Can't control the gimbal from GO 4 App

[Kenneth Coe]

My wife and I both love our Mavic Pro so we usually work as a team, with her controlling the camera while I fly the drone. To this end, we use a Samsung 10 inch Tab A tablet running GO 4.3.2. The tablet is connected to the controller with a 10 foot USB cable to permit us to work independently. Although I can control the gimbal perfectly from the left wheel on the controller, she would like to be able to control it from the app slider bar as well. This is supposed to work, and, in fact, we have seen it work. But not lately, and the slider seems... kind of dim, like it's inactive. All other functions from GO 4 seem to be fine. There is no video lag or other issues (other than the fact that I wish they would either KILL the full screen feature or come up with a way to keep it from kicking in on its own continuously).

However, lately, if you try to move the gimbal slider bar, the app thinks you want to focus in that area, and that's what it does. However, moving the slider up and down (or attempting to) does nothing. It just focuses.

I know I have read in the manual that this works, but now I cannot find it to verify that. I have tried turning Auto Focus off and on, and looked for other settings that might affect this, to no avail. Again, the gimbal works fine... as long as you control it from the wheel on the controller.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

Well, I just slowed down and read the manual more carefully. It looks like this is a "Tap and hold" operation. We have been trying to use the slider bar like a Windows program slider by just touching and dragging. Tonight or tomorrow, I will try the tap and hold sequence and I'll bet that will work.

However, any thoughts or comments are still welcome.

 

[Porky]

In the near future or now, not sure but I know someone will pipe in about it, you can use a 2nd controller one for you & one for the wife. That might be a better option

 

[Ken K]

Well, I just slowed down and read the manual more carefully. It looks like this is a "Tap and hold" operation. We have been trying to use the slider bar like a Windows program slider by just touching and dragging. Tonight or tomorrow, I will try the tap and hold sequence and I'll bet that will work.

However, any thoughts or comments are still welcome.

Yup. Just hard press on the display and a blue ring will appear. Continue to press and move finger in direction you want gimbal to move. Only caveat is that there isn't a return-to-center shortcut. You have to use the gimbal up-down toggle dance to recenter it.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

My thanks to both of you. I guess we accidentally did it correctly in the past. And regarding the second controller, we have actually talked about doing that. The main problem with that is the price; over $300 for the second unit. And, of course, if we did that, I would certainly have to make sure I got the primary controller; you know, that "male ego" thing.

 

[Porky]

I would certainly have to make sure I got the primary controller; you know, that "male ego" thing.

Yep I know where your coming from I’d be the same

 

[Kenneth Coe]

Well, as I indicated before, I took a little more time to ready exactly how to control the gimbal from the GO 4 app. I did try "tap and hold", I did try "hold", I did try "tap more slowly and hold", I did try "hold only", "hold a little longer", etc. I then updated the GO 4 software (I needed to do that anyway), which pretty much would suffice as a "reinstall".

Nothing we did will let us control the gimbal tilt from the application. And we pretty much tried it all yesterday. It just doesn't work.

What happens is that the "AutoFocus" immediately takes over as soon as you touch the screen. I've looked for a setting that will change this behavior, but nothing yet. I even tried changing the focus settings, but then, focus is just as important as gimbal control. What's going on? Is this feature imaginary, or is this one of those cases of "the software is written for IOS" (we're using a Samsung tablet)?

 

[Ken K]

Well, as I indicated before, I took a little more time to ready exactly how to control the gimbal from the GO 4 app. I did try "tap and hold", I did try "hold", I did try "tap more slowly and hold", I did try "hold only", "hold a little longer", etc. I then updated the GO 4 software (I needed to do that anyway), which pretty much would suffice as a "reinstall".

Nothing we did will let us control the gimbal tilt from the application. And we pretty much tried it all yesterday. It just doesn't work.

What happens is that the "AutoFocus" immediately takes over as soon as you touch the screen. I've looked for a setting that will change this behavior, but nothing yet. I even tried changing the focus settings, but then, focus is just as important as gimbal control. What's going on? Is this feature imaginary, or is this one of those cases of "the software is written for IOS" (we're using a Samsung tablet)?

Have you tried a different tablet or phone? Just a wild guess here. Perhaps the problem is the touch sensitivity of the tablet.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

I have used a couple of phones (both Android, both Motorola) but I can't absolutely say that I tried this feature. Hopefully, very soon, we will try my wife's iPhone 6S+ and see if it works differently. I would really like to hear from someone who has actually seen this work recently (like, on GO 4 version 4.3.2 or later). Again, gimbal control works fine from the RC control wheel, just not from the tablet.

 

[Ken K]

I'm using a Samsung Tab S2 (9.7") which is working OK so far.
Something else to try:
Check your tablet Settings > Accessibility > Dexterity And Interaction > Tap and hold delay. Mine is set at 0.5 secs.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

Thank you; that's what I wanted to know. Apparently, you ARE able to control your gimbal tilt from your Samsung tablet. I'll check that setting on our tablet before we fly again. Thanks to both your guys for your response. This is not a show-stopper, but we would like for my wife to be able to totally control the camera while I fly the drone.

 

[Ken K]

Thank you; that's what I wanted to know. Apparently, you ARE able to control your gimbal tilt from your Samsung tablet. I'll check that setting on our tablet before we fly again. Thanks to both your guys for your response. This is not a show-stopper, but we would like for my wife to be able to totally control the camera while I fly the drone.

One more thought.
For smooth transition, I've got my gimbal settings at:
Pitch Speed: 10
Pitch Smoothness: 20
and there is a noticeable delay in start / stop. Are you giving it enough time to react according to your settings?
Also, 2 more notes, I press and hold (no tap) and my bird is a Mavic 2 Pro (not sure if that's pertinent).

 

[Kenneth Coe]

This is very good information. For one thing, you are using a Samsung tablet, so that takes the "IOS only" factor out of the picture.
So, in my case, every time we touch the screen, the green box immediately forms around the finger and autofocus occurs. Does that happen when you touch the screen and then the blue gimbal indicator comes on after a moment?

If the green box does not come on, how do you focus from the tablet? Or do you focus from the tablet screen? Perhaps we have different auto-focus settings in play.

Again, thank you for this info. Now I will no longer test by touching and holding. I will just do a hold. Of course, I tested that way yesterday and it didn't work then either. However, I now have one less variable to test.

 

[Ken K]

This is very good information. For one thing, you are using a Samsung tablet, so that takes the "IOS only" factor out of the picture.
So, in my case, every time we touch the screen, the green box immediately forms around the finger and autofocus occurs. Does that happen when you touch the screen and then the blue gimbal indicator comes on after a moment?

If the green box does not come on, how do you focus from the tablet? Or do you focus from the tablet screen? Perhaps we have different auto-focus settings in play.

Again, thank you for this info. Now I will no longer test by touching and holding. I will just do a hold. Of course, I tested that way yesterday and it didn't work then either. However, I now have one less variable to test.

If I tap the screen the focus box appears. I can then put my finger on the screen and drag the box to the desired focus point.
If I put my finger on the screen and keep it there (no tap) the circle appears and I can drag it in any direction to move the gimbal accordingly. I do not remove my finger from the screen until I'm done positioning the gimbal.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

OK, I guess it's time to ask the question I should have asked before now; what version of the GO 4 app are you using? I've been on 4.3.2 and I just upgraded yesterday to 4.3.8. The gimbal problem is the same on both versions for me.

 

[Ken K]

OK, I guess it's time to ask the question I should have asked before now; what version of the GO 4 app are you using? I've been on 4.3.2 and I just upgraded yesterday to 4.3.8. The gimbal problem is the same on both versions for me.

I'm on 4.3.8. Before that I wasn't able to get my tablet to connect. Since the update, along with the firmware updates, no problem.
Don't know where else to go with this. Maybe try a shorter cable, clear tablet memory and cache, kill background apps, put in airplane mode, etc. Don't know why any of these should work but they, and others, help with other problems.
Have you tried posting on the DJI Forums website? Nobody else seems to be jumping in here. Would be nice if someone using a Samsung Tab A would comment.

 

[Kenneth Coe]

Yeah, I think it's time to try the DJI forum. Thanks for all your help and your prompt responses. I think we've exhausted all the possibilities here, except to check some settings you mentioned in our tablet.

 

[DanMan32]

Does the M1P support this feature?

 

[Kenneth Coe]

Well, it has in the past, although it's never been very smooth or reliable. Ken K, posting above, says it works fine for him...BUT... is he flying a Mavic Pro or something else? Ken K, if you're still on, please let us know what your AC is. I never did ask that. And thanks, DanMan.

 

[FoxhallGH]

Yup. Just hard press on the display and a blue ring will appear. Continue to press and move finger in direction you want gimbal to move. Only caveat is that there isn't a return-to-center shortcut. You have to use the gimbal up-down toggle dance to recenter it.

I use the C2 key for that. You can set C2 to toggle between horizontal & vertical on the camera gimbal ... so a quick press or two will have you 100% reset back to the horizontal.