Gimbal's intermittent nervous breakdown

Mauiwind · Oct 26, 2015

I get it all:
Duck walk
Nervous Nellie
Random dance

I've tried everything:
cables moved as per....
checked gimbal clearances
balanced idle gimbal
props balanced

An entire bottle of good red, several nights in a row.

Nothing is working.

Here's something that might be a clue to the grime:

Rebooting solo is like pulling the hammer back in Russian roulette. I just don't know what will happen when and if the gimbal initializes.

Sometimes: Red light on with GP and faded steady green light in back. Gimbal is like me at my age, a limp dick.

I can try turning it off and on (The whole shebang) and I get a different outcomes almost every time.
No movement, no messing around, just mindless on and off at the battery.

At other times, the gimbal will seem squeak tight. Snapping to attention saying," let's do this thing." Breathing green in back. Red glow in front. Kinda like being young again.

Sometimes, I pick up the aircraft from it's level and still position and the gimbal starts jumping around like a drowning cat.Sometimes, it'll sit there and make me stare at it, counting the seconds, then minutes before it decides to freak out. "Aha, I knew it! "Sometimes, it never freaks out. I just keep staring.

You know, it'd be really funny if I weren't hell bent on getting wonderful footage here in Hawaii.

I have visions of a an asphalt smoother slowly running over my Solo while the cam is on. Sort of recording it's own, horrific death. It's a freakin satisfying idea.

Can't you hear the crunching now?

I'm starting to think that I have to kill Solo before it kills me.

Earldgrayjr · Oct 26, 2015

Here is a poll question: Have you stopped beating your wife? YES/NO. LOL.

All that writing, and no mention of a trouble call. (head shaking).

Mauiwind · Oct 27, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
Here is a poll question: Have you stopped beating your wife? YES/NO. LOL.

All that writing, and no
mention of a trouble call. (head shaking).

My goodness, I had hoped to spare my friends at tech support. They are sincere, courteous, knowlevrable and very hard working people. I've come to know probably 6-7 of them since about April. That includes the VP of tech support, the team leader and indeed, the esteemed and visionary Mr. Anderson.
Lets be crystal sir, the one thing Ive learned about 3DR is that it is populated by well intended, hard working people. I also know that to harass them with continuing problems makes peoples' lives miserable. They know better than anyone that the product they have to account for is a support person's nightmare. And yet, like honorable (mostly men) they fight the good fight, day after day.
Of course, there is a tech support guy on this issue. I just want to focus not so much on the overwhelmed fixers, but the human experience of it all.

Maestro, is your head shaking like my gimbal? Perhaps its contagious. Lets call tech support.

Area25 · Oct 27, 2015

Earl,

I've read many if not all of your posts. The experience many if not most are having with the SOLO should not exist and there comes a time when regardless of the countless support tickets that have been sent you have to wonder why? If someone like yourself wants to endless work to fix it's problems and can get it to do what it was advertised to do then have it at. Many don't have the time nor patience to spend getting something to work rather shooting there video production. I assume that you own this UAV because you use it as a part of your career and the video it produces in conjunction with standard on the ground video pays the bills. IF you don't have to count on it when you leave the door to do it's job then happily spending time trying to get it to work is another experience entirely.

Earldgrayjr · Oct 27, 2015

Area25 said:
Earl,

I've read many if not all of your posts. The experience many if not most are having with the SOLO should not exist and there comes a time when regardless of the countless support tickets that have been sent you have to wonder why? If someone like yourself wants to endless work to fix it's problems and can get it to do what it was advertised to do then have it at. Many don't have the time nor patience to spend getting something to work rather shooting there video production. I assume that you own this UAV because you use it as a part of your career and the video it produces in conjunction with standard on the ground video pays the bills. IF you don't have to count on it when you leave the door to do it's job then happily spending time trying to get it to work is another experience entirely.

My experience is quite different. I see "some people" just like to complain. Others want to actually have things work. You can usually tell the difference, as the former spend a lot of time complaining, and almost none troubleshooting, and even then have no clear logic in mind. I suppose that makes sense, as many really prefer being angry to actually having things work, and others just don't have the know how or want to spend the time.

It is a bit funny, as I have become quite an expert at telling the difference.

My simple advice? If you want to be in high end video? Or you want to be in UAV's? And certainly if you want to be in both... Get used to it...

The Solo is just like a camera or a crane or anything else. You have to understand how it operates to use it well. This is NO different than any of the other gadgets I use. It could be a camera, or a computer. It doesn't matter. If something goes wrong (or at least you think it has) you have to understand how it is supposed to work, and troubleshoot it.

I learned troubleshooting from an electronics professor (about 40 years ago). and he taught me some great lessons.

The first thing is to understand how it is supposed to work, and understand how it does that. It is nearly impossible to fix something without knowing what it is supposed to do, and also how it does it. he called people trying to fix things without understanding them "parts swappers".

The second thing, is get the right tools, or otherwise figure out how to "see" the problem. That means meters, scopes, magnifying glasses, software, or what ever else you need to "see" rather than guess what is going on inside.

The third thing (which requires understanding the system) is to always "cut your problem in half". Find the middle of the problem and test it (lets use a worldwide network as an example, where Paris is the middle) Go to Paris. Test it there. Does it work left? Does it work right? With your answer, go to the middle again. And again... And again. This way, you can very quickly solve very large problems. This (as an example) is why I tell people to isolate problems between GoPro and Solo, and between the Solo and the gimbal, etc..

I have built and piloted all sorts of craft (mainly to get video) from those going to near space to things with wings, and wheels, and multi's and just about everything else. I have also used all kinds of electronic gadgets to get video. You need to understand it. All of it. There is no getting around it. And yes, I have previously (and do now) own all kinds of other multi's. The funny thing is that I am somewhat new to 3DR and obviously new to Solo.

The first thing to understand, is that the Solo "can" work. This should be obvious as there are many examples of that, but some are convinced there is a "design problem". IMHO, The Solo is just like the rest in many regards. It has different idiosyncrasies, but no more or less of them. It is particularly well suited for what I am doing (filming) based on the smart shots, waypoint capability (Tower) and the overall size and stability of the craft. I also already knew GoPro's well (I now have 8..... lol) and that made the learning curve easier for me. I also like the open source nature of it, allowing people to tweek it to their needs, and also the "future proof" nature of it, and am looking closely at a couple of the projects underway including the Red camera and Lidar.

Your assertion that "most" people are having problems... just is not reality. If so. please back that up with some data. In my case I have two, and I have them both working very well. Not sure what else you would like me to say? Should I tell you they aren't to fit your narrative? FYI, Both mine are nearly stock (except for FPVLR) though I have been careful to follow directions, and have spent time to understand how they work.

The reality.... is that most people come to forums like this when they are trying to solve a problem. Sometimes that is learning something, but more often it is a problem. The more sold, the more people show up with problems. That is the case with Solo, just as it is with Phantom, Q500, and anything else. If you go to the DJI forums, you will see hundreds of problem posts, and would think that every P3 owner either has a cracked shell or has had a "fly away". Of course that isn't the case.

As you will see here, I try to help people that are wanting and willing to help themselves. For those I will do what I can to help solve their problem, or get them to someone that can. Some people however are more interested in backing a brand than having something that works, having something work the way they "think" it should (usually based on some previous experience) and yet others are more interested in just complaining, and aren't willing to do much or anything.... I see this often as "I shouldn't be having this problem" and "for what I paid, it should just work". Neither of which does anything to make something work the way you want.

Sorry... I just have little patience for people that just like to complain... I like to make things work. Complaining doesn't do anything to make that happen.

If you have a problem you would like to solve, let me know.

Cheers

Maddog · Oct 28, 2015

Mauiwind said:
I get it all:
Duck walk
Nervous Nellie
Random dance

I've tried everything:
cables moved as per....
checked gimbal clearances
balanced idle gimbal
props balanced

An entire bottle of good red, several nights in a row.

Nothing is working.

Here's something that might be a clue to the grime:

Rebooting solo is like pulling the hammer back in Russian roulette. I just don't know what will happen when and if the gimbal initializes.

Sometimes: Red light on with GP and faded steady green light in back. Gimbal is like me at my age, a limp dick.

I can try turning it off and on (The whole shebang) and I get a different outcomes almost every time.
No movement, no messing around, just mindless on and off at the battery.

At other times, the gimbal will seem squeak tight. Snapping to attention saying," let's do this thing." Breathing green in back. Red glow in front. Kinda like being young again.

Sometimes, I pick up the aircraft from it's level and still position and the gimbal starts jumping around like a drowning cat.Sometimes, it'll sit there and make me stare at it, counting the seconds, then minutes before it decides to freak out. "Aha, I knew it! "Sometimes, it never freaks out. I just keep staring.

You know, it'd be really funny if I weren't hell bent on getting wonderful footage here in Hawaii.

I have visions of a an asphalt smoother slowly running over my Solo while the cam is on. Sort of recording it's own, horrific death. It's a freakin satisfying idea.

Can't you hear the crunching now?

I'm starting to think that I have to kill Solo before it kills me.

I know you said you've done it all but didn't see compass & level calibration on your list.

I was once touched by the limp "kiss of death". Fortunately doing both calibrations fixed it with no reoccurrence. Just trying to hep..