a wonderfully capable product however, way too small to constantly handle. I always immediately place it in its adapter as it would likely go unnoticed and get thrown out or lost. Aside from having fingers the size of banana, I've never struggled too much with removing it or placing it back in my Phantom or Inspire.

 

[Mike_G]

Stupid easy to fly = stupid easy to make mistakes. Be very careful not to allow complacency to set in with your new Phantom, many crashes occur for this very reason.

Oh.. for sure. Someone on here said something to the effect of "Every time I fly it I see a $1,000 bill flying around". That has been my mindset so far and is keeping me cautious. Thing is though... I bought it mainly to take video of boating activities (my boat and others), so I will need to get comfortable with flying over water and hand launching and landing (while solo). I can probably launch off of the front of my boat (from the sun pad area) to avoid hand launching, but landing might be tricky with a rocking boat. Any advice there? I will practice on land a bunch first of course. -=Mike G.

 

[Doink]

Bear in mind when launching off a boat is that the home point wouldn't have moved when your boat may of, if you ever used RTH you might find your bird landing where the boat used to be not where it is

 

[AHill]

Oh.. for sure. Someone on here said something to the effect of "Every time I fly it I see a $1,000 bill flying around". That has been my mindset so far and is keeping me cautious. Thing is though... I bought it mainly to take video of boating activities (my boat and others), so I will need to get comfortable with flying over water and hand launching and landing (while solo). I can probably launch off of the front of my boat (from the sun pad area) to avoid hand launching, but landing might be tricky with a rocking boat. Any advice there? I will practice on land a bunch first of course. -=Mike G.

Hand land it. There are many threads about hand landing and it is much easier than trying to land it on a rocking boat. Practice it on land until you are comfortable with hand landing.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

+1 for hand-catch landing, even on land.

+1 on your HP moving if you launch from a boat, which segues well into:

Don't let your battery power get down if you're flying over water, especially far from land and having taken off from a boat that has moved from HP. The reason is that you when it gets to a critically low battery, it will attempt to land and you can NOT cancel that landing. You do have some control over navigation as it comes down, but down it will continue to come.

 

[Lonewolf]

Bear in mind when launching off a boat is that the home point wouldn't have moved when your boat may of, if you ever used RTH you might find your bird landing where the boat used to be not where it is

You can always override the RTH option & take back control to avoid obstacles & wrong home points.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

You can always override the RTH option & take back control to avoid obstacles & wrong home points.

... unless RTH was invoked due to a critical low battery condition.

 

[Mike_G]

Maybe I'll use ATTi mode (that's the one that doesn't use GPS, right?) when filming the boat in motion. None of my other quads I've had ever had GPS or anything in them. I fly R/C planes and had a couple of R/C Helos too so I'm familiar with wind drifting and everything. Again.. I'll practice over land first.

BTW.. thanks for all of the responses everyone! This is a great forum where so many people take the time to reply! -=Mike G.