Tilted Horizon: Firmware or Hardware Issue?

[Juno]

Test flew my new Phantom 4 this evening. It's an amazing machine and flies much nicer then my P3A IMO.

I did notice though, that the camera is not level with the horizon. I tried recalibrating the gimbal a few times on a level surface which seemed help a little... maybe..., but it was still off (and an IMU recalibration yielded no additional improvement). I also tried to manually calibrate it using the gimbal adjust and while it did work, the gimbal would only remember the adjustment for a few seconds before reverting back (though the app still claimed the adjustment was there). When I look at the bird from the front and the top, I can tell that the camera is at a slight angle to the ground, and points a little to the right rather then straight ahead.

Here is a screenshot from a video I took showing the extent of the tilted horizon (with a horizontal red line added for reference):

I don't expect the horizon to always be perfectly level in every circumstance, but this is much worse then my P3 ever has been.

According to Google this is an issue that quite a few Phantom (not just P4) owners are experiencing, yet no-one can seem to agree on the cause.

Any idea if this is a firmware issue, or is it hardware? I'm hoping it's firmware, as the gimbal is capable of being in the correct position, it just doesn't want to stay there (and visually looks fine).

 

[Marc Hufnagel]

P3 and now p4. DJI promised a long time ago they were 'working On it' for the p3. That fix never came. Now a new gimbal and the problem still exists.

You can recal the imu and gimbal all you want - it will NOT fix it. Yes you can fix it in post but by god you shouldn't have to.


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[Stealthmatt]

It is a hardware fault

 

[rjm71]

Not sure if this is relevant but I have the same issue. One thing I have notice when flying it out that the p4 seems to have a tilt on it Not the camera. I will try and upload a pic. Has anyone else seen this?


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[jwt873]

I don't think anyone knows the exact cause, (except perhaps DJI). Hopefully they will be able to fix it with a firmware upgrade.

I have noticed my craft leaning despite being in calm air once or twice in the last 50 flights. An IMU calibration fixed it each time.

I'm fairly lucky... My horizon is mostly straight for the majority of flights. But, sometimes I'll go up and notice quite a tilt when I'm facing certain directions. When this happens, what I've found that helps a bit is to rotate the craft a couple of times to the right and then a couple of more times to the left.

This seems to help the gimbal 'settle down'.

 

[thunderbird]

I don't think it's hardware issue
Anyway have u tried to adjust gimbal roll

 

[Multicoptertec]

When flying last Sunday, and for the first time, my P3A exhibited the tilted camera issue. I had flown and landed several times that morning, no issues. When I saw the horribly tilted image on my tablet, I landed immediately, thinking something was obstructed, but found nothing. Restarted the bird, and everything was normal. I cannot say if after the gimbal startup dance on that flight that the camera was level, I didn't notice the issue till I was airborne.

 

[Juno]

I don't think it's hardware issue
Anyway have u tried to adjust gimbal roll

Yes, but it won't hold for more then a few seconds.

If we assume it's hardware, what could be the problem with the gimbal to cause this? Does the gimbal have some sort of levelling sensor in it it uses to calibrate that could be improperly calibrated out of the factory?

 

[Multicoptertec]

I will be checking in the future that on startup, the camera is level. Has anyone noticed if this is there before flying, or is it happening later in flight?

 

[Waxings]

I had this issue . Took mine back to Apple and now it is much better. I noticed I have a different model tho. The one with the Gimbal Marks on the landing gear.

 

[Kans]

There is an update from another member that a firmware fix is on the way in a couple of weeks time...

 

[Juno]

Well some good news. I chilled the P4 in the fridge for an hour or so and then immediately did an IMU cal followed by a gimbal cal. It's still not 100% perfect when compared to my P3, but it did make for a significant improvement - which I'm prepared to say is good enough... The camera still looks off when viewed on the ground, but it seems to have pretty much corrected itself in flight.

See for yourself: here is more or less the same view as posted above, taken from today's flight. Turns out the horizon is bang-on looking in this direction, though it's still off by a small amount in others.

There is an update from another member that a firmware fix is on the way in a couple of weeks time...
View attachment 54412

Interesting... Are you able to prove the validity of this message?

I had this issue . Took mine back to Apple and now it is much better. I noticed I have a different model tho. The one with the Gimbal Marks on the landing gear.

I checked and it seems I have the same model as you. Besides the horizon issue, my P4 does not exhibit any of the other issues I've seen commonly reported on here (gimbal squeak, altitude loss when braking, etc) and came with the latest firmware installed so It must be of newer stock.

 

[Kans]

View attachment 54414


Interesting... Are you able to prove the validity of this message?

If the person who got the above email is in here, then he may be able to prove it, but he was quite active on the dji forum regarding this issue, so lets hope the above is true.

 

[jwt873]

That's an interesting comment in the DJI reply... "There are many modules on the P4 which include the camera and the MC"

I was just thinking about it.. The gimbal on the P4 does a lot more than simply keep the camera steady and tilt up and down at the request of the operator.

I'd be willing to bet that the new 'tap and fly' and 'active tracking' functions are tied in with the gimbal control. I'm guessing that this is where the problem lies. There could be some unwanted interaction between the modules that control each function that is tilting the gimbal.

But as I say, I'm only guessing. Whatever it is, hopefully they can get it fixed.......

 

[Sim597]

Well some good news. I chilled the P4 in the fridge for an hour or so and then immediately did an IMU cal followed by a gimbal cal. It's still not 100% perfect when compared to my P3, but it did make for a significant improvement - which I'm prepared to say is good enough... The camera still looks off when viewed on the ground, but it seems to have pretty much corrected itself in flight.

See for yourself: here is more or less the same view as posted above, taken from today's flight. Turns out the horizon is bang-on looking in this direction, though it's still off by a small amount in others.
View attachment 54414


Interesting... Are you able to prove the validity of this message?



I checked and it seems I have the same model as you. Besides the horizon issue, my P4 does not exhibit any of the other issues I've seen commonly reported on here (gimbal squeak, altitude loss when braking, etc) and came with the latest firmware installed so It must be of newer stock.

The problem is, that it doesn't matter, it's coincidence that it's better now. I've calibrated mine after landing, it wasn't warm, it was hot, and although the calibration doesn't seem to last as long, it matters not.

Chilling IC boards and then warming them to operational temps isn't, and never has been a good idea for longevity. The warming up from a "chilled" environment is the main factor for failure in wear situations.

The fact that the older Inspire models, and may not have updated the manual, states to start with a "cool" unit when calibrations certainly didn't mean to "chill" them to begin with.

I've been over and over this issue, replaced phantoms, done it all. Did you know you can hold down one of the C1 or C2 buttons, then roll the camera setting dial (not the gimbal pitch) and also set your gimbal adjustment that way? Try that, although once you yaw, i.e. Change direction, it's all thrown out because it'll be worse now. What I've found is, some days it's Shyt, and some days apple butter. There is no rhyme or reason. I doubt it's hardware, it now has dual motors for pitch, it's a stronger and better made gimbal, and has some great specs, if they can implement them is now the question, I'd LOVE TO SEE SOME FIRMEWARE UPDATES.


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[dguth66]

I agree ... don't put your aircraft in the fridge guys, has the potential for bad things to happen ... water and electricity don't mix well around printed cct boards. Think about leaving your nice cold beer out and see how much dew on the bottle / can after a few mins.

That update from Kans speaks volumes, IMHO DJI has rushed the P4 out the door and now we see the results racking up with a list of common problems ... here is one example

I'm not sure but I think I read somewhere that Apple.ca was taking the Phantom 4 off their site due to the large amount of unhappy customers returning. Lets face it ... the DJI Phantom 4 is no where near the "release quality of proven functions" that Apple has earned over the years ... hence the returns.

I've had two P3's with zero flight issues (just a firmware brick problem ... cost me 65 bucks to ship but DJI fixed under warranty) At the end of the day DJI will get it right but will that be just before the next version Phantom 5 maybe ?? ...

 

[Juno]

For the interested: A few days ago I decided to contact my dealer from which I bought it and told them my story, just to see what they had to say since I was still within the 14 day return window. They responded within 20 minutes saying that it sounded like I received a faulty gimbal, and offered me a brand new replacement. I decided to take it seeing as despite my fairly successful efforts in levelling the camera, it still tended to point off to the right a little.

Have yet to receive the new unit, but talk about A+ customer service!

 

[thunderbird]

For the interested: A few days ago I decided to contact my dealer from which I bought it and told them my story, just to see what they had to say since I was still within the 14 day return window. They responded within 20 minutes saying that it sounded like I received a faulty gimbal, and offered me a brand new replacement. I decided to take it seeing as despite my fairly successful efforts in levelling the camera, it still tended to point off to the right a little.

Have yet to receive the new unit, but talk about A+ customer service!

Let us know how it goes

 

[Erised]

For me it's just like Sim some time its perfect (most of the time) other tilted but never as much as Juno's. Wind and direction of flight had no bearing on the tilt situation, I tried all types of way to see if there would be a change, nothing. I believe if the problem was hardware there would be some consistency but nope. I think and hope it's firmware. Please DJI fix this expensive flying camera issue! it's a camera that frames images! FFS

 

[Phantom fool]

Maybe we need to find a more level planet