Phantom 2 Vision+ Gimbal Calibration ?

[Joseph DAchino]

Hello.. I am having problems with my phantom 2 vision plus gimbal and do not know if there is a way to calibrate it. I do understand that if the camera is not sitting level or is acting wildly, one can disassemble the gimbal arm back and properly align the trimmer and realign the camera on the x-axel. I followed the directions below and it did not solve my problem, although i did ever so slightly level out the camera, which was nice.
realigning the x-axel
<http://ninoransenberg.com/2014/07/16/how-to-fix-a-vibrating-shaking-crazy-p2v-camera-gimbal/>


My problem is that the gimbal is vibrating with an audible noise that ramps up and then stops. This noise accompanied by the shake cycles itself so much that the camera capture has a bad Jello effect. This happens in flight as well as when you turn it on resting. The other problem i am having and not sure it is related, is that the camera moves in one direction, like it is looking over its shoulder sporadically shown here.
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/k86f4c ... 69.MOV.mov?dl=0>

Here is a quick background of how i got to this place...
1. had my first and only crash with the phantom 2 vision+. The crash involved my user error and fell directly down from about 4' to grass. The camera separated from the gimbal arm and broke the communication cable.

2. I found a repair shop via a friend's referral and paid to get it repaired. The repair shop sent the gimbal back to me physically assembled and visually looked repaired. As soon as i mounted it back onto my Phantom 2 vision+ it started acting up on a work bench... I checked all firmware thinking that could be the problem via the PT2 OS X application. All firmware is up to date and still having problems. Made sure communication cables were snug, only had 2 drop kit posts installed, etc..

3. I then went out to try and fly to see if a quick flight with the gimbal working would 'heal' the problem. Here is the footage from the flight.
<https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64985637/Videos/jello .m4v>


4. I then waited to see if the repair company contacted me back. My initial correspondence to them was on friday and i waited until the following tuesday late in the day to touch base again, this time via text. I was texted a FedEx receipt on the shipping back to me from the tech so i had his cell number. I kindly asked if he could please read my email as i have been having problems since the repair came back. No response. It is now the following Monday afternoon and not even an acknowledgement from the tech or the repair company for almost 1.5 weeks now


5. So i recorded the gimbal shake last night so i would have some evidence of the event showing the problem on the ground after power up. Here is the video of that...
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/k86f4c ... 69.MOV.mov?dl=0>


I am at a loss here.. At this point i feel like i got burned by a repair shop who i paid a few hundred dollars to repair the issue (but less than a new $650 gimbal and camera combo, lesson learned moving forward) from a trustworthy friend and just looking to somehow figure out what is going on and what i need to do to repair the issue. It is killing me that i can't fly and take video now.

Please please help me

Joe

 

[ccase39]

Did the repair shop have experience with Phantom V plus gimbals and cameras? If not there could be a lot more involved than simply fixing the camera mechanically.

Don't have an answer to your overall issue but to answer your original question on calibration I just did one. Do a stick calibration in RC assistant first by plugging your controller straight into computer via cable. Move your sticks according to directions and move your gimbal wheel from one extreme to the other. Hold at each extreme a few seconds. Finish according to directions and power cycle controller.

Next go into Vision assistant. Go into the RC tab and you will see where you can calibrate sticks and gimbal separately. Calibrate sticks first and then calibrate gimbal wheel as you did in RC assistant. Remember to hold it for a few seconds at each extreme. Repeat until it reads zero.

Check and see if controller is up to date. If not update it and then do calibration.

Hope this helps.

 

[Joseph DAchino]

hello ccase39.. thank you for your reply.

i do not know if the repair shop had extensive experience with the Vision+ camera, but i know the person that referred me had his vision+ camera repaired by him and he did not seem to have issues with the rig after he got it back... That was the main reason for trusting not only the referral but also the repair shop. granted, i believe the other repair was not as involved per my cursory understanding of the ribbon cable being replaced and some other minor adjustment made. That is all i know about it.

Thank you for your insight on how to do a stick calibration, i do appreciate the positive feedback. I am going to try and recalibrate as you specified and see if that makes any difference. I did do a stick calibration like you suggested by plugging in the controller and then also going into the Vision assistant and calibrating as well when the craft came back from repair to make sure all was zero'd out... Will not hurt to try to do again.

Thank you again for your advice. Will try and recalibration when i get back into the office and post my results here.

have a great day.