Cant get rid of vibrations, maybe its not your cable

[Ralph E. Johnson]

Maybe you need to balance your motors

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Am I correct in saying that the two front motors had the same vibration waves and the two back motors were the same. If that is correct is that the way they are designed? Opposite motors turn in opposite directions don't they? Also how did you activate each engine separately. Pretty interesting test

 

[pyrate]

no worries, I had to end up swapping that really bad motor to the back to see any real change in video. So like someone suggested I might have gotten the same results by just moving the bad ones to the back. Who knows. Pretty sure that really bad one needs to go. So I have two new ones arriving on Wednesday. Going to put them in and put the two best on the front.

The big decision for me right now, is do I pull that 4.33 lens out of the wrapping and roll the dice it will not be a big mess

 

[pyrate]

Am I correct in saying that the two front motors had the same vibration waves and the two back motors were the same. If that is correct is that the way they are designed? Opposite motors turn in opposite directions don't they? Also how did you activate each engine separately. Pretty interesting test

Use Mission Planner to fire motors separately. the motors are same in front and back one of each motor on each end or side

 

[AUsome]

What phone app were you using?

I like "Vibration" for iOS

 

[erikgraham]

Erik,

Thanks much for chiming in. I always seem to agree with your comments. Your thoughts regarding this issue bring a certain calm and senability to what has been a somewhat chaotic endeavor for me.

I saw the laser video as I was pouring over the Internet looking for a more precise yet simplistic method. In many of the more exacting processes the motor is completely removed from the bird and attached to some sort of jig which would eliminate many variables. To do so would require more than I'm willing to expend at this point. And as you noted, could and maybe should be considered overkill on a relatively new and maturing component of this product.

My objective here is probably a bit different than most visiting this forum as I have little to no photographic experience. I became interested in this hobby because of its uniqueness and pre-packaged, consumer grade technology. Much like I took to the original IBM personal computer some 35 years ago.

I bought these quads to take pictures and videos to share with my family and friends. As with anything I take on, the more I learn, the deeper I go. I continually flip-flop between trying my hand at the photographic element and pushing the envelope to see what I can get these things to do from a flying perspective.

Although I'm just trying to provide pleasing and interesting video for personal sharing I'm bothered by noticable imperfections. The video side of the Solo will be much tougher for me. The "other ones" seem to be much more automated in this process. To me the gimbal setup is also better. I haven't experienced the issues that I'm now confronted with although I've had my share of other issues.

I don't know the first thing about editing, color correction, saturation, stabilization or the other photographic elements. Just the size of these files and the process of cutting, pasting, adding a title and some music is a chore in itself. For me a very time consuming process and I am using an I7 with lots of RAM and SSD's.

If you watched the orbit I did at the lake (there was a bit of wind but certainly not unbearable) there were two obvious obstacles that made the video much less desirable. The shaking from the wind, transmitted to the camera through the gimbal and the changes in the direction of the camera in conjunction with the sun. (I'm sure there are many other flaws to the many professional people here but those are the two most important to me).

For me, the layman, these two issues produce a very amateurish feel. The latter will require a great deal of learning from a photographic perspective. I get it. The shaking is a function of the design and implementation of the product itself. Obviously, not as easily resolved as I first thought.

I think you and some others are right, the biggest issue regarding the vibration has to be the introduction and implementation of the gimbal itself. I know Rich is looking into the isolators and someone else is trying to replace the data cable and I look forward to following those findings. I think the HDMI ribbon cable is a good start. It just seems more logical to me than the OEM cable, provided there isn't any degradation in quality or interference issues.

Anyway, once again I'm rambling. I'm going to test the motor balancing that I've achieved thus far, balance the props as soon as I get my balancer and take it from there.

I very much enjoy reading the experiences of others on this forum. I'm learning a great deal and I'm enjoying the process of using my hands and mind. That being said, it's all a win-win for me! Thanks again for your response.

Jerry

I still have to catch up on the thread, but 3 points.

First, it seems like your gimbal specifically is underperforming. Others, including myself (without mods) are getting better performance (even in wind).

I suggest buying a second gimbal at Best Buy and testing it out. If it performs better, you can contact 3DR to return your original. They may insist on replacing it, so ensure you do all that within the 15 day BestBuy return window.

Second, image stabilization is very simple. If your not able to resolve the vibration, then I think you'll find it's very easy to apply image stabilization to your video clips, without becoming an expert videographer. Depending on the software, it can be as easy as checking a box or dragging and dropping a filter onto your video.

3rd, get an ND8 filter from PolorPro or BlurFix. It will clean up many of your issues.

 

[erikgraham]

If you really want to see some stable video check out my first video flight with my Syma X5...Awesome..crash included!
Now that I look at it I am quite pleased with what I get from Solo.

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I don't know why, but I love crash videos. I wish I'd saved mine over all the years.

 

[Maddog]

I like "Vibration" for iOS

That's what I was using too. I think Jerry was using 2 different ones but I'm not sure if he was "on the same page" as I was.

 

[erikgraham]

See that's the problem with me. I'll start out with a paint stick a mirror and a few screws and I'll end up with a carbon fiber mounting base with isolation legs, a snap on motor pod base, 12 mirrors at precise angles all controlled with independent motors, some super duper laser system in an airtight enclosure all taking up half of a room. Jeez, the pool table (in the basement game room) is now my motor balancing station because every time the wind blows the dogs are running all over the house barking their butts off. Really screws up my f'ng readings!

Jerry

I'm thinking it would be possible to do it without removing the motor pods from the solo. Attach the mirror to the end of the solo arm (somehow) and bounce a laser off it over a fairly large distance (to increase the effective motion of the dot). Not really sure, just brain storming.

 

[Maddog]

I'm thinking it would be possible to do it without removing the motor pods from the solo. Attach the mirror to the end of the solo arm (somehow) and bounce a laser off it over a fairly large distance (to increase the effective motion of the dot). Not really sure, just brain storming.

Interesting you should mention this because I just tried it.
I took a 1" dia. round mirror and stuck it to the side of the motor pod using double-sided carpet tape (very thin).
I then took a small laser off one of my pistols. I set it on top of the table Solo was sitting on, angled up slightly.
The laser was reflected on a wall about 15' away.
I started motor #1 using Mission Planner set to 50%.
The dot didn't move at all after initial motor start-up. I tried all the way up to 100% but still got no movement. Same result for all motors.

Conclusion: I previously balanced all motors using the iOS "vibration" app on my iPad which I placed on top of the Solo battery. I only balanced 2 motors as the other 2 had readings of about .004 min/ .005 max. Presuming 000 would be as good as you can get with this method, I balanced the remaining 2 until they were as low as I could get them.

So either the motors are balanced really well, or what vibration they do have can't be detected with the pods in place. I think the latter is the case. The mass of Solo is dampening the vibration enough that it can't be detected with the laser. You would have to remove the motor pod and repeat the test to find out.

Personally, I'm happy with things as they are so I'm done. I am interested in the motor swap going on in another thread though!

 

[erikgraham]

Interesting you should mention this because I just tried it.
I took a 1" dia. round mirror and stuck it to the side of the motor pod using double-sided carpet tape (very thin).
I then took a small laser off one of my pistols. I set it on top of the table Solo was sitting on, angled up slightly.
The laser was reflected on a wall about 15' away.
I started motor #1 using Mission Planner set to 50%.
The dot didn't move at all after initial motor start-up. I tried all the way up to 100% but still got no movement. Same result for all motors.

Conclusion: I previously balanced all motors using the iOS "vibration" app on my iPad which I placed on top of the Solo battery. I only balanced 2 motors as the other 2 had readings of about .004 min/ .005 max. Presuming 000 would be as good as you can get with this method, I balanced the remaining 2 until they were as low as I could get them.

So either the motors are balanced really well, or what vibration they do have can't be detected with the pods in place. I think the latter is the case. The mass of Solo is dampening the vibration enough that it can't be detected with the laser. You would have to remove the motor pod and repeat the test to find out.

Personally, I'm happy with things as they are so I'm done. I am interested in the motor swap going on in another thread though!

Hmmm. You could try 30 feet.

Oh and you can use pencil or tape on the wall around dot to help you see small vibrations. But sounds like your all set for now.

 

[Maddog]

Hmmm. You could try 30 feet.

Oh and you can use pencil or tape on the wall around dot to help you see small vibrations. But sounds like your all set for now.

That's true- based on the movement I've seen in online videos I felt I was close enough for gov't work.

 

[J R]

I still have to catch up on the thread, but 3 points.

Thanks again for the response Erik. All very good and sensible points for sure. I haven't really taken the time to start learning the editing phase of this stuff just yet. I'm consumed with trying to perfect what I have first. I do have the Polar Pro filters and believe I had the ND8 on the orbit at the lake video. I'm still learning about the filter applications as well.

I got a single opportunity today to test the bird with just a little wind. Again just trying to see if I'm gaining any ground. The motors are about as balanced as I can seem to get them and I put on a different set of OEM props. My prop balancer and rod didn't show up today.

I think the balancing and prop change has had a fairly noticeable impact on the vibration that I've been experiencing. This is just a quick, no frills, no edit video of some of the clips.

What do you and the others that are following see? I'm not looking for video advice yet, just opinions on the stability of the raw footage. Any and all opinions will be appreciated.

Jerry

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[J R]

Presuming 000 would be as good as you can get with this method

Maddog,

I put my iPhone on the concrete floor in my basement with the IOS Vibration app and did a sample with no vibration. It only goes down to .001 not .000. I've now got all of my motors between .001 and .004.

Jerry

 

[RichWest]

What do you and the others that are following see? I'm not looking for video advice yet, just opinions on the stability of the raw footage. Any and all opinions will be appreciated.

Having just uploaded my first YT video, I'm let down by how YT butchers the original video.

I can see that your video appears stable. I look at the leaves, mortar lines or anything with some detail. I think you got it. How does your original video appear?

 

[Del]

First of all..Iv never done this before..and learning on the way!

I finally had enough time today to do my little vibration motor test with my iPhone and the "Vibration" App!
After reading how some of you have been doing it with there smart device and watching some of the videos...I thought I would try something a little different!
I grabbed some twist ties and wrapped my iPhone tight on the top of the Motor Arm!
But first I started one motor at a time and just use the touch of my fingers to find the motor with the worse vibration by touch..and it was #4! ....The others 3 wasn't that bad really..pretty smooth!
But #4 had quite a bit more vibration than the others ..you could really feel it...and very noticeably louder !

So heres my results with the "Vibration App"
I also like to point out that I'm only taking this at Face Value!
I'm only using the tools that i have access to me that's around the house..like twist ties and an IPhone...and a Beer..lol
But at least this will give me an ideal or a reference !

rms
#1
.008

#2
.005

#3
.005

#4
.012

I tried to ballance #4 with little pieces of black electrical tape to see if I could get the vibration and the rms lowered...but could not get it any lower then what it already is! .012
I don't know why my #4 is giving me vibration!!
It seems like it won't let me balance it ?
Could it be a bearing problem?
Or Mabe the one or two of the 4 screws holding the motor pot to frame is loose causing vibration?


I think tomorrow I will take off the light cover under #4 motor and make sure the 4 screws that are screwed into the motor are nice and tight! Iv read that some people have found there motor pods screws come loose after time!
If that don't help..I have 2 brand new motors still in the box and will change it out!




Cheers

 

[Maddog]

Maddog,

I put my iPhone on the concrete floor in my basement with the IOS Vibration app and did a sample with no vibration. It only goes down to .001 not .000. I've now got all of my motors between .001 and .004.

Jerry

Sounds good enough to me!

 

[J R]

How does your original video appear?

Rich,

Sorry but I'm a little confused by your question. Are you talking about my videos prior to the ribbon cable change, the motor balancing and the prop change or the original of the video I just posted before uploading it to YT?

Just an FYI, I've had terrible results uploading to YT with presets. Although it takes much more time, I'm uploading at the original 2.7k 60fps. I export it in GoPro studio as an archive AVI and then upload it. The issue for me I'ds I only get 8-10mbs on my internet out here in the boonies so it takes forever to upload a clip. That little sample I just did was a little over a gig and took abou 3-4 hours to upload.

Jerry

 

[J R]

First of all..Iv never done this before..and learning on the way!

Del,

This is the first time I've done this as well. We're all learning as we go. Good idea with the tie wraps. I also pulled some pods out yesterday, just to check. Everything was secure. I'd sure take a look at swapping out the .012 motor since you already have one on hand. Sounds like you're getting a pretty good handle on things!

Jerry

 

[RichWest]

... or the original of the video I just posted before uploading it to YT?

Just an FYI, I've had terrible results uploading to YT with presets. Although it takes much more time, I'm uploading at the original 2.7k 60fps. I export it in GoPro studio as an archive AVI and then upload it. The issue for me I'ds I only get 8-10mbs on my internet out here in the boonies so it takes forever to upload a clip. That little sample I just did was a little over a gig and took abou 3-4 hours to upload.

Thanks for the GP-Studio export tip...I'll do a 15 second clip to test...

 

[Jubalr]

Thanks again for the response Erik. All very good and sensible points for sure. I haven't really taken the time to start learning the editing phase of this stuff just yet. I'm consumed with trying to perfect what I have first. I do have the Polar Pro filters and believe I had the ND8 on the orbit at the lake video. I'm still learning about the filter applications as well.

I got a single opportunity today to test the bird with just a little wind. Again just trying to see if I'm gaining any ground. The motors are about as balanced as I can seem to get them and I put on a different set of OEM props. My prop balancer and rod didn't show up today.

I think the balancing and prop change has had a fairly noticeable impact on the vibration that I've been experiencing. This is just a quick, no frills, no edit video of some of the clips.

What do you and the others that are following see? I'm not looking for video advice yet, just opinions on the stability of the raw footage. Any and all opinions will be appreciated.

Jerry

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Hey Jerry, Not sure what you are looking for as a target, but I would say 'mission accomplished!' The video looks great and I would have swore that the look down shot you did over the pickup was a still shot. Good work! Now go fly and enjoy the fruits of your labor!