Brand new Phantom 3 Pro Problems?

[Silverarrow66]

Hello!
About 2 weeks ago, I bought a Phantom 3 Pro from Best buy of all places. After getting home, I unboxed it to find that it was the Older version, with the older, 2312 motors. (must have been sitting around for a while!) After a bit or research, I found that this could actually be a good thing, as the older models (correct me if im wrong) have increased RX and TX power output, over the newer ones. However... The older shells are extremely prone to cracking. To prevent this, I loosened, and re tightened the screws on the bottom, on and near the motors. Yet , 2 tiny cracks have formed on the front (Note. As far as I can tell, there are no cracks on my motors, yet..) Should I return it, and try to exchange it for a new one? Or wait until the cracks form under the motors, and send it into DJI under warranty?

My next question is about the gimbal. Mine seems to have the very common tilted horizon issue, is the a more permanent fix? Also, My gimbal seems to take a REALLY long time to return to center on the yaw axis, witch is pretty annoying, having to constantly adjust it during long HDR shots. Is there a way to fix it?

Last 2 questions.... Will I void my warranty If I use my Venom Pro Duo charger to charge the batteries? If not, what setting should I use to charge them?

Lastly, As DJI GO is literally the least optimized android app on the Play Store (constant crashes and map errors, unable to use fallow me as "my device does not support GPS" one minute, and "has a weak GPS signal" the next, dispute these being totally false) Will I void my warranty if I use a third party app, such as Litchi?

Thank you very much!

 

[p3s_noob]

Litchi will void warranty, as will permanent range extenders.I would return it, if it already has cracks, the newer 2312A motors are "suppose" to be more efficient.

Sent from my SM-T217S using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[kerrylaw7307]

• Older models have increased RX and TX power output, over the newer ones? Should I return it, and try to exchange it for a new one? ....Yes. Not sure that older P3Ps, with older motors have different TX/Rx outputs. ...Still would return for better motors and case.
• Tilted horizon issue, is there a more permanent fix? ... Yes, See gimbal calibration in the app. You can manually tweek it also.
• Use a Venom Pro Duo charger to charge the batteries? .... Why on earth for? Use the DJI charger.( really just a 15.7v power supply ) These are intelligent batteries, with a BMS integrated into them. There are no balance pins on the batteries for a Lipoly charger to balance with. BAD idea in my opinion.
• Will I void my warranty if I use a third party app, such as Litchi? .... A lot of users use Litchi. I don't, but what DJI doesn't know won't hurt you. Just install the DJIGO if you need to send it in, I guess.

 

[Silverarrow66]

• Older models have increased RX and TX power output, over the newer ones? Should I return it, and try to exchange it for a new one? ....Yes. Not sure that older P3Ps, with older motors have different TX/Rx outputs. ...Still would return for better motors and case.
• Tilted horizon issue, is there a more permanent fix? ... Yes, See gimbal calibration in the app. You can manually tweek it also.
• Use a Venom Pro Duo charger to charge the batteries? .... Why on earth for? Use the DJI charger.( really just a 15.7v power supply ) These are intelligent batteries, with a BMS integrated into them. There are no balance pins on the batteries for a Lipoly charger to balance with. BAD idea in my opinion.
• Will I void my warranty if I use a third party app, such as Litchi? .... A lot of users use Litchi. I don't, but what DJI doesn't know won't hurt you. Just install the DJIGO if you need to send it in, I guess.

Well, tried to return it to Best Buy, turns out I was 3 days out of the return period, and they didn't have any in stock anyway. Oh well, I guess it's off to DJI soon! (Do you know if this is covered under warranty? When I talked to a DJI support rep, they couldn't give me a straight answer.)

I have done multiple auto gimbal calibrations, and IMU calibrations. I have been adjusting the gimbal roll, however, the camera seems to get tilted at different pitches mid flight, making it extremely annoying to go in and adjust it 2-3 times mid flight.

As for the charger, I would want to use this, mainly because, the ability to be able to charge 2 P3 batteries, as well as my controler, at the same time, without having to buy new chargers, entices me . I understand that these batteries balance on their own. The cable does not have a space for the 4 balancing pins. (Venom DJI Phantom 2/3 Drone Battery to Charger Adapter Plug) Other people that I have seen do this charge the battery on LI-HV (Lipo High Voltage) or PB (Lead Acid) Mode. While I believe it is normal, the temperature the stock charger gets does worry me a bit.

Thanks!

 

[kerrylaw7307]

Not sure what to say about the gimbal. Mine stays put. I would ask just that specific question to the forum and see what they say.
The charger thing is interesting. I have 3 batteries and have been thinking of a better way to charge them all at once. As you know, what everybody calls the "charger", is really just a 15.7v / 5.7amp power supply. All the batteries need is the proper voltage supplied to them from a power supply that could handle the amp draw.
So, 3 batteries, pulling potentualy 5-6amps each.... ( roughly 18amps )? I believe this is accurate, because if I wanted to charge a 15,000mah Li-poly battery, on my RC airplane charger, it would need to be able to supply 15+ amps to the battery. ( which my charger won't do anyway, as I believe it maxs out around 9amps ).
I have seen these "Multi Battery Charger Boards" for sale, but wonder how you can have 3 batteries, each able to accept 4amps at 15.7v, and all them getting this ( 12amps) from the standard 5.7amp DJI power supply?
Im assuming the batteries just pull what they can from the DJI power supply, and it will take as long as it takes. The seller give no info on charge time or power supply needed. ( another question to ask this forum..) Some multi charger boards only do one at a time.

Here is one I saw in a review... Chargers 3 batteries and 1 controller at one time. Draws 12 amps, so proves my point on needing 16-18 amp powersupply.
Amazon.com: BTG 4 in 1 4-channel Rapid Battery Charger for DJI Phantom 3 Professional Advanced Battery and Remote Controller Transmitter: Electronics

Not sure any of this helps as Im just thinking out loud.....

 

[Silverarrow66]

Not sure what to say about the gimbal. Mine stays put. I would ask just that specific question to the forum and see what they say.
The charger thing is interesting. I have 3 batteries and have been thinking of a better way to charge them all at once. As you know, what everybody calls the "charger", is really just a 15.7v / 5.7amp power supply. All the batteries need is the proper voltage supplied to them from a power supply that could handle the amp draw.
So, 3 batteries, pulling potentualy 5-6amps each.... ( roughly 18amps )? I believe this is accurate, because if I wanted to charge a 15,000mah Li-poly battery, on my RC airplane charger, it would need to be able to supply 15+ amps to the battery. ( which my charger won't do anyway, as I believe it maxs out around 9amps ).
I have seen these "Multi Battery Charger Boards" for sale, but wonder how you can have 3 batteries, each able to accept 4amps at 15.7v, and all them getting this ( 12amps) from the standard 5.7amp DJI power supply?
Im assuming the batteries just pull what they can from the DJI power supply, and it will take as long as it takes. The seller give no info on charge time or power supply needed. ( another question to ask this forum..) Some multi charger boards only do one at a time.

Here is one I saw in a review... Chargers 3 batteries and 1 controller at one time. Draws 12 amps, so proves my point on needing 16-18 amp powersupply.
Amazon.com: BTG 4 in 1 4-channel Rapid Battery Charger for DJI Phantom 3 Professional Advanced Battery and Remote Controller Transmitter: Electronics


Not sure any of this helps as Im just thinking out loud.....

Well, you could charge a 15,000 mah lipo at one amp if you really wanted to, it would just take literally all day to charge though!

When you say "multi charging board" I assume you mean these right? (Amazon.com: New XT60 Plug Parallel Charging Board For ISDT SC-608 SC-620 Charger By KTOY: Electronics) With these boards, the charger treats them as one single battery being pluged in to the charger, regardless of how many you have pluged into the board. This makes it dangerous to charge batteries with different cell counts, and charge levels. My understanding is.. If you were to make a parallel charging board for the phantom, and use the stock dji charger... The charger would eather overheat / malfunction, trying to supply past 5.7 amps, or, it would treat the 3 batteries as one large battery, and charge them very slowly.

DJI Makes a charging hub, it finds the battery with the highest voltage, and charges it first, then finds the second highest voltage, etc.

As for the charger you linked, Im almost 100% positive, the blue bit is the power supply, and that you don't need one to power the charger.