Newb with newb questions

Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
34
Reaction score
0
Hello all, my name is Chris, I just bought the PV2+ a week ago after seeing my friend with a Phantom 1 (?). Anyway I sprang for the H3-3D gimbal and bought a GoPro because I wanted to use an FPV setup with a 7" monitor.

Well, today was my maiden voyage, which lasted a grand total of about 4 minutes. I was being extremely cautious just getting used to the controls (it's different when you own it, and incur the cost of the damage!). Then I "kinda" lost visual of the phantom as I was flying down my driveway.... the phantom started to ascend rather slowly but not from my control. When I say I lost visual, I could still see it, but I had flown around a rather large tree with branches, etc. Then the drone started to drift back towards me and the takeoff spot, but the trip was interrupted by the tree that I had previously flown around. The phantom dropped about 50+ feet and the camera/gimbal too most of the impact. The gimbal was bent to hell and when I turn it back on, the gears just grind.... so it's another $379 + shipping for a gimbal! I'm glad I have deep pockets or my RC hobby wouldn't last very long!

So for my newb questions:

1). Is line of sight absolutely necessary to keep from losing a signal? I'm certainly not going to be flying behind mountains or anything of that sort, but losing control in my front yard when a tall oak tree between me and my Phantom is a little concerning.

2). Is there a way to get parts, or have this gimbal rebuilt?

3). I "thought" (famous last words) the gimbal was controllable so you could record straight ahead or straight down and anything in between. When my friend showed me his, he had the knob on the back of the controller. My controller does not have that...

Any help/advice is appreciated!
 
Not sure I follow your first sentence. YOu have the DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus? Or do you have another model that uses a GoPro camera?
 
The Phantom 2 Vision+ is the one with the pre - attached DJI gimbal and camera that allows FPV out of the box. If you have a 3rd party gimbal and GoPro then I guess you have a different model and therefore may get more appropriate responses in the forum for that model.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I do have the PV2+. I removed the stock camera and gimbal to install the H3-3D with a GoPro.
 
Ah well. You've lost me then as this is the vision + forum and I have no idea why anyone would want to buy a vision+ then replace the gimbal and camera.

The camera tilt control on a Vision+ is done by the software control in the DJI Vision app not via a lever like on the non Vision products.
 
All righty then, guess I'm going back to the stock camera setup.... I figured the H3-3D gimbal and a gopro would be better than "stock" --- obviously not!
 
Don't get me wrong. I'm sure there are pros and cons to both and I'm sure the general consensus is that the GoPro gives better quality and smoother video.

I'm intrigued to know how you managed to get fpv from you GoPro with an adapted Vision+. Did you add lightbridge to get the fpv?

Finally, I think you may get answers re the gimbal in a forum where people are using those. In this forum people are using Vision+ units with DJI gimbal and camera.
 
cmt56ss said:
Hello all, my name is Chris, I just bought the PV2+ a week ago after seeing my friend with a Phantom 1 (?). Anyway I sprang for the H3-3D gimbal and bought a GoPro because I wanted to use an FPV setup with a 7" monitor.

You can use a 7" tablet for FPV with stock P2V+

cmt56ss said:
Then I "kinda" lost visual of the phantom as I was flying down my driveway.... the phantom started to ascend rather slowly but not from my control. When I say I lost visual, I could still see it, but I had flown around a rather large tree with branches, etc. Then the drone started to drift back towards me and the takeoff spot, but the trip was interrupted by the tree that I had previously flown around.

Sounds like lost control signal and P2V+ decided to Return-To-Home.

cmt56ss said:
Any help/advice is appreciated!

Practice on a spacy field and set the geofence limit to keep your quad within the field boundaries.
 
I got the FPV via a "kit" that had a transmitter that utilizes the video out on the GoPro. The kit had the video screen, mounting bracket, transmitter, battery, etc.

Thanks for getting me straightened out.... now I just have to worry that I don't mangle the stock gimbal because I've only seen a "whole" new setup for like $650!
 
I guess if you have the original Vision+ bits (gimbal and camera) you may as well put it back to stock. At least you get flying again.

Still can't understand why you would buy a Vision+ only to remove half the features and replace when you could have achieved same with a std Phantom 2. Anyway, that's not the purpose of this thread so sorry to waste your time.
 
Wattsn -- having been in the RC hobby for about 12 years (all 1/8th and 1/5 scale nitro and gas) I was thinking if stock is good, aftermarket is better! Until I saw a Phantom in person a week and half ago, I didn't know they existed, so I just jumped in head first.... I guess if I'd researched more, I would have known the succession of the versions and what is possible with each....

Anyways, I've got the stock setup back on, my phone is bound with the camera... unfortunately, it's the work week once again and business calls! I'll be off Friday for a long weekend, so it'll be Phantom flying time once again. I appreciate all the help from you guys and look forward to keeping up on all the latest info on these boards!
 

Recent Posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,352
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic