So I got a metal gimbal saver from KillerRC to replace the plastic one on the back of my gimbal. Really well made. It has a little "reach around" arm to protect the front side of the motor. It's made of aluminum so light and strong. Really loved it.
Then I went out for a flight. Mmm... the video was vibrating. The camera made a few sudden abrupt movements which is very unusual. Now this was the first flight with the protector in place and all of that vibration is on the video prior to the landing. Check it out:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUI2x1eXEVg[/youtube]
You can read more about my crazy drone adventure here:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30610
That landing did look a bit rough. Maybe the Gimbal Saver saved my ribbon cable? Who knows. But with a drone down and perched on top of the Papago Arch the little vibration in the video was temporarily forgotten.
When I got the drone home I did some checking. Yep, that lower gimbal joint wasn't moving smoothly at all. The motor would humm and strain but couldn't really move the joint properly. I could move it by hand but it was definitely binding on something. I'm not blaming the protector. That camera was previously damaged and repaired so it could be a bit thicker than normal. Maybe something inside? Maybe I tightened the screws to much? Possibly something needed to be ground down a bit? Not really sure.
Ok... I removed the "reach around" arm. Nope. That wasn't the problem - still binding. The problem was definitely coming from inside the gimbal joint.
So? Remove the protector cover and see what's going on, right? And that's when the real trouble began.
Turns out the Loctite I used was the wrong type - my fault for sure. I figured one type of Loctite was as good as the next. I used the wicking kind and it locked the **** out of those screws. I couldn't get them out. I wrecked my admittedly cheap Phillips screw driver and also partly stripped the heads of the screws. I went out and bought a high end screw driver set but nothing on earth could move those screws. Finally I drilled the heads off the screws and popped the cover up over the remains of the screws to get it off.
With the cover removed the gimbal joint moved like before. Totally free. So really no idea what was binding. And sadly now the camera now has "crazy camera dance syndrome" like it's 1999. Something is wrecked for sure. Probably by me drilling things out.
Well enough death and destruction for one day. I pulled the camera off and packed it up with another camera I have here. I'm sending them both off to Hani. Hopefully he can make one working camera out of the wreckage.
KillerRC makes a good solid product and please don't think I'm being critical of the product in any way. Lots of people have used it with success and I plan to buy another one. But as with any add-on, you have to have an "exit strategy" if things go south. No Loctite next time until I'm sure everything is installed right and moving properly. Expensive lesson learned the hard way. Again.