Relish3d HDMI Ribbon Cable Received...

[J R]

Okay, got the ribbon cable today. Could have been packaged a bit better. Came in a regular envelope with a small piece of bubble wrap around it. Fortunately, it didn't get mangled up in a sorting machine or something. Took a little to install it, unlike the video floating around here, my main board doesn't "tilt up" as easily or as far as the one in the video. My rear motor wires must be shorter than the ones in the video.

Because the ribbon cable is limp, I can't get more than 1/16 - 1/4" space between the board and the shell. The HDMI connector on the board is pretty far back, it took a bit to get the connectors lined up and pushed into place. I used a pair of tweezers on the corner of the HDMI connector board of the new ribbon cable to hold it in place so I could get my fore finger up in through the gimbal bay to push it into place. The rest of the install was pretty easy.

You need to take care when putting the battery bay back into place as the ribbon cable could get pinched. It could pinch right at one of the battery bay screws posts. The one where the battery connector is located. If not paying attention you could poke a hole in it when reinstalling the screw.

Installing the gimbal end is a piece of cake. The cable, very noticeably, relieves a lot of pressure on the gimbal and certainly makes for a much cleaner install. Unfortunately, you've still got the very rigid gimbal data cable to deal with. Now that all of the pressure is relieved from the OEM HDMI cable, the rigidity of the data cable becomes much more apparent and noticeable. I played around with it a bit but I'm concerned about damaging it by doing too much to it. If I still have issues after some testing I may try to cut the sheathing away on the data cable to relieve some more pressure.

I did a quick bench test and the video feed looks good but I can't test it in flight because of the weather here. I'll do so as soon as I get the chance and report back on this thread.

IMHO, the original design of the HDMI and gimbal data cable and connections could have been better. It seems like something that 3dr could and should revise in future productions so newer (and repeat) purchasers don't have to deal with this issue.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop a note and give everyone the skinny.

Jerry

 

[PSLJeff]

Thanks for the write up Jerry. Mine is on the way and I can't wait to get it installed. I seem to be one of the "lucky" ones with little vibration but I'll take any help I can get.

 

[RichWest]

What no pictures or video tutorial?......

Anxious to hear of a positive outcome.

Interesting about the battery tray screw being a potential issue. I keep forgetting these screws/supports are there...

So how is the side to side movement of the gimbal when installed with the ribbon cable? It would be more obvious if the battery tray were removed to view the ribbon's interaction.

The data cable could be converted to stranded wire, would make the best sense overall to relieve the loading it has on the gimbal. If formed correctly, the original data cable, should have a minimal influences based on my experiences and opinion. ymmv

 

[J R]

"What no pictures or video tutorial?......"

Nah, couldn't do it by myself and the wife wasn't around. Maybe next time!

"So how is the side to side movement of the gimbal when installed with the ribbon cable? It would be more obvious if the battery tray were removed to view the ribbon's interaction."

The gimbal is centered and flipping the bird around shows that the gimbal appears to be moving as it should. I don't see any pressure spots.

"If formed correctly, the original data cable, should have a minimal influences based on my experiences and opinion."

Yeah, I'm not sure how to form that data cable. I'd sure like to try to do something with it. Send me a link to the video you made!

Jerry

 

[David Weston]

Mine is probably in the mailbox. I too have just a itty bitty teeny weeny vibration from time to time. Most often whe shifting gears,,manual to FLY.. started slowing down to a stop in manual when in sight, then FLY. Not crazy about pulling SOLO's guts out,,but if good reports, then surgery is needed. Looking forward to reports

 

[RolandS888]

Good to hear you are back up and running Jerry.
I have a feeling this will become a standard mod.
Good write up too.
Did you remove the 2 LH motor pods to tip the board, or just try to lift it with everything connected?
Sometime the wires are stuffed inside the legs and a gentle tug can get some extra length allowing you to lift the board, but, if you pull too hard the wires can unplug. So to be safe I take those 2 pods off if I am tipping the board.

 

[J R]

Did you remove the 2 LH motor pods to tip the board, or just try to lift it with everything connected?

Thanks for the tips Roland! No, I didn't remove the pods. I probably should have though. Would have made things a bit easier. I've had this thing opened up about 5-6 times already, saw the "tilt" video and took the shortcut. The video made it look easier than it was on my bird. I'm hoping that's the last time I'm going to open her up for a while, fingers crossed. I did order my APC ST props this morning too!

Jerry

 

[Maddog]

Thanks for the tips Roland! No, I didn't remove the pods. I probably should have though. Would have made things a bit easier. I've had this thing opened up about 5-6 times already, saw the "tilt" video and took the shortcut. The video made it look easier than it was on my bird. I'm hoping that's the last time I'm going to open her up for a while, fingers crossed. I did order my APC ST props this morning too!

Jerry

APC ST props? Are they better than Solo props? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[David Weston]

JR, just a thought about removing the pods and tilting the board. I have replaced the #3 pod and that was pretty easy. Pulling the wires out and then feeding them back through seems more difficult. Was thinking about tying a string to the wires on the left side, kinda like a fish wire, then pulling wires partially through the legs to get more slack, then just pull them back into position when the new HDMI cable is installed. What do you think? Also, did you do any kind of shielding on the new ribbon cable? Aluminum foil, etc. Going to mod SOLO tomorrow.

 

[Raybro]

Okay, got the ribbon cable today. Could have been packaged a bit better. Came in a regular envelope with a small piece of bubble wrap around it. Fortunately, it didn't get mangled up in a sorting machine or something. Took a little to install it, unlike the video floating around here, my main board doesn't "tilt up" as easily or as far as the one in the video. My rear motor wires must be shorter than the ones in the video.

Because the ribbon cable is limp, I can't get more than 1/16 - 1/4" space between the board and the shell. The HDMI connector on the board is pretty far back, it took a bit to get the connectors lined up and pushed into place. I used a pair of tweezers on the corner of the HDMI connector board of the new ribbon cable to hold it in place so I could get my fore finger up in through the gimbal bay to push it into place. The rest of the install was pretty easy.

You need to take care when putting the battery bay back into place as the ribbon cable could get pinched. It could pinch right at one of the battery bay screws posts. The one where the battery connector is located. If not paying attention you could poke a hole in it when reinstalling the screw.

Installing the gimbal end is a piece of cake. The cable, very noticeably, relieves a lot of pressure on the gimbal and certainly makes for a much cleaner install. Unfortunately, you've still got the very rigid gimbal data cable to deal with. Now that all of the pressure is relieved from the OEM HDMI cable, the rigidity of the data cable becomes much more apparent and noticeable. I played around with it a bit but I'm concerned about damaging it by doing too much to it. If I still have issues after some testing I may try to cut the sheathing away on the data cable to relieve some more pressure.

I did a quick bench test and the video feed looks good but I can't test it in flight because of the weather here. I'll do so as soon as I get the chance and report back on this thread.

IMHO, the original design of the HDMI and gimbal data cable and connections could have been better. It seems like something that 3dr could and should revise in future productions so newer (and repeat) purchasers don't have to deal with this issue.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop a note and give everyone the skinny.

Jerry

So it looks like it took 3 weeks or so? Glad you finally got it. Guess you heard about Austin....over 13" rain Friday morning in just a few hours time. Freeway was a river. The most ever recorded for a single day.
So now we need a more flexible gimbal power cable? No flying this morning as it's raining again. Supposed to be nice in the afternoon.
Post some video Jerry when you can get out. Wanna see how it looks. Take care.

 

[SteveReno]

Good Morning everyone,
David, tying a string "Wrap around Data+Pod+Antenna" about 6" in length, should work for tilting the board to add HDMI.

 

[J R]

APC ST props? Are they better than Solo props? Inquiring minds want to know!

Maddog,

Inquiring minds are going to have to read:

Poll..Graupner 10x5 or Stock Solo Props? | Page 2 | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

I'm an amateur when it comes to this kind of stuff. I'm following the lead of a few of the more technically knowledgable! The guys in that thread understand this stuff way better than my pea brain can comprehend. I would suggest you "inquire" with someone who may actually have an answer! I'm a test pilot, Man! Look at my face !

Jerry

 

[J R]

What do you think? Also, did you do any kind of shielding on the new ribbon cable? Aluminum foil, etc. Going to mod SOLO tomorrow.

David,

Looks like Steve already provided the answer to part of your post, I think he's right. Even if you do that, I think you will still need to disconnect one connector on the PCB board. Not sure what it is but it would be on the lower-left part of the board when looking down at the board from the back of the bird. You'll know what I'm talking about as soon as you try to tilt the board.

I did not shield the cable. I decided that I want to try it as is before I do anything else. It's easy enough to get at if I find that I need to shield it. Good luck with your install and make sure you share your results here. I'm hoping to test mine out today.

Jerry

 

[J R]

So it looks like it took 3 weeks or so?

Ray,

Yeah, the Daughter got stuck waiting out the tornado warnings in a shelter. I don't know that the data cable is going to cause any further issues, the ribbon really lightened the load. I just don't like how rigid it is and the way the wires come off of the PCB right above the connection socket, forcing you to do that loop.

Jerry

 

[rrmccabe]

David, those cables are quite easy to string through there. I think when you do it you wont have any problem. But string cant hurt

 

[Raybro]

Ray,

Yeah, the Daughter got stuck waiting out the tornado warnings in a shelter. I don't know that the data cable is going to cause any further issues, the ribbon really lightened the load. I just don't like how rigid it is and the way the wires come off of the PCB right above the connection socket, forcing you to do that loop.

Jerry

Good thing you're not at the lake. Looks like it is moving up that way.
The only way to remedy that is mount the connector in a different way. Hopefully 3DR will come out with a better more flexible, round cable.

 

[Maddog]

Maddog,

Inquiring minds are going to have to read:

Poll..Graupner 10x5 or Stock Solo Props? | Page 2 | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

I'm an amateur when it comes to this kind of stuff. I'm following the lead of a few of the more technically knowledgable! The guys in that thread understand this stuff way better than my pea brain can comprehend. I would suggest you "inquire" with someone who may actually have an answer! I'm a test pilot, Man! Look at my face !

Jerry

Funny!

 

[J R]

Okay, here's the first mini-test with the new Relish3d HDMI (unshielded) cable installed. Wind was between 21-25 mph. When you see the bird stop and focus on a tree, I'm actually letting it hover. The wind is moving it around. I exported it using Go Pro Studio at it's normal 2.7k 60fps resolution but YouTube must have dropped it to 1080p (maybe that's the highest they do). I did use the ProTune preset, not sure if I should have done so but it brought out some color. I really haven't used Go Pro Studio up until now.

Anyway, I'd love to get some thoughts from you guys about what you think.

Jerry

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[Projeffrey11]

Okay, here's the first mini-test with the new Relish3d HDMI (unshielded) cable installed. Wind was between 21-25 mph. When you see the bird stop and focus on a tree, I'm actually letting it hover. The wind is moving it around. I exported it using Go Pro Studio at it's normal 2.7k 60fps resolution but YouTube must have dropped it to 1080p (maybe that's the highest they do). I did use the ProTune preset, not sure if I should have done so but it brought out some color. I really haven't used Go Pro Studio up until now.

Anyway, I'd love to get some thoughts from you guys about what you think.

Jerry

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Looks good, by the way YouTube support's up to 4k video. How come the cable isn't shielded, shouldn't be shielded?

 

[J R]

Looks good, by the way YouTube support's up to 4k video. How come the cable isn't shielded, shouldn't be shielded?

Pro,

Not sure why it only uploaded at 1080p. You'd have to ask the Relish3d guts why they didn't shield it. So yours are shielded?

Jerry