Just a word on the gimbal

[Earldgrayjr]

I had my first gimbal really early. I wizzed through the install, but had the battery tray out by instinct, and it went well. I have had zero problems with it.

The second gimbal was another story. I did the same thing, but was having "drooping" and the gimbal doing weird things in flight. I was able to ffix it

Here is what i have found.

The drooping appears to be caused by the software sensing "over current" to the motors and stopping for a moment. The gimbal drops at that point, and the Solo resets it and it starts working.

1. Anything touching the silver yaw motor on the gimbal (you can see it from the top with the battery tray out) will give your problems..

2. Any wires touching the gimbal (other than those connected) will cause vibrations and give you shaking.

3. The HDM cable can "tug" on the gimbal pulling it in one direction and making the motor bind on the frame, or other wires. The data cable can do the same thing, but to a lesser degree.

The HDMI cable tugging on the gimbal was my problem on the second unit.

Solution: If you grab the HDMI cable at the front of the Solo, by the ferrite bead, and move it back and forth along the front of the Solo, you can see if it is tugging on the gimbal and moving it.. If it is, move it in the opposite direction, to give it slack. Pull it to one side (that doesn't tug on the gimbal) and anchor it to the frame. I used a thin strip of duc tape, though I may go back in at some point and repalce it with something more permanent now that I know the deal. Do the same with the data cable if needed, and anything else that might touch the gimbal. One thin strip of tape on teh HDMI cable was all I needed. Now I have two units working perfecty

 

[1264_Solo]

good tips to know, I'll go over this when I try to troubleshoot.
definitely had problems today. caught some very bad vibrations especially closer the gimbal go to the ground. The images were noticeably shakey and I also had an error when tilting my gimbal. Told me call 3DR for support which I will do tomorrow.

Growing pains man......

 

[Earldgrayjr]

good tips to know, I'll go over this when I try to troubleshoot.
definitely had problems today. caught some very bad vibrations especially closer the gimbal go to the ground. The images were noticeably shakey and I also had an error when tilting my gimbal. Told me call 3DR for support which I will do tomorrow.

Growing pains man......

You might try this even before calling. I thought the same thing, and even thought "I am a pro at this" but opened it up on a lark. Sure enough, it was the install, even though I had been careful. It's all about the touchin and tuggin

 

[Adimuzio513]

Does seem a bit of luck and trial and error can be involved with this seemingly simple install. I'd say these tips will most likley help most issues folks are having as always great info Earl.

Only other issue I've seen posted but not had myself is the one with the wires leading into the tilt axis between the cam mount and the motor. Their really the only wires you can see from the outside of the gimbal and your camera needs to be detached to really notice them. A couple folks said the shiny ribbon cable next to the red and white wires were misplaced a bit hanging theirs up, otherwise I think you got all other possibilities out of the way.

I'm sure a couple are QC or maybe something else like the don't start solo pointing south oddity, great post though and I'd bet it helps folks not need to send theirs in or even call 3dr very soon.

Thanks

 

[Maddog]

Great info as usual Earl! What problem were you having?
I just installed mine yesterday- today I noticed:

1) while hovering about 6' above the ground, facing me. Upon viewing the footage, I noticed the camera was moving around slightly. Left to right was more noticeable than up & down. I thought it would be steadier, like being on a tripod. No?

2) While flying forward about 10 MPH, the left front extended leg (3D Relish) would occasionally "pop" into view. As if the gimbal was pointed slightly to the left and any slight turbulence would "bump" it further left momentarily. Normal gimbal behavior?

Any and all input greatly appreciated!

(Will pull the battery tray ASAP and check it out)

 

[Earldgrayjr]

Great info as usual Earl! What problem were you having?
I just installed mine yesterday- today I noticed:

1) while hovering about 6' above the ground, facing me. Upon viewing the footage, I noticed the camera was moving around slightly. Left to right was more noticeable than up & down. I thought it would be steadier, like being on a tripod. No?

2) While flying forward about 10 MPH, the left front extended leg (3D Relish) would occasionally "pop" into view. As if the gimbal was pointed slightly to the left and any slight turbulence would "bump" it further left momentarily. Normal gimbal behavior?

Any and all input greatly appreciated!

Mine was the dreadeed "droop" where the camera just goes limp for a second, and then comes back to life, and noticable shaking.

I wouldn;t count it out though... Depending on what an where thing are touching, could give you different results, and without tucking things away (as I did) things can move around. I think that is whey some of it sounds like trial and error.

If you tale the top off, it is treyy easy to see with a bright flashlight, and tuck things away. Seriously make sure nothing is touching, and the two connected cables aren't tugging on it.

No way to know until you try, but it won;t hurt. Then do a level and compass calibration (once everything is tied down) and then reboot everything.

Let me know how it goes... I am curious...

 

[Maddog]

Mine was the dreadeed "droop" where the camera just goes limp for a second, and then comes back to life, and noticable shaking.

I wouldn;t count it out though... Depending on what an where thing are touching, could give you different results, and without tucking things away (as I did) things can move around. I think that is whey some of it sounds like trial and error.

If you tale the top off, it is treyy easy to see with a bright flashlight, and tuck things away. Seriously make sure nothing is touching, and the two connected cables aren't tugging on it.

No way to know until you try, but it won;t hurt. Then do a level and compass calibration (once everything is tied down) and then reboot everything.

Let me know how it goes... I am curious...

Will do..won't be able to do it until tomorrow but will post up as soon as I can.

 

[Projeffrey11]

I had my first gimbal really early. I wizzed through the install, but had the battery tray out by instinct, and it went well. I have had zero problems with it.

The second gimbal was another story. I did the same thing, but was having "drooping" and the gimbal doing weird things in flight. I was able to ffix it

Here is what i have found.

The drooping appears to be caused by the software sensing "over current" to the motors and stopping for a moment. It drrops at that point, and the Solo resets it and it starts working.

1. Anything touching the silver yaw motor on the gimbal (you can see it from the top with the battery tray out) will give your problems..

2. Any wires touching the gimbal (other than those connected) will cause vibrations and give you shaking.

3. The HDM cable can "tug" on the gimbal pulling it in one direction and making the motor bind on the frame, or other wires. The data cable can do the same thing, but to a lesser degree.

The HDMI cable tugging on the gimbal was my problem on the second unit.

Solution: If you grab the HDMI cable at the front of the Solo, by the ferrite bead, and move it back and forth along the front of the Solo, you can see if it is tugging on the gimbal and moving it.. If it is, move it in the opposite direction, to give it slack. Pull it to one side (that doesn't tug on the gimbal) and anchor it to the frame. I used a thin strip of duc tape, though I may go back in at some point and repalce it with something more permanent now that I know the deal. Do the same with the data cable if needed, and anything else that might touch the gimbal. One thin strip of tape on teh HDMI cable was all I needed. Now I have two units working perfecty

Good tips!

 

[timzee]

If you tale the top off, it is treyy easy to see with a bright flashlight, and tuck things away.

Great info.

But not clear to me what you're referring to. How/where are you taking the top off?

 

[Earldgrayjr]

Great info.

But not clear to me what you're referring to. How/where are you taking the top off?

There is a "tear down" video floating around here. You pop the GPS cover off (I use an old butter knife) and remove 7 screws in the battery tray. No need to disconnect the GPS. Just lay it aside.

 

[Del]

Great info.

But not clear to me what you're referring to. How/where are you taking the top off?

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[timzee]

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Ah, got it. Hopefully I'll never need to go that far, but useful to know how it's done.

 

[Earldgrayjr]

Ah, got it. Hopefully I'll never need to go that far, but useful to know how it's done.

It really isn't that hard, and I highly recommend it for installing the gimbal..

 

[GoodnNuff]

I'm watching all these threads and learning. My Gimbal is finally on its way from Fry's and should arrive Monday. Hopefully by following these tips I can avoid any issues.

 

[Del]

It really isn't that hard, and I highly recommend it for installing the gimbal..

I totally agree with you Earl... I highly recommend also after installing the gimbal is to take the battery tray out and taking a look inside to make sure the Yaw motor Isint rubbing or touching the mother board and to make sure the cables are also not rubbing against the yaw motor! Iv done this procedure when installing my gimbal and I'm glad I did because I noticed right away that my Yaw motor wasn't centered..it was pushed against the mother board from the Stiff cables pushing the yaw against the mother board..and you would never see this if you didint take off the Battery tray to take a look!
So I just push and pulled the stiff cable the opposite direction relieving the stress and it helped center my Yaw and away from the mother board! Then I put everything back together and tested all the Gimbals functions and features on my coffee table and everything worked..had no vibrations or flops and I had live feed..everything looked great! But I having had time to test it in the field yet.. Hoping to do that this weekend,!
Iv read that doing this procedure taking the battery tray off after installing the Gimbal solved a major of people's gimbal problems..!

 

[Del]

I'm watching all these threads and learning. My Gimbal is finally on its way from Fry's and should arrive Monday. Hopefully by following these tips I can avoid any issues.

I havint had my Gimbal yet at the time..but I was pretty nervous reading all these gimbal nightmares after people installing it!
But with all the tips I've read about people solving a lot of there gimbal problem by taking out the battery tray seems like a damn good idea to me ...so I didint wait till I had a problem to do so...I did it right away after installing my Gimbal! I suggest everybody should do it when installing their gimbal

 

[Nazgul]

Great info.
I will mount the gimbal with care.

 

[David Baldovin]

Mine also had the gimbal pushed over with stiff wires. It seams that battery tray removal is a must do with gimbal install.

 

[Maddog]

Mine was the dreadeed "droop" where the camera just goes limp for a second, and then comes back to life, and noticable shaking.

I wouldn;t count it out though... Depending on what an where thing are touching, could give you different results, and without tucking things away (as I did) things can move around. I think that is whey some of it sounds like trial and error.

If you tale the top off, it is treyy easy to see with a bright flashlight, and tuck things away. Seriously make sure nothing is touching, and the two connected cables aren't tugging on it.

No way to know until you try, but it won;t hurt. Then do a level and compass calibration (once everything is tied down) and then reboot everything.

Let me know how it goes... I am curious...

Well, I removed the battery tray and noticed the HDMI cable was laying on top of the front edge of the gimbal. It was making contact but didn't seem to be putting pressure on it.



I decided to lift it up higher by using some hot melt glue.



No other issues noted so I closed it up. After doing so I realized I had forgotten to do a level & compass calibration.

Today I went flying but did both calibrations first. I noticed a slight tendency for the gimbal to "tilt" in relationship to the horizon when coming out of a turn, but it leveled itself quickly.

It took me awhile to realize you need to double-click the gimbal camera presets to get the gimbal to move to the preset angle.

I think it is working fine but it will take some time to learn the best angles for different flight modes- I hope.. :-(

 

[timzee]

It took me awhile to realize you need to double-click the gimbal camera presets to get the gimbal to move to the preset angle.

Double click? You sure about that? I've never had to do that.