Reach stops logging/wifi after some time

[rafael.lehmkuhl (Rafael Araújo Lehmkuhl)]

Hi,

I have two Reach units, one mounted on an UAV and another on a base station. The one on the UAV is connected through a Pixhawk2 (Serial port), and the one on the base station is connected to a Power Bank.

I started to notice that after some time the Reach units stop connecting through ReachView (they generate a very weak wifi network but you cannot even connect to them). It happens on different moments for the UAV and base units, but happens in both.

After I recharged the power bank or changed the UAV battery, they work again, so I can see that the problem is the “low” battery. My problem is that it occurs when the PowerBank (barely new) has about 60-70% charge, and in the case of the UAV, when the battery is still on something like 15.8V (for a 4S-16.8V battery), so still pretty charged.

This is turning my surveyings very frustrating because I need to change the batteries when in theory they can still work for a long time.

Do you have some solution for this problem?

[bide]

This is just a wild guess from left-field in case it turns out not to be voltage-related:

@bide

Could it be that your Reach units are operating in a high temperature environment and/or in direct sunlight?

If so, then maybe the length of run time increases the unit temperature which produces heat-related symptoms. And then the length of the charging time would provide a cooling period, therefore relieving the heat-related symptoms, and from there, the cycle is repeated.

[rafael.lehmkuhl (Rafael Araújo Lehmkuhl)]

I forgot to mention that on the first time I noticed the problem I had just turned it on a couple hours after some flights, so it was cooled down.

[egor.fedorov]

Looks like a power issue to me. Try using a different power source, maybe a different set of cables.

[rafael.lehmkuhl (Rafael Araújo Lehmkuhl)]

For the UAV my power source is a Pixhawk with a regular battery. I have tried different batteries and power banks and both have the same problem. I am using the cables that came with reach.