Crashed P2+ - seems like it might be ok but gps info...

[Ecotope]

Hello drone experts. First time at this site... looks pretty great. Glad to be a new member!

I managed to crash my drone yesterday - lost video signal due to distance and backed it into a tree (should have just gone straight up!!!). It fell pretty hard onto some large rocks at a work site. Landed on battery which is completely smashed in - need to figure out how to dispose of those - and broke a prop blade. Put in a new battery and booted up but gimbal was acting a bit flakey. Had work to finish up so put it away to diagnose later.

I've now had a chance to try flying it again. I did plug it into the computer and did a calibration - seems ok from that point of view. Established connection with drone and video feed appears to be working fine. Gimbal seems a bit jittery, but I'll try to spend some more time on that later. The big thing that I noticed was that the icons for gps satellites and drone battery power were greyed out on the tablet (Nexus 7). It also provided no distance or elevation data. Everything else was working fine - video feed etc. Camera worked ok. Took some pics with it. Video could be turned on and off. Camera could be moved up and down (toggle on controller - v3).

From the drone lights, indications were that it had a 6+ satellite connection (green flashes) and established a home location fairly quickly. It flew a bit strange - pretty stable when hovering, but did seem to move around a bit more than normal when I turned to the right or left. But it didn't really drift like it didn't have a gps lock. I don't have a large enough yard to do any significant testing, and didn't want to send it over anyone else's when it might be about to drop out of the sky. I'll try some more tomorrow morning.

So, what part of the innards is in charge of sending the drone info such as battery life and gps satellites back to the controller? Like I said, the video and camera is working properly, so it's sending some information. I've taken off the top and I can't find any loose wires. It did hit pretty hard on the battery. The button is smashed in and unworkable. I assume that the battery is toast and non-salvageable. It does appear to be connecting to satellites ok, so I assume that the gps unit and antenna are working fine.

What is my next step to establishing full connection with the controller/tablet?

Thanks for any help!

Dave

edit: here's a link to a screenshot from my nexus 7 tablet. Note that the gps satellite and battery icons are greyed out. Also no distance/altitude information. Not sure how to embed the image directly.

Dropbox - Screenshot_2015-09-16-15-43-25.jpg

 

[Ecotope]

I can add a little more info. I peeled back the shielding over the gps unit, and there doesn't appear to be any obvious damage to the circuit board. So it must be something with the transmitter. As it happens I crashed an original P2V+ about this time last year and completely borked the gimbal. I bought a completely new ver3.0 instead of just replacing the gimbal/camera (has the much improved toggle for camera control). So, I do have the original drone P2V+ (which is a little banged up) but could supply some parts.

If someone could tell me which parts would be involved in the transmitting of the gps/battery information, I might be able to switch them out from one to the other and possibly fix the problem.

thanks

Dave

 

[robsquad]

check the wires/cables/connectors that go in to the top of the camera (3 plugs)
make sure they are all seated well

 

[Mako79]

check the wires/cables/connectors that go in to the top of the camera (3 plugs)
make sure they are all seated well

+1
Pull them out and inspect all of them, esp the 4 pin clip in. This cable breaks and frays easiest.

 

[Ecotope]

OK. You guys are amazing!! Although none of the cables/plugs appeared to be loose or frayed, I pulled them all out and reinserted them. My connection has now been re-established!! It appears to be mostly fixed now! It will fly and take pics/video!!

I've still got a slightly bent gimbal arm, and for some reason the phantom appears to drift even though it has 8-9 satellites. Prior to crash, if it had a lock on 6 sats, then it would be rock solid in the air. No lateral motion at all, even with wind and while turning to face another direction.

Now, it mostly stays in the same spot, but if I rotate to aim another direction it immediately starts drifting... no particular direction. Even though the app still shows lots of satellite connection and the lights are blinking only green.

Will have to test more this weekend in an open area.

Thanks again experts!!

Dave

 

[robsquad]

try advanced imu calibration turn off then on and then a compass calibration off/on then try again

 

[Mako79]

try advanced imu calibration turn off then on and then a compass calibration off/on then try again

+1
Don't fly the phantom for an hour. It needs to be cool for IMU calibration to be successful - the quicker you do it the more accurate it will be. Have everything setup, cable plugged, phantom assist started. The moment you turn on the phantom, try and do the IMU calibration immediately - the cooler the phantom, the faster you get the green ticks. If done correctly, you wont see the MC temp too hot warning.

Also, find a levelled spot. Levelled in axis. Find a bubble/spirit level. The more levelled, the better accuracy of yaw.

 

[Ecotope]

OK. I finally had chance to use the P2+ today in an area with no trees or people. I did the imu calibration the off/on and compass calibration and tried again. It connected with 8-9 satellites. I flew around a bit and it generally held itself still in the air when I stopped flying/directing it. Starting from a stable hover, every time I turned the phantom either to the left or to the right, it would drift 5-8 m in the opposite direction. If I left it alone, after a few seconds with would stop and begin to slowly move back towards its original position.

I'll try going through a few more imu and compass calibration cycles and see what happens. I'll check with my bubble level to be sure, but my desk should be pretty flat. Probably won't get a chance to fly it again until Saturday. Will report back in a few days.

Thanks for all your suggestions so far.

Dave

 

[Ecotope]

OK. You guys are amazing!! I was finally able to spend some time with the phantom this weekend. I checked my desk. It's way off level! I never would have guessed. It's not like pens are rolling around. Regardless, I used a bubble level to make sure the phantom was completely level before the calibration.

Went out to fly it and a couple different sites, and it worked great! No odd movements. Locks on to satellites and stays solid. It seems the only major loss from that crash was the battery that it landed on. The whole end of it is really smashed - the on/off button is completely destroyed. And I don't want to fiddle with it and cause a fire, so I'm just going to get rid of it at a battery return depot.

The back/vertical arm of the gimbal is bent a little bit back, but seems to work mostly ok. I've noticed a few minor vibrations, but overall seems stable enough with some of the recorded video.

Thanks again experts!!