repair to my MPP

[old man mavic]

the last couple of times i have flown my trusty MPP i have had some issues with the gimbal i would get motor obstructed warning message on the screen and then gimbal vibration detected ,and also the horizon would suddenly go completely angled ,then just as suddenly it would all go back to normal ,what made it worse was that it didnt happen all the time the picture itself was still perfect ,and i did all the normal checks for any foreign objects in the gimbal motors ,the drone has never been crashed
in the end the only conclusion i could come to was that the gimbal cable had become damaged, through age and the amount of use over the last three years
i obtained a new gimbal cable for the princely sum of £11-65p and decided that as the forum was down yesterday for a server change over i would attempt a cable change
so i opened her up removed the gimbal and had a go,biggest problem i encountered was my not so flexible fingers and somewhat less than perfect eyesight ,these two factors made the job harder ,but i persevered and after several hours i finally had everything back together
i was not expecting much of a result ,but i fitted the battery set up the screen and RC took a big breath and turned on the drone
the gimbal did its dance and the camera worked ,i was pleasantly surprised and earlier today took her up for a flight ,so far all is fine no error messages and everything seems to be working as it should
i will be more than happy if my trusty MPP lasts at least till the end of next year before the rules will restrict it to very limited places i can fly her
sorry for such a long post ,but i just wanted to share my experience

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

the last couple of times i have flown my trusty MPP i have had some issues with the gimbal i would get motor obstructed warning message on the screen and then gimbal vibration detected ,and also the horizon would suddenly go completely angled ,then just as suddenly it would all go back to normal ,what made it worse was that it didnt happen all the time the picture itself was still perfect ,and i did all the normal checks for any foreign objects in the gimbal motors ,the drone has never been crashed
in the end the only conclusion i could come to was that the gimbal cable had become damaged, through age and the amount of use over the last three years
i obtained a new gimbal cable for the princely sum of £11-65p and decided that as the forum was down yesterday for a server change over i would attempt a cable change
so i opened her up removed the gimbal and had a go,biggest problem i encountered was my not so flexible fingers and somewhat less than perfect eyesight ,these two factors made the job harder ,but i persevered and after several hours i finally had everything back together
i was not expecting much of a result ,but i fitted the battery set up the screen and RC took a big breath and turned on the drone
the gimbal did its dance and the camera worked ,i was pleasantly surprised and earlier today took her up for a flight ,so far all is fine no error messages and everything seems to be working as it should
i will be more than happy if my trusty MPP lasts at least till the end of next year before the rules will restrict it to very limited places i can fly her
sorry for such a long post ,but i just wanted to share my experience

Congrats, my friend. I know exactly what you went through as I have replaced several cables on my MPP.
Happy flying!

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Great post: We noticed with the Mini when flying in Extreme Winds , that the cable gets what I might call micro tares , nothing you can see but you know something is not right, Congrats on replacing the cable , its no easy task for most of us.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

 

[Richard1970]

Well done old man mavic
Old people and new technology don't go together well you've quelled that myth
That was a good job well done

 

[Itzmyobsession]

Old man mavic...the legend

 

[old man mavic]

thanks for the comments and support guy's
i have made models all my life and been into RC for most of it
when your young things like that gimbal repair would have been oh so easy
the old brain still works ,well mostly ,its the rest of the body that doesn't

 

[BSauce955]

@old man mavic @RadioFlyerMan
Do you guys have a specific reason why you still fly the original Mavic?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Well done indeed OMM.
hmm, might pick up a cable for the M1P while I can still find one, just in case it’s needed in the coming years.

@BSauce955 because they are a fantastic aircraft and still fly with full features as DJI released the M1P / MPP with, it does everything a drone hobbyist could want.
I also still regularly fly my DJI Spark as well.

 

[BSauce955]

Well done indeed OMM.
hmm, might pick up a cable for the M1P while I can still find one, just in case it’s needed in the coming years.

@BSauce955 because they are a fantastic aircraft and still fly with full features as DJI released the M1P / MPP with, it does everything a drone hobbyist could want.
I also still regularly fly my DJI Spark as well.

True, but without obstacle avoidance and having several drones capable of much better flight times and video quality I fail to see the point in keeping instead of upgrading...

 

[Richard1970]

If it ain't broke don't fix it it's still a great drone

 

[old man mavic]

@BSauce955 ,hi fellow flyer ,well yes the MPP is an end of production Mavic 1 ,with some subtle improvements different low noise props different ESC's different bodyshell colour ,and in my opinion the best Mavic that DJI have produced ,for reliability and longevity ,it has served me well and i hope now i have fitted a new gimbal cable to my trusty old girl ,it will continue to do so
compared to some of the newer models i think that the airframe and the duel electronics inside it are very robust and the quality of the components is also very good ,and finally it does everything i require to enjoy my hobby

 

[BSauce955]

@BSauce955 ,hi fellow flyer ,well yes the MPP is an end of production Mavic 1 ,with some subtle improvements different low noise props different ESC's different bodyshell colour ,and in my opinion the best Mavic that DJI have produced ,for reliability and longevity ,it has served me well and i hope now i have fitted a new gimbal cable to my trusty old girl ,it will continue to do so
compared to some of the newer models i think that the airframe and the duel electronics inside it are very robust and the quality of the components is also very good ,and finally it does everything i require to enjoy my hobby

Makes sense.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

True, but without obstacle avoidance and having several drones capable of much better flight times and video quality I fail to see the point in keeping instead of upgrading...

You worry about your needs more I think.
The first gen Mavic have forward OA, and believe me, if a pilot depends on OA for side or rear protection, that’s fraught with future Crash section analysis.
Flight times ? Very happy with a good 15-20, landing on 20%, 6 batts, ability to recharge a battery remote in 40 mins or so in 12v charger.
I’ve ever bothered with 4K vid, personal needs and YouTube, easier editing, faster uploading often from remote sites, etc I usually shoot 1080 to meet that.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

,and finally it does everything i require to enjoy my hobby

About sums it up for me.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Just out of curiosity was there any indication that the connector was loose?
With regards to 'seeing', I find these to be a great help.

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however they can be found at MUCH lower prices than that, I think mine were around £9 from somewhere in Hull.
The right hand pivot keeps working loose, thumb wheel 'nut', so no problem to retighten but it is a bit annoying at times. The lens pivots do eventually loosen but I use mine a lot but they suit me better that more expensive ones. If I were to suggest an improvement it would be side mounted lights rather than above the peak lights, sometimes the peaked mounted light can not illuminate a deeply buried subject.

 

[old man mavic]

@PhiliusFoggg i have a magnifier that has lights around it ,no connecters were loose and visually the cable was not damaged from the outside and came off in one piece ,doing this repair was the first time i had attempted to dissemble the drone since it was new ,when it first happened ,i thought well its had a good run so maybe i will just fly it from time to time without bothering to use the camera ,till the end of 2022 when it will be severely restricted on where it can be flown anyway ,so i thought i will get a cable and give it a go ,nothing to loose ,

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

@old man mavic @RadioFlyerMan
Do you guys have a specific reason why you still fly the original Mavic?

For video and pics, I use the M2P. But for fun flying and high risk flights (close proximity to trees and water for example), I use the MPP. Besides, it's hackable, and mine is highly hacked! Thus, I will hold on to it for as long as the wind blow, the grass grow, and the sky is blue... and of course the batteries hold up.

 

[umanbean]

@old man mavic @RadioFlyerMan
Do you guys have a specific reason why you still fly the original Mavic?

Because OA sensors are for sissies.

 

[BSauce955]

Because OA sensors are for sissies.

Until the big men crash...

 

[umanbean]

Until the big men crash...

And anyone who relies on OA sensors instead of actually flying the Drone is going to crash sooner or later - when the sensors fail to pick up a power line or branch