No camera feed or camera control

[mickybobby]

Hi everyone!

So I have spent a few hours going through threads trying to see if anyone else has experienced this problem and I can't seem to find anything. I have a P3 Pro and everything was working fine up until I replaced the camera housing. I now have no video feed and no camera control at all! The gimbal works perfectly fine though I just cant access any camera settings and the video screen just shows the dji logo.

Now I did replace the ribbon cable as I thought I may have damaged it when I was changing the camera housing. I used a brand new OEM ribbon cable and all of a sudden I had control over the camera (still no video feed). But I could take photos and record video and they would appear on the SD card. However with this new cable the gimbal started doing the crazy dance and going all over the place. Back to the old cable and the gimbal functions fine but now video feed and no control over the camera.

I am hoping with the wealth of knowledge on these forums someone can point me in the right direction. I am close to putting this thing out on the side of the street for someone to pick up as I am at my wits end. I really enjoy flying it though and really would rather keep it.

I have also tried another camera and another gimbal board and still have the same problems.

Please help!!

 

[quaddamage]

I have also tried another camera and another gimbal board and still have the same problems.

By "another camera" do you mean you tried replacing the whole gimbal with camera, or just the CMOS sensor board?
By "another gimbal board" do you mean the Gimbal Top Board?

 

[mickybobby]

I replaced it with a whole camera and the gimbal top board.

 

[quaddamage]

Ok then.

Replacing any the gimbal+camera with a known working one brings no change. This means the issue is not there.

Replacing the OFDM-gimbal ribbon cable brings a change. This means the cable is most likely one of the issues.

The gimbal communicates only to OFDM board. If camera is OK, but the communication doesn't work - then you seem to have an issue with your OFDM board.

 

[mickybobby]

Thanks for the replies quaddamage. I just want to confirm that the ribbon cable I replaced is the one that connects the camera to the gimbal top board. I did also change the cable that connects the top board to the OFDM module but that had no change.

Also I can't read from the SD card via usb cable connected to the gimbal, does this indicate another problem or could it be a follow on problem from a faulty OFDM board? I also noticed a buzz in the gimbal every second or so when powered on, but this problem goes away if I use a different ribbon cable to the camera. It almost sounds like a gimbal motor issue but for some reason a ribbon cable fixes it...

I think maybe I should just order a replacement OFDM board and give that a try? I have a new ribbon cable on the way from F-Stop labs, hopefully it doesn't take too long to get to Australia.

Thanks for the help so far!

 

[quaddamage]

I just want to confirm that the ribbon cable I replaced is the one that connects the camera to the gimbal top board.

Oh. So you replaced flat film cable, not ribbon cable. I keep forgetting that most people don't know the difference..

Also I can't read from the SD card via usb cable connected to the gimbal, does this indicate another problem

I don't know, I never used the micro-usb on gimbal. Maybe someone else can share what it does.

I also noticed a buzz in the gimbal every second or so when powered on, but this problem goes away if I use a different ribbon cable to the camera. It almost sounds like a gimbal motor issue but for some reason a ribbon cable fixes it...

It is possible that both the cables you used are damaged.

I think maybe I should just order a replacement OFDM board and give that a try?

I can't draw any straight conclusions now. In general, the gimbal+camera module is most often cause of issues. Try another camera (whole) to confirm that.

 

[mickybobby]

So in the DJI go app it shows full bars for reception on both the RC and Video bars. Also there is activity when you go to settings to check the channels to use for video streaming. Would this still be there if the OFDM failed. Or could it be a case of just a certain chip on the OFDM board failing?

 

[quaddamage]

Would this still be there if the OFDM failed. Or could it be a case of just a certain chip on the OFDM board failing?

This is not a way which would allow to draw any conclusions. I focused on OFDM because you said ribbon cable was the issue. All this is no longer valid.

To diagnose the issue, you have to identify where is the problem. Two ways:

1. Start replacing modules with a known working ones, until you get it working; replace gimbal+camera, then OFDM, then RC.

2. Check which modules are properly responding when asked for version; this can be done by putting very old firmware on SD-card, and after the refusal of update, checking the hidden log file on sd-card.

 

[mickybobby]

2. Check which modules are properly responding when asked for version; this can be done by putting very old firmware on SD-card, and after the refusal of update, checking the hidden log file on sd-card.

Tried a firmware yesterday and it just sat there flashing green/red like it was updating for about 1 minute and then started flashing green quickly for about 1 minute. I checked for a log file and there was nothing there. It must be writing to the SD card though because it creates a DCIM folder. I will try another gimbal top board and see if I get the same issue. For info it is a brand new 32GB class 10 Kingston SD card.

 

[Maxjackson]

Tried a firmware yesterday and it just sat there flashing green/red like it was updating for about 1 minute and then started flashing green quickly for about 1 minute. I checked for a log file and there was nothing there. It must be writing to the SD card though because it creates a DCIM folder. I will try another gimbal top board and see if I get the same issue. For info it is a brand new 32GB class 10 Kingston SD card.

Did you ever get it to work?