H33D Gimbal Horizontal (not so much)

[ThePhantom]

Hey guys. Anyone have any success on getting their H33D gimbals perfectly horizontal? I think mine is tilted a little bit. I tried the IMU Calibration to no avail. FW is latest ofc. Thanks

 

[QYV]

you running a Hero4? just curious... I was having similar issue with mine. with my Hero3+ it was always level, but when I install my Hero4 I get a few degrees of horizon tilt.

There's another thread running around here somewhere with a guy trying to analyze it.

I know you did the IMU calis (I did too) did you also do a compass calibration procedure where you flip the switch on the RC a bunch of times then spin around with the Phantom?

 

[EMCSQUAR]

Hey guys. Anyone have any success on getting their H33D gimbals perfectly horizontal? I think mine is tilted a little bit. I tried the IMU Calibration to no avail. FW is latest ofc. Thanks

Perform x1 calibration first, then an advanced IMU calibration on a non metallic and level surface. If that doesn't cure it, you can do a complete gimbal reset - see HPI guys' video on YouTube to reset zenmuse.

 

[ThePhantom]

For some unknown reason, it corrected itself this morning. So now its perf horizontal again.

 

[Mako79]

For some unknown reason, it corrected itself this morning. So now its perf horizontal again.

Was the error in different location?
Was it a flat levelled area when you first turned on the phantom?

 

[ThePhantom]

Same location. It was on a very flat surface with a bubble level.

 

[QYV]

For some unknown reason, it corrected itself this morning. So now its perf horizontal again.

hate you btw

when I was getting horizon tilt NOTHING fixed it, except going back to the hero3. that's why I thought it was a weight/balance thing but I tried compass cali, IMU advanced cali... everything.

I subsequently crashed my Phantom, broke the gimbal so now I have a different H3-3D but I don't have my new FPV transmitter yet so I haven't taken it up for a test with the hero4 yet

 

[ThePhantom]

Its tilting again now actually. Does anyone have a perfectly horizontal H3-3D upon startup? I notice that during calibration, the gimbal perfectly levels horizontally, then as soon as the calibration is done (adv), it tilts back again.

 

[ThePhantom]

Another observation after a failed adv calibration (where the green check mark did not appear an the green bar not moving)... ITS FREAKIN PERFECTLY HORIZONTAL!! But when I power it on, it tells me to calibrate the IMU (adv mode) and it flashes RGY led indicating Abnormal IMU data....but its perfectly horizontal! When I calibrate it to go back to normal, it tilts again... There's a really big question mark on top of my head right now.

 

[ianwood]

Solve the IMU issue first. Bad IMU data can cause fly aways. You should be able to do an advanced calibration on a flat surface away from large electric and magnetic sources. Leave the Phantom to sit for a while, power it up and do the calibration.

For what it's worth, make sure your compass is calibrated well too. There is a lot of interaction between IMU and compass.

As for the tilting, many of us are getting it. We need to find the cause. I think the Phantom is sending bad data to the gimbal.

 

[QYV]

As for the tilting, many of us are getting it. We need to find the cause. I think the Phantom is sending bad data to the gimbal.

Have you swapped a hero 3/4 back and forth? I can literally power down, swap my hero3 in and it's perfectly level. no calibrations, IMU, compass, anything. power down, swap in the 4, power up... tilt.

 

[ThePhantom]

Well what do you know, after doing the H33D firmware reset (saw it on youtube), its now perfectly horizontal. I don't know why or how it affects the FW, but I'm just happy that it works well now. Works both ways with Hero 4 and Hero 3 Blacks. I'm gonna whine again if it tilts lol.

**this is a brand new unit btw,

 

[Mako79]

Another observation after a failed adv calibration (where the green check mark did not appear an the green bar not moving)... ITS FREAKIN PERFECTLY HORIZONTAL!! But when I power it on, it tells me to calibrate the IMU (adv mode) and it flashes RGY led indicating Abnormal IMU data....but its perfectly horizontal! When I calibrate it to go back to normal, it tilts again... There's a really big question mark on top of my head right now.

THE MC TEMPERATURE WARNING should never be IGNORED!
Here is how I do my IMU calibration.
I'm in Australia - weather is quite warm and the MC temp warning appears instantly. The cooler the phantom - the faster the IMU advance calibrations are done.
Take the battery out of the phantom. Place the battery slot of the phantom and place near an air conditioning vent for about minute or 2.
Start up the Phantom assistant app and go to the IMU calibration page.
The moment you plug the phantom in, start the advance calibration immediately. It should be no longer than 2 minutes to get the green tick.

The issue is majority of users do a failed IMU calibration. This is when you do NOT see the green tick. The reason is many users leave the phantom on idle to configure and this warms the MC real quick. Then when they try to calibrate, the temp warning appears and is ignored which then results in a 15-20 minute to do a "unsuccessful" calibration.

Makes sense?

 

[ThePhantom]

I get what you mean. I have calibrated it so many times and it was still tilted even after a successful calibration. When it was not successful, it became perfectly horizontal but what's the point in that if all I get for my whole flight are RYG leds. Anyway. the solution that worked for me was to reset H33D FW to 0.0.0.0 and then reupdating the FW via Assistant Software. It is now perfectly level with the Hero 3 and Hero 4. It might work for the rest or it might not.

 

[QYV]

I get what you mean. I have calibrated it so many times and it was still tilted even after a successful calibration. When it was not successful, it became perfectly horizontal but what's the point in that if all I get for my whole flight are RYG leds. Anyway. the solution that worked for me was to reset H33D FW to 0.0.0.0 and then reupdating the FW via Assistant Software. It is now perfectly level with the Hero 3 and Hero 4. It might work for the rest or it might not.

I finally got my FPV transmitter so I hooked everything up this weekend and indeed, my new H3-3D still has the horizon tilt issue with the Hero4. I'm hopeful that this procedure will work for me, look forward to trying it tonight

 

[wkf94025]

There is an interesting thread on the DJI forum regarding yaw drift, and IMU leveling as the solution. If you haven't seen this, it's at http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=4343&lang=en. I am curious if any of you experiencing horizon drift have read this thread, and thought about or experimented with detailed investigation of the IMU level during deep calibration as possibly related to gimbal horizon drift. There is also a post on the DJI forum where a [non-Phantom?] H3-3D user claims that rotating his compass in real time affects the H3-3D horizon levelness. Very curious...

Kelly