Newbie problem with transmitter

[LoneStarLori]

Hi all, let me say thanks in advance to any advice I might find on here. We are new to drone flying and hope to make it a great hobby. I'm sure I'll be visiting this forum often.
I am having problems getting my P2V in the air due to a transmitter issue. I bought it slightly used from a friend back in October. It was a gift for my husband for Christmas. I turned everything on when I got it home and all seemed good so I boxed it up and left it for Christmas. Well, since he opened it on Christmas, we can not get the transmitter lights to turn green. We have changed the battery at least 5 times with brand new batteries and no luck. When I turn it on, it beeps twice, the red light blinks twice then stays solid.
I would turn to the previous owner for help, but he really knows nothing about the drone. It was a trade for some camera merchandise and he only used it twice and had no interest.
Two questions; has anyone had this issue before and if so, is it better to just buy a new, upgraded transmitter? This bundle came with 2 range extenders so I hate to just toss it.
TIA, Lori

 

[Mark The Droner]

Obviously you've got some kind of current, but it's weak.

If you have a battery checker or a volt meter, you should check the voltage of each of the four batteries to make sure they are all fully charged. Doesn't matter if they're new or not - check the voltage.

Next make sure all four batteries have good solid connections. The contacts inside the battery box should be clean. The springs should protrude out enough to make a hard solid connection.

Hopefully, that would solve the problem. If not, you might take the four screws out of the back and see if there is a problem with the two wires that lead from the batteries to the rest of the circuitry.

If that doesn't do it, just get a new upgraded controller. You can get 'em for around $50 or so on eBay. Get the one with the scroll wheel and the LiPo built in. It's made for the Vision Plus but will work great with your Vision. Even greater than great. Don't forget to link it. It's easy.

Hope this helps.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Thanks for a quick answer.
This one doesn't have the rechargeable battery, just uses 4AA's. I did check the contacts and all seems good so it sounds like a new controller is in order. I'll give Ebay a look or maybe order new if its much faster. Hubs is itching to get this in the air.

 

[Clampit]

@LoneStarLori

Don't know if you've got this but may come in handy of a later stage.

http://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom-2-vision/en/Phantom_2_Vision_User_Manual_v1.8_en.pdf

Sorry the hear about your faulty TX but I would defo remove the screws & have a look inside like what @Marknmd said, ain't got nothing to loose

 

[LoneStarLori]

@LoneStarLori

Don't know if you've got this but may come in handy of a later stage.

http://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom-2-vision/en/Phantom_2_Vision_User_Manual_v1.8_en.pdf

Sorry the hear about your faulty TX but I would defo remove the screws & have a look inside like what @Marknmd said, ain't got nothing to loose

Thanks, I have read the manual more times than I care to admit. I bought a new controller from B&H photo and we did get to fly it this weekend. (yay)
Now the problem is the camera wont connect to my iPhone 6s. I don't have the QR code to scan to get the Mac address to bind the camera with the app. DJI support has been no help on that either. You would think they could look up the Mac address for the camera using the serial number. But the guy I talked to yesterday said they couldn't. There is no sticker with the address on it anywhere, only the QR code that comes on the box. Unfortuantely I don't have the original box. I have tried several apps and utilities to find the "hidden" wifi address, to no avail. I am not alone with this issue, I have seen it on a couple of forums, but not answers.

If I can't get that resolved soon, I am seriously considering Ebay-ing it and buying a PH3 standard. A new camera for it costs almost $500. Which is only $200 less than a 3.
But to be honest, with the lack of good customer service, I am not positive I want to go with another DJI product. I read so many horror stories about firmware probs and customer service issues.

 

[Clampit]

Have a look at the below thread. One post mentioned about the MAC address been on the camera. May be worth looking

Camera won't connect after binding | DJI Phantom Forum

 

[LoneStarLori]

Thanks, I found a good link in that thread. How to create a QR code | DJI Phantom Forum

They mention an app called inSsider which I don't see on the App Store for iPhone. I have used 3 other wifi apps that can't seem to find it. i 'think' I found it yesterday using my Windows computer because it showed a hidden, open network. But thanks to Windows 10 dummying down the OS, it won't show me the details such as the MAC address. Just like the guy in that thread, he had a bad QR code on his box. I do have a box with a Q our code, but it's for another drone so it doesn't match. If I could only get that Magic Mac address, I could edit the QR code in the binding process.
I'm not going to give up, things like this just drive me crazy until I can solve it.

 

[Clampit]

The inSsider app is only on the android platform hence why you can't find it via iOS. Any of your friends on android that could help out?

 

[LoneStarLori]

Well I am happy to report we have CONNECTION!

I reached out to a friend that does IT networking and knew if anyone could figure out the Mac address, he could. He remoted into my computer and ran a command prompt on my desktop while I had the unit on. I was able to see the Phantom repeater, but not the mac on the camera.
This is the result. We knew it was going to start with 60-60 so it had to be one of the two listed. The wifi repeater did show up as Phantom_ca, so it had to be the other. Although I am getting an SD card error so no video yet, it does connect and says ready to fly.

I'm posting the picture with the command prompt so that it may help others. I cannot say if it will work on older Windows versions, but it did work on Windows 10.

 

[Clampit]

That's great news, I know you know this but I will say.... Format your card or try another one