Bummed; device holder broke while on vacation. Replace or...?

[Ken73]

I took a travelling vacation with my wife and son to see some of the natural wonders of Texas and New Mexico last week, took my Phantom 3 4K and had everything ready. First on the list was Palo Duro Canyon just south of Amarillo, TX. We went through the "park" and I wasn't sure if I would be able to fly, so rather than chance it I skipped that opportunity. I looked at the maps and saw that there's a public road that goes through a much larger portion of the canyon and opted to fly there instead. Lots of places to pull off and fly! So I whip out my quad, grab my tablet and mount it - turn it all on and I hear a "SNAP!" .. look down and my tablet is flopped forward completely and won't stay put. Look underneath and sure enough, the device holder had snapped. I managed to take a few pictures but with the extremely bright sunlight it was really difficult to see my tablet anyway.

So all this being said - I see some nicer heavier-duty holders on Ebay, but I also thought about getting one of these goofy-looking device holders that's basically a big coated bendable wire that wraps around the back of your neck (rather than relying on a very small pivot point on the remote.) This way you can put a large sunshield on it without the concern of it breaking a new device holder. I have a 9.x" tablet (though I'm looking at something newer that works better in sunlight.)

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

A good option would be a Seacraft Transmitter tray and harness. These things are solid and comfortable especially if you are flying for long periods of time.

Secraft

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Look underneath and sure enough, the device holder had snapped.

Ken,
Just to be clear, what type of device holder did you have that broke?

 

[Ken73]

Ken,
Just to be clear, what type of device holder did you have that broke?

The factory one. Broke at the pivot point. My tablet is fairly big but it always fit; a Samsung Tab E (I think.) I'm looking at an alternative that's brighter in sunlight though

 

[RunningWithScissors]

The factory one. Broke at the pivot point. My tablet is fairly big but it always fit; a Samsung Tab E (I think.) I'm looking at an alternative that's brighter in sunlight though

That's what I thought but wanted to be sure. That one is probably OK for phones bur it's not very sturdy for tablets. I got rid of that one and replaced it with the mount on the P4 controller, and I love it! One of THE best accessories you can buy. Solid, secure, adjustable, and accepts phones or tablets. I recently bought a Mediapad M3 tablet and the P4 mount works perfectly.

 

[Ken73]

That's what I thought but wanted to be sure. That one is probably OK for phones bur it's not very sturdy for tablets. I got rid of that one and replaced it with the mount on the P4 controller, and I love it! One of THE best accessories you can buy. Solid, secure, adjustable, and accepts phones or tablets. I recently bought a Mediapad M3 tablet and the P4 mount works perfectly.

Do you have a picture of it?

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Do you have a picture of it?

Better than that, as an example, here's a link to the type of holder I bought.

DJI Phantom 4 Drone - NEW Aluminum Mobile Device Phone Tablet Holder (Part 31) 3 30656508360 | eBay

You can find them all over eBay at all different prices, although you don't need to pay more than $15 - 20. I originally bought a metal one similar to this that had way too many pieces that you had to assemble, and then it still didn't fit together. I sent it back and bought one like this. It simply screws into the lanyard hook on the controller. It flips up for use, and folds down for storage.

 

[Ken73]

Better than that, as an example, here's a link to the type of holder I bought.

DJI Phantom 4 Drone - NEW Aluminum Mobile Device Phone Tablet Holder (Part 31) 3 30656508360 | eBay

You can find them all over eBay at all different prices, although you don't need to pay more than $15 - 20. I originally bought a metal one similar to this that had way too many pieces that you had to assemble, and then it still didn't fit together. I sent it back and bought one like this. It simply screws into the lanyard hook on the controller. It flips up for use, and folds down for storage.

Correct me if I'm wrong but that's just the same device holder with a new aluminum bracket? The problem with mine is the device holder itself broke at the pivot point, not the bracket that attaches it to the remote control. Hence my thought of using the goofy looking neck bracket.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Correct me if I'm wrong but that's just the same device holder with a new aluminum bracket? The problem with mine is the device holder itself broke at the pivot point, not the bracket that attaches it to the remote control. Hence my thought of using the goofy looking neck bracket.

I misunderstood which bracket you had been using. The bracket I bought many months ago has the aluminum controller bracket, but both the alum and plastic bracket types are sold. I chose the alum bracket cause I thought it would be more robust. Very solid.

 

[Ken73]

Here's a pic of my holder..

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Gotta see what that mounting tab looks like on mine. Probably similar, but have had no issues despite some rough handling and repetitive use.