Broken gimble ring. Photo and questions.

[Great_Lakes]

Dropped my P3P from about 8 feet on Friday. Everything looks fine, but the gimble broke as shown in the photo. Everything else about the gimble and camera are fine, so I'm hoping this isn't an expensive repair. Anyone have any ideas on this one?

Thanks

 

[flyNfrank]

8ft did that much damage?

 

[flyNfrank]

Call this number and ask if he has a used part that you need that he would sell you. This number is your number 1 option! If .if he doesn't have one, nobody will.
(612)414-3017

Btw, if you don't feel comfortable calling that number, send a text to the same number.

 

[msinger]

If you want to replace it yourself, you can buy a new gimbal roll arm here on Amazon for $29.

 

[Vertigo]

Dont be too sure the rest of the gimbal is ok. I bought one with a bent (not broken) yaw arm, and had a hell of a time getting it to work with no jello. I think one or more of the gimbal motors where also damaged, though it moved correctly and seemed to work fine on the ground. I ended up buying a new camera, and keeping the other one for spares.

 

[Traveler]

FstopLabs has these parts too.



Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[flyNfrank]

If you want to replace it yourself, you can buy a new gimbal roll arm here on Amazon for $29.

This plus a OEM Part 49 Flat Gimbal Cable would be a good way to go.

By the looks of your Flat Gimbal Cable it should be replaced. Because of the situation you are in, this would be a perfect time to take care of this as well.

 

[Great_Lakes]

Thank you! Thank you all! In reply to Vertigo, yes, I don't know if the rest of the gimble is ok, but that ring is the only thing that I can see that is broken. I'm willing to try replacing the part that's broken and then go from there!

 

[flyNfrank]

I saw someone make plastic replacement gimbal parts seems like a year ago. I said then if I ever crashed and needed to repair the gimbal I would try this route. I feel like the plastic would be more durable with little difference in weight. I'm sure others may have a different opinion why using the plastic would be a bad idea, and I'd like to hear their thoughts.

DJI Phantom 3 STANDARD Roll Arm Gimbal Replacement by grubygrub on Shapeways

 

[Deimos]

How many have a gimble protector on their bird, just ordered one myself.

Great_Lakes would it have save yours or just make it bounce and damage something else?

 

[Great_Lakes]

8ft did that much damage?

Yes, (sigh), it hit a few things on the way down. I feel fortunate that it only broke the one part! Could have been much worse.
I was bringing it in for a landing after a flawless flight. There was a little wind, but I didn't think it was really that much. I was inching it in closer to land on the pavement, then it got too close to the house, maybe the wind, I don't know. I throttled up to gain altitude to start the approach and landing over, but forgot about the roof overhang!! Just another dumb pilot mistake, which is usually the case! (I mean the mistake was dumb, not the pilot)! Lol!

 

[Great_Lakes]

How many have a gimble protector on their bird, just ordered one myself.

Great_Lakes would it have save yours or just make it bounce and damage something else?

Maybe, I guess I'll never know. I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago about the terrible ground clearance between the camera and the ground. maybe 1/4 inch, perhaps a little more. It really puts us at a disadvantage and is a poor design IMHO.
A drop from just a few feet onto a hard surface and your camera and possibly the gimble is history.

I'd like to fabricate some plastic extensions, but I am afraid it could interfere with the compass. Nobody ever answered that question in the other thread. Maybe I'll just do it, and report back on how it works.

 

[flyNfrank]

How many have a gimble protector on their bird, just ordered one myself.

Great_Lakes would it have save yours or just make it bounce and damage something else?

If you are referring to the one that fits under the camera/gimbal that goes from one side of the landing gear to the other..... No I have never used one. The only way I would if I did use one of them would be to Secure it so that it will not pop out upon impact. And then I would also have to support the landing gear leg's as well, otherwise they will collapse upon impact and gimbal still gets demolished. So if you don't take those two points into account, it just doesn't make sense to install one of those type of gimbal protectors.

 

[flyNfrank]

Yes, (sigh), it hit a few things on the way down. I feel fortunate that it only broke the one part! Could have been much worse.
I was bringing it in for a landing after a flawless flight. There was a little wind, but I didn't think it was really that much. I was inching it in closer to land on the pavement, then it got too close to the house, maybe the wind, I don't know. I throttled up to gain altitude to start the approach and landing over, but forgot about the roof overhang!! Just another dumb pilot mistake, which is usually the case! (I mean the mistake was dumb, not the pilot)! Lol!

I did something similar to that. I was attempting to land on a day when I was try to set a new Top Speed Flight and I happen to be just past the back of both my house and the neighbors. I strong gust of wind blew between both houses and I just missed the over hang but hit the vinyl siding on my house putting a small hole in it. The aircraft fell about 6ft into the grass. Minimal damage, just a prop replacement. I have yet to fix the hole in the siding.

 

[alokbhargava]

I saw someone make plastic replacement gimbal parts seems like a year ago. I said then if I ever crashed and needed to repair the gimbal I would try this route. I feel like the plastic would be more durable with little difference in weight. I'm sure others may have a different opinion why using the plastic would be a bad idea, and I'd like to hear their thoughts.

DJI Phantom 3 STANDARD Roll Arm Gimbal Replacement by grubygrub on Shapeways

This plastic part looks excellent but I doubt if one can get good accuracies with 3D prints needed for gimbal operations. I may be wrong here.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[Vertigo]

The plastic doesnt have to be extremely accurate, it just needs to fit. What may surprise you is that the printed part is almost certainly heavier than the original one, which is absurdly light (and also weak).

As for plastic interfering with the compass; no worries there, it cant. The ground clearance also annoys me, so Im considering one of these:
2Pcs DJI Phantom 3 Landing Gear Heighten Landing Gear Frame

2Pcs DJI Phantom 3 Landing Gear Heighten Landing Gear Shock Protection

 

[sonof40]

Maybe, I guess I'll never know. I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago about the terrible ground clearance between the camera and the ground. maybe 1/4 inch, perhaps a little more. It really puts us at a disadvantage and is a poor design IMHO.
A drop from just a few feet onto a hard surface and your camera and possibly the gimble is history.

I'd like to fabricate some plastic extensions, but I am afraid it could interfere with the compass. Nobody ever answered that question in the other thread. Maybe I'll just do it, and report back on how it works.

These work well for me:
Amazon.com: DJI Phantom 3 Landing Gear Stabilizers: Camera & Photo

 

[RedHotPoker]

How many have a gimble protector on their bird, just ordered one myself.

Great_Lakes would it have save yours or just make it bounce and damage something else?

A forum friend, kindly 3D printed a red gimbal protector for me, that has my home phone number etched into the print. ;-)
It fits so awesome, and looks swell as well. Ha

RedHotPoker

 

[Great_Lakes]

These work well for me:
Amazon.com: DJI Phantom 3 Landing Gear Stabilizers: Camera & Photo

These look the best. (I looked at the two vertigo posted too) I like these because they don't just raise it up, they also widen the landing footprint.

 

[Vertigo]

These look the best. (I looked at the two vertigo posted too) I like these because they don't just raise it up, they also widen the landing footprint.

.. and make it more likely to get them in your shot I assume.