Is it the gimbal, RC-N1, or the drone itself?

[Honk]

Hello Folks,

I am beginning to investigate an issue with my Mini 2. I am going to start by asking a few questions here. I hope you can help. Again, its re: my Mini 2.

Questions:

1. Is my issue related to the gimbal, RC-N1, or the drone itself?

2. Is this common?

3. How do I fix it?

4. Should I begin trouble shooting by 1st doing a gimbal calibration and then testing to see if that fixes the issue?

Here is why I ask: I frequently do cinematic panning/rotations while hovering. After I do a yaw either left or right, I then bring the stick to neutral and releasing the stick, to stop the rotation. Recently, while hovering after the stop, I've started to notice the drone will begin after approx. 2 seconds, a very very slight yaw, continuing in the direction I was rotating prior to the stop.

Thats it for now.

Thank you very much!

 

[FLDave]

Flight log details needed.

 

[Honk]

Flight log details needed.

Thanks FLDave. Very good. See below...

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[FLDave]

Having an Air 2s I don't have answers, but another question. What was the wind speed at flight levels? This information can be obtained from a paid account on Air Data.
I don't believe the Mini 2 has left right gimbal movements, just a 2-axle gimbal, so gimbal calibration wouldn't matter.
Was your posted flight log one with you observed issued? How did you know the drone yawed after you stopped the rotation control?
Does the Mini 2 have settings to control the smoothness of yaw controls?

 

[Honk]

Thanks again FLDave. To answer your questions:

>>Wind speed:
I don't have a paid acct. but I checked Air Data before lift off and they said the winds were 6 mph with 10 mph gusts.

>>just a 2-axle gimbal..
Mini 2 has 3 way axis

>>Was your posted flight log one with you observed issued?
Yes..its very slight and slow

>>How did you know the drone yawed?
In the camera view I can see the movement by observing the left and right edges of the screen. Again, its very slight and slow...and perhaps intermittent.

>>Does the Mini 2 have settings to control the smoothness of yaw controls?
Yes

 

[old man mavic]

@Honk ,firstly does the issue you describe show up when you play back the videos from the drones SD card ,depending on conditions at the time of the flight and the location, there can sometimes be a very slight delay between what the drone appears to be doing and the actual display that you see on the screen its called lag , also check the gimbal mounting points to make sure that they are all attached properly and not damaged or have gone really soft over time ,if you have flown the drone many times ,so that when the drone stops its yaw ,it allows the gimbal to flex to much

 

[FLDave]

Since I don't have access to detailed flight log data as others do, my suggestion is some testing.
Fly the drone up to a clearly visible elevation with some some wind. Record video and device screen video. Carefully visually monitor any actions of the drone due to the wind; compare that to what you see on the screen and later on the recording. Next, rotate the drone left and right visually watching drone and abruptly stopping the done. Did it override the stop? What did the recorded videos show?
Can you pan the gimbal left and right without panning the drone? That's a third axis command. What does the drone do? What does the screen show.
Land and reset/change and drone rotation smoothness settings and repeat the in-air tests for drone rotation to see the changes.
Testing may not give the answers but it will help you understand drone actions, settings, and commands.

 

[PHZ]

All the above are good suggestions. My M2Pro started some of your Mini 2’s behavior twice in its life (so far). I recalibrated the compass, the IMU and the sticks on the controller. That cured it, twice.

 

[Capt KO]

Agree with above post. Do all 3 calibrations when oddities appear. Solves most of them. Do the gimble calibration too.

 

[Honk]

@OMM Thank you for your input. The issue does show up on SD captured video and my device screen capture. I'll check the gimbal mounting points for proper attachment. The drone is a replacement from DJI (do to a flyaway/crash) this past April with only several flights so I don't think the mounting points have gone soft.

@FLDave Thanks again. Some of the tests you suggest I have already performed. I will do the other deeper tests for my own understanding. Very good. Also, fwiw, while the Mini 2 does have a 3 way axis, it does not have a left/right panning control.

@PHZ and @Capt KO Thank you very much. I shall do the calibrations.

I had a feeling the calibrations would probably be my solution. We'll see.

Thanks again folks.

 

[FLDave]

]@FLDave[/USER] Thanks again. Some of the tests you suggest I have already performed. I will do the other deeper tests for my own understanding. Very good. Also, fwiw, while the Mini 2 does have a 3 way axis, it does not have a left/right panning control.

Actually, the left-right user control was what I really meant, as the 3-axis is only for automatic control to maintain steady view as the drone keeps the view level as the drone shifts. The Air 2s does have manual left-right gimbal control.
In the flight log I noticed a left yaw command at about 30 sec and a right yaw command ab out 1:30. Were those stick commands intentional? Did they match with any of your visual observations?

 

[Honk]

Actually, the left-right user control was what I really meant, as the 3-axis is only for automatic control to maintain steady view as the drone keeps the view level as the drone shifts. The Air 2s does have manual left-right gimbal control.
In the flight log I noticed a left yaw command at about 30 sec and a right yaw command ab out 1:30. Were those stick commands intentional? Did they match with any of your visual observations?

Very good, and yes, those were intentional stick commands and then stopping in an effort to recreate my issue. They matched my visual obs.

 

[FLDave]

Very good, and yes, those were intentional stick commands and then stopping in an effort to recreate my issue. They matched my visual obs.

Good to see you were testing. Were those and the other yaw stick commands where you saw the video lag? I suspect the drone was too high to actually see the movements.
The Air 2s has controls to manage the smoothness settings of yaw smoothness. I think that is also possible with Mini 2. With yaw smoothness at maximum the yaw movement will continue after the stick is released so yaw comes to a smooth end. Do a YouTube search for Mini 2 yaw smoothness for examples. It should vary in different modes.

 

[FLDave]

When the yaw setting is for the highest smoothness the yaw movement is a buffer which continues to move after the stick is released. With no smoothness the yaw movement will stop with the stick movement.

 

[Honk]

Were those and the other yaw stick commands where you saw the video lag?

Yes, however, I don't think it is video lag. When I release the stick, the pan stops without lag, but after approx. 2 seconds it would start up again, though very slightly and very slow.

I suspect the drone was too high to actually see the movements.

Correct suspicion. However, just before I landed, I performed some yaw when the drone was approx. 5 ft above my head. I could not detect any yaw drifting. In the videos and the device screen it is very very slow. I'll need to try that again when I get a chance. That last time, the battery was very low and I was getting the warning to land.

Re: yaw smoothness
I understand. Thank you. Fwiw, my yaw smoothness is at 2.

Thank very much for your input. I'll be testing things after I do some calibrating.

 

[FLDave]

I think yaw smoothness at 2 should be a quick stop. Just make sure the yaw smoothness setting is for the mode (sport, normal, cine) your using. They each have their own settings. I believe there are Exponential settings for stick actions.