Handy Gimble / Cam protection

[rcohen]

After a firmware 3.06 erratic flight crashed me and destroyed my gimble, I set out to find a solution. I will be returning THIS bird, as I just got it in two days ago and since the bug is ALL over the net, I don't think any reputable company would deny me an exchange. But I was really torn over deciding to exchange or simply return this unit since the gimble is so delicate.

I found exactly what I was looking for here :: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTkj_5oYl-E

I hope this helps someone else, but I'm not intending to deal with this gimble thing more than once ;-) Mine is on order.

rcohen

 

[BlackTracer]

What bug is it you speak of that caused your crash?

 

[CocoPops]

What bug is it you speak of that caused your crash?

This.

Surely it would be a massive thread on here if there was a bug?

 

[Jstic]

Those plates are fine for protecting the camera from something hitting it on impact, but they won't and don't solve the problem of broken gimbals, broken ribbon cables and malfunctioning
gimbals. That is caused by the force of side impacts and the weak spot on the gimbal breaking. The two elbow joints nearest the camera are both susceptible to impact and breaking.

Not much can be done to reinforce these gimbals without a re-design. Extending the shaft through the back plate and using a circlip or pin of some sort has been suggested and seems to be the most common idea. It's up to DJI.

 

[Fplvert]

The gimbal guard is a simple and effective way to help prevent damage to the camera and gimbal. Kind of like the bumpers on our cars; still not going to protect from a side impact or a hard crash, but better than nothing. The best part of this guard, is that it can stabilize the camera and gimbal in transit. I carry mine in a backpack (Go Professional) and have a 4" x 4" x 1/4" thick piece of soft foam between the gimbal lock and the guard. This support has protected my camera and gimbal many miles, and I use it in the hard case too.

 

[rcohen]

Ooops sorry, just noticed this had replies. I don't know if it's a single, official bug but when I researched (here) what occurred to me, (uncontrollable drone events) I found a great many threads that pointed to the .06 update. So this is what I had to assume happened to mine...

Yes, I know the guard is not a cure all, and to be honest I am already planning to just strap a GoPro on this beast when the inevitable happens. And I would NEVER purchase another Vision Plus with how the gimble is now. And if I had realized prior to my purchase, I would have simply done the GoPro thing along with a cheap subsystem for guidance. Right now, I'm even having problems with the replacement I was sent... I did NOT upgrade to .06 this time .... and .04 is "rapid descending" the unit where ever it happens to be... when the battery gets to about 60 percent.... very much like some of the reports on the failsafe mode that I've been reading. And regardless of how much throttle I give it.... it's coming down anyway, perhaps a wee bit slower. I damage a set of blades every time that happens... so far, two for two.

Has anyone experienced this (and fixed it) ? I could really use some advice.

Thanks

rcohen

 

[Damon]

Prop guards or CF props on your quad?

 

[Realtour Pro]

I'm not sure if those guards might cause other problems with aerodynamics. My gimbal popped out just from the landing gear clipping grass and suddenly stopping. Probably only going 5mph and descending at a 45º angle. Basically from what I've seen if you tied a string to the phantom, flew it forward at as low as 5MPH and the string ran out of slack (like pulling a tooth) the gimbal would separate and the camera would come off and tear the ribbon.

 

[clingermac]

The weakest point is still vulnerable even with the guard.

 

[4wd]

I would NEVER purchase another Vision Plus with how the gimble is now. And if I had realized prior to my purchase, I would have simply done the GoPro thing along with a cheap subsystem for guidance.

A GoPro, alternative gimbal and some kind of FPV/telemetry won't come cheap.
Only the GoPro is possibly less likely to be damaged if you crash it.

Descending at 60% is a failing battery, buy another or see if your dealer will replace - they probably will.

 

[locoworks]

What bug is it you speak of that caused your crash?

This.

Surely it would be a massive thread on here if there was a bug?

the new update announced is very soon after the last, why the rush if there isn't something other than the CH7 issue that needs ammending?? not like DJI is going to say their recent patch screws your software and you could crash, they'd be neck deep in claims for repairs.


on the subject of gimbals though, why don't they make tilt have a pivot both sides of the camera like DSLR gimbals tend to have for strength?? it wouldn't need to be made of metal then for strength so an AUW change may not have to be an issue. it could be made from bendy plastic to cushion the pivots from sudden shock which is i believe the cause of the dreaded horizon tilt issue. maybe a gimbal mod and balancing could give that axis double pivot points too? but that wouldn't be such an easy or cheap thing to do.

 

[4wd]

3.06 addressed the Magnetic declination issue.
There are also new features in the latest app which require 3.06 to work properly.
There isn't a known bug causing 'erratic flight', most reports say it flies as good or better than before.

 

[Dirty Bird]

on the subject of gimbals though, why don't they make tilt have a pivot both sides of the camera like DSLR gimbals tend to have for strength?? it wouldn't need to be made of metal then for strength so an AUW change may not have to be an issue. it could be made from bendy plastic to cushion the pivots from sudden shock which is i believe the cause of the dreaded horizon tilt issue. maybe a gimbal mod and balancing could give that axis double pivot points too? but that wouldn't be such an easy or cheap thing to do.

There is a trade-off between strength & weight. The best way to protect your gimbal is to AVOID CRASHING!

 

[rrmccabe]

I don't know if it's a single, official bug but when I researched (here) what occurred to me, (uncontrollable drone events)

Thats like searching for car accidents and associating everything you read with 2014 models.

If you are looking for a known issue that is causing them to crash and they are going to replace it based on that, I believe you may be out of luck. I honestly have not read of such known bug.

However, I think DJI has been good about replacing them so you might have a chance.

 

[brorex]

3.06 addressed the Magnetic declination issue.
There are also new features in the latest app which require 3.06 to work properly.
There isn't a known bug causing 'erratic flight', most reports say it flies as good or better than before.

Not real sure but I've crashed mine twice and both times on 3.06 went back to 3.04 and all has been well

 

[___]

After a crash I removed the prop guards and added this gimbal guard. No problems since, and I feel better. The guard doesn't really weigh that much either.