Gimbal Twitch when flying sideways? - Not Anymore

ElGuapo · Feb 4, 2017

I have a gimbal twitch that happens most of the time when flying side ways. I thought it was a fw update and updated my Mavic's to the latest update and calibrated everything as recommended, needless to say the issue still there.

Thinking of contacting DJI when we come back from vacation ( we are flying out of the country on a vacation in 3 days, the Mavic is coming with us on this trip), aside from the warranty I also have DJI Care Refresh but I am trying to avoid at all possible going this route. If I send in my Mavic I may receive a refurbished unit with other problems.

Any tricks that help with this will be highly appreciated.

Have you guys seen this?:

Humanparody · Feb 4, 2017

To answer your question, yes I have seen it. It appears to happen when a combination of yaw and roll are used and a lot of times it ends with a titled horizon for the remainder of the flight. If you pay close attention, you can see it happens at the exaxt moment you release your yaw movement. I've been keeping up with similar threads hoping someone has come up with a solution, namely DJI but they don't seem to have fixed it yet. It looks to be a software issue though so I'm hopeful that it will be addressed in a future update. I have had pretty good success with minimizing the chance of it happening by changing the exp settings on the controls to slightly softer settings. Seems to happen primarily when the aircraft makes abrupt changes in attitude.

Humanparody · Feb 4, 2017

Actually in your case it looks like you started out the flight with the tilted horizon issue already and the twitch actually fixed it. Have you manually adjusted your roll before? I'd recommend resetting it back to 0 (if you have it set to anything else) and doing a fresh IMU calibration (do this regardless) and keep the aircraft movements smooth until they sort out the issue.

ElGuapo · Mar 21, 2017

I started this thread back in February. I did not want to send the Mavic in for repair as we were getting closer to leave on a trip abroad and wanted to bring the Mavic, which I did.

First the good news - During the trip, the Gimbal Twitch was down to a minimum, for the most part I am fixing the twitch during post. Some of the videos I am putting together for friends and family are looking nice, except for those where the horizon is tilted.

Now the bad news - The Gimbal Twitch has gotten worse, to the point that is making the videos unusable. Last week we went on a trip to the coast of Mexico, 50% of the video footage can't be fixed during post, totally wasted.
I did not want to send the Mavic in fearing is going to be a nightmare dealing with DJI's repair center but I am going to have to. In a few months we are going on a trip to Sri Lanka.

Please take a look at the video, as I was shooting I saw the Twitch in my mobile device. In the past rotating the bird on its axis from left to right made the Twitch go away, however this time nothing worked.

AyeYo · Mar 21, 2017

ElGuapo said:
I started this thread back in February. I did not want to send the Mavic in for repair as we were getting closer to leave on a trip abroad and wanted to bring the Mavic, which I did.

First the good news - During the trip, the Gimbal Twitch was down to a minimum, for the most part I am fixing the twitch during post. Some of the videos I am putting together for friends and family are looking nice, except for those where the horizon is tilted.

Now the bad news - The Gimbal Twitch has gotten worse, to the point that is making the videos unusable. Last week we went on a trip to the coast of Mexico, 50% of the video footage can't be fixed during post, totally wasted.
I did not want to send the Mavic in fearing is going to be a nightmare dealing with DJI's repair center but I am going to have to. In a few months we are going on a trip to Sri Lanka.

Please take a look at the video, as I was shooting I saw the Twitch in my mobile device. In the past rotating the bird on its axis from left to right made the Twitch go away, however this time nothing worked.

What firmware are you on? I had this same type of twitching ruining lots of footage and it seems to have gone away a couple firmware update ago. I've also noticed that flying at less than max speed speed helps it.

ElGuapo · Mar 21, 2017

I am running the latest firmware, I've had this issue from day one. This issue is getting worse with the latest fw updates. Looking at my original post back in Feb 2017 the Gimbal Twitch / Jerkiness / Jittery wasn't as bad. Then an update came out and got a bit worse but not as bad. The latest firmware update, V01.03.0500, made the gimbal completely jittery. Somebody else had already suggested to fly at less than max speed, so that is what I was doing. If you look at my second video I was flying in straight line at no more than 8 mph.

Bunny Too · Mar 21, 2017

ElGuapo said:
I am running the latest firmware, I've had this issue from day one. This issue is getting worse with the latest fw updates. Looking at my original post back in Feb 2017 the Gimbal Twitch / Jerkiness / Jittery wasn't as bad. Then an update came out and got a bit worse but not as bad. The latest firmware update, V01.03.0500, made the gimbal completely jittery. Somebody else had already suggested to fly at less than max speed, so that is what I was doing. If you look at my second video I was flying in straight line at no more than 8 mph.

I know this sounds weird but try reformatting you Micro SD card, it can fix some strange gremlins.
Regards,
-d.

AyeYo · Mar 21, 2017

ElGuapo said:
I am running the latest firmware, I've had this issue from day one. This issue is getting worse with the latest fw updates. Looking at my original post back in Feb 2017 the Gimbal Twitch / Jerkiness / Jittery wasn't as bad. Then an update came out and got a bit worse but not as bad. The latest firmware update, V01.03.0500, made the gimbal completely jittery. Somebody else had already suggested to fly at less than max speed, so that is what I was doing. If you look at my second video I was flying in straight line at no more than 8 mph.

Sounds far worse than my issue. I'm still on a couple firmwares back because it's not broke anymore and I don't want to introduce any issues. However, that sounds worse than mine if it's happening at 8mph. I'm assuming you've done the simple stuff like IMU calibration followed by a gimbal calibration?

ElGuapo · Mar 21, 2017

Bunny Too said:
I know this sounds weird but try reformatting you Micro SD card, it can fix some strange gremlins.
Regards,
-d.

I will give it a try, at this point I am willing to try anything.

ElGuapo · Mar 21, 2017

AyeYo said:
Sounds far worse than my issue. I'm still on a couple firmwares back because it's not broke anymore and I don't want to introduce any issues. However, that sounds worse than mine if it's happening at 8mph. I'm assuming you've done the simple stuff like IMU calibration followed by a gimbal calibration?

I am keeping mine up to date in hopes that a fw update is going to fix the issue.
I have done firmware update, once the update is complete I do all of the calibrations (IMU, Gimbal Calibration, etc)., and still there. The more I do to fix the problem the worse it gets. Last weekend the jittery was the worse.

Humanparody · Mar 21, 2017

**** that's a shame, what a beautiful setting to film in. Have you checked your gimbal mount to make sure it's not touching the aircraft or even close to touching the aircraft? I've never seen a twitch that looked like that, meaning constant back and forth. It looks like the gimbal is actually rocking not rolling (hey look a joke!). I'd fly it right in front of you at eye level and see if the gimbal is actually adjusting the roll or actually physically shaking.

ElGuapo · Mar 21, 2017

Humanparody said:
**** that's a shame, what a beautiful setting to film in.

I know, I had my cinematic filter installed and all of my settings set correctly for a nice film, EVO at 0, for that cinematic looks flying over the rocks and ocean waters until the Gimbal Twitch ruined the whole thing.

Humanparody said:
Have you checked your gimbal mount to make sure it's not touching the aircraft or even close to touching the aircraft?

No I have not, I am going to check everything again this afternoon.

Humanparody said:
I've never seen a twitch that looked like that, meaning constant back and forth. It looks like the gimbal is actually rocking not rolling (hey look a joke!). I'd fly it right in front of you at eye level and see if the gimbal is actually adjusting the roll or actually physically shaking.

I've had this problem from day one, out of the box. Seems like with every update the rocking / rolling ( Lol ) is getting worse. I have DJI Care plus my warranty, i'm 3 months with my warranty, I received the drone back in December. I am tempted to send it in but I am worried as to what I am going to receive. I know I am not going to get my Mavic back. DJI is going to send me a refurbished unit which I believe is BS but as long as it is fully functional its all it matters.

Somebody recommended to format the SD card, I will do that as well.

Bunny Too · Mar 21, 2017

ElGuapo said:
I know, I had my cinematic filter installed and all of my settings set correctly for a nice film, EVO at 0, for that cinematic looks flying over the rocks and ocean waters until the Gimbal Twitch ruined the whole thing.

No I have not, I am going to check everything again this afternoon.

I've had this problem from day one, out of the box. Seems like with every update the rocking / rolling ( Lol ) is getting worse. I have DJI Care plus my warranty, i'm 3 months with my warranty, I received the drone back in December. I am tempted to send it in but I am worried as to what I am going to receive. I know I am not going to get my Mavic back. DJI is going to send me a refurbished unit which I believe is BS but as long as it is fully functional its all it matters.

Somebody recommended to format the SD card, I will do that as well.

If you send it in for warranty you should get a brand new one, care refresh you may get a rebuilt.
Regards,
-d.

ElGuapo · Mar 21, 2017

Bunny Too said:
If you send it in for warranty you should get a brand new one, care refresh you may get a rebuilt.
Regards,
-d.

You're right, this should fall under warranty. I think I am going to send it in, I've this issue for a while. Not to mention, that in a few months we are going to go to Sri Lanka and it will really piss me off if I see the gimbal rolling from left to right in the videos.
Doing all the paper work to get the permit to fly there, it is going to cost me about $25. But I will be legit to fly during the 2 weeks we are going to be there.

Mr Spock · Apr 2, 2017

i got this issue now too out of the blue but its not when i move sideways, it when i do a sharp yaw turn.
is there any fix for it in FW or HW?

ElGuapo · Apr 3, 2017

Mr Spock said:
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i got this issue now too out of the blue but its not when i move sideways, it when i do a sharp yaw turn.
is there any fix for it in FW or HW?

Yes there is, I just saw a guy fixing his after a crash apparently you have to put the Mavic upside down, for this you may need a magnifying glass unless you have really good eyes, and check to make sure the gimbal is properly seated. I am going to look for pictures on this and post them. I found out about this after I had already sent mine to DJI, it's already been more that 2 wks. Apparently is in the repair stages, good thing is that a Phantom 4 Pro, not totally grounded, I miss the portability of the Mavic.

Btw, how do you record your screen or what app do you use?.

kneeL · Apr 3, 2017

I have this issue often as well, sometimes it will even hold the tilt for a bit (after moving sideways) until i fly straight again. Have some video examples i could post, and am uploading one recent one it kinda went beserk and couldn't focus after the glitch. This also resulted in my DJI Go 4 app crashing, mid-flight, which also happens often. (using a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge)

Mr Spock · Apr 3, 2017

ElGuapo said:
Yes there is, I just saw a guy fixing his after a crash apparently you have to put the Mavic upside down, for this you may need a magnifying glass unless you have really good eyes, and check to make sure the gimbal is properly seated. I am going to look for pictures on this and post them. I found out about this after I had already sent mine to DJI, it's already been more that 2 wks. Apparently is in the repair stages, good thing is that a Phantom 4 Pro, not totally grounded, I miss the portability of the Mavic.

Btw, how do you record your screen or what app do you use?.

the fix you are referring to is for the "jello effect". my gimbal is in the right place and under the plates. this is a different issue that is been reported by many and normally i read they have to send the mavic back to DJI. i was wondering if there is a fix for it so i dont have to send it it and get a refurb unit...
the video i made with a screengraber app, there are many for Android and i use "AZ screen recorder".

Mr Spock · Apr 3, 2017

kneeL said:
I have this issue often as well, sometimes it will even hold the tilt for a bit (after moving sideways) until i fly straight again. Have some video examples i could post, and am uploading one recent one it kinda went beserk and couldn't focus after the glitch. This also resulted in my DJI Go 4 app crashing, mid-flight, which also happens often. (using a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge)

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wow yours is even worst!!!