When the gimbal is pointed straight down and you pull the stick back to start reversing the Mini, or you come to sudden stop while flying forward, the gimbal will not remain in the straight down position but will suddenly jump forward.
I was convinced this happens because the gimbal is hitting the bump stop on the physical limit of its range of motion. The user manual says it will only swing 90° straight down, and no further. So obviously as the Mini pitches rearward when reversing it must drag the gimbal forward as shown in this diagram.
But I just did a quick experiment and discovered that might not be true at all.
Power up your app, controller, and Mini, but DO NOT start the motors!! Pick up the Mini in your hand and, using the app, rotate the gimbal to its full-down 90° position. Now experiment by manually tipping the Mini to different angles while watching how the gimbal behaves.
As you tip the Mini forward, the gimbal automatically remains pointing straight down (as shown in the middle image) because this is within the gimbal's normal operating range of motion. Tipping the Mini rearward should force the gimbal away from pointing straight down (as in the image on the right), since that is physically beyond its published 90° range of motion. However, the gimbal actually does rotate further than 90° in order to remain pointing straight down as the Mini is tipped rearward! Huh?!?
Try it, you'll see.
Okay, now try it again with the motors running, holding the Mini from below to keep your fingers and face well away from the props. Hold on tight, because the Mini will fight you as you're tipping it to different angles!!! (It would be much safer to remove the props for this test, but I didn't want to disturb the loctite on the new screws.)
With the motors running, and the gimbal again pointed vertically straight down, the gimbal behaves normally as expected whenever the Mini is tipped forward. But, when the Mini is tipped rearward the gimbal will not remain pointing straight down (like it did before with the Mini powered up but motors not running). Instead, as the Mini is tipped rearward, the gimbal jumps forward and remains stabilized in that forward position.
The fact that the gimbal can stay pointed straight down (rotating beyond the published 90° limit) with the motors not running, but does not stay pointed straight down when the motors are running, does seem to suggest that something in the firmware could be altered to correct this issue. Verrrrry interrrrresting, huh?
I was convinced this happens because the gimbal is hitting the bump stop on the physical limit of its range of motion. The user manual says it will only swing 90° straight down, and no further. So obviously as the Mini pitches rearward when reversing it must drag the gimbal forward as shown in this diagram.
But I just did a quick experiment and discovered that might not be true at all.
Power up your app, controller, and Mini, but DO NOT start the motors!! Pick up the Mini in your hand and, using the app, rotate the gimbal to its full-down 90° position. Now experiment by manually tipping the Mini to different angles while watching how the gimbal behaves.
As you tip the Mini forward, the gimbal automatically remains pointing straight down (as shown in the middle image) because this is within the gimbal's normal operating range of motion. Tipping the Mini rearward should force the gimbal away from pointing straight down (as in the image on the right), since that is physically beyond its published 90° range of motion. However, the gimbal actually does rotate further than 90° in order to remain pointing straight down as the Mini is tipped rearward! Huh?!?
Try it, you'll see.
Okay, now try it again with the motors running, holding the Mini from below to keep your fingers and face well away from the props. Hold on tight, because the Mini will fight you as you're tipping it to different angles!!! (It would be much safer to remove the props for this test, but I didn't want to disturb the loctite on the new screws.)
With the motors running, and the gimbal again pointed vertically straight down, the gimbal behaves normally as expected whenever the Mini is tipped forward. But, when the Mini is tipped rearward the gimbal will not remain pointing straight down (like it did before with the Mini powered up but motors not running). Instead, as the Mini is tipped rearward, the gimbal jumps forward and remains stabilized in that forward position.
The fact that the gimbal can stay pointed straight down (rotating beyond the published 90° limit) with the motors not running, but does not stay pointed straight down when the motors are running, does seem to suggest that something in the firmware could be altered to correct this issue. Verrrrry interrrrresting, huh?
