Switching a P2V+ to work with a gopro...!

[Scampaboy]

Grasshopper

Hi thanks for that information

I'm sorry I get very confused with names, words places etc. please take my sincere apologies.

 

[Scampaboy]

Oh god mako79 I'm sorry it's really not my day today ....

 

[Mako79]

Oh god mako79 I'm sorry it's really not my day today ....

Ahh.. all makes sense now... Calling someone grasshopper is good, caterpillar is not.
Grasshopper = master.

 

[TuT]

I have done this GoPro mod on my Vision+. I am now flying with a Hero 4 Silver and couldn't be happier. The quality is awesome compared to the original Vision+ camera, especially video and low light performance (Max ISO is now 6400!).

However I have read there are problems with iOS devices not playing nicely with the mod. Personally I am using an Android device and have no problems. Video FPV and all telemetry working great. I just have to turn on the GoPro BEFORE the Phantom, otherwise no picture.

Here are a couple of screenshots taken from video I recorded last weekend. Vision+ with H3-3D Gimbal and GoPro Hero 4 Silver. This was my 1st flight using a ND4 filter
Location is Bear Island, La Perouse, Sydney.

 

[vico36]

Have a pv2+ myself and really interested in doing this mod since I find the original camera's quality really bad...I don't have a gopro nor a zenmuse though so this brings the cost to about 650£-ish for gopro 4 black + gimbal (1000$ or so). To the people who have done it, do you think the quality difference is worth that price tag? I don't think I could sell my original pv2+ camera/gimbal since it's slightly tilted by something like 3/4 degrees.

 

[TuT]

I paid around $850 Australian for H3-3D (on sale) and a GoPro Hero 4 Silver.
I sold my Vision+ Camera on eBay for $600 Australian. The Vision+ Camera was as new, I only flew it a couple of times before I realized the limitations of the camera. Because the camera was so new I got a good price for it.

In the end the whole project cost me about $250 Australian. I was very happy with the results.

You could always wait until your Vision+ camera falls apart and then upgrade to a GoPro. You might also find a Zenmuse gimbal on sale like I did.

 

[CityZen]

Calling someone grasshopper is good, caterpillar is not.
Grasshopper = master.

Until Grasshopper can take the stone from Master's hand, he is not a master

 

[Mako79]

I paid around $850 Australian for H3-3D (on sale) and a GoPro Hero 4 Silver.
I sold my Vision+ Camera on eBay for $600 Australian. The Vision+ Camera was as new, I only flew it a couple of times before I realized the limitations of the camera. Because the camera was so new I got a good price for it.

In the end the whole project cost me about $250 Australian. I was very happy with the results.

You could always wait until your Vision+ camera falls apart and then upgrade to a GoPro. You might also find a Zenmuse gimbal on sale like I did.

+1 Tut.
Love the bear island shot. Its funny that the beach on the other side where the café sits is a restricted fly 400ft fly zone.

A lot people don't see the advantages and how relatively easy and cheap this mod is.
I continually remind others that its actually the best and cheapest setup once you've sold the Vision camera+gimbal.
The thing is, you shouldn't factor the price of the gopro in the cost as its removable and used for other purposes. The Vision camera will forever be stuck on the phantom and cant go anywhere without the phantom.
And finally, the burden is lifted off your shoulders. I don't feel trapped anymore. The fragile expensive Vision camera made me scared to fly it. Didn't make sense that a $10 flex cable would render it useless not to mention the tilt issues.

Calling someone grasshopper is good, caterpillar is not.
Grasshopper = master.

Until Grasshopper can take the stone from Master's hand, he is not a master

Lol. I'm no master. I'm just a padawan.
BTW Czen, have you converted yours? I know you spent a lot of time on the RCgroups thread.

 

[CityZen]

BTW Czen, have you converted yours? I know you spent a lot of time on the RCgroups thread.

No, I managed to repair my camera gimbal eventually (had to replace the ribbon cable, resolder a transistor, replace a potentiometer, and glue the roll shaft).

 

[vico36]

So... I went ahead and did this mod. Bought H4-3D + GP4 silver.
Installed everything and so far it is looking good, although I haven't flown with it yet.
Had a minor issue with the 8pin cable. Basically couldn't route it through the closest back leg due to it already being full of cables (flytrex ones), I routed it through one of the front legs and then through the top part of the gimbal which isn't optimal since now the cable is very tight and just enough length, on top of that I hope it won't affect the gimbal's stability. It seems like it should be fine though (attached screenshot).
Other than that, installation was pretty simple. During installation I found out one of the sdcard cable wasn't properly pushed inside the wifi module, I wonder if that's the reason I could never get the vision app gallery to work on my note 4 (it would show "no images found" or w/e). Guess i'll never find out!

Also while testing in close range inside, I didn't see any interference on the fpv video, hoping it stays like this. I didn't put tape on the charging part of the cable yet.

ps: @Mako79 Thanks, without your posts I wouldn't even know about this mod

 

[Scampaboy]

So guys I finally received my gimbal and cable,

Completed the mod very quickly it's simple to do and hard to make a mistake. I actually enjoyed fiddling with it and I feel like I've learnt some things about my machine too.

I am using the 3rd party app so I can see my telemetry and it's great.


Thanks to everybody who worked out how to do this mod.

 

[vico36]

Reporting on mine after flying with it... well, trying to.
Tried it for the first time today with the GP4S + H4-3D, the drone would drift/oscillate a lot, it wouldn't hold its position like before the mod. It was a little bit windy (24km/h as per accuweather), but nothing that the phantom shouldn't handle as far as my past experience goes...
After that, I came back home, did a full advanced imu calibration, changed the gains to 90/90/120/140 as some others suggested (I'm using the white rubber balls) and went back out. Still the same.
Anyone knows what I could do to improve the stability? It seems to drift with the wind a bit, sometimes it will hold its position (although way too shaky to my taste), but as soon as I move the stick a bit it will follow weird paths. Sometimes it doesn't even hold its vertical position, moving up or down vey slowly which makes it very difficult to control.

I'm starting to wonder if the weight isn't affecting it badly, considering I have the flytrex live 3G too.