Broken Gimble Mount and Ribbon Cable

[ParkerThePilot]

New to MavicPilots, excited to be on board. A few weeks back I had the dreaded first crash with my Mavic. Got caught a top a rather large tree, had to throw something to get it down, smacked into the dirt. The black plastic gimble/camera mount broke (I understand this is very common and see a lot of folks replacing it with aluminum) and the gimble ribbon cable broke. I have attached pictures showing the damage. I can turn the drone on and fly it, but I'm completely blind...

Anyways, I have reached out to DJI and a few other repair companies, they all are very hard to deal with and seem overpriced. After a little research, I hope to be able to do this repair myself. I just need someone who has more knowledge to walk me through exactly what needs to be replaced. I have removed the entire gimble assembly for better pictures. If I NEED to replace the entire gimble (roughly $250 on eBay) that's fine.. I can do that, I just don't want to if it's not necessary. Any help is greatly appreciated!

-PS

 

[newguy]

@Thunderdrones to the rescue

 

[JeepDSL]

You can find all the parts you need online (ribbon cable, LVDS camera cable, gimbal vibration damping plate) and repair it yourself. There are videos on youtube. Or, contact forum member @Thunderdrones. He does repairs quickly and at reasonable prices.

 

[ParkerThePilot]

Would you mind messaging me details on what you would charge to complete this job? Thanks in advance. @Thunderdrones

 

[Former Member]

Would you mind messaging me details on what you would charge to complete this job? Thanks in advance. @Thunderdrones

Sent you a PM.

 

[rhl_9]

• Step 1: Replace the ribbon cable (of course duh...)
  • Search for youtube videos. There are tons out there.
  • I will not recommend any ribbon cable seller as I have had success both on the expensive, and cheap ones. I have used DJI "genuine" ribbon cables for $39, and I have used super-thin "so-China-made" ones for $12 and they all work fine.
• Step 2: Replace the Vibration Mount - there are tons from Amazon and ebay --- again, I will not endorse any seller or link - it is illegal here anyway.
• Step 3: Turn on the drone --- NOW... there is a 50/50 chance that it could not work. The gimbal may move, but may not calibrate still. If so, let's go to Step 4.
• Step 4: Replace the gimbal circuit board --- You can only find this from salvaged parts. DJI does not sell this separately.
• Step 5: If this still doesn't fix your problem, then your problem is the gimbal assembly. Unlike P3 or P4 cameras, the gimbal is a whole piece. The yaw, pitch and roll motors are in one-piece like 3 conjoined twins. DJI loves to make money... they don't want us to repair it ourselves. They want us to either buy the whole camera or send it back to them. Anyway, I got carried away... So yes at this point, you have no choice but to find a gimbal assembly from either a repair shop or a friend who also crashed his mavic and you can buy his for parts.
• Step 6: I hate to say this, but buy a brand new camera.