Zenmuse H3-3D Gimbal Vibration Problem

[mgio]

I have a brand-new Phantom 2 with a Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal.

The gimbal seems to work fine but whenever the gopro is level relative to the phantom (no pitch or roll), the roll motor vibrates loudly. This is very strange because it seems like in this position the motor would have to do very little work. If I tilt the phantom forward or backwards slightly, or to either side, the noise stops. Also if I point the camera slightly down using the remote control, the noise will stop, too. Unless of course I also tilt the phantom so it points a little bit down too.

Normally the vibration noise wouldn't bother me but if I leave it in that position for 10 or 15 seconds or so, the motor will suddenly shut off and the camera will tilt to the side for a couple of seconds before it recovers. I imagine the roll motor is over-heating or something.

As far as I can tell this has existed since I purchased my phantom about a month ago. The drop to the side is apparent even in the video from my very first flight.

I've tried updating all of the firmware and this problem still exists.

Do I need to return the gimbal under warranty?

I made a youtube video illustrating this problem. You can see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns_5FEd ... VRX4xT5cEA

 

[smallman28]

Might be worth messing with the gimbal settings in the software.
You seem to get that one leg in shot as well the prop guards quite a lot.
Set the gimbal to slightly pan down by default,only about 5degs to get rid of some of the guards.
Likewise it might be worth messing with the horizontal setting as well.
If you are using a Gopro set it to medium field of view instead of wide or superwide,that also helps reducing what gets into the frame.

 

[mgio]

Might be worth messing with the gimbal settings in the software.
You seem to get that one leg in shot as well the prop guards quite a lot.
Set the gimbal to slightly pan down by default,only about 5degs to get rid of some of the guards.
Likewise it might be worth messing with the horizontal setting as well.
If you are using a Gopro set it to medium field of view instead of wide or superwide,that also helps reducing what gets into the frame.

The settings don't help with my problem at all, and I don't see how they could help. My problem is not the legs or the guards in the shot. It's the fact the camera can't stay level for more than 10 seconds or so without the roll motor shutting off for a few seconds and dropping to the side.

My guess is the gimbal is defective and I'm probably going to try and return it.

 

[smallman28]

The suggestion was to help.
There is a horizontal control as well as vertical.
I just wondered if any of those adjustments might have helped.
The gear etc in the frame again was just a suggestion of how you might prevent that happening.
My gimbal buzzes and makes odd noises and erratic moves sometimes but I dont worry about it.

 

[mgio]

The suggestion was to help.
There is a horizontal control as well as vertical.
I just wondered if any of those adjustments might have helped.
The gear etc in the frame again was just a suggestion of how you might prevent that happening.
My gimbal buzzes and makes odd noises and erratic moves sometimes but I dont worry about it.

As far I can tell there are two adjustments that adjust the maximum height the gorpro can look up and down and one that measure how fast it adjusts. Is there another adjustment I am missing?

I'm not sure what can be done to prevent the motor from over-heating and shutting down when it is level. Note that the phantom is stationary when this happens.

Maybe I should try taking apart the gimbal?

 

[Away Point]

These 3D gimbals sure are finicky beasts. I'm guessing quality control is minimal!

I've had 4 of them. One died on a firmware update, one was lost, and one returned immediately because it refused to hold a tilt position. My current one acts similar to yours in terms of the making noise while facing straight ahead, but fortunately doesn't "hibernate".

Looks like it is the roll which shuts off, despite the fact that tilt makes the noise come and go. I would start by focusing on roll-axis balance.

I'd guess in your case checking how the camera is balanced on the roll axis, may yield a fix. Power off, the camera should largely stay anywhere in it's range of motion. If it always falls in one direction, its out of balance, and strategically adding some wight to make it balance may do the trick. It won't take much weight. Hot glue a small screw or something on to make it balance. I know it sounds primitive, but that's the hand we've been dealt with this DJI product.

Also, you have too many of the retainer clips installed. Camera/gimbal should not have any conflict with pins, which is why only two are supposed to be installed. From what I've read, sounds like if the gimbal hits one of the clips in the power-up cycle, it can lead to misbehavior.

If that doesn't help, guess you need to give serious thought to sending it back.

 

[wallace20006]

i have the exact same problem with my gimbal in the exact same position as yours it vibrates.
what i have found is i think its just a balance problem because when i place a one pence coin on top of my Go Pro at the memory card side opposite the motor end the vibration completely stops and if i leave it there and turn my phantom 2 off the gimbal doesn't move or drop to the motor side it just stays exactly where it is, so this shows the gimbal and Go Pro are completely balanced solving the vibration problem so i am going to make a small lead weight same weight as the penny to fix around that area.

 

[Fyod]

Based on that sound, the gimbal is fighting weight. That's why it also resets at one point.
If you only have the GoPro 3+ and nothing that would add weight, I'm pretty sure the gimbal is damaged. The motor isn't strong enough to hold position.

Try this: put the Phantom on a table, turn it on, let the gimbal balance. Turn the Phantom off and see if the gimbal stays level when off.
If not, try counter-balacing it as recommended above.
If it sits almost perfectly balanced than the gimbal is almost certainly at fault, because the GoPro 3/3+ should not need any counter-balancing.