Pernacious pro platinum pilot's potential pain

[F4D3DKN1GH7]

Hello everyone! F4D3DKN1GH7 here (or simply Faded if leetspeek isn't your cup of tea) I've been an ecstatic m.p.p. pilot for a couple of years now. Ive registered on the forum for the first time because I am in need of some help..

I learned to fly with my m.p.p after it was gifted to me by my brother and it has opened a whole new world of photography and videography. I have gotten shots and made videos that never would have been possible otherwise:

But as you all know.. there can be a learning curve. My first crash was while trying to get an establishing shot on a windy day about 5ft away from a building. That was about a 40 ft drop to the asphalt that (thankfully) only cost me my camera and gimble and the vibration harness. I did the repair myself having never worked on a drone before in my life but about an hour later I was in the sky once more.

Fast forward to now and I am switching out the upper canopy and the middle frame and I've run into some... Issues. First and foremost I have a problem with one of the front arms where the metal "pin" on one side seems to be somehow broken and shorter than the other side?

And then there is a slightly scarier issue that came about whilst removing the wifi board and the silicone stuck to the end of the ribbon and damaged the connection to the lower board:

Also had some general questions on the type of silicone one might use to re-secure wires as well as if one should replace the thermal paste on the bottom plate?

I realize this probably isn't the place to post this so I will try to cut and paste to the appropriate spot, unless a kindhearted mid can move my post? I work some crazy and long hours but I'd be incredibly grateful for any help anyone can provide!

Cheers!
F4D3DKN1GH7

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Crossroads of America F4D3DKN1GH7.

Someone with a little more experience than I may chime in soon.

The silicone is to keep the connection secure from vibration and the thermal paste should be replaced in my opinion.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. We look forward to your participation and more of your view of the world. Someone will be along shortly to assist you. There is a wealth of information and support on this forum.

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum

 

[F4D3DKN1GH7]

@oldmanmavic
@wjkrysak
@MA2317

Thank you for the welcome folks. Didn't expect responses so quickly! I'm definitely looking forward to sharing some of my thoughts and experiences and absorbing as much knowledge as I can!

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Assuming they are built in the same way as the pivots from the Mavic 2 P/Z, the pin on the LH pivot is bent, it should be perpendicular to the black base. The bent pin is likely to cause the affected arm to be incorrectly angled.
With care you may be able to straighten it but they are cheap (or the ones for the M2 P/Z are ) so it's probably better to replace that.
If you fiddle with them do NOT do so with the pin end facing anything delicate, e.g. you face, there is a fairly hefty compressed spring in there and mistake or slip could allow the silver cap to be shot off. The pivot on the right needs to be replaced.
There may have been a black, plastic thrust washer around each pin sandwiched between the top of the arm and the under side of the relevant bit of the drone's body, (there is in the M2P/Z). if you didn't see any then check several you tubes to see if you missed them. (they might not be present in the MPP).
With regards to board damage, can you draw an arrow pointing to what you think the damage is? I see what looks to be an exposed track, I 'fixed' a similar scratch with a smear of epoxy glue, note smear, just to seal the opening in the insulation.
If the contact pins inside the connector socket are damaged you might be able to 'straighten' deformed contacts with a needle tip and using a magnifying glass but you'd likely need a VERY steady hand and good eyes.
If contacts in the socket are broken then, at a guess, you are going to be looking for a replacement board.
If the 'big' patch of silver pointing at the lower left of the connector socket is a missing SMD component then I'd guess you will be looking for a replacement board.

 

[Prop Wash]

@F4D3DKN1GH7 - Thanks for joining us!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[BSauce955]

Welcome to the forum from the dry lakeless hills of Lake City FL. An irony... I know. If lakes grew here as much as your knowledge will, Lake City would become an ocean.

Welcome again!

 

[tibadoe]

Welcome from VA

 

[F4D3DKN1GH7]

Assuming they are built in the same way as the pivots from the Mavic 2 P/Z, the pin on the LH pivot is bent, it should be perpendicular to the black base. The bent pin is likely to cause the affected arm to be incorrectly angled.
With care you may be able to straighten it but they are cheap (or the ones for the M2 P/Z are ) so it's probably better to replace that.
If you fiddle with them do NOT do so with the pin end facing anything delicate, e.g. you face, there is a fairly hefty compressed spring in there and mistake or slip could allow the silver cap to be shot off. The pivot on the right needs to be replaced.
There may have been a black, plastic thrust washer around each pin sandwiched between the top of the arm and the under side of the relevant bit of the drone's body, (there is in the M2P/Z). if you didn't see any then check several you tubes to see if you missed them. (they might not be present in the MPP).
With regards to board damage, can you draw an arrow pointing to what you think the damage is? I see what looks to be an exposed track, I 'fixed' a similar scratch with a smear of epoxy glue, note smear, just to seal the opening in the insulation.
If the contact pins inside the connector socket are damaged you might be able to 'straighten' deformed contacts with a needle tip and using a magnifying glass but you'd likely need a VERY steady hand and good eyes.
If contacts in the socket are broken then, at a guess, you are going to be looking for a replacement board.
If the 'big' patch of silver pointing at the lower left of the connector socket is a missing SMD component then I'd guess you will be looking for a replacement board.

Awesome, thank you for your response, here is a better picture:


The good news is that the pins themselves appear to be in good shape and so I was wondering the exact thing you mentioned; the viability of simply tacking it down with epoxy so thank you! Already did the research on a replacement board if it ends up going that route and had to steel myself against the potential cost LOL! As to the arms themselves, or rather the pins, is there a good place to find these components? I hate to be "that guy" and I'll certainly be looking on here for links (if they ever let me off work today that is) but hidden gems are always appreciated.

After looking at it I wonder if that added to the flight instability which proved the impetus behind this canopy and midframe replacement also going to research full replacement arms in the front . Drives up cost and some would say might as well get a m.a. or something similar but my mpp has been a work horse, so there is some loyalty there ya know?

Word to anyone considering doing a canopy/mid-frame replacement: the 45 dollar option on Amazon that appears to be DJI is NOT! It comes from hauyi tech out of Kentucky (must have gotten liscened to make them) also it does NOT have any fasteners and does NOT include the access plate for the front arms located on mid-frame even though it's clearly pictured as being included (still can't figure that out) or anything else for that matter. It is literally just the two pieces of plastic so buyer beware

 

[eaglesurfing]

Welcome to the forum from south central Florida and enjoy.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Ahh I see now that the connector is not of the type that I thought it was.
I thought it was one of the pop-off/press-in types found at the other end of the board. Looking at youtubes it appears to be of the release a flip-up catch (black or brown in colour) and slide the cable in or out type.
If you have dislodged the white plastic from the board I do not know how you can replace it, if you are attempting to glue it down then be careful to avoid getting glue on the portions of the contacts that actually make contact with the contacts of the cable. If the flip up catch is missing you may not be able to get the cable to make reliable connections to the contacts.
The exposed track I was referring to is the Copper coloured patch

 

[Kendallfordguy]

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

[Starz]

The silicone. eBay

 

[howardK]

Awesome, thank you for your response, here is a better picture:
View attachment 141469

The good news is that the pins themselves appear to be in good shape and so I was wondering the exact thing you mentioned; the viability of simply tacking it down with epoxy so thank you! Already did the research on a replacement board if it ends up going that route and had to steel myself against the potential cost LOL! As to the arms themselves, or rather the pins, is there a good place to find these components? I hate to be "that guy" and I'll certainly be looking on here for links (if they ever let me off work today that is) but hidden gems are always appreciated.

After looking at it I wonder if that added to the flight instability which proved the impetus behind this canopy and midframe replacement also going to research full replacement arms in the front . Drives up cost and some would say might as well get a m.a. or something similar but my mpp has been a work horse, so there is some loyalty there ya know?

Word to anyone considering doing a canopy/mid-frame replacement: the 45 dollar option on Amazon that appears to be DJI is NOT! It comes from hauyi tech out of Kentucky (must have gotten liscened to make them) also it does NOT have any fasteners and does NOT include the access plate for the front arms located on mid-frame even though it's clearly pictured as being included (still can't figure that out) or anything else for that matter. It is literally just the two pieces of plastic so buyer beware

As someone in epoxy sales you might want to make sure that any epoxy you use has no metal fillers or any ferrosilicates as that could mess with the compass

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama, welcome to the forum!

 

[Chetk7677]

Welcome from central Florida.

 

[Gagey52]

Welcome to the forum from the land of Oz. Interesting read, wish you well with your repair.
Regards

 

[F4D3DKN1GH7]

Hey folks! I went ahead and made a new thread over in the general page. Head over there for additional pics of the repair as well as a few photos that I had laying around from my first days as a pilot! REALLY appreciate the help so far and love the way the community interacts!