Gimbal 30 deg upward tilt problem!

[Surfside7]

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced these gimbal issues. DJI is exchanging my unit as it was discovered after my first few flights. I adjusted the gimbal to allow for the upward 30 degree tilt. I lowered the Gimbal Pitch EXP in advanced gimbal settings to "10" for a slower and smoother movement. All other settings remained factory and I took it for a few flights at the house. During those flights, I experienced the following 2 problems with the gimbal. Despite these problems, the Mavic Pro flew like a champ and I'm totally impressed with how awesome it is!!!

Gimbal Issue #1 - When I roll the left gimbal wheel, the gimbal/camera goes up to 30 degrees (Max Tilt) then immediately kicks to 45 degrees down angle. If I hold the wheel, it continues to cycle... slowly rolls up to 30 deg, jumps down to 45+, slowly rolls up to 30, jumps down to 45+.

Gimbal Issue #2 - In Regular Flight and Sport mode after hovering, if I pitch forward with the right stick to move forward, the Mavic moves forward and the Gimbal jumps immediately to a 45 deg down angle. When I return to hover, the camera remains down at 45 until I bring it back up to horizon. This repeats ALMOST every time I pitch forward. If I move the right stick forward very slowly, the gimbal remains on the horizon as designed.

I contacted DJI support, who walked me through recalibrating everything! Using DJI Assistant 2 on my MAC, I returned it to Factory Default Settings, I calibrated all of the sensors, then I recalibrated the IMU and the Gimbal. Both problems were not resolved.

The DJI Tech said that this was the first that he has heard of these issues? He has arranged my Mavic to be exchanged, so I'm waiting for my new unit and hoping that it does not have any other issues!!! The only consolation is that its forecasted to rain for the next week here in SoCal!

Thanks for any responses or questions...

 

[Kilrah]

#2 seems normal. The gimbal doesn't have enough mechanical travel to look up when you go forward past pacing speeds... that's why the setting is OFF by default.
Was #1 noticed while hovering and flat? If not, it's linked to #2.

 

[rockydog]

#2 seems normal. The gimbal doesn't have enough mechanical travel to look up when you go forward past pacing speeds... that's why the setting is OFF by default.
Was #1 noticed while hovering and flat? If not, it's linked to #2.

#2 is definitely not normal....The gimbal should remain facing straight ahead- (level)- when you're moving forward. And the fact that it stays facing down when he returns to a hover is a definite malfunction.

 

[DodgeP]

Is your C1 button set to move the gimbal? You may be accidentally hitting it.

 

[Kilrah]

#2 is definitely not normal....The gimbal should remain facing straight ahead- (level)- when you're moving forward. And the fact that it stays facing down when he returns to a hover is a definite malfunction.

It isn't clear enough from his post, but given the title I assume that in the #2 case he's also looking 30° up. If you try to go forward at "normal" speeds while looking 30° up the gimbal will hit the end stop and reinitialize in a "known clear" location which 45° down is at any attitude.

 

[Surfside7]

#2 seems normal. The gimbal doesn't have enough mechanical travel to look up when you go forward past pacing speeds... that's why the setting is OFF by default.
Was #1 noticed while hovering and flat? If not, it's linked to #2.

It isn't clear enough from his post, but given the title I assume that in the #2 case he's also looking 30° up. If you try to go forward at "normal" speeds while looking 30° up the gimbal will hit the end stop and reinitialize in a "known clear" location which 45° down is at any attitude.

To clear things up...

Problem #1 - Don't read into it too much guys... I'm an intelligent enough guy and I know how to fly. Whether the Mavic is in flight or on a level surface, If I roll the gimbal/camera from horizon to max 30 deg... it should just stop and remain at 30 deg up angle... it does not... it jumps to 45 down angle and continues to cycle as I explained if I continue to apply the left wheel. I usually use this function at a hover, then slowly pan up to look above the horizon... a nice feature when it stops at 30 degrees, instead of ruining the shot by kicking down to 45!!!

As for #2 - it is NOT normal... the camera/gimbal is designed to maintain the horizon when I move forward. I'm not moving forward at ludicrous speed or anything. I simply am trying for a steady forward motion shot at maybe 15 mph-ish and the gimbal auto kicks to a 45 deg plus down angle and stays there until I move it back... like I said. And when I return to hover, the camera is still angled down...

As long as DJI understands me...

 

[Surfside7]

Is your C1 button set to move the gimbal? You may be accidentally hitting it.

It's not that...

 

[maikm]

From the description that surely sounds like a broken gimbal. Never heard of that particular error though.

 

[Drone Master]

You never mentioned about recalibrating the controller. I can only assume you did. However, I would do it again just to rule out the controller altogether.
Other possibilities would be loose connection or corruption with in the gimbals own firmware.
Can you post a video of your flights?

 

[Surfside7]

Oh yes, actually the first thing I did was calibrate the controller... thanks

I have video of both issues... I'll see if I can post them later


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[Drone Master]

Oh yes, actually the first thing I did was calibrate the controller... thanks

I have video of both issues... I'll see if I can post them later


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That would be great! Just curious if we are on the same page or not.
A video of the issue will be helpful.

 

[Surfside7]

That would be great! Just curious if we are on the same page or not.
A video of the issue will be helpful.

I'm not sure how to post the videos on this site? Can I post video from the MavicPilot phone app?


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[Drone Master]

I'm not sure how to post the videos on this site? Can I post video from the MavicPilot phone app?


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You can upload to YouTube or Vimeo then post the link here.

 

[Surfside7]

Dropbox - DJI_0049.m4v
Dropbox - DJI_0045.m4v

 

[Attex]

I replaced my gimbal and after that I noticed the roll up and down would not work very good like it was catching. It would move then stop and then jump to where is should be. The ribbon was bent upwards and was binding. I pushed it down and has been find. Look at the ribbon and see if its binding. Hopefully that is all it is.

 

[Surfside7]

I replaced my gimbal and after that I noticed the roll up and down would not work very good like it was catching. It would move then stop and then jump to where is should be. The ribbon was bent upwards and was binding. I pushed it down and has been find. Look at the ribbon and see if its binding. Hopefully that is all it is.

Thanks, that's good to know for the future...
At this point, it is in on the UPS truck to Carson and they are exchanging it for a new unit... I'm patiently waiting for the new one! Hopefully the next one is good to go?!



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[halley]

The +30º option is really only useful for inspection or panorama uses, in other words for short periods while not moving around.

The aircraft MUST tilt forward to move forward, and the gimbal CANNOT tip more than +30º relative to the airframe to compensate relative to the horizon. If the gimbal is positioned at exactly +30º and the aircraft moves forward at all, it is going to have to do something.

I would prefer it just do the best it can, and the view would tip a little as the aircraft moved forward. Doesn't sound like that's the case.

 

[Surfside7]

Yes, I know... if you read and watched... I took those quick videos only to show the problem(s).

I'm not just flying around with the gimbal at max 30 deg, expecting it to do things it wasn't designed to do!




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[halley]

Well, I re-stated the obvious in case it wasn't obvious. Some people expect magic DWIM (do what I mean) to happen when it comes to computers and machines. Not trying to be obnoxious.

In this case, there are two potential root causes identified: the logic is dumb about what to do if you try to go past +30º, or the gimbal mechanism experiences an electrical fault (overload, disconnect, whatever) at +29º so it can't reach the expected limit which would just stop travel like it does in the other mode. If it's the former, replacing your unit won't fix the issue. If it's the latter, and you can't see anything unusual about the little gimbal signal ribbons, a replacement may fix it... or simply expose a design limitation.

 

[Jack lund]

Hi there I was wondering if anyone has experienced this before. I got a motor overload warning for not removing the gimbal clamp so I took the clamp off and then everything was ok but then the next day when I went for another flight and tried to tilt the camera up it shakes and makes a horrible sound. Does anyone have any suggestions