3.08 Discussion Thread for P2NV / P2Z

[gword256]

Too much P2V / P2V+ specific discussion in the other thread. None of us P2NV / P2Z users have the app. Let's discuss what benefits / issues specifically apply to the P2NV and P2Z. So far, I don't see much in this new firmware:

• Battery discharge feature
• Cell balancing and imbalance detection (too bad none of the bad batteries seem to have cell imbalance issues)

• 
  
  There's no information about this in the Chinese release notes or forum either. On a related note their (and possibly our) Phantoms can no longer fly within 30km of Tiananman Square. That is a #7 item in their release notes :lol:

 

[Zoeconner]

What do you guys think is it worth updating? Or hold off? My phantom runs great now other than that camera turning at high speeds.

 

[shartlza]

What do you guys think is it worth updating? Or hold off? My phantom runs great now other than that camera turning at high speeds.

Personally I am going to try and wait a week or so. I just got mine back from DJI and I am going to try to stay on 3.06 to make sure there is no bugs that creeped up from 3.08 before I upgrade. There are some people that have upgraded and say it seem perfect, so to each their own.

 

[Away Point]

What do you guys think is it worth updating? Or hold off? My phantom runs great now other than that camera turning at high speeds.

Personally I am going to try and wait a week or so. I just got mine back from DJI and I am going to try to stay on 3.06 to make sure there is no bugs that creeped up from 3.08 before I upgrade. There are some people that have upgraded and say it seem perfect, so to each their own.

Wait! Good idea!

I just did the update and now the H3-3D is DEAD! What a freakin' nightmare!!!!!!

I've only had this Phantom 2 and gimbal for 8 days, and already I'm screwed! This sucks!!!!

This is the SECOND TIME a firmware update killed a H3-3D!

SOB!!!!

 

[shartlza]

What do you guys think is it worth updating? Or hold off? My phantom runs great now other than that camera turning at high speeds.

Personally I am going to try and wait a week or so. I just got mine back from DJI and I am going to try to stay on 3.06 to make sure there is no bugs that creeped up from 3.08 before I upgrade. There are some people that have upgraded and say it seem perfect, so to each their own.

Wait! Good idea!

I just did the update and now the H3-3D is DEAD! What a freakin' nightmare!!!!!!

I've only had this Phantom 2 and gimbal for 8 days, and already I'm screwed! This sucks!!!!

This is the SECOND TIME a firmware update killed a H3-3D!

SOB!!!!

Yeah this is the one thing I saw happening over on RCGroups, but it does not seem like everyone is having the issue. I am wondering if unpluging the gimbal when you run the update would help.

 

[isky172]

I've updated all the firmware on a P2 NV to the latest available today (via the latest assistant software) - including battery firmware (using the 3.2 version of the assistant). My setup includes the 9450 propellers, Anti-gravity motors, H3-3D gimbal, and a Lightbridge. Took it for a spin this afternoon using up 3 batteries. Most importantly, I didn't experience any issues in updating the firmware nor did anything eventful happen during my flights.

I didn't see any improvement in the yaw problem. Furthermore, I didn't see any real improvement in flight times (to 30% battery remaining). It was rather windy so I'm going to update performance characteristics when the winds calm down. I'll consider the experience as "inconclusive" for the time being. The only thing I did notice is that the firmware update flipped the gimbal movement, so I switched it within the software interface. Didn't try the "moving home point" feature, but FailSafe works as designed.

All in all, no problems - but no real noticeable improvement in any performance.

 

[Away Point]

Yeah this is the one thing I saw happening over on RCGroups, but it does not seem like everyone is having the issue. I am wondering if unpluging the gimbal when you run the update would help.

I did this, and it worked. Thank goodness!!!!!

Part of the update is an update for the H3-3D, so I don't know what you can do beyond keeping your fingers crossed.

-------------------------------------------------
Technical Problem
Subject: H3-3D Reset

So these are the instructions for resetting the H3-3D:

1. connect the 2 dots in the picture attached using tweezers.
2. power on phantom
3. remove tweezers when you see red and yellow LED on together.
4. with Phantom still powered ON, connect to assistant software to re-upgrade

This should reset the H3-3D and cure the twitching problem.

there are a few software assist programs so make sure you get correct ones

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2/download

for the gimbal go here
http://www.dji.com/product/zenmuse-h3-3d/download

from here your on your own as im still trying to get step by step guide to rest back to factory set
hope it helps

H3-3D

 

[isky172]

So you have a P2 non-Vision with an H3-3D, and you've done this reset process on that setup according to those instructions - and it solves the "twerking" issue? Or rather, did you simply reset it because the update caused your gimbal to be a 3d paper weight? Curious, because I may give it a shot. I get the same "twerking" mentioned previously when I hit anything over ~15 mph in a forward direction. That "twerking" btw, is where the gimbal seems to go "limp" and aims itself down and to the left severely.

 

[knuckles]

For the people that had the gimbal issue did you install the new assistant software on your PC before running the update?

 

[Away Point]

So you have a P2 non-Vision with an H3-3D, and you've done this reset process on that setup according to those instructions - and it solves the "twerking" issue? Or rather, did you simply reset it because the update caused your gimbal to be a 3d paper weight? Curious, because I may give it a shot. I get the same "twerking" mentioned previously when I hit anything over ~15 mph in a forward direction. That "twerking" btw, is where the gimbal seems to go "limp" and aims itself down and to the left severely.

Yes, Phantom 2 with an H3-3D. The reset revived it from lifelessness.

Had the problem you mention on a previous 3D. The thing that helped the most was to balance the gimbal and camera. I theorize that the gimbal shuts down at a certain current draw level, and when it's out of balance, it wastes power overcoming the imbalanced state. Very little weight can make a big difference. That said, it seems to vary from gimbal to gimbal, how much of an issue this is. And also, I think when it buzzes and makes humming noises, it makes your problem worse. Moving the anti-interference board and other components around to help minimize interface, can also help.

 

[isky172]

I'll try and balance the camera on the gimbal as much as I can. Being that it's a 3 axis gimbal however, whenever some weight is added to one spot, it needs to be added at another spot (at some multiple higher or lower than the original weight added). If this were a 2 axis gimbal adding weight would be less trivial.

I was hoping the 3.08 firmware would have helped this situation - given that someone else (perhaps yourself) had mentioned they seem to think it provided a remedy.

I get less twerking without the neutral density filter on the GoPro 3+ Black. Whereas the setup with the ND filter will momentarily go limp @ ~10mph every 5 to 10 seconds, the standard setup (for which this gimbal is designed) will limp-out at anything more than 15 mph every 20 to 30 secs. Thankfully, I don't often maintain those speeds for that long so it's less of a problem than it sounds like. I suppose if "wind" is the true cause, it makes perfect sense. I don't like it or agree with it, but it's an explanation that fits my logic. It truly bothers me that an out-of-the-box setup consisting of an H3-3D w/GoPro and no modifications has this behavior to any degree.

I'll see what balancing can do for the problem. Something tells me the H3-3D motors just aren't as powerful/reactionary/stable as they need to be. I'm often left wondering if I got a lemon...especially if it ruins a truly unique video that would be hard (if not impossible) to recreate.

Anyway - enough rambling. Thanks for the information!

BTW - I found this bullet of information within the H3-3D manual currently available on DJI.com - page 18 of the PDF. I'm going to assume >15mph winds could qualify as "excessive external force":

 

[Captain7576]

What do you guys think is it worth updating? Or hold off? My phantom runs great now other than that camera turning at high speeds.

For me, upgrading to 3.08 plus the IMU update fixed my H3-3D twerking issue. Prior to the update it was real bad. When flying directly into a light wind with anything more than a slight forward movement it would wig out to the left. Today when flying I went full speed ahead in GPS mode and the gimbal was steady. I then selected ATTI mode to increase the forward speed and again my gimbal was steady as she goes. In my case the update fixed an issue that was driving me nuts and luckily I didn't have any issues with my gimbal dropping dead.

My older batteries that would give me about 6 minutes of flight time before hitting low battery/autoland mode (around 50% battery remaining) now give me 12 minutes flying. The low battery warning now comes on at 20% and auto land at 16% like they're supposed to per the assistant software.

The update has worked out very well for me but I understand the hesitation for others. I just jumped in and upgraded before reading about some of the problems others were having. Had I read of these issues first I probably would have waited too. YMMV

 

[scubari]

About auto-discharge..found this thread;
viewtopic.php?t=28521

 

[ianwood]

Curious about the two main fixes we're hearing about:

1. Low voltage, early auto-land. Now either they just lowered the thresholds or they found some way to keep the voltage above 10.7v. If the former, should there still be a concern when at or below 10.7v or was DJI originally being too cautious? Hmmmm...

2. Gimbal "twerking". Curious to know if there is something increasing the thresholds for resistance or if there is a learned behavior that is wiped out when putting in new firmware. I mention it because I suspect there is a learned behavior in the gimbal that causes horizon shifts under certain conditions and may be responsible for some of the herky jerky gimbal movements as well.

 

[MrC]

Just noticed on DJI official forum some info about the new battery features. Apparently there is a new battery from end of October (and not available yet) that will implement these new battery features - self discharging etc.

Take no notice of the fact the DJI lady said you needed new esc's to go with the new battery, she got confused, she no doubt meant if you got the new motors then you needed the new esc's.

So, NEW BATTERY COMING!! What next? DJI's communication is truly terrible.
Anyone else heard anything about a new battery? Version 3 then i guess, after 1st the round pin ones and 2nd the square pad ones.

DJI forum thread - http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=view ... D1&lang=en

 

[CaptMike]

I just don't jump so fast... I wondered if there was others that would not go for the new update(s).

There's a couple of things in the new updates that "might" be nice but necessary? Shat No.

Hey I might decide to buy for Non-DJI batteries, who knows?

 

[shartlza]

I was thinking that a new battery was coming because on the specs for the new motors it says they give an extra 200g of lift on a 3S battery. Why would they say that if there is only one battery for the phantom which is a 3S. It will be interesting to see what comes out in the next few months.

This kind of feels like when they released new firmware for the P1 to naza m v2, then a little while later brought out the phantom 1.1.1 then a month or so later released the phantom 2 vision. I think they are refreshing the P2 to make it a bit more desirable and to keep up with technology, then soon they will release a whole new craft, but i am thinking it will not compete with the phantom as that will be their every day bread and butter consumer. We will see.

 

[hrosee]

Battery

This is just a thought on the battery.

You can turn the battery on and off even when it's not in the phantom. I wonder if the battery is charged above 50 percent and you turn the battery on will it discharge to 50 percent.

I can't imagine having to update the battery software if it wasn't something like this.

I have not done any updates yet. Is there someone here that has done the battery updates that could try this? Just turn the battery on for a while with at least 3 bars on and see if after a while it goes to 2 bars and turns off.

Just a thought.

The other possibility is that the battery will self discharge after sitting for X period of time. If you look at the text about the battery in the manual it still draws some current even when not being used. It may monitor the time it has not been on and discharge to 50 percent after that period of time. I think this is the more likely action.

 

[droneranger]

I was thinking that a new battery was coming because on the specs for the new motors it says they give an extra 200g of lift on a 3S battery. Why would they say that if there is only one battery for the phantom which is a 3S. It will be interesting to see what comes out in the next few months.

This kind of feels like when they released new firmware for the P1 to naza m v2, then a little while later brought out the phantom 1.1.1 then a month or so later released the phantom 2 vision. I think they are refreshing the P2 to make it a bit more desirable and to keep up with technology, then soon they will release a whole new craft, but i am thinking it will not compete with the phantom as that will be their every day bread and butter consumer. We will see.

Well, there is the new code named "Triumph" aircraft that appears to be slotted between the existing Phantom line and the Spreading Wings line. Perhaps this is the "Phantom 3". They still sell the earlier versions of all the Phantom 2s, so maybe it won't be a Phantom 2 replacement so much as a new addition to the stable (or a Phantom 2V++).

 

[MrC]

Re: Battery

This is just a thought on the battery.

You can turn the battery on and off even when it's not in the phantom. I wonder if the battery is charged above 50 percent and you turn the battery on will it discharge to 50 percent.

I can't imagine having to update the battery software if it wasn't something like this.

I have not done any updates yet. Is there someone here that has done the battery updates that could try this? Just turn the battery on for a while with at least 3 bars on and see if after a while it goes to 2 bars and turns off.

Just a thought.

The other possibility is that the battery will self discharge after sitting for X period of time. If you look at the text about the battery in the manual it still draws some current even when not being used. It may monitor the time it has not been on and discharge to 50 percent after that period of time. I think this is the more likely action.

Looks like you need a new battery (yet to be released) and apparently it will start discharging after 48 hours. Slowly the info trickles out on the dji forum.