Long story short-the drone (phantom 3 standard) crashed and I had to replace a gimbal arm. Thought all would be well. It isn't. After booting up the DJI Go app and connecting as usual, I get no visual or telemtry. All antennas and cables are connected. Firmware is update. No idea what I'm missing here and why I can't see anything.

Maybe you can try Re-link your RC to aircraft hope this work for you.

Nelsonlee Posted at 2017-6-27 21:36
Maybe you can try Re-link your RC to aircraft hope this work for you.

Tried that too. No linking issues. If anything, it won't let me re-link it because there is no connection issue (so it says).

The data moves from the AC to the controller.  Then it moves from the controller to the mobile device.  Is your mobile device connected to the correct wifi?  For example, if it's connected to your home's wifi, it won't connect to the controller's wifi which means it will give you no FPV and no telemetry.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-6-28 07:42
The data moves from the AC to the controller.  Then it moves from the controller to the mobile device.  Is your mobile device connected to the correct wifi?  For example, if it's connected to your home's wifi, it won't connect to the controller's wifi which means it will give you no FPV and no telemetry.

It's connected to the Phantom3 network. It's all worked before I crashed. Now-nothing. The RC connects to the AC. I can fly it just fine with the AC and the controls move the camera gimble. I just don't get a visual or telemetry. Could something be wrong with the antennas that handle that?

You have two antennas which switch so I doubt it's the antennas.  Besides, you have said in post 1 that you "connected as usual" and in post 3 there is "no connection issue"

Are you sure all the gimbal plugs are fully inserted and fully seated?  

Just wonder how hard of a hit you took? Maybe knocked something loose inside the shell. So it does the dance and everything, flies, and gimbal functions with thumb wheel, but no video correct? I am guessing you replaced the ribbon cable to. They are pretty fragile. Re-check the connections to the gimbal motor and camera.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-6-28 10:56
You have two antennas which switch so I doubt it's the antennas.  Besides, you have said in post 1 that you "connected as usual" and in post 3 there is "no connection issue"

Are you sure all the gimbal plugs are fully inserted and fully seated?

All plugs are in securely. Cables snug in their slots.

RicardoGray Posted at 2017-6-28 11:35
Just wonder how hard of a hit you took? Maybe knocked something loose inside the shell. So it does the dance and everything, flies, and gimbal functions with thumb wheel, but no video correct? I am guessing you replaced the ribbon cable to. They are pretty fragile. Re-check the connections to the gimbal motor and camera.

It dances just fine. All runs well except the video downlink (and thus the telemetry). I did not replace the ribbon as it didn’t tear and the connections are seated and secured.

I just took off the top shell to confirm that all cables are seated. Everything appears normal. No breaks of any kind.

I think you better make it long story long because there seems to be details we are missing.

You say you RE linked the AC and everything is already linked correctly.  Are you sure?  

There are two initial connection procedures.  One is the "link" procedure which creates a link between the 5.8 controller and the 5.8 receiver.  Another is the "BIND" procedure.  The word "bind" is the word DJI uses to describe the initial 2.4 ghz connection which creates a two way link between the 2.4 controller and the 2.4 receiver and the mobile device too.  People love to mix and match these two words and procedures, but IMO it is best to be very very specific in exactly what it is you are doing so that the rest of us can figure out from a thousand miles away via text what the problem is.  Please do not generalize or assume anything.  

I suggest you start from the very beginning and tell us the long version specifically and precisely what is wrong, step by step, and try to use the correct words.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-6-28 17:03
I think you better make it long story long because there seems to be details we are missing.

You say you RE linked the AC and everything is already linked correctly.  Are you sure?  

The drone turns on. The control turns on. They link. Props spin up. Drone flies. No video or telemetry. No linking or binding issue I’m aware of. I can fly to my heart’s content but I’m blind doing it.

I don’t know what else to say. I’m a beginner here and don’t have the vast vocabulary some of you have in this world. Everything starts abs flies well but I just can’t see anything.

Hard to make a longer story out of what it is.

In the P3S manual, establishing or re establishing the 2.4 connection is called Wifi Video Downlink, and the procedure is outlined at the bottom of page 25 and also on page 26 of your manual.  You claim you have already successfully accomplished this and it is indicating everything is fine.  Are you sure?  What happened when you went through this procedure?  Please be specific.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-6-28 17:19
In the P3S manual, establishing or re establishing the 2.4 connection is called Wifi Video Downlink, and the procedure is outlined at the bottom of page 25 and also on page 26 of your manual.  You claim you have already successfully accomplished this and it is indicating everything is fine.  Are you sure?  What happened when you went through this procedure?  Please be specific.

I have obviously connected to the downlink before as this used to work. I have followed those instructions previously and have also reset the wifi link/password as well as it states on page 26. I am fully connected to the wifi network provided by the remote. This has all worked prior to my crash and I am now trying to determine why it doesn’t work anymore. If my app/phone are connected to the remote's wifi, why can’t I see the video and telemetry? Again, hard to get more specific than that.

Did you change the ribbon cables to the gimbal with new ones following your repair. This sounds like you may have a some damage in the ribbon as well as the actual gimball as well.

What do the signal strength indicators show?  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-6-29 02:31
What do the signal strength indicators show?

Doubt they show anything ... he does comment he has no telemetry !

Personally ... I would start from Zero One ...

I would unplug and replug cables whether replaced or not .....

go through every linking / binding procedure there is ... regardless of whether working now or not.

re-install apps .....

Because so much interacts with each other - who knows where the fault lies ?

Nigel

solentlife Posted at 2017-6-29 02:56
Doubt they show anything ... he does comment he has no telemetry !

Personally ... I would start from Zero One ...

On my AC connection, telemetry is not required to show one bar of signal strength.  

Daveb500 Posted at 2017-6-28 23:01
Did you change the ribbon cables to the gimbal with new ones following your repair. This sounds like you may have a some damage in the ribbon as well as the actual gimball as well.

I did not change out ribbon cables as I saw no apparent damage to the cable or connectors. I have unplugged and plugged. They all seat firmly.

There was damage to the gimbal. The roll arm was bent so I replaced it.

solentlife Posted at 2017-6-29 02:56
Doubt they show anything ... he does comment he has no telemetry !

Personally ... I would start from Zero One ...

I’ve done it all. Plugged and replugged. Bind and rebinded. Linked and relinked. Gone thru every reset stage I can find.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-6-29 03:29
On my AC connection, telemetry is not required to show one bar of signal strength.

No signal indicators. Like I said, no telemetry.

AmericanSisu Posted at 2017-6-28 16:43
It dances just fine. All runs well except the video downlink (and thus the telemetry). I did not replace the ribbon as it didn’t tear and the connections are seated and secured.

I just took off the top shell to confirm that all cables are seated. Everything appears normal. No breaks of any kind.

I know everyone is trying to help you and you are probably getting frustrated, but there isn't much else we can offer. It seems to me that like you mention, all was ok before the crash. In my mind you do know how to connect to the WiFi , etc. That is not the issue. Your equipment must have suffered some damage that you cannot see. I know these ribbon cables are pretty fragile. I have repaired quite a few broken gimbal arms and I have never re-used the ribbon cable. I may be wrong in my thinking , but I have always had good results with the repairs. Now if the cable is in fact ok, maybe some component in the camera has failed or been damaged. Have you taken the camera completely apart to look for anything suspicious? Do you have any friends or a hobby shop that you could maybe swap out your camera to see if it functions on another aircraft?

RicardoGray Posted at 2017-6-29 05:51
I know everyone is trying to help you and you are probably getting frustrated, but there isn't much else we can offer. It seems to me that like you mention, all was ok before the crash. In my mind you do know how to connect to the WiFi , etc. That is not the issue. Your equipment must have suffered some damage that you cannot see. I know these ribbon cables are pretty fragile. I have repaired quite a few broken gimbal arms and I have never re-used the ribbon cable. I may be wrong in my thinking , but I have always had good results with the repairs. Now if the cable is in fact ok, maybe some component in the camera has failed or been damaged. Have you taken the camera completely apart to look for anything suspicious? Do you have any friends or a hobby shop that you could maybe swap out your camera to see if it functions on another aircraft?

That would explain why I don’t have visual, but why don’t I have telemetry?

I can look into replacing the camera wire harness ribbon.

When I replaced the arm, every piece of the gimbal and camera were taken apart. No damage was evident.

I’ll see if a shop will let me swap cameras on the spot to test it.

AmericanSisu Posted at 2017-6-29 06:05
That would explain why I don’t have visual, but why don’t I have telemetry?

I can look into replacing the camera wire harness ribbon.

Yeah, I think the cost of a new ribbon cable will be minimal and at least worth the effort. It would be hard to verify all the pins on this cable. Probably just as easy to replace it and if it makes no difference, you can hang on to it and you will have look a little deeper. Hang in there.

[b]Hi,

I to am a beginner and suffered similar issues but with a P3A. In my case there was a heat issue causing both the video and telemetry link to fail. I purchased for $200.00 the P3A after it had been crashed and I wanted to rebuild it. In the P3S the video and telemetry transmitter are located on the gimbal control board. I also have a P3S and as I look at gimbal control assembly  I see several small coax cables going to it. The coax cables are connected to the down-link antennas. If one of those cables are broken internally the RF signal from the AC would be reduced to almost nothing. Try putting the remote controller very close to the AC and see if the video returns. If so you may have a damaged coax or antenna. However due to the fact the camera gimbal took enough of a hit to bend a arm I would be looking for a damaged gimbal control board.  On my P3A I was not able to locate a replacement gimbal board and had to purchase a complete camera. NOT CHEAP! But I did get the video and telemetry link going again. Also had to replace the radio board but on the P3A the radio is separate from the gimbal board.

Good luck, I'm sure it will fly again.

~Bill

There are two thin grey and black cables with ufc connectors and the ribbon cable that goes into the camera. If the camera was jolted loose of the mountings, the ufc connectors may have come loose at the camera/gimble end, or deeper in the main body at the wifi receivers that are the end of the gray and black cables. I had to replace my wifi receivers when a crash threw my  camera assembly off my p3 tearing the grey and black cables off the ufc connectors on top of the camera/gimble assembly. There are two covers over the attachment points of these ufc connection on the gimble/camera and have to be removed to check the ufc connection. The ribbon cable, too, may have been damaged as others have stated.
Otherwise, send it in.

BMelody Posted at 2017-6-29 08:03
Hi,

I to am a beginner and suffered similar issues but with a P3A. In my case there was a heat issue causing both the video and telemetry link to fail. I purchased for $200.00 the P3A after it had been crashed and I wanted to rebuild it. In the P3S the video and telemetry transmitter are located on the gimbal control board. I also have a P3S and as I look at gimbal control assembly  I see several small coax cables going to it. The coax cables are connected to the down-link antennas. If one of those cables are broken internally the RF signal from the AC would be reduced to almost nothing. Try putting the remote controller very close to the AC and see if the video returns. If so you may have a damaged coax or antenna. However due to the fact the camera gimbal took enough of a hit to bend a arm I would be looking for a damaged gimbal control board.  On my P3A I was not able to locate a replacement gimbal board and had to purchase a complete camera. NOT CHEAP! But I did get the video and telemetry link going again. Also had to replace the radio board but on the P3A the radio is separate from the gimbal board.

Thanks for the thoughts, Bill. I too am starting to think it's the gimbal control board. While everything else on the gimbal works, the signal doesn't seem to be transmitting.

Putting the AC closer hasn't changed the outcome.

The grey and black cables and their ufc connectors were some of the first things I checked. They are both seated correctly in the gimball. I also followed them up into the top of the drone to check for breaks and crimps. All looked good. They end in their transmitters that have been untouched.

stuka75 Posted at 2017-6-29 08:10
There are two thin grey and black cables with ufc connectors and the ribbon cable that goes into the camera. If the camera was jolted loose of the mountings, the ufc connectors may have come loose at the camera/gimble end, or deeper in the main body at the wifi receivers that are the end of the gray and black cables. I had to replace my wifi receivers when a crash threw my  camera assembly off my p3 tearing the grey and black cables off the ufc connectors on top of the camera/gimble assembly. There are two covers over the attachment points of these ufc connection on the gimble/camera and have to be removed to check the ufc connection. The ribbon cable, too, may have been damaged as others have stated.
Otherwise, send it in.

I've looked at those cables and connectors very closely. They and the wire harness are seated correctly. I followed them up into the drone and they are all in their right place without breaks or crimps. I wish it was just those as it's an easy fix. I'm beginning to think it may be the gimbal control board those connectors seat into.

Go into your DJI Go App, Go to the settings where you can change the WiFi name and password of the Drone. Give it a new name, does not matter what name you use, then change password. Exit out of App. Restart your Remote and Drone, then go and connect to the new name you used and password. Go back into DJI Go app and see if this fixes your problem...This is how I have corrected the same problem with 2 different drones that had the same problem.

fans4f7c3d1d I was having the same problem had a crash and no video or telemetry then I did the name change and password change and it worked thanks for the idea.

AmericanSisu Posted at 2017-6-29 05:45
No signal indicators. Like I said, no telemetry.

Looking at your telemetry you are getting nothing from the phantom. also your wifi is greyed out, so it looks like your wifi is not connecting. Is your 4g on the phone interfering? For some reason its knocking out when you connect the camera. On some Android phones its is advised to go to airplane mode to prevent the 4g trying to take over. Just trying to look at this from another angle.

AmericanSisu Posted at 2017-6-29 05:45
No signal indicators. Like I said, no telemetry.

Do you have any signal of the Copters WIFI on the mobile phone or tablet on the WIFI settings? If not then may be the WIFI module of the copter is broken or do not have any voltage of it.

fans4f7c3d1d Posted at 2017-7-1 22:44
Go into your DJI Go App, Go to the settings where you can change the WiFi name and password of the Drone. Give it a new name, does not matter what name you use, then change password. Exit out of App. Restart your Remote and Drone, then go and connect to the new name you used and password. Go back into DJI Go app and see if this fixes your problem...This is how I have corrected the same problem with 2 different drones that had the same problem.

Thanks for the suggestion. Just tried and it didn't fix the issue. Changed the ssid and password and still nothing.

Daveb500 Posted at 2017-7-3 02:34
Looking at your telemetry you are getting nothing from the phantom. also your wifi is greyed out, so it looks like your wifi is not connecting. Is your 4g on the phone interfering? For some reason its knocking out when you connect the camera. On some Android phones its is advised to go to airplane mode to prevent the 4g trying to take over. Just trying to look at this from another angle.

Just tried it via airplane mode and only wifi and it still didn't work. Thanks for the tip.

Peterx Posted at 2017-7-3 04:18
Do you have any signal of the Copters WIFI on the mobile phone or tablet on the WIFI settings? If not then may be the WIFI module of the copter is broken or do not have any voltage of it.

This could be it. I don't have a way to test the voltage, so I may just order the part to test it. Knowing that I can see the WiFi and connect to it, does that mean it's working ok?

If you can see the Phantoms WIFI in the WIFI settings on the phone or tab and can connect it to the phantom then the WIFI module seems to be ok.  If this module is ok and you can´t receive any data of telemetry and no pic then may be these signals don´t reach the WIFI module. Look for the plugs of the signal cables for sure. There can be an invisible break on the cables or plugs. Can you control the copter with the RC normally ?  

fans4f7c3d1d Posted at 2017-7-1 22:44
Go into your DJI Go App, Go to the settings where you can change the WiFi name and password of the Drone. Give it a new name, does not matter what name you use, then change password. Exit out of App. Restart your Remote and Drone, then go and connect to the new name you used and password. Go back into DJI Go app and see if this fixes your problem...This is how I have corrected the same problem with 2 different drones that had the same problem.

Buddy...you are friggin brilliant!!!  I've had the same problem as the guy who began this thread and I've read through all this crap.   Then along comes the one friggin guy who takes a complex problem and helps me solve it in one friggin sentence.  Thank you for taking the time to help out on this forum!  You are a genius.

Peterx Posted at 2017-7-9 00:19
If you can see the Phantoms WIFI in the WIFI settings on the phone or tab and can connect it to the phantom then the WIFI module seems to be ok.  If this module is ok and you can´t receive any data of telemetry and no pic then may be these signals don´t reach the WIFI module. Look for the plugs of the signal cables for sure. There can be an invisible break on the cables or plugs. Can you control the copter with the RC normally ?

The black and gray cables are connected and seated correctly in the wifi module. I've checked them all. I may replace them just to be sure.
The AC can be controlled perfectly with the RC-just no telemetry or video.

Peterx Posted at 2017-7-3 04:18
Do you have any signal of the Copters WIFI on the mobile phone or tablet on the WIFI settings? If not then may be the WIFI module of the copter is broken or do not have any voltage of it.

I’m pretty sure I’ve narrowed it down to the OFDM board. After taking it apart I notice a slight bend in the board. I bought new downlink antennas, tested them and found that wasn’t the solution. It’s got to be this board. Problem though, I can’t find it anywhere! The closest I can find is a board for an A/P not a P3S! Any help?

You may ask DJI,will that boards are compatible to the P3S. If thy can answer with "yes" then try to use it if ti´s not too expensive.

I had a similar problem getting a gimbal board for my P3A. In my case (P3A) the gimbal boards are not available. The only way to get one was to buy a new camera. You may find yourself with the same problem. You may find a working board form a crashed camera/gimbal assembly but it is a crap shoot. You may have to bite the bullet and but a new camera/gimbal assembly.

I believe the only board that will work in the P3S is the P3S and nothing else. It is a specialized board and the only gimbal board I know of that includes a radio section.

Look very close at the board looking for a cracked SMT part or a component that one side has lifted off the board. Use a microscope if one is available. Lift the shields from the board, the radio is under the shields.

Good luck,
~Bill