Low noise prop cause abnormal gimbal vibration

[rjanumpally]

is the gimbal vibration problem still there after the 4.100 update of firmware. this was not asked anywhere.

 

[JoostGT3]

Don't know, but I was on the latest version of all firmware & app.
Went to the store yesterday hoping they would give me a new one, but it is sent to the Dutch repair centre, looking at 21 working days without my toy :'-(
Chose to go to the store rather than filing a ticket with DJI because I prefered a new Mav or a repair of my current one rather than a refurbished one combined with the simplicity of dealing with a local store... well, we'll see if they can solve it!

 

[Mr. Salty]

I experienced it one more time (don't remember which firmware I was flying), but once the Mavic started moving it went away and hasn't been back since. I'm currently on the latest firmware.

 

[viam]

I also experienced Abnormal Gimbal Vibration today with low noise props. Latest firmware on new Mavic Pro. Hadn't noticed this before, though it's possible given how fleeting the warning is - only occurred briefly and immediately after takeoff during hover just above home point before flying off on my route. Warning cleared and did not reappear. Checked screen recording from yesterday and sure enough I'd received the same warning at the same point in the flight. Just switched back to normal props and will monitor for effects. I am really scratching my head thinking about how smoother/quieter running props could cause abnormal gimbal vibration, especially with the stabilization software programmed-in. But hey, I'm not an engineer, and there are enough other pilots experiencing the same thing to give it substance for me. Will provide more info going forward if it can add value to the discussion.

EDIT: Just a few mins after posting this I came across someone showing their own real-world test of the difference between the two prop types with respect to gimbal vibration. Here's the video:

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[rjanumpally]

did anyone try gimbal calibration with the low noise props on. i heard that helps prevent the error described above and effects. it's a pain in the *** but i think will prevent that only thing u will need to do it again when putting on the regular props.

 

[rjanumpally]

Much much quieter in the video above but horrible at least 5-7 hertz gimbal vibration.

 

[rjanumpally]

really 60 % quieter and more low pitch versus the annoying bee sound.

 

[rjanumpally]

Thanks for the great video! Worth buying the props for the sound difference alone just hope the vibration can be fixed with gimbal calibration. Has anyone tried it?

 

[ftttu]

I just got my 8331's from DJI today, but I can't fly them until Christmas. One reason I got them from DJI is because I wanted an authentic DJI product instead of fakes or a competing brand. I'm hoping some of the problems with low noise props is that they aren't from DJI. And another thing, I will always leave my bird unfolded while at home, and I will always remove the props when in the case. I don't want the props to have any stress on them but from flying.

 

[borislip]

Somehow i have a gut feeling the fact those props run on somewhat lower RPM just manage to hit the resonance frequency of the gimbal assembly hanging on those rubber rings. Did anyone try putting a little bit of weight on the gimbal (in a sane way, such as putting an ND filter on) to see if it lowers that frequency enough to solve the issue?

 

[borislip]

Also, one can try load the drone with some weight, forcing the motors to work harder, raising the RPM. But thats kinda good for test purpose only.

 

[viam]

did anyone try gimbal calibration with the low noise props on. i heard that helps prevent the error described above and effects. it's a pain in the *** but i think will prevent that only thing u will need to do it again when putting on the regular props.

I've not recalibrated the gimbal since this warning appeared today with the low noise props, but I recalibrated the IMU and gimbal recently after visually noticing the gimbal vibrating during a low level hover in front of me. The IMU recal seemed to fix things. Oddly, Airdata contains no such warning in the list of other Notifications for the two affected flights where I received the notification. Interestingly, the Abnormal Gimbal Vibration notification did not appear as a popup on the main screen of the DJI GO 4 app; it appeared in the green shaded status area at the top-left of the display, so I could not clear it by tapping on a small 'x' symbol. It was presented like an info crawler and was only displayed momentarily and then disappeared.

I'm curious why this notification does not appear on the main screen and why it doesn't show up in flight records with the other warnings. It seems to be treated differently that the normal warnings that appear and are cancellable on-screen.

did anyone try gimbal calibration with the low noise props on. i heard that helps prevent the error described above and effects. it's a pain in the *** but i think will prevent that only thing u will need to do it again when putting on the regular props.

 

[djaco]

Hi,

I cashed in my DJI points and ordered the low noise props. On the first test flight, I saw the gimbal vibrating immediately after taking off. The Go app then reported Abnormal Gimbal Vibration. I switched back to the original props and the problem went away. Put the LN props again. The problem came back.

I came in the house to type up this thread to ask for help. In the meantime, Go app said I need to update firmware (01.04.0000), so I did that. Before I can finished typing up my question (my wife was bugging me about some chores), the firmware updated completed. So I thought maybe I should give it another try. Sure enough the problem went away. I thought I might share this info anyway in case some one else has the problem.

P.S. I am pretty sure I installed the props correctly in the first 2 tests. But there may still be a chance that the firmware upgrade had nothing to do with the solution and that I may have done something else differently on the 3rd test.

I had the same problem, my gimbal started vibrating like crazy, it didn’t resolve, no detectable vibration of the Mavic itself, I thought something was wrong with the gimbal, I switched back to my original props and the problem was gone.

 

[viam]

Apologies for any repeat post, but I chatted with DJI support, who said they resolved this issue with the latest firmware update. DJI advised to "refresh firmware using DJI Assistant."

 

[MPCZ]

Same issue, guys. Yesterday I did back-to-back test flights.

Old props - all good.
Low-noise - Warning!

I just moved from P3P to Mavic over new year's, so this is a brand new bird. Love it, flies perfectly. Only gives the warning on the low-noise props. It's all updated to the latest.

Willing to run some tests if anyone has ideas? Or should I just reach out to DJI right away?

 

[lilroc17]

I have the Mavic platinum and have had no problems at all. Even tried a second set after seeing this post. still no problems. Are you using true Dji props or after market?

 

[MPCZ]

I have the Mavic platinum and have had no problems at all. Even tried a second set after seeing this post. still no problems. Are you using true Dji props or after market?

True DJI as far as I can tell. Bought at an authorized reseller, in person and they came in the DJI boxes.

 

[lilroc17]

Are you flying a pro or a platinum?

 

[MPCZ]

Are you flying a pro or a platinum?

Mavic Pro.

 

[viam]

Here's what I've found out as of today experimenting with LNPs with a Mavic Pro mfg'd on 28 Sep, 2017 and running the latest firmware (v01.04.0100). The a/c performs great out of the box with stock props; vid/pic quality is stunning; zero gimbal issues.

In all I've tried three different sets of LNPs, and each set has caused abnormal gimbal vibration. Two sets were ordered directly from DJI (gold tips and platinum tips). One set was ordered from Amazon (vendor is HiBlok). I was curious whether the issue might be related to mfg or vendor, i.e., something in the mfg process. While the vibrations appeared to be a bit worse with the HiBok props, the results were the same overall regardless of mfg.

I'd initially reported the issue to DJI via chat with Support. I reluctantly followed DJI's recommendation to refresh the firmware because they said they'd programmed in a fix in this latest version to address this anomaly. As I suspected before following through, the refresh made no difference whatsoever.

Note: On each flight where the issue was encountered the wind has been less that calm. In fact, it's been variable each time with gusts up to 10-20mph. Standing close to the Mavic it's obvious both visually and audibly that the high winds exacerbate the problem. I've yet to have a windless day to test the props. In all cases except the HiBloks, the issue went away once I got out of hover and started flying around, though it will return in gusty conditions where the motors are compensating for wind pressures.

I'm baffled by reports from forum members with seemingly similarly aged Mavics having mfg dates close to mine who report no issues since they're bound to have the same build components onboard their Mavics. There shouldn't be much variability from blade to blade in a mfg process, but the odds of having one propeller out of four that is slightly off weight wise or malformed is not astronomical. At these RPMs I wouldn't think it would take much of an error before it's noticeable.