Camera ribbon replacement now this!

rladwig · Jan 31, 2017

Ok so I did have a very bad crash the other day. The bird flew at full speed at a large metal object......think the compass was affected. So instead of crashing full speed into this object (water tower) I decided to kill the motors and let her come down from about 10 feet. well it flipped over and landed on the top ejecting the camera. I found all the pieces and ordered a replacement cable. Now I installed the cable, which came with a small bend in it from shipping, and did an IMU calibration. However the camera now powers up and moves to the right and then stays there. There is resistance from side to side but up and down there is none. The red light on the camera blinks red too.

Anyone have any idea what is going on? I tried making sure all the cable connections were good and did several IMU calibrations. Is it possible that the flex cable I have is bad? Please help I have several jobs that require my bird. Thanks

J Dot · Jan 31, 2017

Hello,
If you crashed top first ( inverted ) then unfortunately you might have damaged the gimbal main board, these are prone to this sort of damage, on inverted crashes, you see the gimbal slams the belly of phantom, causing one of 2 issues.
1) some circuits are soldered from underneath, in a solder bath style circuit board assembly, these crashes can cause the connection to break, and are unseen to the eye.
2) there is a small circuit on the top of the gimbal boards, for some reason this circuit gets smashed in those style crashes
Here is a picture of what I'm talking about, with the circuit circled.

Please scrutinize the board ( CLOSELY ), for damage.
If you need a replacement, let me know! I know a guy.

Hope this helps.
J Dot

rladwig · Jan 31, 2017

J Dot said:
Hello,
If you crashed top first ( inverted ) then unfortunately you might have damaged the gimbal main board, these are prone to this sort of damage, on inverted crashes, you see the gimbal slams the belly of phantom, causing one of 2 issues.
1) some circuits are soldered from underneath, in a solder bath style circuit board assembly, these crashes can cause the connection to break, and are unseen to the eye.
2) there is a small circuit on the top of the gimbal boards, for some reason this circuit gets smashed in those style crashes
Here is a picture of what I'm talking about, with the circuit circled.
View attachment 74974

Please scrutinize the board ( CLOSELY ), for damage.
If you need a replacement, let me know! I know a guy.

Hope this helps.
J Dot

Thanks I will rip it apart again tomorrow and check it over closely.

Sent from my SM-G920P using PhantomPilots mobile app

rladwig · Feb 1, 2017

J Dot said:
Hello,
If you crashed top first ( inverted ) then unfortunately you might have damaged the gimbal main board, these are prone to this sort of damage, on inverted crashes, you see the gimbal slams the belly of phantom, causing one of 2 issues.
1) some circuits are soldered from underneath, in a solder bath style circuit board assembly, these crashes can cause the connection to break, and are unseen to the eye.
2) there is a small circuit on the top of the gimbal boards, for some reason this circuit gets smashed in those style crashes
Here is a picture of what I'm talking about, with the circuit circled.
View attachment 74974

Please scrutinize the board ( CLOSELY ), for damage.
If you need a replacement, let me know! I know a guy.

Hope this helps.
J Dot

J Dot,
So I took the bird apart today and this is what I find. Looks ok to me but what do you think?

Thanks for the help.

rladwig · Feb 7, 2017

rladwig said:
Ok so I did have a very bad crash the other day. The bird flew at full speed at a large metal object......think the compass was affected. So instead of crashing full speed into this object (water tower) I decided to kill the motors and let her come down from about 10 feet. well it flipped over and landed on the top ejecting the camera. I found all the pieces and ordered a replacement cable. Now I installed the cable, which came with a small bend in it from shipping, and did an IMU calibration. However the camera now powers up and moves to the right and then stays there. There is resistance from side to side but up and down there is none. The red light on the camera blinks red too.
View attachment 74948
Anyone have any idea what is going on? I tried making sure all the cable connections were good and did several IMU calibrations. Is it possible that the flex cable I have is bad? Please help I have several jobs that require my bird. Thanks

Ok so I go out and pick up a new ribbon and put it in. I get camera view and can start and stop video and take pictures but the gimbal is dead. I have a constant 3 beeps with a green light on the gimbal. Message on the screen says remove gimbal guard but there isn't one on. Anyone have any idea's how to fix this?

J Dot · Feb 7, 2017

Hello,
Have you tried to hold camera level at startup, I'm thinking a roll/pitch board, or motor bad?
By holding the camera at a different position during startup, might hit a different spot on the potentiometer, and may work, may not? But might offer more insight to what is wrong?

Check your roll, and pitch boards, the potentiometers might be messed up, or the motor/s, could be obstructed, or bent.

Try spinning the motors by hand to see if they move freely, or are hard to move?

Let me know your findings?

J Dot

rladwig · Feb 7, 2017

J Dot said:
Hello,
Have you tried to hold camera level at startup, I'm thinking a roll/pitch board, or motor bad?
By holding the camera at a different position during startup, might hit a different spot on the potentiometer, and may work, may not? But might offer more insight to what is wrong?

Check your roll, and pitch boards, the potentiometers might be messed up, or the motor/s, could be obstructed, or bent.

Try spinning the motors by hand to see if they move freely, or are hard to move?

Let me know your findings?

J Dot

I have trie starting with camera in a diferent position and the gimbal is just limp. All gimbal motors move freely so I think that the board might be fried. JDot thanks for the ideas and help.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

J Dot · Feb 7, 2017

Yes,
That is a possibility!

J Dot

rladwig · Feb 7, 2017

J Dot said:
Yes,
That is a possibility!

J Dot

Do you of anyone that repairs them? I now have two boards taking up space

J Dot · Feb 7, 2017

No,
I sure don't. I usually just swap them out.
I have 4 bad ones myself. 1 kinda good one, works, but camera roll is off by several degrees. Won't level out. But works just fine, if you need a V8!

J Dot

rladwig · Feb 17, 2017

J Dot said:
No,
I sure don't. I usually just swap them out.
I have 4 bad ones myself. 1 kinda good one, works, but camera roll is off by several degrees. Won't level out. But works just fine, if you need a V8!

J Dot

J Dot,
I have found what my problem is. The 3 gray cables that connect to the gimbal board are damaged. Are you aware of where I can get replacement cables? I checked ebay and none were listed. Mine the wires pulled out from the connectors. Thanks

Hari akmal · Aug 26, 2019

J Dot said:
Hello,
If you crashed top first ( inverted ) then unfortunately you might have damaged the gimbal main board, these are prone to this sort of damage, on inverted crashes, you see the gimbal slams the belly of phantom, causing one of 2 issues.
1) some circuits are soldered from underneath, in a solder bath style circuit board assembly, these crashes can cause the connection to break, and are unseen to the eye.
2) there is a small circuit on the top of the gimbal boards, for some reason this circuit gets smashed in those style crashes
Here is a picture of what I'm talking about, with the circuit circled.
View attachment 74974

Please scrutinize the board ( CLOSELY ), for damage.
If you need a replacement, let me know! I know a guy.

Hope this helps.
J Dot

what is your name komponen