Dronexpert Quickrelease - Latest Info

[tribalpilot]

Hello everyone... I'm SO sorry if this answer is listed somewhere else... I know on this forum there's a bit of talk about the dronexpert.nl "quickrelease" for the Phantom 2 Vision+ but I still have a couple of questions.
I apologize in advance if this is already answered in other places - I am working overseas in a 3rd world country with VERY limited bandwidth and have had trouble surfing the forum...

My question is this. I have a Phantom 2 Vision+ version 3 (with the side wheel to control the tilt of the Vision+ camera). I have crashed the Phantom 2 and the camera and gimbal were ruined but everything else seems fine. I have a GoPro 4 Black and want to buy the DJI Zenmuse H4-3D along with the dronexpert.nl quickrelease. My question is whether or not, with the quickrlease mod and the GoPro4 and Zenmuse H4-3D, whether or not I can still "tilt" the angle of the camera from the side wheel control on the RC.

Also - wondering if anyone has done this mod recently and I'm interested in how things have been working for them. For example, how's the video captured - I heard someone mention their video with the GoPro and quickrelease mod was a bit shaky... any thoughts? What about the FPV?

Thanks in advance and again - I apologize if all this info can be found in other spots on this website.....

 

[IflyinWY]

Hello tribalpilot, Welcome to the forum.

This is the best way that I know of to search our forum. Enter your text in the center of the page, not the top:

https://cse.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=014775389315664725445:ejku2ysgyhi

 

[Mako79]

You can save yourself some money if you decide to go full time gopro. Use the money you save on the DE quick realease to invest in the H43D. The mod is all plug and play with no soldering. Just need a $10 15cm zenmuse cable and H#3D gimbal. It's no different than the DE except you cant hot swap. Just need to know how to open phantom, redirect 1 cable and install gimbal. Relatively easy.
I've had this conversion done for over 6mths now.
Read Pitchers comment. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213815&page=17

And in regards to the DE quick release shaking - this is to do with the weight. The Gopro and H#3D weighs more than the stock P2VP. The default gain settings do not suit the gopro + gimbal and as a result the vibrations cause the oscillations. You can overcome this by setting the gains to default and changing to the black stiffer dampeners.

 

[tribalpilot]

Hello tribalpilot, Welcome to the forum.

This is the best way that I know of to search our forum. Enter your text in the center of the page, not the top:

https://cse.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=014775389315664725445:ejku2ysgyhi

Thanks IflyinWY! Definitely will use your link to speed up my searches - really appreciate the "custom" search!

You can save yourself some money if you decide to go full time gopro. Use the money you save on the DE quick realease to invest in the H43D. The mod is all plug and play with no soldering. Just need a $10 15cm zenmuse cable and H#3D gimbal. It's no different than the DE except you cant hot swap. Just need to know how to open phantom, redirect 1 cable and install gimbal. Relatively easy.
I've had this conversion done for over 6mths now.
Read Pitchers comment. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213815&page=17

And in regards to the DE quick release shaking - this is to do with the weight. The Gopro and H#3D weighs more than the stock P2VP. The default gain settings do not suit the gopro + gimbal and as a result the vibrations cause the oscillations. You can overcome this by setting the gains to default and changing to the black stiffer dampeners.

Mako - Thanks for the help - this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! So I read Pitcher's comments and it looks easy enough to do. (I'm not brilliant with electronics but have done enough "tinkering" and it looks like his steps are really straight forward....)

So if i buy the extra cables, and the Zenmuse H4-3D - I should be good to go? Can I use the "dial" wheel on the side of my RC to tilt the GoPro 4 with this setup (similar to tilting that Vision+ camera)? Also, I live in a remote location - so I basically get one shot at this in the sense that if I go this route, and get the cables and H4-3D into my village location - I want to make sure this hack really works. *** Now I KNOW no hack is 100% guaranteed - I get that... but in your experience - is it a pretty "sure" thing. Again - I'm not looking for any kind of 100% guarantee - no one can do that - there are alway strange bugs or anomalies that come in to play - ... but I honestly don't really care about the "hot swap" capabilities of the dronexpert quickrelease - I was just going to do that because it seemed more tried and true... on the other hand - that's easily an extra $300+ dollars that would be really nice not to spend if I don't need to...

Any thoughts?

 

[Mako79]

Thanks IflyinWY! Definitely will use your link to speed up my searches - really appreciate the "custom" search!



Mako - Thanks for the help - this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! So I read Pitcher's comments and it looks easy enough to do. (I'm not brilliant with electronics but have done enough "tinkering" and it looks like his steps are really straight forward....)

So if i buy the extra cables, and the Zenmuse H4-3D - I should be good to go? Can I use the "dial" wheel on the side of my RC to tilt the GoPro 4 with this setup (similar to tilting that Vision+ camera)? Also, I live in a remote location - so I basically get one shot at this in the sense that if I go this route, and get the cables and H4-3D into my village location - I want to make sure this hack really works. *** Now I KNOW no hack is 100% guaranteed - I get that... but in your experience - is it a pretty "sure" thing. Again - I'm not looking for any kind of 100% guarantee - no one can do that - there are alway strange bugs or anomalies that come in to play - ... but I honestly don't really care about the "hot swap" capabilities of the dronexpert quickrelease - I was just going to do that because it seemed more tried and true... on the other hand - that's easily an extra $300+ dollars that would be really nice not to spend if I don't need to...

Any thoughts?

I don't own a H4-3D or Gopro4 but from where I stand, it's just a rebalanced H3-3D and it should work no different.
Just need to remember that need to use Android device if you want telemetry. If you use IOS, then download another app like Ultimate or FPV Booster 3 if you need telemetry.

The thing is, you are already going down this path by getting the DE quick release. Just do the $10 mod with H43D mod first. It is all reversible as there is no soldering.

With any mods, there are limitations.

Some have mentioned that they need to turn on gopro first or vice versa. Mine works either way.
Make sure you turn on the Gopro's OSD so you can see if you hit record or not.
Also use, default gain settings with the black ball dampeners to minimise any jello.
My only gripe is the photo stills on the gopro 3+ are not so great. But I rarely take photos. However, the 1080@60fps is 3 times the data rate of the Vision + camera.

Also remember that the VIsion plus "digital" interference board has an in and an out. I plugged mine directly from the zenmuse port and ignored the interference board.

best thing about this mod is the ability to detach the camera and attach it to a dog.

 

[IflyinWY]

best thing about this mod is the ability to detach the camera and attach it to a dog.

Does it work best on a small, medium, or large dog? Do you have a video?

Funny finish Mako79.

Let us know how it turns out tribalpilot.

 

[tribalpilot]

Some have mentioned that they need to turn on gopro first or vice versa. Mine works either way.
Make sure you turn on the Gopro's OSD so you can see if you hit record or not.
Also use, default gain settings with the black ball dampeners to minimise any jello.
My only gripe is the photo stills on the gopro 3+ are not so great. But I rarely take photos. However, the 1080@60fps is 3 times the data rate of the Vision + camera.

Thanks Mako for the quick reply - you've convinced me to go for it... I'm definitely gonna try this. Couple of last questions...

1.) Can I still use the silver wheel on the side of the controller to tilt the GoPro up and down?

2.) I'm using an iPhone 6 - and just purchased FPV Booster 3 - should that work with full telemetry?

3.) I don't completely understand "interference" boards - I"m new to the "drone world" so this is my first venture into all of this.. I"m assuming this is some type of board to prevent different elements of the Phantom / Gimbal / Camera from interfering with each other? Is that correct?

4.) Do the "black ball" dampeners come with the Zenmuse H4-3D or do I need to buy them separately?

and also...

best thing about this mod is the ability to detach the camera and attach it to a dog

Not so sure about this... I detached the camera from the Phantom, and attached the Phantom to my dog - he wasn't too big of a fan! (It's pretty bad if my first "joke" on the forum is THIS lame...)

Thanks for your help guys! Really really REALLY appreciate it!
IflyinWY - I'll definitely let you guys know how it turns out...

Until then... if your'e interested.. here's the 1 video I actually was able to compile before I wrecked the camera on my drone! Looking forward to putting a GoPro on this and seeing how the video compares...

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/Pw0S24ztRDUPTpc

 

[Mako79]

Thanks Mako for the quick reply - you've convinced me to go for it... I'm definitely gonna try this. Couple of last questions...

1.) Can I still use the silver wheel on the side of the controller to tilt the GoPro up and down?

2.) I'm using an iPhone 6 - and just purchased FPV Booster 3 - should that work with full telemetry?

3.) I don't completely understand "interference" boards - I"m new to the "drone world" so this is my first venture into all of this.. I"m assuming this is some type of board to prevent different elements of the Phantom / Gimbal / Camera from interfering with each other? Is that correct?

4.) Do the "black ball" dampeners come with the Zenmuse H4-3D or do I need to buy them separately?

1. Yes - make sure you enable "upgrade mode" in the phantom assist.
2. Rumour says yes. I have the FPV booster v2 on android so I cannot verify.
3. Its designed to take out static in digital interference. You can still attach it externally. Refer to pic. The red is an analogue interference board (comes with the H#3D, and the blue is the Vision Plus board found on the main board. Honestly, they didn't make a difference. And you will notice interference lines when you attach the gopro. This is normal and can be removed by grounding.
4. Yes

And Bali and Nggingginem looks stunning from the air.

 

[tribalpilot]

Mako - thanks again for you help. Your advice has been INVALUABLE! THANKS!

3. Its designed to take out static in digital interference. You can still attach it externally.

Sorry, maybe I should stop asking questions until I actually get the parts "in hand" and I'm going to do the mod - I'm guessing most of this sense makes more sense when I have the H4-D3 sitting in front of me... (i am just about to order it...) So forgive me if I'm belaboring this point... but just to ask - so the interference board actually gets mounted "externally" ? Again, if all of this is just self explanatory once I get the H4-3D - just forget I asked....

Also, I actually have yet to pull the trigger on the GoPro Hero 4 - I was just going to order it when I first posted but after posting - figured I'd wait to hear everyone's response... I just found out that a friend of mine wants to sell his GoPro 3+ . Still waiting to hear a price from him... but depending on the cost he quotes me.... Do you think the GoPro 3+ is close enough in quality to the GoPro 4 that I should just save the money - or is the GoPro 4 a pretty significant upgrade from the 3+ ? Any thoughts?

[Edit: - internet was working a bit better for me today and I just looked at the video on this link: http://www.phantompilots.com/threads/impresses-with-my-new-phantom-2-h4-3d.40166/ Might have answered my own question in terms of which GoPro to get - that video shot with the GoPro 4 is pretty dang sweet!!]

 

[tribalpilot]

You can save yourself some money if you decide to go full time gopro. Use the money you save on the DE quick realease to invest in the H43D

Sorry Mako - one more question... I think after all of this, I'm gonna go with the GoPro Hero 3+ from my friend - he's giving me a good deal...

When I look to purchase the H3-3D zenmuse gimbal from B&H Photo - they list 2 kinds...
-
DJI Zenmuse H3-3D 3-Axis Gimbal for GoPro HERO3/3+/4 (Phantom 2)

and

DJI Zenmuse H3-3D 3-Axis Gimbal for GoPro HERO3/3+/4 (Standard)

If I have the P2V+ and want to go with the GoPro Hero 3+ - do I need to go for the "Phantom 2" model from B&H or just the "Standard" Zenmuse?

 

[Mako79]

Sorry Mako - one more question... I think after all of this, I'm gonna go with the GoPro Hero 3+ from my friend - he's giving me a good deal...

When I look to purchase the H3-3D zenmuse gimbal from B&H Photo - they list 2 kinds...
-
DJI Zenmuse H3-3D 3-Axis Gimbal for GoPro HERO3/3+/4 (Phantom 2)

and

DJI Zenmuse H3-3D 3-Axis Gimbal for GoPro HERO3/3+/4 (Standard)

If I have the P2V+ and want to go with the GoPro Hero 3+ - do I need to go for the "Phantom 2" model from B&H or just the "Standard" Zenmuse?

Get the phantom 2 model.
The standard will NOT work as it has GCU (gimbal control unit, these are for other multirotors and will NOT communicate with the phantom assist).

 

[tribalpilot]

Get the phantom 2 model.
The standard will NOT work as it has GCU (gimbal control unit, these are for other multirotors and will NOT communicate with the phantom assist).

Hey! A couple of weeks later, and I finally have all my parts and I'm ready to fly... Ended up with the GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition with the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal setup. everything seems good to go... just one problem... i can't seem to connect the new camera to the FPV Booster iOS app I have on my iPhone... it says there is no connection to the Phantom.

I CAN move the gimbal and hence the GoPro from my RC - so everything seems right...

What do I need my GoPro set to in order to communicate with my iPhone?

Do I need to "bind" the GoPro camera somehow with this new setup?

 

[Mako79]

Hey! A couple of weeks later, and I finally have all my parts and I'm ready to fly... Ended up with the GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition with the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal setup. everything seems good to go... just one problem... i can't seem to connect the new camera to the FPV Booster iOS app I have on my iPhone... it says there is no connection to the Phantom.

I CAN move the gimbal and hence the GoPro from my RC - so everything seems right...

What do I need my GoPro set to in order to communicate with my iPhone?

Do I need to "bind" the GoPro camera somehow with this new setup?

No binding is needed as i assume you still have the same range extender and wifi module in phantom.

Now i dont speak ios. Ive always used android (samsung note 4) and this works fine with the dji app.

Things you can try.
1. Power on gopro first then phantom.
2. Power on phantom then gopro.
3. Use ios with dji app. Enable ground station, swipe to ground statio and back and you should see fpv.
4. Get another android device and test
5. Make sure you dont have another device connected. If 2 devices connect to the range extender simultaneously, none will have fpv. Go to an open field or a place free of wifi devices.
6. Drop resolutions to lowest first.
7. Check the usb flex cable on the h33d moint and make sure its 100% and not damaged.
8. Somehow test if the gopro is outputting. It has a micro hdmi port. Plug it to tv and see if its working properly.

A rebind wouldn't hurt, as it may allocate a better wifi channel.

Let us know how you go..

 

[tribalpilot]

1. Power on gopro first then phantom.
2. Power on phantom then gopro.
3. Use ios with dji app. Enable ground station, swipe to ground statio and back and you should see fpv.
4. Get another android device and test
5. Make sure you dont have another device connected. If 2 devices connect to the range extender simultaneously, none will have fpv. Go to an open field or a place free of wifi devices.
6. Drop resolutions to lowest first.
7. Check the usb flex cable on the h33d moint and make sure its 100% and not damaged.
8. Somehow test if the gopro is outputting. It has a micro hdmi port. Plug it to tv and see if its working properly.

Ok, so i've been able to test 6 of your 8 suggestions so far with no change. The only ones I can't check are numbers 4 and 8. 4 - because I don't have an Android device and 8 because I don't have the cdmi cord needed. Normally, if I was back home in the States or in some other civilized area - I could probably get my hands on both of those - but I am currently working in a remote area of Indonesia - which means I can't get those things right now. Sorry if I haven't been able to test all of your ideas.

I still have no response. I'm wondering if possibly the WiFi on the Drone itself is shot?

** Important note: When i crashed the drone - it did become submerged in water - not salt water - but water none-the-less so I understand that means ANYTHING could be wrong with my Drone - I recognize that "normal" troubleshooting may not really work because the water could have shorted out anything or everything on this drone. I'm prepared to simply buy a Phantom 2 if I need to to replace this Vision+ plane. I'd like to explore all options though first to make sure it's really the unit that is bad - and not me - the guy trying to fix it just doing something stupid like not connecting things right!

Anyways - after I crashed the drone, the Vision+ camera was cracked up - mostly the gimbal unit. However, I successfully ran 4 or 5 flights with it and it worked fine - outside of no video feed being sent to my iPhone - due to the fact the camera was wrecked - but with the Vision+ original camera still attached - I got a complete read out of Satellite, speed, location, etc. etc. - everything you should expect to see on the DJI App. It would successfully return to home and all other GPS functions seems fined. Also successfully used the FPV Booster app for one last flight.

Now that I've taken it apart and connected all the wiring as per the post on rcrgoups.com - everything works - but I can't get my phone to connect at all with the phantom. The RC seems like it's working - able to power up the motors, etc. The tilt wheel for the H3-3D controls the ZenMuse gimbal fine.

this morning I opened the phantom back up and rechecked all the connections and they seem to be exactly how they should be as explained on http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2213815&page=17

*** One side note, when putting the drone back together - the plug on the orange box with the markings "M1, M2" etc on it came loose. There are 3 plugs going into that box and I'm assuming that has something to do with the motor control. The 1 plug that came loose was the one on it's own - not one of the other two that sit next to each other. From what I read online - I plugged it back in to the right spot - but I'm not positive I did. Right now it is plugged in to the bottom "right" corner of that box. (bottom right if you're looking directly at the plug). Not sure if this is right of if this can have anything to do with this.

I guess my question is.. do I just cut my losses and scrap this Phantom? Is there some way to verify the different units on the Phantom are working or not working? i.e.: Is there a way to figure out if the WiFi box on the Phantom is ruined?

One other side note: When I power everything up, and my iPhone connects to the Phantom Range Extender WiFi - it seems to connect alright - when I go into the FPV Booster app or the DJI Vision app - it shows I'm connected to the "Phantom...." wifi network from the range extender. My iPhone is assigned an IP Address but I don't get the little "wifi" signal in my iPhone status bar on the top part of the screen - and when I look in the settings, although my iPhone gets an IP Address assigned to it - I can't see any other info about the network - like the router address (i.e. - the address of the range extender) Could this mean there is something wrong with the WiFi box on the Phantom and there is just some strange communication problem between my iPhone, the range extender, and the drone itself?

 

[tribalpilot]

This is normal and can be removed by grounding

- Update -
So I went back to square one.... Unplugged everything and re-plugged the Vision + original camera back in - even though it doesn't really work anymore. Booted everything up - and wouldn't you know it... I got all the info back on the DJI Vision app on my iPhone once again - well, everything but an actual video feed as the camera is busted...

I unhooked the Vision + camera. Then I did a hard reset on the GoPro - just to get everything back to default. Then I hooked the Zenmuse Gimbal and GoPro all back up to the Phantom - and what do you know! It WORKS! It's about 10:00 PM here - so not gonna be able to try it out tonight - but first thing tomorrow I'll give it a go! I'll let you all know how it goes...

Final question before my first flight tomorrow... Mako79 mentioned that I can remove the white lines in the video feed by grounding. I understand those lines won't show up in my recorded video - but just out of curiosity - what wire would I need to ground inside the Phantom 2 to get rid of those lines? It's not a huge deal but the video feed to my phone would like so much nicer without them!

Thanks for your help!

 

[tribalpilot]

The Gopro and H#3D weighs more than the stock P2VP. The default gain settings do not suit the gopro + gimbal and as a result the vibrations cause the oscillations. You can overcome this by setting the gains to default and changing to the black stiffer dampeners.

Mako79 - sorry to keep bugging you! But what gains should I go with now with the P2VP with the GoPro 3+ and H3-3D... I did install the "stiffest" dampeners that came with the Zenmuse...

 

[Mako79]

Mako79 - sorry to keep bugging you! But what gains should I go with now with the P2VP with the GoPro 3+ and H3-3D... I did install the "stiffest" dampeners that came with the Zenmuse...

Congrats bro.
Set to default gains.
Try the stiff white dampeners. If they fail,
Then use the dark grey black dampeners.

 

[tribalpilot]

Congrats bro.
Set to default gains.
Try the stiff white dampeners. If they fail,
Then use the dark grey black dampeners.

Mako - thanks for all the help! I just came back from my first successful flight with the conversion - after the crash a month or so ago... Couldn't have done it without you and others on this forum!

Thanks everyone!

As far as the "lines" - yah - they're not super annoying at all... mostly I just thought if it was a super simple job to ground the GoPro - I'd go ahead and do it. It does seem like a pretty easy mod - but yah, I might not end up doing it as it's not that big of a deal.

IflyinWy - Thanks for your help as well! Really appreciate it! Everything so far is so working great!

Because of the crash I subjected my P2VP to, I'm taking it pretty slow with my flights after this conversion. My first flight today was only about 10 minutes - took it probably maybe 200 yards or so away from me. Weather in the distance seemed like a storm might be heading my way so I packed in in after just about 10 minutes of flight - but all in all - it was really a successful flight. Full telemetry and control!

Thanks everyone! Couldn't have done it without this forum!