Phantom 2 V+ Ver. 3 without camera

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What information should I still receive from a P2V+ Version 3 with the camera removed? GPS? Compass? Distance? Altitude? Battery level?

How does one determine which motor is installed? ESC model? Thickness of the three wires? Other methods?

I purchased a used P2V+ supposedly Ver 3 ungraded and in "perfect condition." I got an obviously crashed Phantom and cannot return it. I am going to try to make lemonade out of lemons.

Thanks!
 
What information should I still receive from a P2V+ Version 3 with the camera removed? GPS? Compass? Distance? Altitude? Battery level?

How does one determine which motor is installed? ESC model? Thickness of the three wires? Other methods?

I purchased a used P2V+ supposedly Ver 3 ungraded and in "perfect condition." I got an obviously crashed Phantom and cannot return it. I am going to try to make lemonade out of lemons.

Thanks!

How do you know it's "obviously crashed"?

You can tell the motors by the windings. The new 2312 motors have the copper wires wound perfectly parallel to each other. The new motors also have black threads for the black-hubbed props, instead of just a black dimple in them.

For the ESC's, you can remove the top shell, and V2.0 or V2.1 would be on the label on the ESC. If you don't want to remove the top, you can try shining a flashlight in the vents on the arms, and see what color paint is on top of the large black capacitor. If it's a color other than yellow, it's not a V2.1. You have to check each one.

For the wires, you really need to take the top shell off. The new wires are 22 or 23 gauge, and the older wires are 18 gauge. The new ones are solid, and the old ones are stranded.

To get compass, battery, and other telemetry inf, you either need to get the top part of a gimbal that has a working circuit board, or take the connector going to the wifi module and plug it into the CAM port.
 
Thanks for responding so quickly ML! I have a perfect P2V+ Ver.3 to compare parts, so that isn't a problem. The motors are V3 as are the ESCs. When I saw the mangled landing gear and found the props almost impossible to remove, I started getting suspicious. It had the pop off prop guard bases but not the guards. A set of the 'stay on" guards was included--but not the required original screws. All the props are 0-XOXO 9443s, and he hadn't bored them out. Closer inspection showed a cracked arm right at the motor mount screws. It also has scrapes on the top of each prop and on various locations on the body like it had tangled with a tree and landed upside down or tumbled along the ground. The motor corresponding to the crack has pliers/wrench scars on all five of the little "bridges" above the windings and below the prop threads. After spotting this stuff, I went back to eBay to take a closer look at the photos and description. The photos were taken at angles that hid the damage, but the description does state "perfect condition." Even the RC antenna was bent in the middle-can't explain that one. The guy had 100% feedback, but when I dug a little deeper I found a "neutral" from the buyer of the broken camera who wasn't real pleased with what he got either.

As some here know, I am a disabled Marine who, along with others like me, are assembling a "fleet" of these drones solely for recreation. Aside from the obvious downsides, being broken can be very boring! This drone stuff is a real kick in the butt! We all love flying them, and it gets us to some places we really couldn't get to physically. I tried to reason with the guy to no avail, all he would say is the person who sold the mess to him said it was in "perfect condition." I have some pretty serious medical treatments going on which prevented me from getting the stuff packed up and returned to him in time to qualify for a PP refund. Live and learn! We're doing this all on our own dime, but if this is the worse thing that happens, we can all live with it. Believe me, staying PO'd over something like this doesn't do anybody any good. As everyone knows, "What comes around, goes around!" We're just trying to salvage as much from MY mistake as we can.

If you have the time and willingness, I would appreciate a bit more detail in "take the connector going to the wifi module and plug it into the CAM port."

Thanks again ML!

Semper Fi!
 
Thanks for responding so quickly ML! I have a perfect P2V+ Ver.3 to compare parts, so that isn't a problem. The motors are V3 as are the ESCs. When I saw the mangled landing gear and found the props almost impossible to remove, I started getting suspicious. It had the pop off prop guard bases but not the guards. A set of the 'stay on" guards was included--but not the required original screws. All the props are 0-XOXO 9443s, and he hadn't bored them out. Closer inspection showed a cracked arm right at the motor mount screws. It also has scrapes on the top of each prop and on various locations on the body like it had tangled with a tree and landed upside down or tumbled along the ground. The motor corresponding to the crack has pliers/wrench scars on all five of the little "bridges" above the windings and below the prop threads. After spotting this stuff, I went back to eBay to take a closer look at the photos and description. The photos were taken at angles that hid the damage, but the description does state "perfect condition." Even the RC antenna was bent in the middle-can't explain that one. The guy had 100% feedback, but when I dug a little deeper I found a "neutral" from the buyer of the broken camera who wasn't real pleased with what he got either.

As some here know, I am a disabled Marine who, along with others like me, are assembling a "fleet" of these drones solely for recreation. Aside from the obvious downsides, being broken can be very boring! This drone stuff is a real kick in the butt! We all love flying them, and it gets us to some places we really couldn't get to physically. I tried to reason with the guy to no avail, all he would say is the person who sold the mess to him said it was in "perfect condition." I have some pretty serious medical treatments going on which prevented me from getting the stuff packed up and returned to him in time to qualify for a PP refund. Live and learn! We're doing this all on our own dime, but if this is the worse thing that happens, we can all live with it. Believe me, staying PO'd over something like this doesn't do anybody any good. As everyone knows, "What comes around, goes around!" We're just trying to salvage as much from MY mistake as we can.

If you have the time and willingness, I would appreciate a bit more detail in "take the connector going to the wifi module and plug it into the CAM port."

Thanks again ML!

Semper Fi!

What a standup seller that was. :( Sounds like the piece of ____ brief member of this forum who sold me a really trashed P2V+ v3 for $640 just a few weeks ago, with a misleading description. Never trust anyone., I guess.

At one end of the wifi module are two antennas that plug in with brass connectors. At the other end is a large connector with six or eight wires running to it. Follow that group of wires to another connector on the main circuit board. Disconnect that male connector from that female connector, and plug the wires into the CAM port on the board. You'll have to remove a connector there to do it. The cable you're disconnecting are the wires that run from the gimbal main circuit board to the Phantom's main circuit board. That will give you the telemetry data, at least on an Android.
 
The cable bundle from the back of the wifi module meander down to the hole in the bottom of the Phantom below the USB. I cannot ID the CAM port unless it is the connection right above the 2.4 ghz transmitter with two rows of little rectangles with a connection at each end behind the L/R connections to the 2.4 ghz The bundle from that connection also meanders down to the hole. Both bundles are in black nylon sheaths and have small metal tubes right next to the connections. There is a third smaller bundle (4 wire) that appears to separate into 2 x 2 wires with connections on the side of the wifi and a connection directly to the by the big bundle coming out of the wifi. Am I getting close? Remember, I'm a Marine-we need pictures! hehehehe
 
That's the one. Here's a photo of the hookup:
a7440017-31-6%20Pin%20From%20WiFi.jpg



If you don't want to go through the hassle of getting that cable out of the body, I have an extra I can mail to you. Just let me know.
 
Thanks ML! I had bought the DJI spare Part 08 bag of cables, so I have one. Screwing around with those tiny screws down by the USB looked like a nightmare. I wanted to say something about that "trust" thing you mentioned. On a number of occasions, people like you have have offered to do things (one member gave us a prepared TX with the black crap already removed!) to us for free and others have given advice we couldn't have gotten anywhere else. The guys who are enjoying this "sport" have really sacrificed a lot, so the generosity of some PP members makes me real proud of some of my fellow Americans!

The scumbags selling ruined units are just that scumbags. If it wouldn't cause problems for this site, I would post the my scumbag's name, address and phone number.

By the way, are the Phantom 2V+ cameras the same for Version 2 and Version 3? New Version 2s are selling for about $500 on eBay--much less than $680 for only the gimble and camera!

Thanks again for the info! Everything looks OK with my wreck once I change out the broken parts. We may be able to salvage a working unit if I don't run out of spare parts.
 
With the launch of the Phantom 3 Standard or Cheap or whatever it's called, the P2V+ prices have come down. So have the prices on cameras and gimbals. A used but working P2V+ camera and gimbal were going for about $400 last month. Now they're $300. Same with the copters.
 
Thanks ML! I had bought the DJI spare Part 08 bag of cables, so I have one. Screwing around with those tiny screws down by the USB looked like a nightmare. I wanted to say something about that "trust" thing you mentioned. On a number of occasions, people like you have have offered to do things (one member gave us a prepared TX with the black crap already removed!) to us for free and others have given advice we couldn't have gotten anywhere else. The guys who are enjoying this "sport" have really sacrificed a lot, so the generosity of some PP members makes me real proud of some of my fellow Americans!

The scumbags selling ruined units are just that scumbags. If it wouldn't cause problems for this site, I would post the my scumbag's name, address and phone number.

By the way, are the Phantom 2V+ cameras the same for Version 2 and Version 3? New Version 2s are selling for about $500 on eBay--much less than $680 for only the gimble and camera!

Thanks again for the info! Everything looks OK with my wreck once I change out the broken parts. We may be able to salvage a working unit if I don't run out of spare parts.

The V2 vs V3 cameras performance is the same but they are however are different physically.
The V2 roll axis was held magnetically by a press fit shaft. The V3 camera was upgraded to a an reinforced enlarged press fit disc which made it harder for the camera to pop off on a crash (which ultimately tears the flex ribbon cable).

I wished they had improved the camera quality as the 1080@30fps @ 11mbs is too compressed and grainy and full of artefacts. This why you should also look at the hybrid alternative where you can mount a GoPro 3/4 with a H3/4-3D gimbal.
This basically mounts new eyes to the existing system. In other words, you can still use the DJI Vision app, Groundstation, DHP, Radar etc. The only problem with these new eyes is that you can no longer choose when to blink, that is you no longer have camera setting controls. You need to hit record before launch. The advantage here is that you can detach your gopro and use it somewhere else like scuba diving and no longer feel stuck to the DJI proprietary crap. You will also have much better picture quality for videos - 1080p@60fp @ 35mbs.

In saying that, you should consider your budget and maybe cut your loses and get a P3 Adv - it's what the P2 V+ should have been.

Here is the link. Just read Pitchers8811 instructions on page 17.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213815&page=17
 
With the launch of the Phantom 3 Standard or Cheap or whatever it's called, the P2V+ prices have come down. So have the prices on cameras and gimbals. A used but working P2V+ camera and gimbal were going for about $400 last month. Now they're $300. Same with the copters.
Hi, I have a gimbal issue and just today got it back from DJI 'repaired'. No! Still same issue, looks like they didn't even touch it. Issue: gimbal initializes perfectly well, goes through full range of motion. the locks still in a 45 degree downward slant? Nothing obstructing the gimbal at all - when powered off it moves smoothly in every direction. Not going to bother ant further with DJI, they don't really want to support anything less that a P3 anymore anyway. Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I haven't been able to find a gimbal separate from the camera and the prices I've seen are ridiculous. I can buy the same entire P2 Vision + 3.0 at B&H for the same price being asked for just the camera alone on eBay.
 
My P2V+ always started up with the camera pointing down in a 45 degree angle. That is normal. I did buy a new controller with a tilt wheel and now it starts up with the camera pointing straight ahead.
 

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