Help! Bad jello after a crash...

[AStare64]

Hello. I'm very new to the Phantom 2 and I'm really getting into it because of the video possibilities. I don't have a big RC background.

I have had several great flights and I've gotten some amazing shots from my Hero3 (Silver) and Zenmuse H3-2D combo. I feel like I'm becoming a pretty good pilot...and getting all cocky is probably why, this past Saturday, I experienced a pretty nasty crash. I caught a tree limb up high and fell about 30 feet. I broke three of the props and the mounting platform for the Zenmuse.

I have replaced the props and the Zenmuse mount (with a carbon fiber after market that I found on Amazon). The Zenmuse is still working great, and I am still able to fly with good control...but, after the crash I have some kind of an alignment issue. I am getting a lot of shimmy and jello in my video (what I had been shooting prior to the crash was rock solid...it looked like I had the camera on a boom arm). It's bad enough that you can actually see the Phantom shimmy slightly when it is hovering. The arm that took the most abuse in the crash has a slight distortion in the plastic up by the air ports. I haven't found a crack, but it did obviously experience some distress.

If you match the blade tips to each other, you can tell that the prop blade on the damaged arm is slightly out of line with the other prop tips. Rolling it around, you can also see that it is slightly closer to the body of the Phantom than the other prop tips. It's not so close that it hits the body when running, but it is noticeably closer even to the naked eye.

I'm guessing that this can be corrected by somehow shimming the motor. But, how do you do this alignment? Is there a tool out there that can align the motor? Or, because of the damage to the arm, is this something that should go back to DJI for repair?

Your time and input is greatly appreciated!! I'm looking forward to getting back in air soon...

 

[davemcm]

Hello. I'm very new to the Phantom 2 and I'm really getting into it because of the video possibilities. I don't have a big RC background.

I have had several great flights and I've gotten some amazing shots from my Hero3 (Silver) and Zenmuse H3-2D combo. I feel like I'm becoming a pretty good pilot...and getting all cocky is probably why, this past Saturday, I experienced a pretty nasty crash. I caught a tree limb up high and fell about 30 feet. I broke three of the props and the mounting platform for the Zenmuse.

I have replaced the props and the Zenmuse mount (with a carbon fiber after market that I found on Amazon). The Zenmuse is still working great, and I am still able to fly with good control...but, after the crash I have some kind of an alignment issue. I am getting a lot of shimmy and jello in my video (what I had been shooting prior to the crash was rock solid...it looked like I had the camera on a boom arm). It's bad enough that you can actually see the Phantom shimmy slightly when it is hovering. The arm that took the most abuse in the crash has a slight distortion in the plastic up by the air ports. I haven't found a crack, but it did obviously experience some distress.

If you match the blade tips to each other, you can tell that the prop blade on the damaged arm is slightly out of line with the other prop tips. Rolling it around, you can also see that it is slightly closer to the body of the Phantom than the other prop tips. It's not so close that it hits the body when running, but it is noticeably closer even to the naked eye.

I'm guessing that this can be corrected by somehow shimming the motor. But, how do you do this alignment? Is there a tool out there that can align the motor? Or, because of the damage to the arm, is this something that should go back to DJI for repair?

Your time and input is greatly appreciated!! I'm looking forward to getting back in air soon...

I have done pretty much the exact same thing with my Phantom 1.1.1 and have the exact same problem with the blade being closer to the body then the rest, although no noticable jello or drift in flight.

I have taken the top part of the body off and tried to bend the bottom part arm back into place but i don't think it has moved much if any at all.

I was thinking the only way would be to heat and bend arm back down slightly or buy a new shell and fit everything into that, however it's not affecting me much at all at the moment, so am just going to leave it be.

 

[AStare64]

Dave,

Thanks for the note. I've actually taken the top shell off and tried to soften things up a bit with a hair dryer. It may have done a little bit to change the shape, but not enough to smooth out my flight. You mentioned getting a new shell to put everything in...I would be more than willing to do that...but where do I find a new shell? Does DJI sell them? Is there a hobby shop somewhere that might have them? I think that would solve my problem. The motors are perfectly balanced. I've tested those by taking off the blades and firing them up. I saw that motor balancing video on YouTube (hoping it would deal more with aligning the motors). I'm not having problems with the motors themselves...it's the alignment.

I did take that motor out of the mount and put in a few layers of aluminum tape as a shim on the mounting posts closest to the body. That has also helped a little...but it still isn't what it was.

I would be at ease with moving the guts to a new home. I'm new to RC, but I'm very much at ease with rigging electronics. I've been building computers from scratch for thirty years now. The big difference is I don't ever hover a computer thirty stories over the landscape!! (that adds a whole new dimension to things!)

Thanks again!

 

[750r]

Here is one place there are others do a search on google
http://www.helipal.com/phantom2-08-dji-phantom-2-phantom-2-vision-shell.html

 

[AStare64]

Outstanding! I found one here in the states at Dronefly (saves me about 40 bucks in shipping and I'll have it a little sooner). It is already ordered and on the way. I also found a how-to video on making the change out (I always like seeing one of those before I rip into unfamiliar territory). Since it's 9F degrees here right now and we're supposed to be getting another 8 inches of snow over the weekend, it's not like I'm missing out on any prime flying time. And now I'll be ready to fly when the weather breaks! THANKS AGAIN!! -Al

 

[750r]

Let us know how your Experience goes with dronefly some have good and some have bad I have never used them because of some of the negative posts and I won't give a link to them because of that .
Yes flying is on hold we are expected to get 8-12 Sunday/Monday I am ready for some good weather

 

[nintendrone64]

Outstanding! I found one here in the states at Dronefly (saves me about 40 bucks in shipping and I'll have it a little sooner). It is already ordered and on the way. I also found a how-to video on making the change out (I always like seeing one of those before I rip into unfamiliar territory). Since it's 9F degrees here right now and we're supposed to be getting another 8 inches of snow over the weekend, it's not like I'm missing out on any prime flying time. And now I'll be ready to fly when the weather breaks! THANKS AGAIN!! -Al

Same, they told me they were waiting for the shells to arrive still though! They told me Monday/Tuesday at the latest will they have them. :geek:

 

[AStare64]

Hey! A Dronefly/replacement shell update.

I put in my order with Dronefly on Thursday (2/27). The item description page told me that the shell was in stock, but the e-mail notification that I received confirming my order told me that the item was back ordered. I had also happened to find the same item at a place called "Aerial Media Pros" out in California. Same price as Dronefly, and the shipping was about three bucks less.

Being honest with myself, I decided this probably wouldn't be my only shell replacement. I decided to ALSO put in an order with AMP after getting the notice from Dronefly and seeing the note from 750r. Having a replacement shell on the shelf can't be a bad thing.

AMP was impressive. They called me within an hour of my on-line order to confirm whether I was needing a Phantom or Phantom 2 shell. I told them I was wanting the 2 (I guess I missed that specification on the order form). They said that my shell would be shipped first thing in the morning (Friday).

Friday morning I received an e-mail from AMP notifying me that my shell had shipped. It also contained tracking information for UPS. I checked my order status at Dronefly and was told that it was "processing".

On Monday afternoon I received my replacement shell from AMP. I did the switch out that night (and, BTW...I took the opportunity to dress things up a bit. All that white plastic was just begging for a paint job. I did the top half of the shell in a slick cherry red and the bottom half, including landing gear, in a flat black. The white props look okay with the new color scheme...but some black props would look AWESOME!)

I was in the air on Tuesday afternoon (we got a little break in the weather...still in the 20s, but sunny and very little wind). My jello is GONE!! Great looking, solid video just like before the crash. And the new paint job actually made my wife say, "wow, that looks nice..."

As for Dronefly...well...my backup shell arrived today. I did not get an update e-mail telling me it shipped or anything...it just shipped. A week and a day is not bad at all, so I'm certainly not complaining. I got what I ordered, it arrived safely and in a timely fashion. But, compared to AMP, Dronefly did look a little bad.

So I'm back in the air jello-free!! Thanks again for the help and info. I've been reading a ton of threads on this site. TONS of great information from a lot of veterans. Very helpful. Oh, and here's a pic of the new rig...