GPS PLUG CONNECTION FIX

[Prylar Bek]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

Whoa, whoa no need for that. In a nutshell, it looks like there were many updates to the V3. The connector seemingly was not one of them. It SEEMS that unless you have reason to open the shell, you don't need to as the more you open the shell and close it, the looser the connector gets. I for one am NOT going to crack the shell just for this. If in the future 'I need to then I do the mod. Most likely hot glue or maybe silicone. There is no real firm answer

 

[msinger]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

GSSP, I have a V2 and am not experiencing this issue (yet). As I pointed out above, I think this will be an issue for anyone who opens their Phantom shell often. A lot of the people posting here are really into modding, so that supports that point.

The V2 and V3 GPS connectors are identical by appearance. So, assuming the cable is the same, it'll probably turn out to be an issue for V3 owners over time. The V3 is so new that most of those owners have probably not even opened their shell.

 

[airdrone]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

Buy inspire1 and get your suitcase - Great case to use at Christmas with 4K.
awesome flynfrank

 

[Prylar Bek]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

Buy inspire1 and get your suitcase - Great case to use at Christmas with 4K.
awesome flynfrank

Guaranteed Xmas delivery??

 

[goatman]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

So if I take off the cover of my brand-new 3 month old, out-of-the-box Phantomv2+ Ill see this connector loose? and correct this accident waiting for a time to happen?

Yeeeeshhhhh...

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

I took some pic's of my plug and plug with tie strap showing. I happen to be installing the v3 motors. I already had the newer ESC's.

About the plug connection. When you removing the GPS plug and look in the end of it where the post slide through, you should notice there being one of the 4 is different then the other 3. That 1 itself is the only one that is good for connections. I believe if all 4 were like that 1 this thread probably would not exist. But they're not, so we'll just make the best of it and do what we must to keep something bad from taking place.

Btw, pic's were taken using my cellphone which is a LG G3. They're the one that has the instant razor focus. The pic's below were cropped so these pic's are not actual size.

 

[msinger]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

goatman, doubt it. The plug itself seems to be just fine. It might not hold up over time if often disconnecting and reconnecting it though.

 

[saltire]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

On such an important plug why Dji did not fit a snap in plug with a clip is crap to say the least .As with all the improvements in the V3 V2 owners were well shafted as far as a quality product was concerened.

 

[hunch]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

I took some pic's of my plug and plug with tie strap showing. I happen to be installing the v3 motors. I already had the newer ESC's.

About the plug connection. When you removing the GPS plug and look in the end of it where the post slide through, you should notice there being one of the 4 is different then the other 3. That 1 itself is the only one that is good for connections. I believe if all 4 were like that 1 this thread probably would not exist. But they're not, so we'll just make the best of it and do what we must to keep something bad from taking place.

Btw, pic's were taken using my cellphone which is a LG G3. They're the one that has the instant razor focus. The pic's below were cropped so these pic's are not actual size.

Frank,
that positive red wire is really close to shorting out with negative lead according to these pictures. i'd insulate that.

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

flyNfrank, just a suggestions. Can you change the title of this thread so people know what it's about?

Great suggestion. Title revised. Thanks!

 

[goatman]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

goatman, doubt it. The plug itself seems to be just fine. It might not hold up over time if often disconnecting and reconnecting it though.

Thank You

 

[doug86]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

SO, back to an earlier post. IF in fact this is causing the dreaded flyaway, why then doesn't it go to auto RTH function if it in fact has lost ALL contact with GPS sats?

Because in order for it to fly home it needs to know where home is in relation to where it is at the moment. Without any sat contact, it is my understanding that the bird basically goes into Alzheimer mode - so to speak. Losing sats is a very bad thing when flying autonomously or beyond line of sight. Loss of controller signal will initiate RTH. I don't think loss of GPS triggers it. Those more experienced please correct me if I'm wrong.

IT doesn't go into Alzheimer mode, it goes into Auto-Land right where it is. IF the wind is blowing, it will drift a considerable distance downwind during that landing evolution because it is basically flying in ATTI mode.

My point was, it doesn't know where it is so it can't go into RTH mode.

Ok, now I think we're just arguing semantics here. The way I see things, "auto-land" is a portion of the entire RTH Mode evolution. Or, maybe what I mean is, RTH is generally the phrase for what mode the Phantom goes into when it looses contact with the TX or is otherwise instructed to end it's flight autonomously. Part of the RTH Mode includes the landing, and IF the Phantom doesn't have a GPS signal, it doesn't look to fly anywhere, and just lands.

Sort as if it thought "well, I don't really have a home, so right here is a good a place as any to call home, because I gotta land someplace". But you're correct when you say it doesn't know where the Home Point was, and can't fly there. Without the GPS fix, "home" is just the earth, and it does fly there, by landing itself.

 

[justin00]

Anyone with the lid off want to do a test ?
Start up the motors.. and then disconnect cable... see what happens.. ?

I'd do it.. but cbf taking off the lid :]

Obviously if it blows up etc etc I take no responsibility for the test suggestion..

 

[rstekeur]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

GSSP, I have a V2 and am not experiencing this issue (yet). As I pointed out above, I think this will be an issue for anyone who opens their Phantom shell often. A lot of the people posting here are really into modding, so that supports that point.

The V2 and V3 GPS connectors are identical by appearance. So, assuming the cable is the same, it'll probably turn out to be an issue for V3 owners over time. The V3 is so new that most of those owners have probably not even opened their shell.

You might be right about modding. If you look at the picture on the first page, notice the solder job in the lower right

 

[BlackTracer]

Flynfrank,
The picture on the first page shows your GPS cable coming out from under the board. How is that possible when the GPS is in the top shell? Did you reroute it somehow? Did you move your GPS puck from its original location? Mine, and likely 99/100 others comes in from above.

And that solder job looks really bad. That's an accident waiting to happen IMO.

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

Frank,
that positive red wire is really close to shorting out with negative lead according to these pictures. i'd insulate that.

The negative ground is far to the right of the white insulator, maybe 1/2 inch from red positive. Thanks for looking out though.

 

[flyNfrank]

Flynfrank,
The picture on the first page shows your GPS cable coming out from under the board. How is that possible when the GPS is in the top shell? Did you reroute it somehow? Did you move your GPS puck from its original location? Mine, and likely 99/100 others comes in from above.

And that solder job looks really bad. That's an accident waiting to happen IMO.

I also have a Flytrex Live 3G installed, and you are seeing the wire harness which I routed under the board above the battery. I did that to reduce the chance of any cross contamination between the gps harness, antenna, and compass wires. In doing that I managed to go from 5-6 to 7-8 satellites during warm up.

The solder job in both pic's look like pure ***. But what it actually is, is some excess slag that landed partially finished job and top of plastic wire coating. I didn't pick it off cause it appear to be exposed to any that would cause a problem. It just looks really bad in the pic. :lol:

 

[happydays]

Flynfrank,
The picture on the first page shows your GPS cable coming out from under the board. How is that possible when the GPS is in the top shell? Did you reroute it somehow? Did you move your GPS puck from its original location? Mine, and likely 99/100 others comes in from above.

And that solder job looks really bad. That's an accident waiting to happen IMO.

I also have a Flytrex Live 3G installed, and you are seeing the wire harness which I routed under the board above the battery. I did that to reduce the chance of any cross contamination between the gps harness, antenna, and compass wires. In doing that I managed to go from 5-6 to 7-8 satellites during warm up.

The solder job in both pic's look like pure ***. But what it actually is, is some excess slag that landed partially finished job and top of plastic wire coating. I didn't pick it off cause it appear to be exposed to any that would cause a problem. It just looks really bad in the pic. :lol:

Time to break out the Photoshop and 'calendar girl' that Phantom?

 

[Prylar Bek]

This is another reason why I don't do mods AND/or crack the case without reason!

 

[BlackTracer]

flynfrank,
So the GPS harness goes to the flytrex from the puck, and into the shown connector from the flytrex (I know nothing about flytrex install) ?

And thanks for showing where you inserted the little piece of the zip-tie. I was wondering about that.