This just keeps getting worse

kevin cahill · Oct 25, 2016

I have several problems that I need some insight into , several weeks ago my P3A fell about 6 ft from tree, when I fired it back up the app said the gimbal was disconnected, I ordered a ribbon cable from DjI and replaced it after several hour of a frustrating ordeal , needless to say I did follow some great videos on how to install it, but here is some of the problems , after firing everything up, the gimbal go through its dance and the camera points straight down, and cannot be adjusted from the RC, the app says the gimbal is normal, there is no image on my tablet Apple air 2 , the banner on my tablet flashes from safe to fly to weak image transmission signal, I removed the sd card and fired it up same problem I calibrated the RC, same. I have noticed when I fire up the bird, it does not have the same range of motion during the dance. Any help greatly appreciated.

eaglegoaltender · Oct 25, 2016

kevin cahill said:
I ordered a ribbon cable from DjI and replaced it after several hour of a frustrating ordeal , needless to say I did follow some great videos on how to install it, but here is some of the problems , after firing everything up, the gimbal go through its dance and the camera points straight down, and cannot be adjusted from the RC, the app says the gimbal is normal,

Couple of things here.....

1.Whenever the connection to the gimbal is separated the app can't identify the P3 model correctly that it is connected to. In order to reconnect to the proper one, reinstall the app and/or re-link the controller (RC) to the Phantom. Make sure you still have the updated firmware.

2. There is a flat spot on the camera shaft that must be aligned upward. Remove the back plate where the circuit board is and align the camera shaft 'flat spot" up and level with the top of the camera frame.

I'm no expert here believe me but it sounds eerily similar to an issue I had and it was the camera shaft alignment to fix it -- keep in mind though item 1 above. Best of luck - I hear ya on the frustration of it all.

kevin cahill · Oct 25, 2016

eaglegoaltender said:
Couple of things here.....

1.Whenever the connection to the gimbal is separated the app can't identify the P3 model correctly that it is connected to. In order to reconnect to the proper one, reinstall the app and/or re-link the controller (RC) to the Phantom. Make sure you still have the updated firmware.

2. There is a flat spot on the camera shaft that must be aligned upward. Remove the back plate where the circuit board is and align the camera shaft 'flat spot" up and level with the top of the camera frame.

I'm no expert here believe me but it sounds eerily similar to an issue I had and it was the camera shaft alignment to fix it -- keep in mind though item 1 above. Best of luck - I hear ya on the frustration of it all.

Thanks for the advice, I will try this once I get everything charged up, post later

kevin cahill · Oct 25, 2016

kevin cahill said:
Thanks for the advice, I will try this once I get everything charged up, post later

Got every thing charged up, reinstalled dji go app checked camera, tried new sd cards, tried a android lg g3 phone , this fixed the weak image transmission issue ,but I cannot see the image from the camera, I can record images on the sd card and play back on the computer , but cannot see on phone , tried different sd cards, relinked the controller, and updated the RC, I have read all the treads about this issue ,but nothing have worked so far. HELP

eaglegoaltender · Oct 26, 2016

kevin cahill said:
Got every thing charged up, reinstalled dji go app checked camera, tried new sd cards, tried a android lg g3 phone , this fixed the weak image transmission issue ,but I cannot see the image from the camera, I can record images on the sd card and play back on the computer , but cannot see on phone , tried different sd cards, relinked the controller, and updated the RC, I have read all the treads about this issue ,but nothing have worked so far. HELP

Sometimes it's the simplest answer and/or question that works or helps - so - how about your usb connections or cable from the controller to your device, is it in good shape or have you tried changing that also?

EDIT: About all else I can add is to double and triple check the grey ribbon cables from the gimbal - perhaps there is a loose connection or broken wire within. Wish I could be of more help.

kevin cahill · Oct 27, 2016

eaglegoaltender said:
Sometimes it's the simplest answer and/or question that works or helps - so - how about your usb connections or cable from the controller to your device, is it in good shape or have you tried changing that also?

EDIT: About all else I can add is to double and triple check the grey ribbon cables from the gimbal - perhaps there is a loose connection or broken wire within. Wish I could be of more help.

I have checked these cables several times with a magnifying glass , nothing amiss, I am thinking about checking internally, I have to keep trying , there is a positive side to this, I will have a better understanding of the workings of the phantom 3.

kevin cahill · Nov 3, 2016

Finally got P3A up and running again, discovered the problem on the wifi module the 6 pin connector was broken, I ordered a new one from e-bay , I would have a 2 week wait for part, so I decided to fix it, nothing to loose, soldering was out of the question, with the drone upside down I was able to hold the connector with the copter fired up holding the pin connector until it made contact and get video feed I used a glue gun and very carefully put a bead of glue over the connector on the circuit board while holding it in place until the glue cooled, once it was set the connector was good as new, I probably won't need the board now , I will keep it for a spare, also the glue won't short out the circuit board.