P3 STANDARD Camera shaking

Kenneth Marsola · Apr 10, 2017

After not having flown my P3S since last fall, I took it out yesterday & today. Yesterday I noticed a camera was shaking slightly for about the first 1 minute of the mission, then stopped.
Today I flew the Phantom again, and the camera was shaking about 75% of the time.
Any ideas.
The shaking stops about 15 second into the video, and was fine after that.
Todays video was worse.

Pharm · Apr 10, 2017

Your camera wasn't obstructed in any way before it did its startup dance, was it? Even blades of grass can mess that up. If so, restart it where the camera touches NOTHING when it starts.

mpatton · Apr 10, 2017

Pharm said:
Your camera wasn't obstructed in any way before it did its startup dance, was it? Even blades of grass can mess that up. If so, restart it where the camera touches NOTHING when it starts.

Yeah I've had this problem a time or to. Just make sure it's clear on startup and make sure everything is calibrated properly.

805hd · Apr 11, 2017

Looks like vibration to me. Try changing props. Mine was doing the SAME thing. Changed my props and it was gone.

Kenneth Marsola · Apr 11, 2017

Thanks for the possible solutions
1. I always take off from a clear and flat spot, with no clearance or obstruction issues.
2. The shaking, if present, seems to be early in the video, and eventually stops.
3. At time, there is no shaking at all through the whole video

WilliamM · Apr 11, 2017

Kenneth Marsola said:
Thanks for the possible solutions
1. I always take off from a clear and flat spot, with no clearance or obstruction issues.
2. The shaking, if present, seems to be early in the video, and eventually stops.
3. At time, there is no shaking at all through the whole video

Redo IMU Cal, redo gimbal Cal, and balance your props. Am I the only one that owns a prop balancer. Keep hearing recommendations for people saying to change out props, which might help. But wouldn't you like to know if it was the props? And if it was a prop out of balance it's a simple fix and that prop becomes usable. Also look for rubber damper damage or can also upgrade those rubber pieces.

mdowney58 · Apr 11, 2017

Don't overlook the yaw arm wiggling on the yaw motor shaft.
There is a set screw that may be loose.
My set screw was tight, but there was still some side to side wiggle of the yaw arm on the yaw motor shaft. I had to insert some shims to make it tight.

805hd · Apr 12, 2017

Kenneth Marsola said:
Yesterday I noticed a camera was shaking slightly for about the first 1 minute

Did you ever get this figured out?

Kenneth Marsola · Apr 12, 2017

No, I rechecked the prop balance, IMU calibration & compass calibration, and took off from a flat clear space.
Still some shaking in the beginning, and some shaking under acceleration.

805hd · Apr 12, 2017

Kenneth Marsola said:
No, I rechecked the prop balance, IMU calibration & compass calibration, and took off from a flat clear space.
Still some shaking in the beginning, and some shaking under acceleration.

Dang. mdowney58 may be onto something.. hope you get it figured out!

WilliamM · Apr 12, 2017

Kenneth Marsola said:
No, I rechecked the prop balance, IMU calibration & compass calibration, and took off from a flat clear space.
Still some shaking in the beginning, and some shaking under acceleration.

Also look for rubber damper damage or can also upgrade those rubber pieces.

805hd · Apr 12, 2017

What do you mean by upgrade? Aftermarket part that uses higher quality rubber?

FlashBuddy · Apr 12, 2017

Time to buy a new bird. P4P, Mavic? Wait for a P5?

WilliamM · Apr 12, 2017

805hd said:
What do you mean by upgrade? Aftermarket part that uses higher quality rubber?

Yes, they say their better, I got these. Amazon.com: Tera 6Pcs Kit of Upgrade Anti Vibration Jello Gimbal Dampening Silicon Balls Nuts and Anti Drop Clips for DJI Phantom 2 and 3 Quadcopter: Toys & Games

WilliamM · Apr 12, 2017

Also I don't use these "Anti Drop Pins", but use zip ties put on loosely.

DatScreamer · Apr 18, 2017

It's the spirits from the grave site

805hd said:
Looks like vibration to me. Try changing props. Mine was doing the SAME thing. Changed my props and it was gone.

Same with me, was using scratched and dinged up props.

120CCPM · Apr 18, 2017

Kenneth Marsola said:
No, I rechecked the prop balance, IMU calibration & compass calibration, and took off from a flat clear space.
Still some shaking in the beginning, and some shaking under acceleration.

I'd suggest you do a test with 4 new props, to rule them out completely. You can have a warped prop that looks perfect on the balancer, yet causes vibrations.