Solo Gimbal HDMI port question

TurboGhost · Feb 2, 2018

Ok, so i was recently able to get a " used " gimbal with screw driver, sun shade, foam block, warranty & install papers, and a box off of ebay for a little less than $150 after a really long time of searching! I put used in quotations because it shows absolutely no signs of use... Anywhere! Theres still clean factory locktight on the 3 screws, so if it was used it wasnt for long.

Anyway this brings me to my question

I hear all these horror stories of the hdmi ports breaking off the boards rendering them useless in most cases, but how exactly do the break? What causes the port to break off? Is it the fact that the factory hdmi cable is really stiff and the board constantly moves on the iso balls? Or does it happen after a hard landing or crash where the gimbal is physically struck by an object?

Also has anyone tried anything to prevent this from happening, like maybe shootin a little hot glue on the board over the hdmi to kinda reinforce it a little? Or maybe zip tie a small section of wire to the gimbal itself so even if the gimbal was ejected during a crash, the zip tie would take the brunt of the impact instead of the port itself?

Sorry for such a long question, just trying to figure out how to keep it safe.

DaveB · Feb 3, 2018

Most of the time the HDMI female connector comes off during install. If you hold down on it you should be fine.Hot glue on it will help in a "lite crash" it is VERY fragile.

RichWest · Feb 3, 2018

The only proven method is to apply additional solder to the four support pins of the hdmi connector, if it is needed at all. Tie-wrap, hot glue or epoxy are not long term solutions.

I'm fairly certain there is a percentage of factory defects in the soldering of the connector. I blame lead-free solder to a certain degree for the issue. Solder is there, but failed to wick up fully on to the four pins. But then there is a larger number of failures due to improper installation of the hdmi cable or some ham fisting the connection.

Like you had mentioned, vibrating the connection at some high frequency will eventually fatigue any connector. Ideally the hdmi cable should float off and around the gimbal unrestricted, at least for the first 3 or 4 inches. If you restrict the hdmi cable's ability to float, then you've created a hard point to allow the vibes to transfer onto the gimbal's connector. My opinion, is that it would be expected results to have fail.

Case in point. A seemingly popular method (YouTube video) of installing the hdmi cable was to place the cable behind one of the main board's support post. I wonder how many followed this method and now have a non working gimbal? I suspect a high percentage, but blamed as a factory defect once failed.... One just never knows what is the true cause.

I'm no expert on the subject, just one man's opinion after 2+ years of reading of the failures. Also having had the advantage to repair a few gimbals, so there is some level of understanding. I've had no issues that were not of my on doing. ymmv