Numerous Issues with P4P

OK, here's an update...

I went out yesterday to attempt some more tests and managed two flights totaling about 37 minutes as well as some tests with a third battery on the ground -- no props. I have already uploaded the exposure tests I preformed on the ground

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but this update here is about the camera gimbal problem I mentioned in the OP (items 1 and 3). I had to cut that first trip short because of the gimbal homing issue and on the next trip I encountered the problem about 3 more times. What appears to be happening is that the camera tilts up to what looks to be the upper limit then tilts down to the lower limit with the camera actually pointing down and a little behind -- about -115 degrees if horizontal is zero. But, as it's tilting down it hangs up at about -100 degrees and is unable to complete the downward homing action. It then goes back to the upper limit before hanging once again at about -100 and then continuing this without end. When I look at it with power off and move the camera by hand I can feel it hanging up and if I apply a bit more force it snaps past there and I can continue to the lower limit. I do not have to apply much force here so I think it's just a torque limit on the motor. When I watch closely I can see that it is the ribbon cable that is hanging up on something and when I push past and the gimbal snaps past the point I can see the ribbon cable kind of 'oil can' -- it must be snagging on something.

OK, so I could try to dig into this but if I mess something up in the process its on me so I called Newegg today about it. When they finally called me back 2.5 hours later I explained the problem and asked what I should do about it. The woman told me to send it back and they would review it and they might have a replacement in a few weeks. I was unhappy with that and told her I would return it for a refund and she put me on hold to complete the process. While on hold I went to B&H and ordered an 'In Stock' P4P which I should have Friday. I had completed the order before the woman at Newegg came back to finish the return song and dance.

Let's hope the new one is free of those defects and doesn't introduce new ones. With DJI it's a crap shoot!


Brian
 
OK, here's an update...

I went out yesterday to attempt some more tests and managed two flights totaling about 37 minutes as well as some tests with a third battery on the ground -- no props. I have already uploaded the exposure tests I preformed on the ground

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

but this update here is about the camera gimbal problem I mentioned in the OP (items 1 and 3). I had to cut that first trip short because of the gimbal homing issue and on the next trip I encountered the problem about 3 more times. What appears to be happening is that the camera tilts up to what looks to be the upper limit then tilts down to the lower limit with the camera actually pointing down and a little behind -- about -115 degrees if horizontal is zero. But, as it's tilting down it hangs up at about -100 degrees and is unable to complete the downward homing action. It then goes back to the upper limit before hanging once again at about -100 and then continuing this without end. When I look at it with power off and move the camera by hand I can feel it hanging up and if I apply a bit more force it snaps past there and I can continue to the lower limit. I do not have to apply much force here so I think it's just a torque limit on the motor. When I watch closely I can see that it is the ribbon cable that is hanging up on something and when I push past and the gimbal snaps past the point I can see the ribbon cable kind of 'oil can' -- it must be snagging on something.

OK, so I could try to dig into this but if I mess something up in the process its on me so I called Newegg today about it. When they finally called me back 2.5 hours later I explained the problem and asked what I should do about it. The woman told me to send it back and they would review it and they might have a replacement in a few weeks. I was unhappy with that and told her I would return it for a refund and she put me on hold to complete the process. While on hold I went to B&H and ordered an 'In Stock' P4P which I should have Friday. I had completed the order before the woman at Newegg came back to finish the return song and dance.

Let's hope the new one is free of those defects and doesn't introduce new ones. With DJI it's a crap shoot!


Brian
Brian you won't believe that I have had the exact same issue. I flew 3 batteries without issue, hand caught the p4pro and then swapped in the last battery and encountered this problem. I spent hours on chat but they weren't any help. I gave up all hope and sent an email out to where I bought it to get warranty. In my testing I suspected it wasn't at all hardware related because I didn't crash and it wasn't a hard landing. Factory reset in DJI Assistant did nothing, but I didn't want to send the bird back and I knew it was software related..

The fix is easy. If you still have your bird there, go into dji assistant and downgrade to the previous firmware. (which I guess essentially would be p4 firmware?) I did this and restarting the aircraft and it was magically fixed! since this I have been flying without a single issue. I believe it stemmed from one launch where I placed the bird on ground where the grass was too long and because the gimbal is slightly obstructed will make the drone think it has reached the max point. The clearance on this new camera is millimetres

I hope I am not giving you false hope but this fixed it for me
 
Brian you won't believe that I have had the exact same issue. I flew 3 batteries without issue, hand caught the p4pro and then swapped in the last battery and encountered this problem. I spent hours on chat but they weren't any help. I gave up all hope and sent an email out to where I bought it to get warranty. In my testing I suspected it wasn't at all hardware related because I didn't crash and it wasn't a hard landing. Factory reset in DJI Assistant did nothing, but I didn't want to send the bird back and I knew it was software related..

The fix is easy. If you still have your bird there, go into dji assistant and downgrade to the previous firmware. (which I guess essentially would be p4 firmware?) I did this and restarting the aircraft and it was magically fixed! since this I have been flying without a single issue. I believe it stemmed from one launch where I placed the bird on ground where the grass was too long and because the gimbal is slightly obstructed will make the drone think it has reached the max point. The clearance on this new camera is millimetres

I hope I am not giving you false hope but this fixed it for me


When I looked at it more closely I found that the ribbon cable was snagging on something and my guess is that was just enough to stall the motor. My fear was that this couple happen in flight and risk a crash so I contacted Newegg and will be sending it back tomorrow. They will issue a refund. I also ordered a new P4P from B&H and should receive it this Friday.

Bottom line is I did not want this to happen in-flight and the additional concern is that whatever is rubbing, and I can feel it rubbing by hand, that this could eventually cut through the ribbon cable and result in a short that could cause the P4P to crash.

If a firmware change resolved the problem for you then it's likely the earlier firmware has a higher torque limit so the gimbal can push past the snag. But, if the snag is still there then you risk failure down the road.


Brian
 

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