DIY Gimbal dial not working when connected to App

[justin00]

Hey All

So finally got around to making a gimbal pitch dial thingo...
Basically (Thanks to DBS ) I took off connector that the lever is supposed to go to... I then connected a 5k linear pot.. I read on another forum I should stick some 100R resistors on the connections that go to the left/right connectors on pot, so I did that.. The centre connector just has the wire that goes to the "top" connector on controller board.

Anyways I calibrated the dial using the RC assistant and also the normal Phantom assistant... Also in the Assistant software its set to "basic" controller.
It works fine and is really smooth..

Now the problem is.... when I connect to the wifi its all still working fine and gimbal moves, but as soon as load up the camera mode in the DJI App the dial stops working... The up/down buttons in the app work fine and the camera moves... but the dial stops controlling the gimbal... If I close down the App the dial still does not work.. it only starts working again if I reboot the Phantom.

Oh yeah I am using assistant 3.6 and RC 1.2.

Now I'm pretty sure its all soldered in correctly else it would not work at all, nor would it calibrate... Is it possible the resistors are doing something ? I personally don't know much about this stuff, but I suspect they wouldn't be the cause ??

Anyways.. How do I go about getting the dial to work so I can use it in the DJI App.. which is kind of the point of it :]

Any one have any suggestions ?

Thanks

 

[msinger]

You need to enable this setting in the Phantom Assistant application:

 

[justin00]

Yeah I tried that... but the dial was screwed.. it barely moved...

Do I enable that and then do all the calibration again ?? Can't remember if I tried that hmm...

Kind of assumed upgrade was if you had the wheel and us peasants with the lever (or DIY lever) had basic.. but yeah I will try it again if you folks think I should click upgrade then do full calibration ?

Read a few posts as have been searching... seems like there are some tricks or something when doing calibration.. quite confusing :|

Thanks

*edit* have a feeling I didn't calibrate after.... will try it tomorrow and report back.. but if anyone has any special tricks/ordering that needs to be done when calibrating let me know...

 

[msinger]

Yeah I tried that... but the dial was screwed.. it barely moved...

If it was moving at all, then maybe it was working? I'd definitely try calibrating the RC in both the RC Assistant and then the Phantom Assistant.

 

[justin00]

Nah in the assitant if I moved the dial like 30% nothing happened.. then another 30% it made a slight movement.. kind of seemd like a calibration issue.. Didn't bother to try it in the app with upgrade mode set.

Will def give that another try with calibration before I annoy you folks..

Thanks again!!

Yeah I tried that... but the dial was screwed.. it barely moved...

If it was moving at all, then maybe it was working? I'd definitely try calibrating the RC in both the RC Assistant and then the Phantom Assistant.

 

[TuT]

I had a similar problem when I did the same mod. I suggest you uninstall the RC Assistant app. Restart your PC then install the latest RC Assistant app from the DJI site and do the remote calibration again.
For some reason uninstalling and reinstalling fixes the problem for many people. It certainly did for me!

 

[Mopar Bob]

Justin, follow the calibration process thats up in the stickies section.

 

[justin00]

Btw... I will follow the process but should I use RC 1.1 or 1.2?
Anyone had luck doing it with 1.2

 

[Mopar Bob]

I am using 1.1

 

[justin00]

Ok I got it working.. thanks

However... during calibration its nice and fluid and uses the full range of motion.. but then when I had it connected to the Phantom it seemed like only 1/3 of the dial was in use... It was a 5k linear pot with 100R resistors on the left/right terminals (which according to some peoples at work shouldnt interfere... ??). I followed another guide to get idea of using 5k pot.

The camera has the full range of motion but yeah as I said only 1/3 of the dial was actually used... wierd though as when I was calibrating it.. the full range of the dial was used and the camera responded the entire way.. but then after calibration something went wrong :/

Shall I just try calibration again ? and if that fails try RC 1.1 ?

Also in your guide in the last step it says like connect phantom to pc and calibrate then let dial go in netural position.. what position is that exactly heh ??? I went the full range a full times then put the little indicator in the middle and clicked finish ?

 

[justin00]

After calibration in Assistant... is there a proper process to save... or you just click finish.. disconnect USB and turn off or reboot Phantom ?

Oh yeah I've got another question.. say your flying around and have the dial on 75% downward... so its pointing downwards basically and then you turn off the Phanton (but the dial is still 75% rotated down)... When you power on the Phantom the next time will the gimbal immediatly move to the 75% down position.. or will it stay centred like normal, and you will need to move the dial up/down a little bit to regain full control agian.. if you get what I mean ?? Like I'm curious how it works if you don't leave it centred when you turn it off each time ???

 

[Mopar Bob]

Click finish and reboot. On the new controller the dial is spring loaded to center position and camera always starts out in the up position. If you used after market lever it probably moves the camera based on the levers position.

 

[justin00]

Ah ok thanks for that Bob... Was curious how it worked... Quite pleased with my installation of the new dial (physically I mean).. Haven't been motivated enough to do calibration again and been raining last few days... probs try get it going 100% tomorrow though.. Not actually a big photographer and I don't move the gimbal much; However I do enjoy doing mods, its quite satisfying when it actually works and you do it yourself (regardless if help is needed from you guys :] )

 

[justin00]

Can someone please tell me... what is the control like with the new dial ???
With my DIY knob thing... on upgrade mode.. I have to move the dial a fair bit and then the gimbal moves quickly and I have to turn in the other direction to get it to stop.. it kind of just swings up or down.. even in the calibration it does the same thing, but the dial goes the entire way from left to right in the calibration window thing.

When I have it on basic mode, when I turn the dial a tiny bit the gimbal moves a tiny bit.. it moves in either direction depending on which way I turn it.. it basically works perfectly and how I would expect it to work... but the problem is it DOES NOT work when the app is turned on... So I have to use upgrade mode... which as per my comments above sucks..

I am doubting the new proper gimbal knob just makes it swing and you can to carefully stop it from moving ?? I am assuming it works the same as how I have it in basic mode ?? nice slow movements in either direction?

Anyone have any insight in to what to do... I want the basic mode movements... but need upgrade mode to use the app....



thanks

*edit* btw I've done the lengthy calibration process heaps of times, tried diff variations... in summary basic mode works great in terms of movement.. but stops working when app is connected... upgrade mode works with app but movement sucks...

 

[justin00]

Basically on upgrade mode.. it seems like a tiny portion of the dial is used... and when you go past the point it starts to move down or up by its self... you then have to careful stop it when it want it.... Even on calibration the marker is moving but the camera doesnt move until the market gets to like the middle.. then as I said just keeps moving by its self............ basic mode however.. tiny movements move it nicely in either direction.. just like pressing the button

so frustrating.

 

[justin00]

Me again.. with the proper v3 controller do the buttons in the app to control up/down still work...
for me now they dont lol.. which makes me think my little dial is constantly making the motor stay in whatever position its in.. it goes in all positions.. kind of getting the hang of it.. but I'm worried if the dial is keeping it stuck it could be damaging it... OR the buttons just don't work in the app as per the design ??
So yeah.. if someone can tell me exactly how the v3 controller dial works.. how the camera moves etc and if the app button still work that would be great..

thinking perhaps I abort... which is a shame considering its all mounted and looks cool lol.. :[

 

[Mopar Bob]

Justin, I checked mine out and here is what happens. If I rotate the wheel, as long as it is not centered, the tilt continues. Because the wheel is spring loaded, the tilting stops as soon as you release your thumb from the wheel. Or if you keep your thumb on the wheel but let it spring back to the center position the tilting stops. Also, the more you rotate the wheel, the faster the tilt is. If you have just a standard potentiometer that is not spring loaded to center position, you would have to manually return it to center to stop the tilting action. Seems to me it would be hard to do that. Regarding the application. With the wheel centered, the app operates exactly as it did with the old controller. The slider tilts the camera and the orbit do-dad lets you control the tilt by tilting the controller. Since getting the wheel, I never use the app for tilting. Of all the money I spent on this phantom and its upgrades, the best hundred bucks spent was on the new controller.

 

[happydays]

Of all the money I spent on this phantom and its upgrades, the best hundred bucks spent was on the new controller.

100% agree

 

[justin00]

Thanks again Bob... It sounds like my dial is working exactly as its meant to than.. as I said in PM I wish "basic" mode worked... the level of controller is so much better.. tiny adjustments make tiny movements... but anyways we can finally put this to rest lol... I'm sure the proper controller dial works heaps better because of the auto spring thingo... Will add it to my future purchases at some point.

So the lever thingo that goes at the back (which is what I hooked into).... from my searching.. it looks like that worked in "basic" mode.. but that stopped working after DJI released an update ??
I'm guessing they basically disabled the lever, so people had to buy the new controller ??

Anyways thanks again guys... finally sorted !

 

[justin00]

Went for real test flight.. first 10 mins was fine dial working.. then it just went straight down and couldnt point it up again.. eventually got it up.. changed batteries and same thing happened.. before I started her up was moving it to test fot 5 mins working perfectly then soon as i started motors it went straight down... couldnt replicate any reasons to figure out the issue.. if it was loose connection seems strange i didnt have to shake it or anything to fix and plus the motor seemed to cause it one of the times...

Was cool and useful when it worked.. but annoying it works fine and then stops at random times grrr