first crash=unresponsive gimbal

[elcartero]

And I swore it would never happen to me. Oh, the arrogance. Flew it into some branches at night. question 1: as you can see from the pic the black piece that fits under the rubber dampeners is tweaked. Is taking that apart and re-leveling it with some pliers a no-no? 2nd question: the gimbal is now unresponsive. I can't seem to find an answer to this on the forum and would love some help in troubleshooting this.
Thanks!!

 

[Gregori]

The mounting bracket is plastic - bending it back shouldn't be difficult, though it may be brittle. (Is the risk of having the camera and gimbal fall off the bird at altitude worth the cost of a new bracket to you?)

Try unplugging the gimbal, and resetting it. You might want to plug the Phantom into your computer as well, and checking it out with the assistant software. (I don't know if there's anything specific to the gimbal you can check, but the sensors on the bird can be checked/reset after a crash.)

I had my first crash recently - I had a bad sight line on the bird, and flew it straight into a tree trunk. Completely destroyed both props on that side, and the whole thing took a dive into a snowbank. (Which probably saved me from more extensive damage…)

 

[elcartero]

Okay. Check on new mounting bracket. Hard to find part? Seems like I read other posts talking about h3-2d parts being hard to find. and on the assistant software...is that 'in' the P2 software I already downloaded? Nooob question actually I can probably answer that one on my own. I'll check DJI website. And another thought-since the gimbal levels itself maybe that bend won't be a big deal??
Thanks for the info

 

[elcartero]

Dang it. The plot thickens. Upon further inspection, I see what looks like a problem with the 'gold foil' circuitry that enters the black box of the gimbal. Is this a replaceable part??? See pic. Does anyone do gimbal repair??

 

[Kevinski]

Did you have one of the retainers slightly bent as well? I bet that was what caused the damage to the ribbon.

If we left out the retainers, would the gimbal fall off in flight? Could use a piece of fishing line to catch if it did.

The the plate would not bend, the gimbal would fall off and more likely be in better condition.

I am seeing this as a design flaw.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[EMCSQUAR]

Dang it. The plot thickens. Upon further inspection, I see what looks like a problem with the 'gold foil' circuitry that enters the black box of the gimbal. Is this a replaceable part??? See pic. Does anyone do gimbal repair??

You can contact DJIs new support in LA - they DO gimbal repair (I recently discovered) Contact them via email - they take about 48 hrs to respond.

 

[elcartero]

Thanks EMCSQUAR. After waiting an hour, I got through to the customer support LA office and yes, they can repair it. Though they can't tell me the repair price until they get the gimbal :-(. Meanwhile, I found a guy in Toronto that repairs gimbals and may have the ribbon I need. I'm now trying to determine if it's a do-it-yourself repair. It does look like the black housing can be taken apart with a few screws, so I might be able to sort this out on my own if I get a ribbon from Toronto. I'll update everyone when I have more info- I imagine there are others who would want to know the repair price, if I go the DJI route (more likely).
Thanks!
-Carter