Fly with the gopro battery yes or no?

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I am curious about flying without the gopro battery since the phantom 2 & zenmuse will power the gopro without the battery in it.
It will save a little bit of weight. Does anybody do this?
 
No because the zenmuse is balanced for the Gopro with battery.
 
xgeek said:
No because the zenmuse is balanced for the Gopro with battery.

I thought the phantom 2 controlled the zenmuse and told it what level was. Where did you read the information about dont take the battery out of the gopro and use the zenmuse? Id like to have a copy of that manual for my records please.
 
The Phantom does control the Zenmuse and tells it what is level. We are talking about balance and more strain on the motors if its unbalanced. People have had issues even putting a filter on the Gopro unless they rebalance.

I don't have a link to any formal documentation where it states that, but there is enough info in this forum if you look. Or feel free to run it without a battery if thats what you wish to do.
 
I just happened to have to take out my battery to get the serial # of my gopro after I read this. I put it on the zenmuse without the battery and it was way out of balance. Normally with the battery in it will stay in whatever position I put it when it's not powered. Without the battery it wasn't even close. I didn't even try to power it on because I was afraid to screw up the zenmuse. It may be ok, but I wouldn't want to risk burning up my gimbal.
 
If if balancing wasn't an issue I can think of 2 reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea. One, you couldn't power on or setup the GoPro settings until after the Zenmuse was powered up. It's much easier to play with to GoPro when it's not locked in position. Two, if your forget to stop recording before you power off the Phantom you could corrupt the video. I have done that a few times with my P2 Vision.
 
With regards to balance, I use the zenmuse with an original GoPro HD (not the 3) which is heavier and bigger than the 3 and it balances just fine. Motors dont overheat, and performance is spot on.
 
neiloakley said:
With regards to balance, I use the zenmuse with an original GoPro HD (not the 3) which is heavier and bigger than the 3 and it balances just fine. Motors dont overheat, and performance is spot on.

You're overworking the motors and they will fail prematurely as result.
 
I've not seen any reports of motors failing after their expected service life, so not sure how you can say they will fail prematurely.

These motors are essentially stepper motors with a fine angular movement. When they are stationary (even if they are bearing a load) there is no movement, no friction, no degradation. Essentially it's just a stationary electro magnet.

As long as there is a supply of power, the coils will remain energised and will perform. Only if they overheat and melt would they stop working. I check the temperatures of all motors after each use (good practice for any motors) and the gimbal ones are the same after a flight with a heavy HeroHD and the lighter GoPro3.

Yes I accept it wont help the gimball, but i have seen no evidence of any negative effect yet. If in a few years it fails, no doubt you will all jump in to say "haha told you so" but there are stories out there of gimballs breaking for a whole variety of other reasons more common. If it lasts a few years, only cost me £150 and served it's purpose then i have no issues with that.
 

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