Broken front arm - what does the wire do?

[Tetrarch]

I bought a Mavic Air in 2018 and, to be honest haven't used it all that much. I have managed to break one of the arms and now no authorised repairer will touch it. The damage is tiny, just to the small bit of circular plastic that holds the foot in place (see pic 1)

The drone flies fine. I have two alternatives -

i) Take the foot apart (cannot find instructions how to do this), solder the clip back on and refit (by which I mean pay someone else to solder it on)

ii) Snip the wire off, swap out the circular piece and refit with the wire unconnected

Can anyone tell me what the wire actually does? and whether ii) is a viable option

Regards

Tet

 

[Cafguy]

Snipping a wire because it seems to be in the way NEVER goes well.
Thats your antenna, and you need that.
Your best bet...Get a new arm assembly,- motor and all and replace the one you have. It will require you to solder and while that seems to frighten many..Soldering is actually very simple. Those who have problems with it are simply doing it wrong! HINT: Soldering irons are NOT designed to melt solder!
Let me know if I can help!

 

[Tetrarch]

Snipping a wire because it seems to be in the way NEVER goes well.
Thats your antenna, and you need that.
Your best bet...Get a new arm assembly,- motor and all and replace the one you have. It will require you to solder and while that seems to frighten many..Soldering is actually very simple. Those who have problems with it are simply doing it wrong! HINT: Soldering irons are NOT designed to melt solder!
Let me know if I can help!

Thank you for the reply.

I already DO have a replacement arm, it's the one in the second pic. It is the wire on the replacement arm that I am considering snipping to release the broken mounting clip. I would like to disassemble the foot itself to properly release the wire, but I can't find a diagram or explanation as to how to do it

Regards

Tet

 

[Cafguy]

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[JoelP]

Watching this excellent video I feel that such a replacement is not a job for the uninitiated. There are so many points where serious irreversible damage can occur.

 

[MikeB1970]

Just take it slow and try to make yourself feel comfortable in what your about to do. Watch the video and write down a list where you put each objective of that step, the number of screws, their size ....
Also start this job in a place where you are able to leave your project overnight, it doesn't make a job easier if your wife slides you tools, drone, aside to make room for dinner. Also make sure you have al the tools needed.

In worst case scenario you will have to ask somebody for help, but when your successful you feel like a million bucks

Good luck,
Mike

 

[Matt W]

Ship it to me I’ll fix it for you. Google TC Drones in St Paul MN.

 

[Matt W]

Snipping a wire because it seems to be in the way NEVER goes well.
Thats your antenna, and you need that.
Your best bet...Get a new arm assembly,- motor and all and replace the one you have. It will require you to solder and while that seems to frighten many..Soldering is actually very simple. Those who have problems with it are simply doing it wrong! HINT: Soldering irons are NOT designed to melt solder!
Let me know if I can help!

I’m curious about your hint. If solder irons don’t melt solder, what do they do?

 

[Starz]

If you have no experience with a soldering tool, follow the instructions in post number 7.
Snipping wires to accomplish what you want will only add to your issue.

 

[Cafguy]

I’m curious about your hint. If solder irons don’t melt solder, what do they do?

They heat the substrate that you apply the solder too. the substrate melts the solder. you can melt a little solder to the irons tip to "tin" the tip and make heating the substrate faster BUT solder flows towards heat and avoids the cold if you just melt the solder with the iron and just "press" the goo on you are not making a solid connection and your joint will fail simply because the solder naturally wants to run away from the colder substrate. here is a small basic soldering class every Drone owner should watch.

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[Tetrarch]

Hi,

Update

Thank you for the advice. I tried Drone Doctor and was told that the model is too old. So I've bitten the bullet and attempted DIY. Not total disassembly as that looks way too hard, but some minor surgery.

I actually managed to pry apart the foot and pull the aerial wire intact right through the new foot assembly.



I've now cannibalised the new foot and now now the task to solder that very short wire onto the circuit board (I presume that the circuit board is some kind of antenna assembly)

This is outwith of my skill level - I'm off to the local RC model shop next week and get their opinion

Regards

Tet

 

[Cafguy]

watch the soldering video above or get someone with the right equipment to solder it for you its not hard really just take your time.
HEY SEE THE POST BELOW !

 

[Matt W]

Hi,

Update

Thank you for the advice. I tried Drone Doctor and was told that the model is too old. So I've bitten the bullet and attempted DIY. Not total disassembly as that looks way too hard, but some minor surgery.

I actually managed to pry apart the foot and pull the aerial wire intact right through the new foot assembly.

View attachment 183339

I've now cannibalised the new foot and now now the task to solder that very short wire onto the circuit board (I presume that the circuit board is some kind of antenna assembly)

This is outwith of my skill level - I'm off to the local RC model shop next week and get their opinion

Regards

Tet

Someone sent you a YouTube video of exactly what you need to do to fix this. I highly recommend you stop what you are doing and watch the entire video. If you just pulled the antenna wire out, you might have damaged the connector on the motherboard. Antenna wire connectors are fragile and easy to damage unplugging them and connecting them. It is hard to tell in your picture but it looks like the connector has been torn off and significant damage has been done to the wire itself. That is a tiny coaxial cable. 2 separate wires inside of it. I admire your determination and willingness to try to fix it yourself, but what you have posted thus far has me concerned that you may be making your situation worse. I highly doubt your local RC hobby shop is going to result in answers you haven’t already gotten in this forum. Look me up on Google, TC DRONES in St. Paul Minnesota. I have 58 and counting 5 star reviews for drone repair. Send it to me and I’ll fix it for you.

 

[Starz]

Send it to me

Probably a bit pricey to send this across the pond.
He gets an A for effort at least.