Prop Balancing

Hmm. I just sanded the bottom (concave side of the props) and used the balancer with aluminum friction wheels listed earlier. Works great and easy to balance and keeps prop integrity. To the point the slightest wind outside changes the balance, so indoors better
Thanks for the input, I will order those parts and try it. I agree drilling through the prop housing is introducing variables. The point is to be eliminating them. Have you noticed a smoother flight, longer battery life, or better video as a result?
 
I've only flown once so far on the single combo of 4 that were correctly factory balanced. I've not flown scientifically enough to tell. My impression was that some jerkiness I was experiencing was still present and thus unrelated to the props.

I honestly get the feeling the bird would compensate for issues in stabilize, and thus it may only affect wear and tear on motors.

I'd need some more flying dedicated to a test. At the moment I'm on holidays and each 15m flight in Hawaii will be focussed on scenery and not tests :) damn it would be nice to have that gimbal right now

I wonder if unbalanced props is likely to affect video more or less with a gimbal. It might stabilize it out but then it's also more smooth so you might notice issues more
 
Here is another video I shot today 2.7K @ 60fps I had an issue inflight with the gimbal. After landing and rebooting it was OK again.


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that looks like more than props, what kind of wind were you flying in? You have shake long before the fail, almost looks like the wires might be restricting the plate?
 
that looks like more than props, what kind of wind were you flying in? You have shake long before the fail, almost looks like the wires might be restricting the plate?
The winds were about 3-10 mph variable and occasional gusts. For my area this is relatively calm. I will check the wires again. After watching the flight school video I was concerned about the wires and checked them. Also after landing and rebooting the gimbal was normal again. I agree that the wind was causing the what you described. The gimbal fail and WiFi loss I believe were other issues as well. I am learning and observing more with each flight. I will get the props balanced and rule that out soon.
 
I've been balancing props for 35 years... Never had one break from bad balance... If you want the best footage, balanced props are essential. The rod and Dubro method above looks spot on. The biggest problem I have seen so far with the massive influx of user into the "drone" realm is lack of experience with flying things. I do NOT mean that as an attack, but rather as a statement of fact. I just balanced a 24" prop that goes on a 35HP motor with a bit of scotch tape. I ran up the plane about 30 min ago and it made a huge difference. Smooth as silk now. Not worried...

There is a HUGE learning curve that the autonomous nature of a Solo or similar craft masks. There is no substitute for stick time and practice. Get one of these Inductrix: Blade - #1 By Design Learn to fly the crap out of it. An added bonus is you can have a hoot with it indoors. It'll be the best 80 bucks you'll spend this year. If it saves your Solo ONCE, it's worth 10 times what you paid. Then, kick off the GPS and learn to fly the Solo. Don't let the solo fly you... If you can't fly, you WILL loose your Solo PERIOD. Or worse, hurt someone or something.

Out of balance props will cause jello in your video. Look up gimbal jello on YouTube. It's a problem that has plagued gimbals for years, it's not a Solo thing... It's an ongoing battle...
 
I've been balancing props for 35 years... Never had one break from bad balance... If you want the best footage, balanced props are essential. The rod and Dubro method above looks spot on. The biggest problem I have seen so far with the massive influx of user into the "drone" realm is lack of experience with flying things. I do NOT mean that as an attack, but rather as a statement of fact. I just balanced a 24" prop that goes on a 35HP motor with a bit of scotch tape. I ran up the plane about 30 min ago and it made a huge difference. Smooth as silk now. Not worried...

There is a HUGE learning curve that the autonomous nature of a Solo or similar craft masks. There is no substitute for stick time and practice. Get one of these Inductrix: Blade - #1 By Design Learn to fly the crap out of it. An added bonus is you can have a hoot with it indoors. It'll be the best 80 bucks you'll spend this year. If it saves your Solo ONCE, it's worth 10 times what you paid. Then, kick off the GPS and learn to fly the Solo. Don't let the solo fly you... If you can't fly, you WILL loose your Solo PERIOD. Or worse, hurt someone or something.

Out of balance props will cause jello in your video. Look up gimbal jello on YouTube. It's a problem that has plagued gimbals for years, it's not a Solo thing... It's an ongoing battle...
Thanks Tim, that is the feed back I was looking for. I am an experienced r/c pilot but new to quad and video. I totally agree that having a good flying quad is the first step. I am also new to gimbals. Thank you for confirming the jello. I will study my set up more and make sure it is balanced.
 
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I periscoped the balancing procedure, you can see it at @letsgoflyit

All my props are balanced and my gimbal is free to move (I think), and the apps are updated. Looking forward to getting her into the air! Once I have it set up correctly I am thinking about the software mod to fix the range issue.
 

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