Hi,

I just purchased a "deal" (ha ha) from B&H Photo out of NYC, a REFURBISHED P2V+ quad.
When I powered it up, the 3-axis gimbal did it's power up routine all seemed well... the camera was pre-set at start-up to point downwards at about 30 deg. angle.... which is normal... I've owned one of these before.

I'm using my iPhone to run the P2V+ camera app.

But when I tilt the camera to level position, there is a relatively loud buzzing noise coming from the gimbal assembly and if camera is left in the level position, within a minute or less the iPhone camera app shows the warning "check for camera obstructions" and the gimbal's camera TILT function in the iPhone app no longer works and buzzes very loudly.

If I TILT the camera down back to the 30 deg. down angle, the buzzing is lessened but doesn't go away completely.

The P2V+ I used to own never had this problem nor the buzzing sound in the gimbal.

If I TILT the camera back to Level or if I TILT the camera straight down, it buzzes loudly.

Sometimes if I TILT the camera to either Level or Straight Down, the iPhone on-screen app will show that the camera must be in the complete opposition position... in other words... if I have it TILTED straight Level, the on-screen app shows that it's pointed straight down  and   visa versa.

The gimbal/camera unit looks un-bent, looks perfect, no dings or scratches, looks completely normal.

And here's the "fun" part, when the camera says there's an obstruction when clearly there is NO obstruction, I cannot TILT the camera up or down anymore, it is stuck in whatever position it happens to be in. BUT, if I pick up the quad and move it about, the Gimbal keeps the stuck camera perfectly level but then the buzzing stops and the "check for obstructions" warning in the iPhone app disappears (goes away) and I can TILT the camera again until I set the quad down on a flat surface at which point, within a minute or less, the "check for camera obstructions" warning re-appears and locks the camera TILT function all over again.

I've surfed YouTube and the 'net for this problem and I'm very thorough and have found no solutions. All I find are articles, forums, and videos on how to re-level the camera by removing the back cover off the motor directly behind the camera to see if the "key" motor axel is in the right position... which it is... but I do not have a level problem... I HAVE A BUZZING GIMBAL THAT GETS STUCK AND SAYS THERE'S A CAMERA OBSTRUCTION WHEN THERE IS NONE.

I capitalized that last statement because I've inquired elsewhere on the 'net about this and only get replies or references to how to level the camera... my camera IS LEVEL.

So if anyone here knows how to stop the buzzing, how to clear the "check for obstructions" warning or even how to completely reset the 3-axis gimbal (if that will fix the problem), please let me know.

I've contacted B&H Photo about this but they closed at 2pm Friday and Cust. Serv. will not be re-open until Monday morning and if I can somehow solve this on my own, I'd appreciate any help / advice anyone could offer.

Otherwise I will attempt a RMA return to B&H, but something tells me that even though this is a REFURBISHED unit, they are going to deny me a refund or replacement unit. It has been my lifetime experience that if I buy a REFURBISHED anything, it will work out of the box... and clearly this doesn't work out of the box.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Bert

My .02 is that if there is no apparent damage to the camera and no obstructions as you state...AND I BELIEVE YOU..Is that the previous owner probably left the gimbal guard on during their initial setup or through some software/firmware upgrades and it could be fragged/fried, that said, there may be some videos around about taking it off, good luck...Did you try any firmware updates for the camera just for the heck of it, not likely to matter but no harm, no foul!

Northofthe49,

Thanks for the input.

True, I have no idea if the previous owner powered it up with the gimbal lock still on it. And I can't really tell by feel if this buzzing problem comes from the gimbal motors or if it originates from the big square gimbal "motherboard" above the gimbal assembly.

All I wanted was a "spare" Quad for my work if my primary quad was down for maintenance or some such... hence the reason I bought this bargain from a reputable retailer. I've been buying from B&H since the 1970's and they are by far the best to work with. So I'm hoping they'll exchange this quad for another or refund me my money (and hopefully not store credit) so I can resolve this issue.

Yes, when I powered it up for the first time, I updated all firmware/software for both the quad and the TX remote. There is no camera or gimbal update to download from DJI unless that's all included in their standard update software I downloaded, in which case, yes, everything is updated. This unit has the "old" TX remote without the tilt wheel on the side. I have a spare "new" TX remote with the tilt wheel but do not want to bind that to this REFURBISHED quad if I end up sending it RMA back to B&H Photo.

If anyone else has any possible solutions, please let me know.

Bert

Hi Bert, I have the same problem. Did you resolve yours ?