That First 'Terminal' Crash

SpaceRO · Aug 3, 2018

Just wanted to check by more experienced people here - Had a bad crash with the drone today, noticed the two threads on the camera that allow it to extend but hold in position have been lost/damaged. To get this fixed is is a send away? And does anyone have an idea of cost? No DJI care here. Everything else seems ok camera-wise.

Thanks for your opinion

Mossiback · Aug 3, 2018

Sorry for your loss. @Thunderdrones is a great source here, but he should be taking a break

. It is going to be asked; where are you located?

SpaceRO · Aug 3, 2018

Mossiback said:
Sorry for your loss. @Thunderdrones is a great source here, but he should be taking a break . It is going to be asked; where are you located?

Hiya, thanks for the reply. I'm based in London.
*fingers crossed* All the gubins inside the drone are O.K. Seems O.K as no other errors on power up.

Former Member · Aug 3, 2018

Mossiback said:
he should be taking a break

"Should" is the key word lol

OP, there are a few shops in London, you can find them in the following thread. Spark Angels seems to be a good shop according to some members, although I have never had experience with them.:

UK Drone repair?

SpaceRO · Aug 3, 2018

Thunderdrones said:
"Should" is the key word lol

OP, there are a few shops in London, you can find them on the following thread. Spark Angels seems to be a good shop according to some member, although I have never had experience with them.:

UK Drone repair?

Ahh cool. I'll go and find them tomorrow. Cheers for the input. From my description is it clear btw what's broken? Is this something you have experience of repairing?

Former Member · Aug 3, 2018

SpaceRO said:
From my description is it clear btw what's broken? Is this something you have experience of repairing?

Yes it sounds like, at a minimum, you will need a new gimbal ribbon cable and a new LVDS video cable. The cables themselves are not too expensive, here in the USA maybe under $80, but to install them might take a shop 2 hours at their hourly rate.

Again, I have seen Spark Angels prices compared to other shops prices, and they are much cheaper and their customers seem happy with their work.

Former Member · Aug 3, 2018

SpaceRO said:
From my description is it clear btw what's broken?

You can post some pictures up here and let the experts tell you what they see.

SpaceRO · Aug 7, 2018

**Update**
So after your replies I jumped on the push-bike and road like a bat-out-of-hell to TFIX. Picked up the drone the next day and it all seems good again (after the nightmare of not realising for an hour about calibrating again through DJI Assistant.
I think my repair is pretty straight forward if you've the parts and the tools, they charged me just shy of a ton which is pretty much their basic charge. I would recommend if you don't have a clue like me and want to see your drone back in the air sharpish!

rfc · Aug 7, 2018

SpaceRO said:
**Update**
they charged me just shy of a ton which is pretty much their basic charge.

I hope you don't mean (by "a ton"), that they charged you 2,000 quid, aka pounds, lol.

Geo · Aug 7, 2018

A new camera/gimbal assembly costs ~$250 on Ebay. You can put it in yourself. Not hard. there are videos to watch, but don't really need them. I've done it. Not hard

colinfowler · Aug 8, 2018

rfc said:
I hope you don't mean (by "a ton"), that they charged you 2,000 quid, aka pounds, lol.

a ton is £100

SpaceRO · Aug 8, 2018

Haha wasn't sure for a moment but yes, I meant under £100.

rfc · Aug 8, 2018

SpaceRO said:
Haha wasn't sure for a moment but yes, I meant under £100.

Well, I love it when I learn something new every day! God is good! I had no idea:
Money Slang

colinfowler · Aug 8, 2018

rfc said:
Well, I love it when I learn something new every day! God is good! I had no idea:
Money Slang

Every days a school day

Former Member · Aug 8, 2018

@SpaceRO could you give a more detailed account of your experience with Spark Angels, the total amount they charged and what they replaced? I will add it to my UK Repair Shop thread. Thank you.

Former Member · Aug 8, 2018

Geo said:
A new camera/gimbal assembly costs ~$250 on Ebay. You can put it in yourself. Not hard. there are videos to watch, but don't really need them. I've done it. Not hard

Most people do not need complete gimbal assemblies, they can repair their old ones. The term "Not hard" is also a subjective term. Not hard for you might be very difficult for a beginner. Just saying.

SpaceRO · Aug 13, 2018

Thunderdrones said:
@SpaceRO could you give a more detailed account of your experience with Spark Angels, the total amount they charged and what they replaced? I will add it to my UK Repair Shop thread. Thank you.

Hi,
The repair company I used was TFIX. Unfortunately after an unintentional game of chicken with a tree I'd broken the left and right threads that allow the camera to hold position. The charge was their basic charge for all repairs as the actual components were only a few quid I suspect. The repair took less than 24 hours as I dropped it in around 4pm and picked it up the following day, similar time.

I found the person who served me to be a little quiet but if you started up a conversation he was more than happy to talk randomly about the awesomeness of drones!

Also, I like that I emailed them the evening I got home as I didn't realise I had to link the controller back to the drone and they got back to me via email almost immediately to advise what to do - I did suggest they make a mention of the need to link which they took onboard well.

Cheers,
Richard

8742

7 Aug 2018

07516

Walk-in: DJI Mavic Pro Gimbal Vibra...

LINE TOTAL

DJI Mavic Pro Gimbal Vibration Absorbing Board Replacement

1

79.1583

79.1583

0.00000

TOTAL:

VAT: GRAND TOTAL:

79.16

15.83

94.99