Video stream issue...

Projeffrey11 · Oct 26, 2015

RolandS888 said:
Is just a hdmi shielded ribbon with the micro hdmi plug ends changed to what i need, one micro UP and one micro DOWN. All available on aliexpress for a few dollars.

How hard is it to apply this?, I'm a computer technician but have no experience in modifying cables.

RolandS888 · Oct 26, 2015

Very easy, the ends just clamp on and off You can swap the various sizes and orientations of the hdmi end plugs. Simple.

Projeffrey11 · Oct 26, 2015

RolandS888 said:
Very easy, the ends just clamp on and off You can swap the various sizes and orientations of the hdmi end plugs. Simple.

Wow didn't know that, so did you end up using the stock cable and just swapping tips or did you buy a after market shorter thinner ribbon cable?

RolandS888 · Oct 26, 2015

Exactly. Stock ribbon, swap the tips.

Projeffrey11 · Oct 26, 2015

RolandS888 said:
Exactly. Stock ribbon, swap the tips.

Got ya, wow 3DR needs a slap on the wrist because their stock HDMI cable is garbage in general, good find by the way because I'm having all the same issues you were having with the Solo app video rolling and what not.

RolandS888 · Oct 26, 2015

Yeah the original hdmi cable is a poor decision, i believe we will see more fail.

Change that cable Jeffrey.

Andy Hurdman · Oct 26, 2015

J R said:
I posted this on the help forum but it doesn't look like that gets as much use. If I shouldn't post this kind of stuff here, just let me know.

Has anyone seen this issue (screenshot)? My video has been working fine but today started looking like this screenshot. It's a GoPro Hero 4 Black. It fly's and recorders fine and every once in a while it will come up correctly for a second and then it just freezes the live video feed. The screenshot is what it looks like every time I power it up now. It's a live feed, just this discoloration and static. I've tried various ways of booting everything up and I've tried reseating the GoPro and the HDMI connection. I just cant seem to figure it out. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Jerry

I had the same issue it turns out it was the HDMI cable inside the solo. I had to send mine back and they are fixing it.

Projeffrey11 · Oct 26, 2015

RolandS888 said:
Yeah the original hdmi cable is a poor decision, i believe we will see more fail.

Change that cable Jeffrey.

I will, I've been talking to a buddy of mine in China he's making me some HDMI slim 10cm cable's for the Solo so I'll be testing those in the near future can't wait to see the results.

Projeffrey11 · Oct 26, 2015

Andy Hurdman said:
I had the same issue it turns out it was the HDMI cable inside the solo. I had to send mine back and they are fixing it.

This is what I'm getting currently.

RolandS888 · Oct 26, 2015

That is exactly what happens when a 20 pin hdmi cable drops a couple of pins.
Change that cable, should be all good after that.
The pics i posted a page back are exactly the same.

chadgadget · Oct 26, 2015

RolandS888 said:
Out flying today , had a really good day, 1000m (3300ft)+ range on the stock wifi cards (and antennas) is nothing to complain about, didnt even hit RTH, just decided to come back.
On the 3rd flight battery (and this is the third time it has happened on the third battery) the video feed started cracking up, I was ready this time and took some screen shots.
Then something happened that I hope exposes where the feed issue actually is. The app locked up and crashed, disconnecting from Solo wifi with the bird in the air, telemetry and control were solid the whole time.
I am hoping that this will show that the app is responsible for at least some of peoples problems in relation to video feed issues.
But why only after about 40 minutes flight time? I dont turn the tab or app off between flights, so perhaps it is logging and overloads a log file or something,. I dont know, but its starting to get predictable.
In future I will reset the app before each flight and see if that makes a difference.
These screen shots were taken over a 30 second period while the picture was coming and going and scrolling.
Anyone else see this sort of problem at all?

Yes, this is happening since the last update. I had a RTH at about 3k ft without any notification, signal was still showing 2 bars. Bird had flashing red LEDs and I could not regain control. The app was disconnected as well. Also, video scrolling and freezing. I have also gotten the warning that the GP needs an update and I loose video feed, which requires repowering everything. Not happy at all with latest update other than I can now power up solo while facing south and not have gimbal go all weird on me. I probably should have sent the flight logs to 3DR but I flew another battery at a shorter range and all was ok.

J R · Oct 26, 2015

RolandS888 said:
SOLVED!!!.
Im pretty sure I have found the cause of the intermittent freezing, rolling and picture loss.

Roland,

Thanks for the heads up! It does seem odd that putting my bird back together with the OEM cable solved my issue. If you've read my previous posts, I've got like 5 HDMI cables on the way, including the one from Relish. It'll probably take another week or two before I get my hands in it since it's coming from Singapore.

Now that you've shared your conclusion and while I'm waiting for my ribbon cable I'll keep an eye on it. If mine starts acting up again, I'll try one of the 2 other ones I have coming. One is an ultra thin cable that I'm interested in trying anyway. I've got about 4-5 flights (batteries) on my bird since I reassebled it so if it's going to go out again, it will probably do so soon.

I'll keep you and anyone else that's following this thread know here if I have to pull the cable again. Thanks for all of your help with this issue. Many times this is what it takes to resolve an issue. It's nice to have a place to go to discuss and resolve this issues. There are some knowledgable and thoughtful people on this forum!

Jerry

RolandS888 · Oct 26, 2015

No problem Jerry, Im happy that others may get some benefit from my endeavours.

This started very intermittently after I changed my wifi cards so initially I thought that it might be related, so I changed back to stock cards. I will now be changing the wifi cards back to the microtiks tonight, and put another 3 battery packs on it tomorrow with some range testing, weather permitting.
I have some time off work at the moment so I can fault find / mod / build my other drones at night, and test fly the next day.

Just unplugging and re-seating the oem hdmi cable may solve this kind of issue temporarily, it may even cure it, but the contacts on that cable are so tiny I'm not surprised they are going open circuit, if indeed that is what is happening, time will be the ultimate judge.
It would only take the slightest buzz through the frame to eventually cause those tiny (very gently sprung) hdmi contacts to go open circuit.
Im not really impressed with that licorice cable, its too stiff for an isolated gimbal, and it doesnt have the clearance at the back. I would hazard a guess that it is contacting the frame when flying at speed into a head wind.
For me, after trying so many different things and getting no definite results was frustrating, but when I first put it in the air with the new hdmi cable I could see the difference straight away.
Rock solid video, not one glitch in 3 full flights, first time ever. (My Solo has 5 hours air time on it now)
Im hoping that the ribbon may help reduce vibes transmission into the gimbal as well, but its the windiest time of year here at the moment so its hard to tell. I havent been right through the aircraft and balanced everything that spins like I have in my other MRs, that usually helps smooth things out as well.

Maddog · Oct 27, 2015

RolandS888 said:
Is just a hdmi shielded ribbon with the micro hdmi plug ends changed to what i need, one micro UP and one micro DOWN. All available on aliexpress for a few dollars.

Do you think you could post some part numbers?
Thanks!

Maverick19811 · Oct 27, 2015

Does anyone have a picture of the cable without having to disassemble or a source for the needed cable since the 3dr cable would be a waste of time to install. Going to be busy with work and wanted to get one on the way so I'll have it when I have more time.

J R · Oct 27, 2015

Mav,

I don't think anyone yet knows what cable is going to work. We're all just speculating at this point. You may want to read this thread as it also happens to pertain to the cable:

Are drones like coffee shops? | Page 2 | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

Also, for a temporary solution you may want to try removing the gimbal and disconnect and reconnect the HDMI connection. I completely removed my HDMI cable from both the gimbal and the board and then reinstalled the factory OEM cable and all has been working since. I'm still going to test and hopefully replace the OEM cable with one of the others that I've ordered but just uninstalling and reinstalling the stock cable got my stream back up and going.

Jerry

Maverick19811 · Oct 27, 2015

J R said:
Mav, I don't think anyone yet knows what cable is going to work. We're all just speculating at this point. You may want to read this thread as it also happens to pertain to the cable: Are drones like coffee shops? | Page 2 | 3D Robotics Drone Forum Also, for a temporary solution you may want to try removing the gimbal and disconnect and reconnect the HDMI connection. I completely removed my HDMI cable from both the gimbal and the board and then reinstalled the factory OEM cable and all has been working since. I'm still going to test and hopefully replace the OEM cable with one of the others that I've ordered but just uninstalling and reinstalling the stock cable got my stream back up and going. Jerry

J R · Oct 27, 2015

What????

Jerry

J R · Oct 29, 2015

RolandS888 said:
No problem Jerry, Im happy that others may get some benefit from my endeavours.

Roland & Others,

Well 2 HDMI cables down! The "ultra-thin" turned out to be not as thin as I thought. Actually about the same as the OEM. It didn't have the ferrite on it and was also slightly longer. I gave it a good go anyway. The ends are too bulky and the extra length just made things worse. I thought maybe the extra would give me a little more to flexibility when routing but it didn't.

Cable 2. I didn't even bother installing it. Same length and thickness as the OEM without the ferrite and with bulkier ends. Both go into the cable inventory under HDMI misc.

That leaves me with the Relish3d ribbon cable which is the one I had the highest hopes for anyway. Unfortunately, since its coming from Singapore I'm not sure when I'll have it in my hands. As soon as I have it and can test it, I'll give a shout out.

Jerry

Ralph E. Johnson · Mar 7, 2020

Projeffrey11 said:
I've mass produce a after market HDMI cable just like the one that 3drelish sells only diffence is I'm going to sell mine cheaper with free express shipping with in the US and Canada. going to be testing them out before I sell them.

Send me one ?