P4 factory gimble lock guard thingy

Chopstix Kid · Apr 19, 2016

New P4 owner and my first professional drone. When powering up the aircraft for reasons other than flight, it is necessary to remove the factory gimble lock/guard? Since the gimble appears to have its own init sequence, I'm curious if leaving it on will damage the unit. Thanks in advance.

Joe

Chopstix Kid · Apr 19, 2016

I found a post in the P2 forum that stated leaving it on during the momentary power-up should not hurt it, but I'd rather have a more definitive answer.

msinger · Apr 19, 2016

You should always remove it before powering up your Phantom.

Chopstix Kid · Apr 19, 2016

msinger said:
You should always remove it before powering up your Phantom.

Thank you!

never88winter · Apr 19, 2016

I thought it was ok to leave on, when powering up the p4

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msinger · Apr 19, 2016

It's not okay since it prevents the gimbal from moving.

Jussaguy · Apr 19, 2016

msinger said:
You should always remove it before powering up your Phantom.

This is a fact but on the other side of the coin, I, in one of my most stupid moves ever flew my good P4 for almost a whole bat run with the the gimbal lock on in complete darkness so I saw the red of the LEDs and didn't think anything of it. I was sure I ruined the gimbal motor but it still works great unlike ever single other P4 I've touched.

sar104 · Apr 20, 2016

Jussaguy said:
This is a fact but on the other side of the coin, I, in one of my most stupid moves ever flew my good P4 for almost a whole bat run with the the gimbal lock on in complete darkness so I saw the red of the LEDs and didn't think anything of it. I was sure I ruined the gimbal motor but it still works great unlike ever single other P4 I've touched.

You must have been really mean to the other P4s.

Stealthmatt · Apr 20, 2016

Jussaguy said:
This is a fact but on the other side of the coin, I, in one of my most stupid moves ever flew my good P4 for almost a whole bat run with the the gimbal lock on in complete darkness so I saw the red of the LEDs and didn't think anything of it. I was sure I ruined the gimbal motor but it still works great unlike ever single other P4 I've touched.

Surely the gimbal would detect it cant move and stop it from trying and put it in a "limp" mode until its turned off and on again? I am curious did you try taking the cover off while it was on and did it start up or was it limp?

I would think that DJI would put a warning as well - "Gimbal motor stuck/stopped/overloaded" or "Gimbal cover left on - Please remove gimbal lock and power cycle to reinitialize"?

Jussaguy · Apr 20, 2016

Stealthmatt said:
Surely the gimbal would detect it cant move and stop it from trying and put it in a "limp" mode until its turned off and on again? I am curious did you try taking the cover off while it was on and did it start up or was it limp?

I would think that DJI would put a warning as well - "Gimbal motor stuck/stopped/overloaded" or "Gimbal cover left on - Please remove gimbal lock and power cycle to reinitialize"?

The P3 I believe would say overload and it usually would mean a burnt gimbal motor but you wouldn't want that.

I have several, if you don't count my nanos, I think 11 drones now and the Phantom 4 that day was the only time I ever left on a gimbal lock. I don't think it did any damage at all. Right now, that's my baby as it's the only P4 that i have that works currently. The other one I have I'm afraid if I take out of the box will attack me.

To be clear, yeah, I believe they made it so that the motor sort of knows when it cant move and if it gets stuck for whatever reason won't burn the motor which is a nice new feature that might have gone unadvertised. I was SURE when I realized it was on that it would be broken but it's wonderful but it's in NY right now.

I can't wait to get it back now.

Jussaguy · Apr 20, 2016

sar104 said:
You must have been really mean to the other P4s.

I don't get it.

never88winter · Apr 20, 2016

I keep forgetting to take gimble lock guard off. It so easy to forget!

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r62ewa · Apr 21, 2016

I now have the routine that as soon as I take my Phantom out of it's carrier I remove the gimbal lock. That way it's the first thing I do and I don't get distracted by all of the other things, ipad, remote, cables, filter, etc. which would make me forget to go back to the lock.

Sim597 · Apr 21, 2016

I've left mine on a few times turning on, my P3 would tell me, not the P4, and I noticed when I've ripped it off (thinking oh no!) the gimbal would drift, as if no power to it, then it would just start up and has always been fine