Gimbal failing during flight

Mke Harbell · Sep 5, 2015

i installed the new gimbal on my solo and in flight in randomly turns off (red lights on the gimbal flashing) and then returns to normal several seconds later. I have uninstalled the gimbal and reinstalled several times, as well as updating all firmware for solo and go pro. I've re calibrated the compass and controller as suggested by 3dr support. I can't complete level calibration while the gimbal is attached, the app says calibrating for tens of minutes but when I remove the gimbal it will do level calibration as normal. No suggestions from 3dr have helped, I've seen videos on YouTube of the same problem. Anyone have this problem and fixed it? I'm running a GoPro 3+ black. Thanks

Earldgrayjr · Sep 5, 2015

Mke Harbell said:
i installed the new gimbal on my solo and in flight in randomly turns off (red lights on the gimbal flashing) and then returns to normal several seconds later. I have uninstalled the gimbal and reinstalled several times, as well as updating all firmware for solo and go pro. I've re calibrated the compass and controller as suggested by 3dr support. I can't complete level calibration while the gimbal is attached, the app says calibrating for tens of minutes but when I remove the gimbal it will do level calibration as normal. No suggestions from 3dr have helped, I've seen videos on YouTube of the same problem. Anyone have this problem and fixed it? I'm running a GoPro 3+ black. Thanks

I would call back and update them on what you have tried. Sound suspiciously like hardware to me.

s7nthson · Sep 5, 2015

Just checking, did you install the two weights for the GoPro Hero 3?

Evilash29 · Sep 5, 2015

Was it pointed at 90 degrees and moving forward. I had it go nuts one time doing that.

Mke Harbell · Sep 5, 2015

s7nthson said:
Just checking, did you install the two weights for the GoPro Hero 3?

Yea both the top and bottom weight are on there. The bigger of the two weight sets which I've confirmed areq for the hero 3+

Mke Harbell · Sep 5, 2015

Evilash29 said:
Was it pointed at 90 degrees and moving forward. I had it go nuts one time doing that.

Yes for one of the times I have on video. But it's happened other times now where during a tilt etc

Evilash29 · Sep 5, 2015

Weird. Send the tlog to 3dr and see what they say. It was a few flights ago for me so I just am too lazy to download the log

Evilash29 · Sep 5, 2015

Is this whats happening for you? I sent the logs to 3dr as well

Michael Stevenson · Sep 5, 2015

Evilash29 said:
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Is this whats happening for you? I sent the logs to 3dr as well

Wow.

Evilash29 · Sep 6, 2015

I sent them a trouble ticket at 8 last night. I had an email requesting video when I woke up this morning. Pretty epic cs

Raybro · Sep 6, 2015

Evilash29 said:
I sent them a trouble ticket at 8 last night. I had an email requesting video when I woke up this morning. Pretty epic cs

Have you tried the stick calibration to see if it corrects the issue?

Evilash29 · Sep 6, 2015

I have no idea what you are talking about lol... So no. Even if I did, which I will now, considering I was not the only one I would still like 3dr to know and report back what happened.

Thanks for the tip. I'll search for that solution

dwinters · Sep 6, 2015

Evilash29 said:
I have no idea what you are talking about lol... So no. Even if I did, which I will now, considering I was not the only one I would still like 3dr to know and report back what happened.

Thanks for the tip. I'll search for that solution

I can't imagine a stick calibration would have anything to do with the gimbal failing. That said, here's a link I found on how to do:

Recalibrate Sticks (How-To) | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

I just put on my gimbal today and did a test flight. My results are very similar to those in the video. It will work intermittently - it'll be stable, then suddenly lean to one side like it lost power somehow - then back to stable, etc.

Let me know if you 3DR comes through with a solution. It's really frustrating for them to take so long 'fine tuning' the gimbal to have something so basic go wrong.

Earldgrayjr · Sep 6, 2015

dwinters said:
I can't imagine a stick calibration would have anything to do with the gimbal failing. That said, here's a link I found on how to do:

Recalibrate Sticks (How-To) | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

I just put on my gimbal today and did a test flight. My results are very similar to those in the video. It will work intermittently - it'll be stable, then suddenly lean to one side like it lost power somehow - then back to stable, etc.

Let me know if you 3DR comes through with a solution. It's really frustrating for them to take so long 'fine tuning' the gimbal to have something so basic go wrong.

Yes, it seems an odd connection from stick calibration to gimbal, but indeed it has fixed others similar problems. It is possible it may actually calibrate the gimbal in the process of calibrating the sticks.

dwinters · Sep 6, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
Yes, it seems an odd connection from stick calibration to gimbal, but indeed it has fixed others similar problems. It is possible it may actually calibrate the gimbal in the process of calibrating the sticks.

Interesting, I'll try it out.

Raybro · Sep 6, 2015

It's also a fix for frequent radio disconnects at short range....go figure. A few months ago DodgeP was having those issues and that's what 3DR told him to do. Fixed it.

There was another thread here yesterday a person was having issues with the gimbal staying level. 3DR had him do the stick cal and it fixed it.
Try anything you can think of rather than wait for a replacement....that's how I look at it.

Evilash29 · Sep 6, 2015

I'll report back when I get home. Thanks for saving me the search

Earldgrayjr · Sep 6, 2015

Raybro said:
It's also a fix for frequent radio disconnects at short range....go figure. A few months ago DodgeP was having those issues and that's what 3DR told him to do. Fixed it.

There was another thread here yesterday a person was having issues with the gimbal staying level. 3DR had him do the stick cal and it fixed it.
Try anything you can think of rather than wait for a replacement....that's how I look at it.

Agreed... My motto is try everything that logically makes sense. If that doesn't work, try everything else... Sometimes you don't get the connection until after the fix...