I've had my P3P several weeks now and I often forget to remove the cheap plastic gimbal lock before powering it on. I always see the "Gimbal motor overload" message and quickly remove it. Well tonight I did something really dumb. Hoping this saves someone else from my mistake. As usual I powered my phantom on and saw the motor overload message and ran over to it and removed it. Then I thought to myself, the sun is setting, let me take this ND filter off and put the stock clear lens back on. That lens was stuck on like glue so I placed the gimbal lock back on to help stabilize everything while I tried and tried to remove the ND filter. One big mistake, all this time, the bird was still turned on! And all this time, the gimbal motor was trying to move and calibrate itself but couldn't. After a few minutes of trying I accidentally touched the outside of the motor and it was extremely hot which I then realized I still had this thing turned on. I immediately removed the lock and let it do its thing then powered it off. Luckily it's fine and working with no issues but I wonder how much longer before that motor would have burned up. So always remember to remove your Gimbal lock before you turn your copter on!
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Always use a pre flight check list and you'll not forget
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Get a "remove before flight" keytag. That works for me.
captainmilehigh
Premium Pilot
Yep, me too. Plus I use a preflight checklist as mentioned earlier. Found a loose prop that way.
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Why are these ND filters so difficult to unscrew!?!?
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I keep a couple of pairs of rubber gloves in my bag. I put gloves on when changing the filters. The rubber gives you good precise grip and power to loosen the lenses. The gloves also prevent you from putting finger prints and smudges on the lenses.
What gloves do you use? Do you use disposable gloves? Some have powder added to them which I assume is no good. Great idea btw!
They are disposable and powder free. I have a box that I bought at home depot for cleaning around the house when using chemicals, changing the oil on the cars and painting.
I also do some photography as a hobby and for my kids hickey team. I use rubber gloves when cleaning the lenses.
I also do some photography as a hobby and for my kids hickey team. I use rubber gloves when cleaning the lenses.
I also keep a few pairs of powder free latex gloves in my kit, and change the lens 2 or 3 times per day depending on cloud coverage.. Never seen a hickey team before though... Sounds interesting V tail! [emoji3]
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