forgot to remove gimbal cover - damage?

[sunshinewelly]

i have done this twice now - set up everything careful and get a warning about the gimbal as i forget to take the dam cover off. i will try to remember next time but hopefully no damage has been caused. On a mechanical perspective why is it called a 3 way gimbal - i note it can be swung up and down - but not from side to side?

it appears to move freely when the drone is not powered on. When powered on does the drone lock the gimbal in place ?(apart from allowing up and down movements)

 

[TruGreen]

you should be fine if only 2 times. try to attach a bright colored piece of tape to it or a long bright ribbon to remind ya to remove the cover. and its a 3 axis cause it has 3 points of pivot. up/down, left/right, and a side to side to keep it level

 

[dirkclod]

This has happened with all models to lots of members me included and never seen where it has caused any damage.
I wouldn’t make a habit of it and as was posted lots add
different things to help remind them. After awhile though
it just becomes a habit to always take it off.
Thats the first thing I remove when I take mine out of the case but things happen..?

 

[Deleted member 113929]

I use the sunscreen, which is always fixed and packed on my back, in the case, so I have no problems, I also keep it with an ND8 lens that I always keep fixed. And now I'm doing it like this, attached photo.

 

[sunshinewelly]

thanks everyone - will put a piece of tape on it

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I stuck some tape to the gimbal cover that protrudes and covers the on/off button like a flap, I either have to move the flap or remove the gimbal cover to get to the on/off button

 

[CarstenB]

i have done this twice now - set up everything careful and get a warning about the gimbal as i forget to take the dam cover off. i will try to remember next time but hopefully no damage has been caused. On a mechanical perspective why is it called a 3 way gimbal - i note it can be swung up and down - but not from side to side?

it appears to move freely when the drone is not powered on. When powered on does the drone lock the gimbal in place ?(apart from allowing up and down movements)

watch the gimbal do its dance when you power the drone up and you'll understand why it's a 3-way. It's only locked when you switch to FPV mode otherwise the purpose is to keep the camera level when the drone moves. And you shouldn't move it around , leave that to the drone.

 

[Mossiback]

...On a mechanical perspective why is it called a 3 way gimbal - i note it can be swung up and down - but not from side to side?...

It also has side to side movement but that is minor and there to correct and dampen sudden yaw movement. The side to side camera moves are controlled by yawing the entire Mavic.

 

[geneg]

It also has side to side movement but that is minor and there to correct and dampen sudden yaw movement. The side to side camera moves are controlled by yawing the entire Mavic.

It does have limited side-to-side movement...just press and slide your finger across the screen of your attached phone while you are flying.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Geneg, if you are saying you have some manual yaw control of the camera via the touch screen did you have to switch it on? If so where did you switch it on? Thanks.
I have pitch control via the touch screen as well as via the dial on the controller but I had no yaw control other than what I think I have seen in the menus and from memory that was recentring type stuff

 

[EyesWideShut]

It does have limited side-to-side movement...just press and slide your finger across the screen of your attached phone while you are flying.

@geneg I often use the finger on the screen to scroll up and down. I find it allows finer and smoother control of the camera pitch. It also avoids the mistake when using the scroll wheel of going in the wrong direction. But with the Mavic Mini and the Fly App I cannot get it to yaw with a finger motion. As @PhiliusFoggg says, are you sure it works with the mini? The camera gimbal does have a yaw axis to smooth out slight AC yawing.

 

[SkyeHigh]

The gimbal has control in 3-axis:

Left to right (Yaw)
Up and down (Pitch)
And Rotation about the lens axis (Tilt), which keeps the horizon level.

The gimbal unit is also mounted on an anti vibration platform, which helps remove some of the vibration from the propellers. Unfortunately this also allows the gimbal to move slightly during transport with the gimbal cover on and scratches the camera body.

In most cases gimbal motors have over current protection to prevent damage to the motors if something jams the gimbal resulting in a Gimbal Overload message. On the Mavic 2 Pro if all 3-motors are jammed it should also prompt to remove the gimbal cover. In any case no damage ‘should’ occur but best to play safe. A piece of fluorescent tape on the cover is a good move.

 

[ff22]

Posted it before in another thread

 

[ToTheSummit]

After i forgot to remove the gimbal multiple times in the first few weeks I owned my mini this was my solution. A few inches of bright red ribbon and a drop of superglue. The ribbon lays across the power button so its near impossible to miss.

 

[Flytelandon]

I put little sticker on battery button says “cover? “

 

[Slade]

I taped a strip of bright ribbon to the cover. Problem solved.

 

[martin mallorca]

i have done this twice now - set up everything careful and get a warning about the gimbal as i forget to take the dam cover off. i will try to remember next time but hopefully no damage has been caused. On a mechanical perspective why is it called a 3 way gimbal - i note it can be swung up and down - but not from side to side?

it appears to move freely when the drone is not powered on. When powered on does the drone lock the gimbal in place ?(apart from allowing up and down movements)

 

[martin mallorca]

Its unlikely to cause damage BUT this highlights again that all of us pilots benefit from a simple
" before flying" & "after flying" checklist , if it's followed these easy to forget issues dont exist.

 

[jep4755]

i have done this twice now - set up everything careful and get a warning about the gimbal as i forget to take the dam cover off. i will try to remember next time but hopefully no damage has been caused. On a mechanical perspective why is it called a 3 way gimbal - i note it can be swung up and down - but not from side to side?

it appears to move freely when the drone is not powered on. When powered on does the drone lock the gimbal in place ?(apart from allowing up and down movements)

I was doing the same thing on my Mavic Air so now I just leave it off not sure if that will damage it but so far no problems

 

[Hauptmann]

I installed a leftover circular piece of WrapGrade "skin" on the front of the gimbal cover. If I forget to remove the cover, I see that big blob of color blocking my view as soon as I look at the screen. Then I KNOW I've screwed up.