I thought I would start posting some tips and tricks to help avoid some common problems I see coming into our shop. TIP from Drones Toronto Do not land on wet and especially wet and salty surfaces with the DJI Phantom units equipped with gimbals. The bottom of the gimbal has a ribbon cable that is exposed where it enter the motor for pitch control. If this ribbon cable becomes wet, it will short out. Even a wet driveway or sidewalk is sufficient to damage the gimbal. If it is exposed to salt, it will turn the copper green and corrode it in addition to the likelihood of shorting out. At the moment there is little that can be done to repair gimbals in this state. Replacement parts are not available and used but functional ribbon cables are rare. Used circuit boards can not be tested to ensure they are functional. The amount of time required to disassemble and reassemble these units also adds to the repair cost. For these reasons, we generally advise clients to replace the gimbal if it badly damaged, has a torn ribbon cable or shorted out cable or circuit board. Ribbon cables for the Phantom 2 Vision + gimbal are available from AREA51Drones or DJI authorized dealers. The fist is about $100 and the DJI option is about $200 and includes three motors, middle arm and the all important ribbon cable. Our success rate with reviving these gimbals by replacing damaged ribbon cable is only 15-20%. Circuit board level damage also appears to happen when the cable is cut or short circuits.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 01:50:29 +0000
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