Lost camera, gimbal & telemetry - any ideas?

Meta4 · Jun 23, 2014

I managed to get a little water on my 2+ during a rainstorm when water dripped from the roof of a rock ledge I had it under for shelter. After I tried a new battery but got a Compass Error, the app showed no GPS satellites, the light on the gimbal was orange and the camera was stuck half up. I took it home, opened it up and dried it. The only water I found inside was three drops in the LED cover under one of the arms.

The Phantom seems to be in good shape except for the camera and gimbal which show no signs of life and the app was getting no telemetry data so it showed zero satellites, 0% battery and no SD card. Now the camera icon on the app is greyed out. The phantom lights look good and flash green to show sat lock and the motors run properly. The Assistant software indicates sensors are working. No power is getting to the gimbal. When I try to connect it with USB, the computer can't see anything.

I've reseated all connectors I can see under the hood and run out of ideas. I haven't opened up the gimbal yet.
Can anyone point to what might cause a loss of camera + gimbal + telemetry or which area I should concentrate on ?

Mako79 · Jun 23, 2014

Water Ingress with electronics.
Um... where to start...

I used to fix phones back in the Nokia 5110 days - the one with the snake game with the 2 colour non touch screen with the faruga ring tone. The screen was a throw away but sometimes the board was salvagable provided they took they battery out immediately.

I dont recommend you fixing your phantom as there are so many systems it relies upon to keep it in the air.

Couple of "suggestions" on reviving electronic boards (your gimbal board). This isnt fool-proof!!!!
Pull battery out immediately and never try turning it back on until you finish cleaning it.
You need to clean this immediately as the components will start to rust.
Find some methylated spirits and a new clean tooth brush (old ones can conduct due the residual tooth paste).
Brush the board carefully but firm and try not knock out any components. You will see the alcohol based spirit evaporate. Leave out to dry overnight or use a hair dryer (not too hot as it will warp the chips/board - XBOX Red rings).
If you have an asian friend, borrow some uncooked rice. Dump your board in the uncooked rice as it will absorb moisture.
Get a new fresh battery as the water damaged battert will probably have shorted out.

If i were you, I would get a second phantom. Sell the water damaged one as parts or keep as spares.
GLHF

illiceman11 · Jun 23, 2014

Is your Range extender working.Mine went down Nothing works but it will fly.

Meta4 · Jun 23, 2014

Yes .. no problem with the transmitter and range extender.
No problem with the flying department of the Phantom just have nothing working in the camera, gimbal and telemetry department and want to get ideas on reviving that.

Would a new camera and gimbal fix things or is the problem likely to be somewhere else?

Meta4 · Jun 23, 2014

No .. the machine was not affected by a lot of water at all. I was out flying in fine weather and after half an hour a 5 minute shower came across. I put everything under a rock ledge to keep it dry but near the end of the shower some water dripped from the roof of the ledge. Inside the Phantom only had 3 drops and that was out on one of the arms near the vents. The major electronics inside stayed dry, but some (not much) water may have also got on the gimbal area.

The machine hasn't been for a swim, it hasn't been out in rain and all that is affected is that the gimbal/camera and telemetry is out of action.

Skynet1 · Jun 23, 2014

It may sound weird, but if it were me, I would try removing the camera app, and reinstalling just for the heck of it.
If it still doesn't work, all that been loss was some time. Oh! another thing you may consider is to rebind everything by simply following the manual on rebinding on page 31, definitely use the correct QR code on the box when scanning rather than manually trying to enter the code. Last but not least, try inserting another SD card just in case a drop of water got onto that.
Let us know how you make out, & best of luck.