My First Mod for the Mavic Pro's Gimbal Lock

twoshey · Feb 13, 2017

Desertdude said:
Fishing line would work but I liked the wire cable I saw in this thread.

its called Safe-t-cable very expensive but for my use I didn't need the tool used to do true safties so I just crushed the locks for the wire where I wanted it to terminate.
http://www.dmctools.com/_pdf/Catalogs/SafeTCable.pdf

twoshey · Feb 13, 2017

StuLBNY said:
Do you fly with gimble cover?
I've tried and I get all sorts of flaring in my images

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you're not supposed to fly with the gimble cover on. restricts air flow

stuffonastick · Feb 13, 2017

I literally just ordered some of these to do the exact same thing

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Bill Debevc · Feb 13, 2017

StuLBNY said:
Do you fly with gimble cover?
I've tried and I get all sorts of flaring in my images

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I fly with my gimbal cover on when I am not flying to film.

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Jaysjob · Feb 21, 2017

Ok. So this is my first "mod" if I can call it that? I looked into buying the the tags and cables and whatnot. This is my low dollar version. My reasons for doing it the way I did were:
1. Shipping costs and long wait times for delivery.
2. I also wanted something very light.
3. And I did not want to drill holes in any part of my Mavic.
So, I decided to resort to guerrilla tactics.
These were my step if they are not evident from the photos.
I cut part off part of a plastic tie on a garbage bag. Yep. Folded it over and put a pop rivet through the top. Then drilled out the remaining nail in the rivet then took a small piece of twine, stuck it through the rivet, tied a knot and sealed it with a lighter to keep it from unraveling. I sealed the other end of the twine without a knot. This and the next step were done to be a quick release when the flag inevitably gets snagged on something and rips off the gimbal lock. I simple taped the not-knotted end of the twine to the back of the gimbal lock. That's it. I know it's really low budget but my intent was to alert me to the gimbal lock.

mfarris2 · Feb 21, 2017

Just need to know if you have a patent on this? Brilliant I say! You should be the next president of the USA. (Gotta be smarter than the one we have now!

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Jaysjob · Feb 21, 2017

mfarris2 said:
Just need to know if you have a patent on this? Brilliant I say! You should be the next president of the USA. (Gotta be smarter than the one we have now!

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I know. I know. But I've got more time than money. Haha! It was a cheap solution to a bothersome problem. [emoji23]

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mfarris2 · Feb 22, 2017

Well,...if you ever run,......you have my vote.

Jaysjob · Feb 22, 2017

mfarris2 said:
Well,...if you ever run,......you have my vote.

Thanks man!

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Mike_in_Letcombe · Feb 22, 2017

Or you could just get a piece of red electrical tape, trim to size and stick on gimbal lock. Same outcome, two minutes, no cost.

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Jaysjob · Feb 22, 2017

Mike_in_Letcombe said:
Or you could just get a piece of red electrical tape, trim to size and stick on gimbal lock. Same outcome, two minutes, no cost.

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Sure! Where was this good idea 4 days ago!? Haha!!

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Kate · Feb 22, 2017

"Freddo, inform Houston I'm well aware of the God-damned gimbals!"

rightstuffed · Feb 22, 2017

twoshey said:
to tell the truth ...I don't remember....found them laying around the house one day. sorry

Hehe, i used to work aviation

Helo · Feb 22, 2017

Jaysjob said:
View attachment 6790 View attachment 6791 View attachment 6792
Ok. So this is my first "mod" if I can call it that? I looked into buying the the tags and cables and whatnot. This is my low dollar version. My reasons for doing it the way I did were:
1. Shipping costs and long wait times for delivery.
2. I also wanted something very light.
3. And I did not want to drill holes in any part of my Mavic.
So, I decided to resort to guerrilla tactics.
These were my step if they are not evident from the photos.
I cut part off part of a plastic tie on a garbage bag. Yep. Folded it over and put a pop rivet through the top. Then drilled out the remaining nail in the rivet then took a small piece of twine, stuck it through the rivet, tied a knot and sealed it with a lighter to keep it from unraveling. I sealed the other end of the twine without a knot. This and the next step were done to be a quick release when the flag inevitably gets snagged on something and rips off the gimbal lock. I simple taped the not-knotted end of the twine to the back of the gimbal lock. That's it. I know it's really low budget but my intent was to alert me to the gimbal lock.

I like this, you can take a magic marker and put "Remove Before Flight" in any font you want. Of course if you have to buy a marker it makes it unaffordable.

Jaysjob · Feb 22, 2017

Helo said:
I like this, you can take a magic marker and put "Remove Before Flight" in any font you want. Of course if you have to buy a marker it makes it unaffordable.

Oh don't think I didn't consider this! Haha!

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mfarris2 · Feb 27, 2017

Told you should have gotten a patent on your idea. To late now.

tellytom · Feb 27, 2017

Bill Debevc said:
Preformed my first mod for my Mavic today. Try to hold back the excitement.

You see, my beloved ground crew keeps forgetting to remove the gimbal lock from the camera. So I decided to take matters in to my own hands and attach a "Remove Before Flight" ribbon to the lock.

Cool Right.

Here are the steps. Preform the steps at your own risk.

Purchase the Ribbon from Amazon

Find some string.

Get a drill and the right size drill bit.

Remove the cover and the gimbal lock from the aircraft. (very important)

Remove the key ring thing from the ribbon, save for future engagement.

Carefully drill a hole in the rear side of the lock for the string.

Insert the left end of the sting in the gimbal lock hole. Insert the right end of the string in the ribbon hole.

Tie using a great knot connecting each end of the string, here is a reference to find the correct knot.

Carefully put lock back on the gimbal. Using great care to ensure your selected string and tied knot is not in the way, otherwise it will not fit and you will be sad.

Replace the gimbal cover.

Sit back and rest assured that your ground crew will remember to remove the lock on the next flight.

I am sure there are other ways to get this done, but this is the way I choose for my Mavic Pro. Good luck and be careful out there.

Bill.

tellytom · Feb 27, 2017

Any chance the remove before flight tag could accidentally snag on something when moving the Mavic and do damage to the camera somewhere down the road?

Jaysjob · Feb 28, 2017

tellytom said:
Any chance the remove before flight tag could accidentally snag on something when moving the Mavic and do damage to the camera somewhere down the road?

Yes. That's why I made mine to breakaway in case it snagged something.

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StuLBNY · Apr 1, 2017

Flying with gimble cover will give you all sorts of visual anomalies. The real problem is when it gets warmer outside. Behind the gimble is a fan forced air intake used to cool the elrctronics. Remember there are 24 computer cores in a very small space. It would be like putting tape across the air intake on a laptop computer.
Next time you FLY with the gimble cove feel the heatsink on the bottom of your Mavic. It will be super hot. The heat can damage the electronics. I learned this the hard way. Luckily I bought Dji care. You can buy aftermarket sunshade gimble covers that are cutout covers that are black.
It gives some protection from crash for gimble and also keeps glare away from lens when off angle from Sun. It dosent impair airflow to cooling fan.