Gimbal Woes

emulsiondown · Oct 2, 2015

so it seems a lot of people have had issues with the gimbal. the drone itself i LOVE. when the gimbal works - WOW shots are gorgeous - but that's what sold me on the whole deal, SOLO, Gimbal and the GoPro which i already use.

i too have the droop issue, have gone through all the steps to take out and reinstall, removed the battery tray to run the cable behind the post and make sure to keep all the cables around the sides as much as possible.

i've recalibrated the drone, gps and compass after adding the gimbal and still have the issue. in addition to the droop issue, when the drone starts up and the gimbal whirs into action, it centers but not quite... it's just off center - which drives me nuts. AND i'm all of a sudden seeing propeller in top right corner of the 90 degree shots on 24p wide on the gopro - that's a new issue. any thoughts anyone? 3DR - what are you guys thinking about this - would be great to have an official thought.

nacjr · Oct 2, 2015

3DR recommends medium FOV

emulsiondown · Oct 2, 2015

thank you Nacjr - i'll give that a go!

Earldgrayjr · Oct 2, 2015

emulsiondown said:
thank you Nacjr - i'll give that a go!

Also the slightly off center of the Gopro is normal. When The GoPro is upside down the lens is centered, but right side up it is offset to one side. The slight angle gets a centered FOV,

Deleted member 2044 · Oct 2, 2015

I keep having gimbal spasms, where the gimbal freaks to an extreme bank and pitch. It'll hold the extreme position for about 10 seconds then level itself back to normal. But I've had all the same things you listed above, with the droop and slightly off centered gimbal. Solo is the first advance quad I've owned so I that maybe it was normal since I've never seen a DJI in action.

Earldgrayjr · Oct 2, 2015

Chemtrail Pilot said:
I keep having gimbal spasms, where the gimbal freaks to an extreme bank and pitch. It'll hold the extreme position for about 10 seconds then level itself back to normal. But I've had all the same things you listed above, with the droop and slightly off centered gimbal. Solo is the first advance quad I've owned so I that maybe it was normal since I've never seen a DJI in action.

It isn't normal for it to spasm. That means it is bound up at times, and is reseting.

Binding can be caused by several things, but the most common things are the motor niding on the frame due to the wires tugging on the gimbal. The best option is to open up the battery bay and look to see of the yaw gimbal motor is very close to the frame, and/or is offset in one direction.

Move the wires around to see which way they tug on the gimbal, and give the gimbal as much slack as possible. I also tied up other loose wires to keep them from moving around and touching the gimbal. There are a lot opf G forces going on in flight, and I believe things move around more than most realize. I have done this one two units (after having problems on the first try with the first unit) and have not had any issues with a couple dozen flights since.

It sounds like you have looked at this, but I would say look again

Hope it helps.

Adimuzio513 · Oct 3, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
It isn't normal for it to spasm. That means it is bound up at times, and is reseting.

Binding can be caused by several things, but the most common things are the motor niding on the frame due to the wires tugging on the gimbal. The best option is to open up the battery bay and look to see of the yaw gimbal motor is very close to the frame, and/or is offset in one direction.

Move the wires around to see which way they tug on the gimbal, and give the gimbal as much slack as possible. I also tied up other loose wires to keep them from moving around and touching the gimbal. There are a lot opf G forces going on in flight, and I believe things move around more than most realize. I have done this one two units (after having problems on the first try with the first unit) and have not had any issues with a couple dozen flights since.

It sounds like you have looked at this, but I would say look again

Hope it helps.

Second this and be sure your pointing north until the update, it's causing issues when powered on facing south.

David Weston · Oct 3, 2015

Exact same problem here as #1 post. Sent video to Support yesterday. Got this back.

After reviewing the issue you are experiencing it was determined to be a software related problem, we have a firmware update that will be out soon on Oct 5th and it should correct the issue. If you decide to wait until the update is released and you are still not satisfied with the Gimbal's performance we can issue a refund.

Let me know what option is best for you, regards!

Here's the video. Camera cocks to right 15 degrees when power on. Centers when power off. Had this thing apart so many times can do it in dark upside down. Can't upload file. Maybe a Windows 10 issue with the forum

https://vimeo.com/141256438

This was flight #1. Was Fine. No gimbal problem.

Then "The Problem" happened and from there I could see the prop and running light on the right front. And yes, I was facing North when I powered up.

.

David Weston · Oct 3, 2015

David Weston said:
Exact same problem here as #1 post. Sent video to Support yesterday. Got this back.

After reviewing the issue you are experiencing it was determined to be a software related problem, we have a firmware update that will be out soon on Oct 5th and it should correct the issue. If you decide to wait until the update is released and you are still not satisfied with the Gimbal's performance we can issue a refund.

Let me know what option is best for you, regards!

Here's the video. Camera cocks to right 15 degrees when power on. Centers when power off. Had this thing apart so many times can do it in dark upside down. Can't upload file. Maybe a Windows 10 issue with the forum

https://vimeo.com/141256438

This was flight #1. Was Fine. No gimbal problem.

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Then "The Problem" happened and from there I could see the prop and running light on the right front. And yes, I was facing North when I powered up.

.

Adimuzio513 · Oct 3, 2015

Man seems that the recent update may have actually caused some of the issues. Seems like there are more issues now, but I guess that could just be cause more gimbals are out there. October 5th can't come soon enough, hope this update fixes everything before solo and 3dr loses yet another round of loyal folks. So much potential and the solos that are working are amazing. Guess this is still a bumpy launch sadly, I actually thought since I'm in good shape now maybe we're out of the woods mostly, guess not just yet.

Good luck guys, wish I could do more.

Raybro · Oct 3, 2015

No issues with mine. Always straight and level. Did all the calibrations including the stick cal prior to installation and GP update.
Balancing is equally important as well. The gimbal should stay centered with no droop without power if properly balanced.

Raybro · Oct 3, 2015

Gotta maintain perspective on this. Probably a few thousand owners out there and a few are reporting issues. Also I don't take off with the nose facing South...another bug fix coming the 5th.

David Weston · Oct 3, 2015

Also did the stick cal,,,twice. No improvement. What I don't understand is how I could have the 1st flight which seemed pretty normal, not absolutely perfect as I have not balanced the props, but pretty close. Then, on the second flight this starts. Since it appears that others are having the same issue, hoping there is a software fix. Guess we'll see Monday. Otherwise I enjoy exploring the range of capabilities SOLO has.

Jubalr · Oct 3, 2015

Raybro said:
No issues with mine. Always straight and level. Did all the calibrations including the stick cal prior to installation and GP update.
Balancing is equally important as well. The gimbal should stay centered with no droop without power if properly balanced.

Same here, but have never done a stick cal since I received the Solo in June. But I did balance the gimbal since I usually fly with a filter. Haven't noticed if I have ever took off facing south, but have to assume I have.

@David Weston, is your gimbal pretty well balanced with the GP installed and no power?

Adimuzio513 · Oct 3, 2015

David Weston said:
Also did the stick cal,,,twice. No improvement. What I don't understand is how I could have the 1st flight which seemed pretty normal, not absolutely perfect as I have not balanced the props, but pretty close. Then, on the second flight this starts. Since it appears that others are having the same issue, hoping there is a software fix. Guess we'll see Monday. Otherwise I enjoy exploring the range of capabilities SOLO has.

Yea seems like software should do it, they've done pretty well at fixing most of the other issues through updates and they had to have had this hardware working in testing, so I'm pretty optimistic those having problems should be in good shape this week. Hope so anyway I'm playing with power director now and I am noticing some horizon tilt, about like that I saw with p3 here and there, seems the last update didn't work as they hoped. Hopefully the longer time in between updates is giving them time to make sure this one is smoother.

David Weston · Oct 3, 2015

Yes, perfectly. If you watch the video it goes from perfect position, then when powered tilts, and at the very end when the red light goes out, power off, it reverts back to perfectly balanced again.

Adimuzio513 · Oct 3, 2015

Think balance may help my issue as well ill try it out if the weather gets better here.

emulsiondown · Oct 4, 2015

I had to laugh today while out for the first time with a friend and fellow fligher. The SOLO itself is solid, quick to respond and fairly accurate. I was excited when I got the gimbal, but since then I've watched more YouTube than I've ever watched! Read more forum posts on the SAME topic - Gimbal Droop! lol

so today after having thought I'd finally solved the issue, kept all cables and wired away from the disc at the same time as keeping the disc away from the board... first flight up I didn't touch the gimbal control just enjoyed the amazing view. then I hit the tilt lever and BOOM droop.

got home opened it all up again to check where everything had moved or not. the gimbal disc had moved back towards the board slightly and so I took it all apart and reran the cables and took it up again tonight - checked it before it went up, reran the gps and lvl calibration with gimbal and GoPro connected. perfect - no droop.

took it up panned the SOLO around, perfect, then I got cocky and tilted the camera and boom droop city. I'm not taking it apart any more. lol

can't t wait til tomorrow. couple of shots here of where i stuck the gimbal cable and how the disc sat before closing up.

Del · Oct 4, 2015

You didint forget to point the Solo north...did yah?

David Weston · Oct 4, 2015

No, I didn't. Plus I have done a Factory Reset as well. I love all the things SOLO can do. My 1st Tower mission just awed me. And I know this will get fixed also. I just keep reminding my self that all issues are software issues, unless they are hardware issues. Either way 3DR is standing behind their product and are responsive,,,,which is why I went 3DR to begin with.