Gimbal Saver

MapMaker53 said:
I don't think taking off the gimbal protector before sending it in for repair in any way would rip off DJI -- unless it had actually caused the damage. But any honest company should be able to assess the situation and see if the damage was your fault instead of blowing you off without even looking at it. For them to refuse to repair a bird under warranty just because a protective gimbal bracket had been attached is IMO absurd. I completely respect your honesty, but in my opinion it is they who are ripping you off. It is common for camera companies to instruct consumers to remove any accessories before shipping a camera back for repairs, and that gimbal guard is clearly a benign one. I understand that it is their policy, but I think it is unreasonable. But thanks for the heads up regarding the policy. I'll keep it in mind.

I didn't find their policy unreasonable at all, as I stated, many, many products have warranties that are voided by amateur modifications. And a camera accessory is far different than a modification. Hope you don't mind me expressing my opinion, but you sound like you have some sort of vendetta against DJI. No one is forcing you to use their products.
 
Re: Απ: Gimbal Saver

rbhamilton said:
So I got a metal gimbal saver from KillerRC to replace the plastic one on the back of my gimbal. Really well made. It has a little "reach around" arm to protect the front side of the motor. It's made of aluminum so light and strong. Really loved it.

Then I went out for a flight. Mmm... the video was vibrating. The camera made a few sudden abrupt movements which is very unusual. Now this was the first flight with the protector in place and all of that vibration is on the video prior to the landing. Check it out:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUI2x1eXEVg[/youtube]

You can read more about my crazy drone adventure here: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30610

That landing did look a bit rough. Maybe the Gimbal Saver saved my ribbon cable? Who knows. But with a drone down and perched on top of the Papago Arch the little vibration in the video was temporarily forgotten.

When I got the drone home I did some checking. Yep, that lower gimbal joint wasn't moving smoothly at all. The motor would humm and strain but couldn't really move the joint properly. I could move it by hand but it was definitely binding on something. I'm not blaming the protector. That camera was previously damaged and repaired so it could be a bit thicker than normal. Maybe something inside? Maybe I tightened the screws to much? Possibly something needed to be ground down a bit? Not really sure.

Ok... I removed the "reach around" arm. Nope. That wasn't the problem - still binding. The problem was definitely coming from inside the gimbal joint.

So? Remove the protector cover and see what's going on, right? And that's when the real trouble began.

Turns out the Loctite I used was the wrong type - my fault for sure. I figured one type of Loctite was as good as the next. I used the wicking kind and it locked the **** out of those screws. I couldn't get them out. I wrecked my admittedly cheap Phillips screw driver and also partly stripped the heads of the screws. I went out and bought a high end screw driver set but nothing on earth could move those screws. Finally I drilled the heads off the screws and popped the cover up over the remains of the screws to get it off.

With the cover removed the gimbal joint moved like before. Totally free. So really no idea what was binding. And sadly now the camera now has "crazy camera dance syndrome" like it's 1999. Something is wrecked for sure. Probably by me drilling things out.

Well enough death and destruction for one day. I pulled the camera off and packed it up with another camera I have here. I'm sending them both off to Hani. Hopefully he can make one working camera out of the wreckage.

KillerRC makes a good solid product and please don't think I'm being critical of the product in any way. Lots of people have used it with success and I plan to buy another one. But as with any add-on, you have to have an "exit strategy" if things go south. No Loctite next time until I'm sure everything is installed right and moving properly. Expensive lesson learned the hard way. Again.
Hi i saw that you replace the plastic gimbal saver for metal ..because i already bought the plastic one can you please let me know why you change it..?if is plastic gimbal saver is not so save i will throw it...thnks
 
mij119 said:
Hope you don't mind me expressing my opinion, but you sound like you have some sort of vendetta against DJI. No one is forcing you to use their products.

I have no vendetta against DJI, nor do I have any reason to have one. I love flying my P2V+. One doesn't need a vendetta to express an opinion, and that's all I was doing after misunderstanding your situation.

@rbhamilton Your video reminds me of the one that was shot from the Apollo 11 LEM window as they searched for a piece of flat real estate during the last seconds of the moon landing descent. LOL. It's really interesting that the P2V+ seems to intentionally avoid that sloping rock face even though it was setting down on its own - rather than descending straight down. Do you think it was being blown away from that rock face by its own prop wash coming off of it?
 
mij119 said:
Hope you don't mind me expressing my opinion, but you sound like you have some sort of vendetta against DJI. No one is forcing you to use their products.

I almost fell over laughing when I read this. Vendetta??? Nah, more like a crazy obsession with bashing DJI, their products and policies. See thread here: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30146
and for more go here: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30328

In threads above according to mapman53, DJI purposely designed the gimbal to fail, DJI is contacting at least one gimbal bracket manufacturer and "pressuring" them to stop making their products :roll: , DJI purposely doesn't sell ribbon cables to drive up profits(cables are now for sale in retail DJI packaging), and a few other whacko theories of his. Of course he offers no valid proof, but he heard it on the internet, so it must be true :lol:

Watch out forum members, when mapman53 gets cornered and the conversation isn't going his way, he will run and cry to the mods to close the thread like he did in thread #1 above. I would take anything he says with a grain of salt, forum members like him contribute little to this place and probably do more harm than good.

As far as the topic, obviously I am not a fan of gimbal protectors, but I have to say, the one that OP is discussing in this topic is an exceptional design and KillerRC should be commended. If I were ever to use one, that would be it.
 
It's really comforting to see there are complete mental cases flying drones. Bashing me in ignorance doesn't alter the truth. Honestly, the more people you send to both of those threads the better. The reason I closed the original thread was I felt the argument was getting boring. But you just can't let go. Like I've previously stated, there should be a minimum age required to participate in these forums.
 
I have the killerRC bracket , if you bend that you have more problems than a burned out gimbal motor ! I have no problems with the replacement backplate, maybe to much loctite was used ?
 
BlackTracer said:
I have this same protector installed on mine. Hasn't been tested for me because I have not crashed mine. I need to ask you if you did not shut your phantom power off immediately after the crash. And if not how long did you leave it on. Cause I would think it would take at least a few minutes before burning up the motor. And how is this different than powering up with the factory clamp on? We have never heard of a motor burning up when the clamp was left on by mistake. Maybe you didn't realize it was binding and flew it that way for an extended period of time? But that would show a gimbal error in the assistant, so WTF?

The motor was burning up when I picked it up off the ground, I could smell burning electronics coming from the rear pivot arm. I never had time to shut the phantom off. I took the camera and gimbal off immediately after this, so it hasn't been power cycled with the broken camera on. As to how it is different from the factory clamp, maybe it's the same thing, I don't know and I am not about to put the camera back on and test it. As far as the motor burning up when a clamp is left on by mistake, I really don't see the comparison. The clamp is a loose fitting device and the software is programmed to recognize it when there are restrictions of all 3 motors from what I can tell. This is far different than a piece of aluminum that was slammed into the rear motor/pivot arm putting who knows how much pressure on it. WTF? ;)
 

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MapMaker53 said:
It's really comforting to see there are complete mental cases flying drones. Like I've previously stated, there should be a minimum age required to participate in these forums.

Ad hominem, personal attacks and insults coming from someone who is talking about an age minimum to participate in forums? Interesting. Read through some of your threads, you seem to be constantly battling with other posters. :?
 
mij119, I bought that gimbal protector (never installed it) and mine had a 90-degree angle in the circled part of your photo. Was yours the same and just flattened/rounded out from the crash?
 
mij119 said:
I didn't find their policy unreasonable at all, as I stated, many, many products have warranties that are voided by amateur modifications. And a camera accessory is far different than a modification. Hope you don't mind me expressing my opinion, but you sound like you have some sort of vendetta against DJI. No one is forcing you to use their products.
DJI is he market leader in consumer drones, so it's what we all gravitate toward. They're pretty good or they wouldn't be leading the market but there isn't really any significant competition, and DJI could be better. You can't put people down because the want/expect DJI to remedy their very well-known and very well-documented shortcomings in design, engineering, and customer support.
 
msinger said:
mij119, I bought that gimbal protector (never installed it) and mine had a 90-degree angle in the circled part of your photo. Was yours the same and just flattened/rounded out from the crash?

It maybe got rounded or flattened a tiny amount, but it was not a sharp 90 degree when new if my memory is correct. Top bend is not showing in my photo, but it's not that different from the bottom bend after the crash.
 
mij119 said:
MapMaker53 said:
It's really comforting to see there are complete mental cases flying drones. Like I've previously stated, there should be a minimum age required to participate in these forums.

Ad hominem, personal attacks and insults coming from someone who is talking about an age minimum to participate in forums? Interesting. Read through some of your threads, you seem to be constantly battling with other posters. :?

Sadly it's common behavior on some internet forums. Posts are made based on rumor or speculation, but when confronted with facts that disprove or conflict with what they want to be true, members get frustrated and resort to attacks and name calling. It's usually a pretty good sign that their argument has little or no merit.

mij119, have you done anything with your damaged camera? I've been repairing the camera/gimbals in my spare time and will be glad to help you if I can. I've accumulated a small inventory of spare parts that might be of interest to you. PM me if interested.
 

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