how to find a mini quad

[Digit]

Having had a flyaway of my mini quad yesterday over a large field I am wondering whether there are any tips you have for finding it. I have already tried looking for it (from the ground and the air) and had no luck. Bearing in mind the plants in this field are about 4-5 feet high, should I just accept its gone never to be seen again or is there anything I can do to try and find it. (aside from posters as I think that may cause it to get nicked)
thanks

[ChavasRegal]

Hi, sorry for your loss.
Unfortunately its difficult to suggest anything that would work after the fact, most of us would have a lost model alarm wired up to an aux channel and a buzzer that we can activate In case of a loss, or some are now using trackers that work on Bluetooth and can sound an alarm using your phone.

The only option in your case is to keep looking.

[Digit]

I did have a lost model alarm on it I just couldn';t hear it, I think the battery disconnected

[Friskle]

Lost model Alarms are hit and miss, as a lot of crashes just the throw the battery off, we have a similar issue of the "long stuff" around our flying field, anything like a small 250 would be gone forever, damn even a plane with a 60" wingspan disappeared for three days lol.

Have you gone looking with TX in hand and flicking the throttle every now and again and listening ( you probably have ) but thought i would mention it, other than that its sadly just a case of keep looking and keep the fingers crossed.

The only tip i have in your case, is do what we did for a plane, walk in straight lines then back a couple of feet away and so on.

[Jazzz]

You will probably already no this but Thay are quit often a lot closer than you think sometimes 50% in my case

[Jake Bullit]

If you had a radio like a Taranis with RSSI telemetry,providing the battery was still connected you could have used the signal meter to direction find it.

[tupoar]

I have had this issue a few times and I find working my way up and down is the best way.  You pick you search area and walk up and down, as if you';re a policeman searching for evident. The longest it';s taken me is 10 minutes. Good luck...

[AlanN]

I wonder how successful swinging a metal detector side to side as you walked would be.. it should be a pretty easy target for it to find

[fruitsalad]

i normally go searching for downed planes at night when its quiet.
i turn my tx on n off listening for the beeps,works most times..

[xxpitt]

remove the antenna from your goggles to make them less effective, then go for a walk till you pick the picture up. You can then use your body to block the signal further to get you a bit closer. This way could get you within 20m. obviously you will have to do this right away while lipo still has life in it, and also it won';t help if lipo was ejected on impact. Another tip is to pulse the motors when you get close to hear it, you will need to not disarm the quad though as if the quad didn';t land upright the naze won';t re-arm as it has a safety feature preventing it from doing so a few degrees past level

[Digit]

Thanks for your replies I looked for another 2 hours today however no luck
attached are some pictures of the field

[jamesb72]

I spent almost an hour looking for a foam stryker f27 in a field like that, I couldnt actually see it until I nearly trod on it having heard esc beeps crom a few ft away, given that is about 10 times as easy to spot than a quad its probably unfindable.

We';ve located another rc plane in a fieldof long grass using a phantom with downward facing gopro, pilot flew los along the path plane was last seen on while we monitored down link with fatshark goggles and spotted it easily, but again this was a decent sized rc plane so much  bigger target to spot.

I use loc8tor now which is not expensive and works amazingly with range up to 200ft  but doesnt help much with this one.

Its always worth leaving your details with farmer in case its spotted  but may not be worth having once it';s been mulched anyway

[Friskle]

Thanks for your replies I looked for another 2 hours today however no luck
attached are some pictures of the field

where abouts are you located ?

[Digit]

I';m in a town near Canterbury in Kent

[chester_lad]

I lost a spider quadcopter last year I flew it towards a land fill site and I could just about see it then all of a sudden a flog of birds flew up they all looked like my quad .

Spent 2 nights looking for it with a mates quadcopter with fpv but no look

[bazzerh]

Can see the need for a battery back up lost model alarm now. Must be possible

[quadfather]

Thanks for your replies I looked for another 2 hours today however no luck
attached are some pictures of the field

Based on your screenshot where were you standing when you flew it?  Were you flying FPV or LOS?   Can you narrow down where you think it went down, e.g. last point of reference, heading, speed, etc?  When did you lose it, i.e. day and time?

I could pop around (from Medway) and give you a hand later today or tomorrow.  The only working car in this house has just gone out for the day.

[Digit]

I think another person would help a lot if it';s not too much trouble, especially if you can bring another FPV model
attached is a picture with where I was stood and the area I think it when down in, unfortunately I wasn';t recording on the DVR as I was flying it FPV, the last thing I seemed to see was a telegraph pole holding up power lines

[fruitsalad]

where in canterbury is that??

[quadfather]

where in canterbury is that??

It';s Abbey Fields in Faversham.

[fruitsalad]

could make it tomozz with another for a search around nearby areas..

[Digit]

sounds like a plan I can give you the GPS co ords if you like

[Dougelove]

It';s Abbey Fields in Faversham.

Is it ironic that mine was also lost in Abbey Fields? Not faversham tho.
HAND OF GOD??

[Digit]

After another search day with help from quadfather (massive thanks to him for coming) we were unable to locate the quad, or the gopro that got lost.
On the bright side a space in my hangar has been opened and it shall most likely be filled with one of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261826524555?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%257CR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D261826524555%26_rdc%3D1

Luckily the 5 inch props that one uses are cheaper than the 6 inch ones I';ve been using

[Nige8021]

I think I will get one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281626012629?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT it has a 50M radius on bluetooth

[Chami82923]

Funny that, I';ve just ordered one of them nut whotsits, it claims to have a 50m range, I';ll attach it to the dog and report how well it works, potentially useful for finding stuff in long grass.

I';ve been lucky so far with lost quads, 100% recovery rate! hopefully with the nut it will continue!

Callum

[Panther]

Suggest you read some reviews here before you buy.

http://www.amazon.com/ELENKER-Bluetooth-Anti-lost-Tracking-Everything/dp/B00QWTXPRI

[forest]

sorry to here you lost one its a club many of use are in lol
i like the new frame the canopy most of all a great idea for the days when the grass is wet

[Digit]

Just had a thought, there isn';t anyone nearby who has a metal detector is there?

[Digit]

update,
the field has been cut so I shall be searching from the ground and the air now for any remnants of it