Gimbal came off post crash

[Drone Master]

Total will be the $79 first bite out of the refresh "apple"...
Sad part is that by the time they get the craft (new one/ or fixed one) my happy *** will be way down south of the border...
That is the way it is....
Sometimes you eat the bear.
Sometimes it eats you....


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Ok, understood. What was the estimated time of repair?
I suppose they are in no hurry to get it back to you. Bummer.

 

[Alex El Caballo]

That is the latest info I get from the website.
The humans at the other end of the line are aware I'll pay for overnight shipping but they have no clue of the status of the craft.
Time is running out....
I'm gonna turn into a pumpkin pretty soon...


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[Drone Master]

That is the latest info I get from the website.
The humans at the other end of the line are aware I'll pay for overnight shipping but they have no clue of the status of the craft.
Time is running out....
I'm gonna turn into a pumpkin pretty soon...


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That appears to be a standard turn around estimate. With the holidays involved within that time, could possibly delay the repair and return.
Hopefully you will be lucky and get it back in time.

 

[Alex El Caballo]

DJI California stinks...
I spent over 40 minutes on the phone trying to figure out if it would be possible to get this addressed. All i wanted was a "yes" or a "No"...
They continue to say "we are escalating this case..." That is all I get out of these people since monday. Eventually I asked to speak to a supervisor and of course none are available.
They eventually came back on the line and said that they were "over communicating" with the other departments that had my craft....
I give...
I'm done...
No mas....
Ill get it when I get it....


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[J-Dub]

I'm done...
No mas....
Ill get it when I get it....

You crashed it, nobody ever said we would get a fixed one back in a few days, a week, "expedited" is all they claim they can do. In line, waiting like many.

 

[Alex El Caballo]

You crashed it, nobody ever said we would get a fixed one back in a few days, a week, "expedited" is all they claim they can do. In line, waiting like many.

Funny thing is J dub that for all my back and forth, moaning and groaning DJI sent me an email that the craft i sent them "is repaired".
All i wanted was a direct answer, a Yes or a No. I don't like smoke getting blown up my *** unless its by a tall blonde in stilettos...
That is my gripe here. give me a straight answer so i know where i stand...

 

[chazzm]

It would be great if DJI had added just a little more length to the ribbon cable for just this sort of issue. Or like Alex said, beefed up the cable for such crashes. Unfortunately, This is not part of DJI's engineering and innovation protocol. We get what we get and deal with it. All I can say is if your gimbal is thrown from the aircraft, then most likely that ribbon cable is damaged beyond quick repair and will have to be sent to DJI as of this post date.
I am currently searching for the ribbon cable and will let all of you know when I find it for retail.
BB..

LoL I was going to ask that you do that!


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[rfc0001]

The fragility of the camera/gimbal is my main concern with the Mavic. It seems like I've seen it popping off too often in online crash videos. Plus just looking at it, itseems ready to break. I'm a newbie, are gimbals always this fragile, (p4 looks more solid) .
And, as it seems like something users can't fix themselves, how much could the repair cost? (Day outside of insurance)

Yes, fragile, the achilles heal of all flying cameras. Cameras must float in the air. The gimbal axis-motors must move freely at all times. Gimbals must have flexible connections (the dreaded ribbon cable that rips apart quite easily). The camera "bubble" may protect from actual contact with the camera/gimbal, but there is no way to prevent the massive g-forces of a sudden impact to the craft, IMO. Make a bullet proof gimbal and you are a monopoly in this hobby.

I'm the latest victim of a sheared ribbon cable. It's definitely the Achilles heal of the gimbal. The exposed wires are still intact and connected to the camera, and the gimbal never left it's housing. Simply the torsional forces of hitting the ground (I was flying 6' above the ground and somehow the Mavic managed to descend and scrape the ground). turned the gimbal inside it's housing just enough to shear the ribbon cleanly. I don't understand how there is so much play (and resilience) in the exposed silver wires, but the ribbon is so short and obviously more fragile. Seems like a poor design, and what's even more outrageous is this poor design on their part is benefitting them, since unlike the Phantom series, they aren't replacing the ribbon, they are only replacing the entire gimbal assembly for $350 (more than they charge for a Phantom gimbal). What they need is a simple male/female ribbon post on the bottom of the gimbal, which they already commonly use elsewhere (and are common in all mobile devices). You can see one elsewhere in the tear down of the Mavic:


If they attached the ribbon cable like this to he bottom (top as it is attached) of the gimbal, it would come unattached easily, but at least it wouldn't snap off. It seems it was specifically designed to increase the repair costs IMO.

 

[Drone Master]

I'm the latest victim of a sheared ribbon cable. It's definitely the Achilles heal of the gimbal. The exposed wires are still intact and connected to the camera, and the gimbal never left it's housing. Simply the torsional forces of hitting the ground (I was flying 6' above the ground and somehow the Mavic managed to descend and scrape the ground). turned the gimbal inside it's housing just enough to shear the ribbon cleanly. I don't understand how there is so much play (and resilience) in the exposed silver wires, but the ribbon is so short and obviously more fragile. Seems like a poor design, and what's even more outrageous is this poor design on their part is benefitting them, since unlike the Phantom series, they aren't replacing the ribbon, they are only replacing the entire gimbal assembly for $350 (more than they charge for a Phantom gimbal). What they need is a simple male/female ribbon post on the bottom of the gimbal, which they already commonly use elsewhere (and are common in all mobile devices). You can see one elsewhere in the tear down of the Mavic:
View attachment 5234

If they attached the ribbon cable like this to he bottom (top as it is attached) of the gimbal, it would come unattached easily, but at least it wouldn't snap off. It seems it was specifically designed to increase the repair costs IMO.

Agreed. You have to buy the complete gimbal assembly to be most cost effective in a do it your self repair. What the cost of the gimbal assembly is?,
Most likely approximately $200.00 + average once they become more available.
Sure, you could attempt a ribbon replacement only, but the labor would be extensive. I have not found a ribbon cable yet that is up for retail.
Again, we are at the mercy of DJI for the repairs and parts.
Only basic body shell parts and arms are becoming more available, but in small quantity for now.

 

[rfc0001]

$300 is the going rate for complete gimbal assembly. At least once the ribbon becomes available I can rebuild my existing one and have a spare to swap out quickly while I rebuild the other one. It's bound to happen again . Btw I already did the disassembly...30 minutes and pretty straightforward if you've ever done work on cell phones. I'll post reassembly photos and instructions once I get the replacement later this week.


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[Itsjensta]

$300 is the going rate for complete gimbal assembly. At least once the ribbon becomes available I can rebuild my existing one and have a spare to swap out quickly while I rebuild the other one. It's bound to happen again . Btw I already did the disassembly...30 minutes and pretty straightforward if you've ever done work on cell phones. I'll post reassembly photos and instructions once I get the replacement later this week.


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Update?

 

[Shlugengruven]

I recently took a 6 foot crash. I had jello footage as a result so started inspecting. I noticed one rubber band had popped out of its hole on the anti-vibration board - I reinserted it but still got jello and also the gimbal won't move. Reading this thread made me realize my flat gimbal control ribbon was broken. It seems F-stop Labs is now selling them for $25-30, so I have one on the way. I am hoping I can replace he ribbon myself and avoid $300 gimbal replacement. Has anyone tried this? Any luck?

Also, do you think the lack of power to the gimbal is the source of my jello-footage? The anti-vibration board looks intact.

Finally, does the anti-vibration board sit ON TOP or UNDERNEATH the little metal tab at the center of the body? In other words, should I be able to see that little metal tab covering the anti-vibe board, or should the anti-vibe board be covering it? Sorry for the noob questions...

 

[Rnl]

If your talking about little L bracket board goes under it

 

[Drone Master]

I can only say that I have only replaced one gimbal ribbon cable and it requires patience and a watch makers eye. No easy task. Time consuming.

 

[Shlugengruven]

I can only say that I have only replaced one gimbal ribbon cable and it requires patience and a watch makers eye. No easy task. Time consuming.

UPDATE: you were right, this was a very difficult fix. I spent about three hours last night and replacing the ribbon cable… Unfortunately when I put it all back together and powered on I had a new issue.

The gimbal attempted to point straight ahead but after a few tries, it pointed directly down (toward ground) and was unable to pan using the remote control. In addition when I manually moved the camera with my fingers) into position to view something straight ahead, the video was choppy and kept freezing. Any idea what this could be? My guess is that I failed to properly attach one of the ribbon cable attachments, and thus the motor is not adequately powered.

Tonight I plan to update firmware, and tear the drone down again to check all the attachments. Help!!

 

[Former Member]

Helps to have the right tools. These are some of what I use to repair a Mavic Gimbal.