Do Mini's props get "wobbly" (play at the rotor) with modest flight time?

[Starz]

What kind of odd sound are you referring to?

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Download CsvView to your computer,
Indoors i.e. in still air, IN A WELL LIT ROOM, do an automated take off, do not touch the sticks, let it hover for a minute or so then (if possible) do an automated landing ( you may have to land it manually depending on how cluttered the landing site is). Copy the DAT file flight log for the flight from the phone to your computer.
Start CsvView on your computer and load that DAT into it.
When CsvView has finished processing the file a menu will appear, click on motor speeds and a chart should appear showing the motors speeds during the flight. Each motor should have its own coloured trace. The rear props may be turning slightly faster then the front props as the rear props carry more of the drone's weight but the two rear motors should have similar speeds. Likewise the two front motors should have speeds that are similar to one another.

 

[AstroNaught]

Yes... I've found some up and down play at the rotors and the screws were fastened in as far as they would go. I have to wonder how close they can manufacture these props to stay within a tight tolerance. What alerts me to check is how solid the Mini likes to hover. The other night I let it hover and found I had to repeatedly correct for drift in one direction. That led me to check the props and screws. Once I got that squared away it hovered in place. But it is important to note that I have my method of storing the Mini is to minimize pressure in any direction and just keep them from flopping or the body "sitting" on the wings or pressed into the case. I would like to think I have a pretty good system that just loosely holds the props in place, diagonally, and the drone itself has a "belly pad" inside the case to make it so that the props don't get any pressure on them when in the case.

Here is a composite of photos where you can see that I very loosely run a velcro strip across the blades to keep them from flopping far from side to size. You can see by the photo by the case (to illustrate the belly pad) how the props can move freely but only so far, stopped by the strip. They sit in the case with a minimum amount of pressure, if any on them. I learned my lesson when I discovered a severely distorted prop. [FWIW, the velcro on the bottom is where I attach my Arc II strobe. It looks weird because it's cut around the switch and battery indicator lights. A female velcro patch on the gimbal guard allows for a nice "bridge" over the props to hold them in place.
View attachment 110013

If you were testing in low light the mini may not have been in gps mode. But nothing wrong with a prop change.