Vibration - motor balance or firmware bug?

[JonW]

A lot of Solo owners, myself included are still trying to track down the source of vibrations and shaky video. I have followed the threads on motor balancing and the ribbon cable. But it also sounds like some either didn't have the problem before the last FW update or it is worse since then. I heard the guys on the DroneU podcast talking about their Solo and that they only had a problem with instability and shake after the last FW update. They are working with 3DR to remedy it but haven't fixed it yet. I received my current (2nd) Solo the day that the current FW came out so it was never flown on the previous FW and I don't have a before/after comparison, but it has had shake since day 1. I flew my previous Solo on the old FW but with no gimbal. I've been back and forth with 3DR, sending flight logs, but they are so far telling me they don't see any motor problems. Now they want me to send them video, which I hope I have time for today before tomorrow's snow comes in. But it does seem like there's definitely a firmware component to this problem and the "fixes" like the ribbon cable are maybe bandaids for a bigger problem.

Thoughts?

 

[Earldgrayjr]

A lot of Solo owners, myself included are still trying to track down the source of vibrations and shaky video. I have followed the threads on motor balancing and the ribbon cable. But it also sounds like some either didn't have the problem before the last FW update or it is worse since then. I heard the guys on the DroneU podcast talking about their Solo and that they only had a problem with instability and shake after the last FW update. They are working with 3DR to remedy it but haven't fixed it yet. I received my current (2nd) Solo the day that the current FW came out so it was never flown on the previous FW and I don't have a before/after comparison, but it has had shake since day 1. I flew my previous Solo on the old FW but with no gimbal. I've been back and forth with 3DR, sending flight logs, but they are so far telling me they don't see any motor problems. Now they want me to send them video, which I hope I have time for today before tomorrow's snow comes in. But it does seem like there's definitely a firmware component to this problem and the "fixes" like the ribbon cable are maybe bandaids for a bigger problem.

Thoughts?

Haven't heard of firmware causing shakes. My advice is look at the Solo. Is it shaking? Vibrating? Be careful, but touch it. Legs vibrating? Gimbal? Front? Back? If you have balanced props, my bet is it is motors needing balance. That doesn't mean it is a bad motor. Same as props, but with more dramatic results.

 

[JonW]

I did the best I could balancing motors. I got 3 to where they generated a low level sine wave on a vibration app. The 4th, after my best efforts showed a slightly higher level sawtooth wave. I thought for sure 3DR would identify a motor problem in my flight logs. But they said they saw vibration but no motor problem . They want me to send video.

 

[J R]

Thoughts?

Jon,

I feel your pain, Man. I decided to do the HDMI ribbon cable first, probably because it was the hot topic when I first started reading about this issue. I'm glad I did the cable as the OEM one just seemed awkward to me anyway. Now it's on to the stiff data cable andprop and motor balancing.

Although I've had some other difficult issues with my "white" one, the camera and gimbal is solid so far. To me, a total amateur in all respects, it's just a better setup. Since I have absolutely no experience in photography, videography or editing that setup has served me better so far.

That being said, I'm a retired guy with some time on my hands and I need to keep the brain engaged anyway so I kind of enjoy learning and fiddling. Since your a professional, you probably have a very different objective.

After studying the Solo product and getting an education here, I'm starting to settle in. Reading things like the Solo 2 thread, strengthens my resolve to stick it out in the Solo camp. I knew there would be issues, especially after the gimbal debacle, so issues like I'm experiencing are minor in the bigger scheme of things. The Solo is still an extremely new product.

I really believe that this thing will continue to evolve in a very positive way. It may take a while but when you have people like the people on this forum, identifying and resolving issues in their own basements it's bound to get better. Add to that the open architecture and it's definitely a great road to travel down.

I really believe that this micro, mini, judder, yudder issue will get resolved on this very forum within the next month or two. The people (like you and me) that have it are pulling out all of the stops. Somebody is going to find the solution(s). Too many people don't have it.

I'll tell you this, I haven't had to pull my P3 apart yet (thank God!) but I had to disassemble and reassemble my entire P2V+v3 including camera and gimbal and I sure wouldn't want to do it again! I've had this Solo half apart on half a dozen or more occasions and it's night and day. I am much more comfortable tearing into this thing Any day of the week.

Again, take my talk with a grain of salt. I'm not a professional. I'm a half a jack at a few things and a master of absolutely none!

Jerry

 

[mudman]

I often thought that it shaking might be caused by the "twitchy" way that solo corrects its position, I noticed that mine seems to snap around to correct its yaw.
I wonder if the shaking occurs in manual mode or just GPS.

 

[JonW]

Jon,

I feel your pain, Man. I decided to do the HDMI ribbon cable first, probably because it was the hot topic when I first started reading about this issue. I'm glad I did the cable as the OEM one just seemed awkward to me anyway. Now it's on to the stiff data cable andprop and motor balancing.

Although I've had some other difficult issues with my "white" one, the camera and gimbal is solid so far. To me, a total amateur in all respects, it's just a better setup. Since I have absolutely no experience in photography, videography or editing that setup has served me better so far.

That being said, I'm a retired guy with some time on my hands and I need to keep the brain engaged anyway so I kind of enjoy learning and fiddling. Since your a professional, you probably have a very different objective.

After studying the Solo product and getting an education here, I'm starting to settle in. Reading things like the Solo 2 thread, strengthens my resolve to stick it out in the Solo camp. I knew there would be issues, especially after the gimbal debacle, so issues like I'm experiencing are minor in the bigger scheme of things. The Solo is still an extremely new product.

I really believe that this thing will continue to evolve in a very positive way. It may take a while but when you have people like the people on this forum, identifying and resolving issues in their own basements it's bound to get better. Add to that the open architecture and it's definitely a great road to travel down.

I really believe that this micro, mini, judder, yudder issue will get resolved on this very forum within the next month or two. The people (like you and me) that have it are pulling out all of the stops. Somebody is going to find the solution(s). Too many people don't have it.

I'll tell you this, I haven't had to pull my P3 apart yet (thank God!) but I had to disassemble and reassemble my entire P2V+v3 including camera and gimbal and I sure wouldn't want to do it again! I've had this Solo half apart on half a dozen or more occasions and it's night and day. I am much more comfortable tearing into this thing Any day of the week.

Again, take my talk with a grain of salt. I'm not a professional. I'm a half a jack at a few things and a master of absolutely none!

Jerry

I would say that for a "half jack at a few things and a master of absolutely none" you have given some great input on several threads. I guess it's all about everyone offering up whatever they can and collectively we put it all together.

I'm glad that you are retired and like to tinker. That makes the Solo the perfect bird for you I guess. I enjoy fixing and re-engineering things but I just don't have the time these days. I also had no idea when I bought the Solo just how much time would be needed to continually work on it, trying to get it to do what it's supposed to. It really has been like a part time job for the last 4 months, and I still can't shoot usable video with mine. But I guess I'll keep at it.

Like you, I have also torn down and reassembled my Solo probably 8 times. I have never seen the inside of any of my Phantoms because I haven't needed to open them for any reason. Knock on wood, I have had no problems with any Phantom yet.

I do hope 3DR makes good on all of this and the Solo becomes the tool we all have hoped for all along. Because I have such limited spare time I must choose between working on my Solo, modifying, flying test flights, submitting flight logs to 3DR, etc., or just flying and filming with my Phantoms. So, for the moment the Solo is mostly grounded until I get some solution from 3DR. But I'm having fun with the Phantoms, and getting paid.

Right now I'm uploading video from today's Solo test flights. 3DR wants me to send it so they can see my "yudder." That actually sounded a little dirty

 

[Kevin Cain]

Out of curiosity, are those of you seeing the effects of vibration in still photos (as blur) while hovering, or is this just a probem shooting video in motion?

 

[JonW]

Out of curiosity, are those of you seeing the effects of vibration in still photos (as blur) while hovering, or is this just a probem shooting video in motion?

Video. I haven't shot any stills so I don't know if they are affected too.

 

[Mauro]

Hey, how are you? did u have any solution? I get my 3dr unit changed, same problem...

 

[pete]

Out of curiosity, are those of you seeing the effects of vibration in still photos (as blur) while hovering, or is this just a probem shooting video in motion?

on a bright day with no ND filter GoPro might be taking stills at 1/1000 shutter speed, then even with some sort of vibration you shouldn't see blur in photos.

if there is noticeable vibration and you slap on ND8 filter then yes, more likely there'll be blur in your photos

 

[JonW]

Hey, how are you? did u have any solution? I get my 3dr unit changed, same problem...

Not really. I think the conclusion I have come to is that video shot with Solo requires post production stabilization. I just got my GoPro back from Peau. I had them swap my 5.4mm lens for a 3.97. I haven't flown it yet but I'm hoping that the slightly wider field of view will make the vibration less obvious. I don't know if you watched Colin Guinn's masterclass or downloaded the ebook. He said that almost everything he shoots is with the 3.97. In the book it tells you to use warp stabilize in Adobe premiere to make your footage smooth. So that tells me that most likely all of the videos we have seen released by 3DR have been stabilized in post. Being a photographer I already have the Photoshop/Lightroom monthly subscription so if I still see shake with the 3.97 I guess I'll add premiere for $10/month. I already have about $2600 into the Solo so what's another $120 a year, right?

 

[Ian [P13]]

Prodrenalin at around $20 is fine for stabilization. The main issue is the fact the GoPro doesn't stabilize, I think the sensor is capable of digital stabilization but it's clearly not done in the firmware. If you balance your props and have the gimbal installed well, flying at lower speeds say on the cablecam then you should have no need to stabilize in post. Once windspeed is above 13MPH or you crank up Solo's speed then you can begin to encounter some vibration that needs post to perfect.

 

[JonW]

Prodrenalin at around $20 is fine for stabilization. The main issue is the fact the GoPro doesn't stabilize, I think the sensor is capable of digital stabilization but it's clearly not done in the firmware. If you balance your props and have the gimbal installed well, flying at lower speeds say on the cablecam then you should have no need to stabilize in post. Once windspeed is above 13MPH or you crank up Solo's speed then you can begin to encounter some vibration that needs post to perfect.

Totally forgot about Prodrenalin. Thanks. I might give it a try first. I would need to do more testing but I think my results have been the opposite of yours - more noticeable shake at slower speeds.