Connection Issue..tried everything

[spamgnome]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum but have been flying Mavic / Air drones for several years. I've come into possession of a P3S (Phantom 3 Standard) but cannot for the life of me get the controller to connect to the drone. I can connect my iPad mini to the controller, but the RC will NOT connect to the drone. That said, there appears to be some weirdness as follows:

• If I attempt to pair the drone to the RC via the DJI Go app, at one point in that process, I see a dialog box that indicates that linking was successful. However, I still see the Aircraft not Connected message on the main screen.
• In the About page of the Go app, the RC serial # says, "N/A". Hmmm
• In the Aircraft Status page, I see a msg that says that the Gimbal is Disconnected.
• In the camera view screen, I DO see an image from the camera.
• Here are the software versions from the About page
  • App: 3.1.80
  • Aircraft: 1.7.90

One of my thoughts is to reinstall the firmware on the RC, but I don't see a way to do that. My impression is that WiFi is the only way to connect the RC to the Go app. Is that right? Is there another way?

Thanks in advance. Would love to see this bird fly again.

 

[RodPad]

Don't mess with the firmware yet!
The P3S is one of the most Confusing and Frustrating bird they ever made.

You have never seen it fly?

Question the color status on the bird and the remote?

From memory you can link the RC and the Bird without a mobile device.

I have a lot of book marks on the P3S, I will dig them up.

You should check out this link.

DJI Phantom 3 Standard Accessories & Tips | Phantom Help

Phantom Help is a site for help with DJI Phantom 3 Standard drones. Find the latest fixes, how-tos, guides, accessories, modifications, and more.

www.phantomhelp.com

From @msinger

BTW, Welcome to the forum

Rod ..

 

[RodPad]

*hit, I already found this.

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Rod ..

 

[RodPad]

Lot of people can't grasps this.

B

Thread 'P3S block diagram.'

Feb 20, 2019

Hope this helps someone, it's a block diagram and notes I put together while working out how the P3s system works.

• Bigbadbob76
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Phantom 3 Standard

• 

It's right on to me.

Rod ..

 

[msinger]

My impression is that WiFi is the only way to connect the RC to the Go app. Is that right?

That's correct. There are no other options.

I've come into possession of a P3S (Phantom 3 Standard) but cannot for the life of me get the controller to connect to the drone

Are you sure it's a working P3S? Did you see it fly before taking possession?

 

[spamgnome]

First, thanks for all of the great replies. To answer some questions, yes, I did see it fly, but also, (and my bad for not mentioning this in my OP) it got crashed. Not by me, LOL...I never crash drones. They crash themselves. Anyhow, as I've been looking over the drone, I noticed with my aging eyes, that the ribbon cable connecting the drone to the gimbal had 1 wire disconnected. Using some close-up images I found online, I carefully tried to reconstruct that cable. The drone's behavior is now different in that the lights flash green - red - yellow in rapid succession. They just flashed yellow prior to my cable "repair." Per the manual, this indicates the drone is running self-diagnostic tests, but I'd expect it to settle down eventually. I still suspect that cable and am considering buying one and just replacing it.

Q. I don't really need the camera at all as I plan to use this bird for fishing...just to get the bait out further. Is the gimbal needed for successful flight and RC connection? I suspect the answer is yes, but if NO, perhaps the solution to my connection issue is simpler without the gimbal / camera.

Sorry for the ramble, but this is where I am.

 

[msinger]

To answer some questions, yes, I did see it fly, but also, (and my bad for not mentioning this in my OP) it got crashed.

That’s an important detail.

It sounds like you might be dealing with a hardware issue. If you're not familiar with repairing Phantoms, it might be best to take it to a repair shop for further evaluation.

 

[spamgnome]

It sounds like you might be dealing with a hardware issue. If you're not familiar with repairing Phantoms, it might be best to take it to a repair shop for further evaluation.

That would be admitting defeat

Just now (after cable repair), I'm seeing a message that says, "Restart Aircraft to exit flight data mode." Of course when I do that, it has no effect, but I feel like I might be closer to a solution. the drone notwithstanding, shouldn't I be able to see the FW version of the controller when I connect my iPad to it?

 

[RodPad]

Aging eyes?
Glass's since 4th grade. Stigmatism
At 50 that's when it hit me.

In general yes, the gimbal board needs to be working, to do a remote re link. and to get data from the drone, battery, elevation, etc.

The ribbon cable you are talking about goes to the camera? If so its not going to be needed.

There was a thread, I think it was a short in that cable. It was effecting something else.

Until you get the remote and bird connected, to me the app is useless.

Rod ..

 

[captainmilehigh]

This is the linking procedure for the drone and r/c not using the app. Both the lights on the drone and the r/c will be green when linked.

As mentioned before, do NOT mess with the firmware yet.