Gimbal choices for Phantom 2 (non vision)

[MikeBer]

Hi Everyone.
I have a Phantom 2 (non vision)
Can somebody suggest an inexpensive (+/-$100) gimbal that would work out of the box, meaning that mounting plate would fit and would use P2 power with no soldering?
I looked at tons of pages, mostly on first generation Phantoms or others, but can not find inexpensive aftermarket Phantom 2 gimbals. It drives me a bit nuts.
Your input will be highly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike.

 

[lake_flyer]

The Walkera G2D white plastic is very cheap and is easy to adapt to the P2's mounting holes, simply by making a few holes in the plastic bracket that match up with the holes in the phantom. But it also light enough to attach with velcro (works like a charm and provides extra vibration reduction). It is the lightest gimbal I know and it works great. You do have to change the damping balls for sturdier ones but that is same the problem with most (cheap) gimbals, the balls are also cheap. I just filled them up with pieces of wooden rod that just fit tight enough, limiting the horizontal movement of the balls.

It works great and they are definitely worth their money. After a while you realise that you want better stabilisation and less vibration, and you get a Zenmuse (just talking for myself). But until you shell out the money for that you have a lot of fun making it to work like you want it to (and learn).

 

[Rkraider]

I am looking for the same thing. I have a phantom 2 (non vision) on order, should be here for Christmas. The walkera looks nice but I can't find an install video for it. Is it safe to assume most gimbals install the same way?

Btw this is my first post. Love the sight been gawking for a while now....

Regards!

 

[kendunn]

I ordered a Bang Good $50 gimbal and the mounting plate mounted right up, wired it up to F1 and F2 like it said to do on the Phantom 1 and it worked as far as leveling but I couldn't get the pitch to control from the remote. Something I don't understand is pitch is supposed to work from X1 (or was it X2? I forget), why would that not be hooked up to the gimbal? Am I missing something? Is there a quick tutorial on how those work? I understand the basics of stepper motors and know there is a gyro controller on the gimbal because it stays level just by hooking up power to it and nothing else.

 

[lake_flyer]

I don't know from the top of my head which one it is but just try. hook up a 3 wire servo wire to x2 (F2?) first (i thought that was the one) to the pitch input of the gimbal. You don't need an extra power cable that way. startup the assistant software and calibrate joysticks and x1 x2 channels. if it works, you have the right connection, if not, try over with the other one. That's how I did it anyhow.

 

[kendunn]

SOLVED!!!!!

I think I have found the answer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv-Zx3kKS00 Bang Good had us wiring up the thing wrong, think it has screwed mine up, it sort of works, but its a lot better than it was. Its still jerky and cant get the limits set right and it goes all the way one way or the other, but its a start. Try it on yours and lets see if it is doing right. I think if the gimbal is mounted we just need to use the left two terminals, top of each and then send those to the bottom of F1 and F2, F2 to the top left of the gimbal, F1 to the one beside it.

 

[MikeBer]

Thanks everyone!
Got the gimbal powered through the colored wires (brown/red), later will switch to F2 port for power and tilt. 4 holes on the mount matched so did not have to drill anything. But I did ran into an issue of crazy vibration.

Gimbal is very steady when I try it without props., meaning I thought that vibration is because of voltage fluctuation, so I powered quad without the props and cranked throttle all the way up, still very stable. As soon as I took it outside and lifted a few feet of the ground, gimbal just started to vibrate, not as "limit jerks", but seems like vibration from DJi body. I check all the screws, they are tight. I bought this conversion plate for generic gimbals yesterday, specificallyfor Dji2 in hope it will reduce the shaking, but I might be delusional on that. Can anybody point to a direction to fix this vibration?

Plate I bought, still in the mail:

Here is a short clip of the shake I am getting:
http://youtu.be/MBkGq4gzfAI

 

[MikeBer]

I guess nobody can help me to resole this vibration issue....

 

[kendunn]

I guess you made sure the props were balanced? I imagine some harmonic stuff could be amplified through the gimbal (meaning a little off balance that may not otherwise show up gets sent to the gimbal and them back to the copter, more intense). Also I have heard of people putting stiffer rubber balls on there, or even putting dowels through the holes. Worth a shot.

 

[mtontti]

Hi

I broke my zenmuse mounting bracket and bought cheap 3D printed part and got same kind of vibration. Then I ordered original part for zenmuse and it solved vibration issues. It might be plastic mounting brackets (especially down part) or loose rubber balls. First try to change stiffer rubber balls to gimbal. I think it could be cheap solution for your vibration problem.

 

[audix]

Hey guys.

Im looking to get the Tarot T2D. Its a little bit geeky but there is some good guides on youtube.

Regards

 

[MikeBer]

I solved vibration and jello issue for my $55 goodluckbuy ebay gimbal. (I have a Phantom 2 non vision):
1) switched to carbon fiber blades.
2)inserted CVS brand earplugs into the holes of round rubber dampers.
3)Got Xtreme ($10)CNC machined plate for generic gimbals to use on the Phantom 2, which keeps the gimball plate about 1/8 of an inch of touching DJI body (not sure if this part helped, will try later without the plate)

Video is nice and smooth, no jerks, no jello. Very stable.
I hope it helps someone. I can not tell difference in video stabilization between my $55 gimbal and zenmuse videos.... Seriously. I believe for casual flyers as myself cheap gimbal is the way to go. Less tears if something goes wrong.

 

[LoveDon]

This post is perfect. I bought the Walkera G-2D gimbal and wanted to fit it to my phantom 2 Vision. I bought just the Phantom Vision 2 quadcopter, no camera (I have a go pro 4) and no gimbal. So, I bought this walkera g2d gimbal and also the extreme productions mount ( as the out of the box walkera doesn't fit the Vision 2)

I am awaiting that part and will then begin the process of mounting the gimbal , and attaching it to the phantom 2.

Is there a step by step video that shows how to do this?

Do I now have everything I need to mount this gimbal or do I need any extra wires etc? Your help is much appreciated

 

[MikeBer]

Hi.
Mounting a gimbal should not be a problem with the Extreme bracket. Bracket mounts with 4 screws included with the bracket and gimbal mounts centered, self explanatory.
Power and tilt is a bit tricky, I used brown and red wires from the colored ribbon that taped to phantoms leg for power and then used a single wire for tilt from gimbal to Naza F2 port.
There is a video on F2 naza tilt pin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeE-ZOH9seg

It worked for me. Good luck!

 

[LoveDon]

Yay finally !!! Your comments excite me! Ok so you connected the brown and red to the black and red of the gimbal? Did you solder the wires together?

Attaching the gimble won't be a problem due to the mount yes, it's jyst this power concern. I have attached the other lead to the nat 2 section for pitch only. As far as I know you just need pitch connected and the power? Then voila?

 

[MikeBer]

Yes, brown and red (red positive) and pitch. Worked like charm. Make sure all the screws are tight when installing gimbal, so there is no vibration in air.
I soldered wires, but really you do not have to. Strip, twist and electrical tape (each individual wire of course).
I got some of these connectors:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191129830295?ru ... 26_rdc%3D1

They should be perfect for fast disconnect / connect.

 

[FpvDee]

I've owned quite a few gimbals and the H3-3D is the best for go pro… 2n'd best is the Tarot T2D as others have suggested. I had a Fyutech 3-axis on a bigger copter and it was terrible.