FPV - Issues

[mtmorrow]

Hi all,
First off, I'm new to the Phantom 2 and still tweaking my set up.
I'm Directing a series in Newfoundland for Discovery channel and the Phantom 2 is going to get me some killer shots.
But I need to be able to see what I'm doing.

I have a DJI PHANTOM 2 PRO KIT W/GIMBAL/FPV/CASE.

This is my issue:
I have a Black Pearl 7″ HD FPV Monitor and I'm able to see the flight info from the Phantom 2 (elevation, roll, distance) BUT I'm not getting a signal from my GoPro Hero 3 Plus. My Go Pro is set to 2.7k at 30fps.
I have tried setting up the go pro at different resolutions, frame rates and a Hero 3 Black but it doesn't seem to fix the issue.

Any help trouble shooting this is most appreciated.
MTMorrow

DJI Phantom 2
Zenmuse H3-3D Gimbal
Go Pro Hero 3Plus
1 x 5.8 Ghz Tx Video Transmitter System (UPGRADED)
1 x 7" Black Pearl HD FPV Monitor with built-in DUAL DIVERSITY RECEIVERS (UPGRADED), Built-in Battery, and Battery Charger
2 x 5.8 Ghz Omni-directional receiver antennas (UPGRADED TO 5db Antennas)
1 x 5.8 Ghz Omni-directional transmitter antenna (UPGRADED TO 5db Antennas)
1 x GoPro to Video Transmitter Cable (Hero 3 Compatible)

 

[BMEWS]

Check that the GoPro AND the Black Pearl are both set for either NTSC or PAL. Normally when they're set for different systems you'll see the iOSD info but not the GoPro Image.

Hope this helps

Bmews

 

[OI Photography]

I had the same symptom with my H3-3D, and I discovered (after an hour of troubleshooting) that the little ribbon cable that plugs in to the gopro's USB port had broken where the ribbon meets the plug...but not completely, juuuust enough that 2 or 3 of the traces were severed. I replaced the ribbon cable with the spare that came with the gimbal, and immediately had vid feed from the camera again.

Also, I just spotted this item on your list: "1 x GoPro to Video Transmitter Cable"...do you have that connected to the gopro in place of the gimbal's USB plug? It's technically not necessary (the gimbal has its own video feed to/through the Phantom's mainboard), but it may depend on how they have your iOSD mini and video transmitter wired up. It may help us for you to take a pic of the connections on those components.

 

[mtmorrow]

Hey thanks for the quick replies BMEWS and IO Photography!

Yes, I am plugged into the GoPro with the USB from the gimbal. I have checked all the cables and nothing LOOKS damaged or disconnected.
I've attached a couple photos of how the Phantom 2 is wired up.

BMEWS, you may have found the culprit, the PAL on the monitor.

Annoyingly, I seem to be locked out of the menu of the monitor. Today i was tweaking the brightness and contrast then I couldn't access the menu any more. For some reason the DOWN button is unresponsive when I enter the menu so I can't even toggle to see if it's set to PAL or not. I have read the manual and there is no trouble shooting guide in there and it seems like there is little support for this item online.

I tried to reset it by draining battery and removing battery but no dice.
I'm so close to flying this puppy properly I can almost taste it.

All help most appreciated.
Morrow

 

[rhino]

Are you totally locked out of the menu, or is the DOWN button not working the only problem?

If you can get into the menu, just press the up button and it will cycle around from the bottom to top.
Annoying, but you might be able to get in and either reset the monitor to its default settings, or at least check/change the NTSC/PAL setting.

 

[BMEWS]

BMEWS, you may have found the culprit, the PAL on the monitor.

Annoyingly, I seem to be locked out of the menu of the monitor. Today i was tweaking the brightness and contrast then I couldn't access the menu any more. For some reason the DOWN button is unresponsive when I enter the menu so I can't even toggle to see if it's set to PAL or not. I have read the manual and there is no trouble shooting guide in there and it seems like there is little support for this item online.

I tried to reset it by draining battery and removing battery but no dice.
I'm so close to flying this puppy properly I can almost taste it.

All help most appreciated.
Morrow

You could just try changing the go pro setting to see if you get a picture. if you do then you know it's set to the opposite on the monitor? Worth a punt

hope this helps

Bmews

 

[mtmorrow]

Alright, so I'm getting to the bottom of this - thanks for the the help and advice from BMEWS and OI Photography.

So it turns out my ribbon cable was damaged. No visible damaged but I replaced it and it's giving me a signal.
Unfortunately, the Black Pearl is set to PAL.

Rhino, the menu navigation of the Black Pearl is messed up for some reason. I can get in the menu, but the down button does nothing and the up button just takes me back out of the menu. Frustrating. I've been in touch with the manufacturer in China and they just recommend I get a replacement from my retailer, so I guess there is no hard reset for this puppy
Looks like I got a lemon.

Thanks again everyone for all your help!

Once I'm up and running and the gale force winds die down, I'll post a few clips from my Phantom flying around fishing boats on the North Atlantic.

MTMorrow

 

[rhino]

My first Black Pearl was knackered too. They seem to be pretty hit and miss.

 

[merlyn]

I am having the same problem with my p2-h3-3d new gopro video feed. It worked the first couple of days and now it doesn't. I found a broken ribbon cable which I replaced once and it worked. Next flight it stopped working. I ordered 4 new ribbon cables and installed a new one and still it does not work. I get the osd feed to my Black Pearl but not live video feed. I have tried everything. Is there another connection I can use to avoid hooking up that stupid ribbon cable for the video feed?

 

[Gobbler]

I have a P2V, using an iPod Touch 5 for FPV. Everything worked fine until I re-charged the WiFi Range extender. Now the link between the aircraft camera and FPV on IPod is broken. The camera's actions are still controlled and it is recording snaps & video on demand onto SD Card, just cannot get a FPV link. "Cannot connect to Phantom."

I tried to re-bind WiFi by following depressing button procedure in Manual, but it does not work.

Can anyone help me with this?