Gimbal Shaking (Jello?)

maximeeso · Jul 26, 2017

Would the shakes I have in this video be considered "normal operation"?

Received my Mavic Pro a little over a week ago. From time to time I get these gimbal "shakes" on my videos. All of them appear to happen when I am accelerating, sometimes hard, sometimes not so hard. The wind was basically nonexistant when this was shot, it was probably about a 3-5 mph wind, my drone did not give me a heavy wind warning like I have seen in the past. I see guys flying with a heavy wind warning on YouTube and their drone does not do what mine does.

I have calibrated the IMU, the gimbal multiple times, and the compass. My firmware on the app and the Mavic are up-to-date. I have also ensured that the 3 clips for the gimbal are where they should be.

I have talked to DJI and they tell me I should try reversing the firmware to an earlier version to see if the issue persists. I have not yet done this but if you guys think it would be worth my time to at least try I will definitely do so. I just feel that it's a hardware issue. My gimbal also makes these odd grinding noises, not sure if that is normal.

Maxheadspace · Jul 26, 2017

Definitely not normal. Have never seen this with any of my DJI drones. I'd follow their advice, revert to an earlier firmware. If it still happens, you may have to send your logs in, or maybe DJI will accept the return outright since you haven't had it very long.

flightmike · Jul 26, 2017

Can you take a video with sound of it booting up where the gimbal makes the sound and post it here? Also I have heard the jello effect can come from the gimbal wire being bent the wrong way. May get some people with different opinions if you post a video. It also can't hurt to go back a firmware. Nothing lost.
Did you buy it direct from DJI or a box store with a return policy or Amazon with the return policy.
If you bought direct and have refresh don't let them use the refresh because it should be warranted.

maximeeso · Jul 26, 2017

flightmike said:
Can you take a video with sound of it booting up where the gimbal makes the sound and post it here? Also I have heard the jello effect can come from the gimbal wire being bent the wrong way. May get some people with different opinions if you post a video. It also can't hurt to go back a firmware. Nothing lost.
Did you buy it direct from DJI or a box store with a return policy or Amazon with the return policy.
If you bought direct and have refresh don't let them use the refresh because it should be warranted.

Now that I try to replicate the issue I realize that it only does what I am referencing when I turn the drone up at an angle (such as to carry it).. It sort of "knocks" -- Is it bad for the drone to be powered on at any time when it's not flat on the ground? (Such as during IMU calibration) .. I have tried messing around with the gimbal wires like some YouTube videos advise. I bought it from Best Buy online, in the "Fly More" package. Some of the original packaging has been ripped, I don't know much about Best Buy's online return policy, but I do wonder if that would be less effort than trying to deal with DJI's repair service. And no I have not purchased the refresh.

Aerial-Pixel · Jul 26, 2017

Do you have any 3rd party filters installed? This can sometimes cause the gimbal motors to stress out and "stutter" if they are too heavy or not pushed on all the way.

flightmike · Jul 26, 2017

If I remember Best Buy has a 30 day but they may charge a restocking fee. They may wave if it's an exchange and it might be easer.
It's not going to hurt the gimbal to flop around during IMU cal.
You still have a problem with the video however. It should not be doing that.
Be sure you have done all calibrations exactly as you suppose to, try again. If still bad go back on firmware.
If still bad I have run out of suggestions. Don't use up your 30 day return policy. I have had good response with Best Buy.
If you have the time search these threads. Anything I'm suggesting I've read here.
Sorry if none of this works. Good luck.

maximeeso · Jul 27, 2017

flightmike said:
If I remember Best Buy has a 30 day but they may charge a restocking fee. They may wave if it's an exchange and it might be easer.
It's not going to hurt the gimbal to flop around during IMU cal.
You still have a problem with the video however. It should not be doing that.
Be sure you have done all calibrations exactly as you suppose to, try again. If still bad go back on firmware.
If still bad I have run out of suggestions. Don't use up your 30 day return policy. I have had good response with Best Buy.
If you have the time search these threads. Anything I'm suggesting I've read here.
Sorry if none of this works. Good luck.

I think I am going to try to do an exchange at Best Buy... I am in MS so it does not appear that I should have to pay a restocking fee (especially not for an exchange). My only concern is that I did buy it online as part of the Fly More combo. My local BBY does not keep the Fly More Combo in stock, I wonder if they would let me exchange JUST the drone/remote/1 battery/charger -- Wonder if anyone has ever had to go this route?

joshnl · Jul 27, 2017

Make sure you've taken the sticker with the yellow tab off the top of the camera. I had the Jello phenomenon too when I first got my Mavic, and figured it might be due to the tab on that sticker catching the wind. Sure enough, it hasn't done it once since I removed the sticker (dozens of flight later).

maximeeso · Jul 28, 2017

joshnl said:
Make sure you've taken the sticker with the yellow tab off the top of the camera. I had the Jello phenomenon too when I first got my Mavic, and figured it might be due to the tab on that sticker catching the wind. Sure enough, it hasn't done it once since I removed the sticker (dozens of flight later).

Thank you but I had done this as well. No help.

UPDATE: Exchanged the Mavic Pro Fly More Combo at Best Buy. They took everything in and I will receive a new Mavic Pro at my house on Tuesday 8/1 (Unfortunately no local Best Buys keep the Fly More in stock and they would not let me replace just the base drone). I asked the guy what would happen if the next one is messed up as well and he told me we could just repeat this same process. Sure beats dealing with DJI!

flightmike · Jul 28, 2017

Good deal and good luck. [emoji256]

maximeeso · Aug 2, 2017

Just to provide an update... I received my replacement Mavic Pro Fly More package from Best Buy on yesterday. I only have about a half hour of flight time in so far but I did not see the issue I was experiencing with my old Mavic not one time, and that's including 20 minutes in Sport mode (where it was occurring about 90% of the time on my first Mavic).

So I know this doesn't help anyone with actually fixing the issue, but I just wanted to give a +1 to buying from big box stores (in this case, Best Buy) so that exchanges can be done easily without having to send it back to DJI for 1-3 months (or more).

maximeeso · Aug 2, 2017

New update: Now I am randomly getting the issue where my gimbal will randomly "reset" and it goes crazy on its own where I cannot control it. It will look up to the sky or look the ground and then it tilts to where it is no longer level horizontal. Excellent. Wonder if I should exchange this one as well?

QuadKid · Aug 2, 2017

I have the same problem with a 1 week old Mavic, lot of Aliasing on the street curbs and jello in a still hover, gonna give it one more shot in the morning, if it still does it, it's going back to BB for an exchange !!