No aux power lead on my Phantom

[three6ty]

Hi,
I have been looking in to getting the Aeroxcraft gimbal for my Phantom. As most will know this requires the aux power lead within the Phantom to power the gimbal. Mine was not poking out of the rear grommet so I thought it may have fallen back in to the body. So today I took the back cover off to look for the aux lead. Turns out I do not have one at all.
This being the case, should I send my Phantom back? (It's only a few days old and unflown as yet). Or is this an easy fix to sort myself?
Cheers, Rich

 

[DeweyAXD]

I'd certainly phone the place you purchased it first. If you are handy with the soldering iron its not hard to do but:

a) you shouldn't have to
b) it makes you wonder what other quality control checks were missed on assembly
c) it may well void your warranty with the seller

If they are a decent place they will ship out a new one ASAP and await return of yours (and cover the postage).

If you don't want that hassle and intend to do a lot of mods to the Phantom anyway then I'd ask them what their warranty covers. If they say that the soldering or adding of equiptment voids it then I'd suggest giving it a solid test flight first, make sure it is flying well and then solder the aux line in yourself.

 

[three6ty]

I'd certainly phone the place you purchased it first. If you are handy with the soldering iron its not hard to do but:

a) you shouldn't have to
b) it makes you wonder what other quality control checks were missed on assembly
c) it may well void your warranty with the seller

If they are a decent place they will ship out a new one ASAP and await return of yours (and cover the postage).

If you don't want that hassle and intend to do a lot of mods to the Phantom anyway then I'd ask them what their warranty covers. If they say that the soldering or adding of equiptment voids it then I'd suggest giving it a solid test flight first, make sure it is flying well and then solder the aux line in yourself.

Hi,
Just as I thought. My seller will have it back without issue. He has emailed me tonight and is speaking with the UK rep tomorrow. Just the hassle of sending it all back. Oh well

 

[Racer38]

I just got one this week here in the US and no aux power lead. I just added my own to power my Tarot Gimbal.

 

[three6ty]

I just got one this week here in the US and no aux power lead. I just added my own to power my Tarot Gimbal.

I can easily solder one on. But should it not be there to start with. And where do you stand with warranty issues should they arise if it's seen that you have modified it by soldering something to the board?
Cheers, Rich

 

[PhantomFan]

I just got one this week here in the US and no aux power lead. I just added my own to power my Tarot Gimbal.

Rear grommet??? Aux power cord? Mine has neither. Perhaps this is normal for a version 1.1.1 Phantom?

Three6ty: Does your Phantom have the self-tightening props and Tx with self-centering throttle??

PF

 

[Racer38]

I just got one this week here in the US and no aux power lead. I just added my own to power my Tarot Gimbal.

I can easily solder one on. But should it not be there to start with. And where do you stand with warranty issues should they arise if it's seen that you have modified it by soldering something to the board?
Cheers, Rich

I read some where that you may or may not have the aux power lead, cant remember where I saw it. I also plan to upgrade to a Futaba TX/RX.
Everything was working perfectly prior to my adding the power lead so I would expect any warranty condition would be a user induced problem and not a manufacturing defect. Too bad crashes aren't warrantied hehehe...

Craig

 

[Roadkilt]

My lead was tucked up inside and trapped in a ball of glue. A little careful cutting released it. My second Phantom had the lead in the grommet where it should be. Odd that such an assembly line doodad could be so different.

 

[three6ty]

I just got one this week here in the US and no aux power lead. I just added my own to power my Tarot Gimbal.

Rear grommet??? Aux power cord? Mine has neither. Perhaps this is normal for a version 1.1.1 Phantom?

Three6ty: Does your Phantom have the self-tightening props and Tx with self-centering throttle??

PF

Mine is a 1.1 Not 1.1.1. It does not have the s/t props but does have the opposite threads so are s/t nuts. I do have the s/c throttle. Not sure whether to keep it that way as I fly my helis with traditional style throttle.
I was going to send it back to the shop as I asked for a 1.1.1. But after speaking directly with DJI rep he has assured me there are absolutely no differences between 1.1.1 and 1.1 other than the s/t props and the naza controller inside is exactly the same other than the new one is in a black/orange case as opposed to the red/white one. Hardware identical. The shop has also agreed to send me a set of s/t props free of charge. He also said that some phantoms have the aux lead and some don't. No idea why though. It's not a version number thing.
TBH I'll keep the phantom. I can sort an aux lead easy enough when needed.
Cheers, Rich

 

[PhantomFan]

I would leave the self-centering throttle if I were you. I read (on this forum or another) of the loss of a Phantom as follows:

A Phantom lost contact with its Tx and properly entered failsafe mode. The Phantom was at altitude and in the process of returning to the take-off point when contact with the Tx was re-established - but the pilot was not aware of the re-established contact. Unfortunately, in the excitement attendant with the loss of control, the pilot had chopped the non-self centering throttle. When the Phantom sensed the throttle at zero, it entered shut-down mode, shut down the motors, and the Phantom fell from the sky like a stone.

This is why I just spent $6.50 to get the parts necessary to convert my Futaba T8J to self-centering throttle. I plan on using one Tx to control two quad copters, my Phantom and a OFM Jumper 600 I will be constructing starting later this week.

PF

 

[MrMediaGuy]

So today I took the back cover off to look for the aux lead. Turns out I do not have one at all.
This being the case, should I send my Phantom back? (It's only a few days old and unflown as yet). Or is this an easy fix to sort myself?

Just out of curiosity, did you notice if there was a specific (labeled) place on the main board to solder the AUX lead? On the original Phantom main boards, there is a specific set of pads just inboard of the front ESC solder pads (opposite side from the radio RX) right next to the NAZA. On the new "upgrade kit" boards, there is no longer a set of solder pads for the AUX lead at all. I've been wondering if any of the "upgraded" versions out there now (1.2, 1.1.1, 1.1, etc.) are shipping with upgrade kit-style main boards that include gimbal GCU functionality.

So if you don't have solder pads for the AUX power lead, and you do seem to have an 8-pin gimbal connector aft near the LED module -- you just might have an upgraded main board. More curiosity than anything on my part, though -- don't rip it open again just to check.

 

[three6ty]

So today I took the back cover off to look for the aux lead. Turns out I do not have one at all.
This being the case, should I send my Phantom back? (It's only a few days old and unflown as yet). Or is this an easy fix to sort myself?

Just out of curiosity, did you notice if there was a specific (labeled) place on the main board to solder the AUX lead? On the original Phantom main boards, there is a specific set of pads just inboard of the front ESC solder pads (opposite side from the radio RX) right next to the NAZA. On the new "upgrade kit" boards, there is no longer a set of solder pads for the AUX lead at all. I've been wondering if any of the "upgraded" versions out there now (1.2, 1.1.1, 1.1, etc.) are shipping with upgrade kit-style main boards that include gimbal GCU functionality.

So if you don't have solder pads for the AUX power lead, and you do seem to have an 8-pin gimbal connector aft near the LED module -- you just might have an upgraded main board. More curiosity than anything on my part, though -- don't rip it open again just to check.

I'll take a look tomorrow. It's only a 10 minute job