I have read many of the issues regarding the X3 and or X5 on your Inspire's Video Transmission - I just want to give some tips until DJI has a update for those with trouble. I just took mine out and had ZERO issues and want to give my settings to see if it will help others. I did fly out quite a way's ( Over 1 mile ) just to show I was not in Ideal conditions, I live and fly on the Outskirst of Lansing- East Lansing Michigan so this was not done out in some remote corfield. Many of you may have already done some of these and still have trouble, and I am sorry.
FYI I have an Inspire 1 version 2 with the X3 and X5 camera systems and two remotes using Latest Go app and I pad Pro with GPS and Cell and a I pad pro without GPS and cell- both work perfect. I get MILES of distance In the right enviroment.
-Video problems that occur directly after an update to the Aircraft and Or RC transmitter are usually a caused by an older go app device , I have seen this 50 times , if you did the update correctly and suddently problems with video and it worked perfectly an hour or day before , look at the go app device as the more than likely culprit . And No you cannot rollback to a version of firmware on the Aircraft that is not in order . In other wrods if you updated to 1.10 you can only go back to 1.9. not back to 1.6. The RC is another story but wont do you any good to rollback 2 or 3 updates on that for the most part as the AC and RC MUST be on compatible firmware .
ONE BIG PROBLEM THAT PILOTS HAVE IS THAT THEY ARE NOT USING AN APPROVED GO APP DEVICE, THIS IS ACTUALLY A FLUID SITUATION. FOR EXAMPLE THE I -PAD MINIS 1-3 WORKED JUST FINE IN THE PAST BUT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS WILL ONLY SQUEEK BY NOW . THIS IS BECAUSE THE SIGNAL ENCRYPTION HAS BECOME MORE COMPLEX AND THE GO APP DEVICES PROCESSOR CANT KEEP UP ANY MORE . IF YOU CAN GET AN I PAD AIR OR PRO . (IF YOU CAN, GET THE PRO -STANDARD SIZE WITH GPS AND CELL AND 128 MB OF MEMORY get the A-9 or a10 processor ) THIS WORK THE BEST IN MY HUMBLE OPINION FOLLOWED By the Air .
NOT really Listed by order of Importance Keep in Mind , it may take ONE or ALL of the suggestions to work , usually there is one or two compounding culprits.
First some housekeeping :
Take a Moment and make sure you have clean contactes bewtween the camera and the Gimbal , take a rubber eraser and clean the contacts and also clean the contacts with some Alcohol or electronics contact cleaner , wipe the contacts with a electroniocs type" q" tip or a wipe with very little lint . Take yout time and do a thourough jod, do not bend or break anything -also make sure the cable from the Gimbal to the Aircraft is seated and not kinked or not seated all the way into the socket, look closely use a flashlight and manifying glass .
Also look for " Witness Marks " think of these as like footprints in the snow , proof that something is there. In this case look at the Cameras flat Mounting board ( Pic below ) make sure that you see contact marks on the copper , these should be even marks on all the copper circuit tabs . This is to make sure the two contact points on the are meshing well .
*** I have a picture at bottom of page , sometimes loosening the screws ( the two phillips ) just a little bit , say I turn each then re installing can give a better connection , only do this if having picture fading in and out , like loose connection .
Also be sure to inspect the 2 flat black cables from the Vibration board to the Aircraft itself , look for any crimps or not securly seated, you will need to move the vibration board aroujd and I suggest doing theis with the Camera OFF the vibration board . Look closely .
-If flying and notice a dropout of video siganal at say over one quarter mile , re orientate the AC so it is pointing squarly directly at you or away from you , ( YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TRY TO STAY ORIENTATED TO THE AIRCRAFT WITH THE AC AND RC. (remeber to keep as much of an unbroken laser beam between the AC and RC ) the antennas on the aircraft are located on the VERY front and VERY back of the aircraft, so try to keep these pointing directly back to the RC transmitter . Keep the RC antennas pointing vertically directly at the Aircraft at all times to get the best reception , I have seen pilots get tired and the RC transmitter and antennas are basically pointing down to the ground, hold it up high as if the Lanyard that came with your system that No one uses was still on there. STAY ORIENTATED ON THE AIRCRAFT, I try to keep the radar ( I know it is just t a symbol and not radar ) and the RC on the vertical line of the radar.
-watch video in post #2
-If you do decide to rollback the FW to the previous one ( LIKE I SAID EARLIER IF AT 1.10 CAN ONLY GO TO 1.9, can only go back one FW update in sequence ) be sure that you also do a full calibration to your system . Rolling Back and then updating again can sometimes be helpful to fix video issues.
- When rollingback or updating for the love of Pete , make sure that only one is running ( updating) at a time, if you are updating the RC leave the Aircraft OFF and Vicea versa, trust me in the beginning ( here on the forum ) this was a huge problem on this forum becasue having them both updating at the same time can corrupt the Video module on the AC and give the dreaded , "Device not Detected on lines 0800 and 1500 on the hidden file of the SD card. Then the only wayto fix is send it in to DJI. So avoid that please. And when Updating the Aircraft is always FIRST
Those who have video trouble may wish to do the 32 channel Update Or "Hack " (" Hack" is an ugly Obtuse word ) EDIT - try and put you video to custom mode and try channel 20, you can also then adjust the Video trans bit to a lower rate as well, slide to the left for best range ) Channel 20 does not share as many wi -fi bands in the USA like channel 13-19 do . Just another thing to "try " and see if it helps. If still having trouble go to "You tube 32 hannel Hack" , there are several How to Videos there. Make sure your PC has a Win RAR extract program if you try to load it . But like I say try Channel 20 in Custom Mode . This Update "hack" will NOT effect Control of the aircraft so dont worry about that , the update is only for Video Transmission . If you do update it and dont like it it can be deleted in 2 minutes so dont worry.
- Once Again - Dont use the Auto setting if you are having trouble , try and pick a quiet channel and test it out . This has solved many problems . Channel 20 is noramlly a relatively quiet frequency , normally ( sometimes does ) WI FI does not operate on this channel and is usually a good starting point to improve Video tranmission . ****some areas of the world cant use custom channels ....sorry .
- On the HD settigns page of go app : Be sure to lower the Bit rate to the Left as well to improve signal , sometimes if it is set at to high a value, the processor cant keep up and the siganl gets lost , this has solved many issues with por siganl dropout . . You will only be able to see this if you can go into CUSTOM mode , if you are in a country ( like the UK for example) that does not allow Custom mode then you will not see this option. ( I have heard that if you re set the Rc and Use the USA as your homecountry that it will work , Like I said Not sure on this just what I heard, do this for testing purposes if you wish )
-If you are using an apple device, I pad Etc. be sure to "Enable Hardware Decode " this helps take some of the load off the processor. This is under General Settings . Andoid users wont have this option. Also this works better with older "A" And "B" transmitters . from what I hve read "C" transmitters distribute the processing more evenly betweeen the RC and Go app so migh not have to Enable Hardware decode on this one BUT cant hurt either .
- If I record I do it on the SD card, so "disable" the "Record " feature on the General Settings of the Go app and also clear the Video Cache as well . This has worked great for many who have done it . Thsi jsut stop recording to the go app device and NOT affecting the SD recording.
- Make sure the Go app is the Only thing running on the Device ..... double check this .
- Maks sure you dont keep the last update on the SD card and fly with It , I heard a report that this can cause some video issues.... Not sure but you dont need it on there anyway so remove it or format the SD card.
- Make sure that you have full charges on the Go App device, RC and AC when testing your system.
- I have heard some having trouble with the SD card causing glitches in the video. Try a new one ( SD card ) if you can and make sure it is not over 64 gb and is the proper rating as well. Specs are on the DJI page .
-Make sure the cable between the Go app and the RC is of good quality and reliability. Having a good cable is a MUST! dont skimp here .
- Please only use approved go app devices , the one that was NOT APPROVED worked before you say...... keep in mind there have been a lot of updates and more complicated encryption . So bottom line make sure you are using approved devices. The DJI system is optimized toward apple devices, Once again , I dont make the rules I am just letting you know what works best.
- When Fireing up the system be sure to start with the RC Transmitter, then the Aircraft and the GO APP last , the Go app device can be on but dont open the App till last. Make sure that you clearly hear the " Home Point Recorded" at this point, that way you can hear any warnings called out from the Go App if there is trouble. Some say this does not matter ( the order ) but I have personally seen the Go app lock up if opened in the wrong sequence . ( LIke I always say , gather all the data and do what you feel is best ) . IF having trouble wiht getting all thigs to wrk, like say the bar graph on the HD or RC siganl is not coing up or other starge things try this . Withe the entire system up and running simp;y unlpug the Go app device from the Rc fro 5 seconds and then Plu it back in. This will usualloly bring things back up and running . I notice this On I pads running version 11.1 or 11.2 or go app 3.1.. Or if you ever get wonky reading son the go app this little trick will clear them up.......sometimes.
- If you can avoid it ,dont keep removing the Camera off the aircraft, leave it on , the more times it comes on and off the more likely a pin or wire is going to get bent . I find the best way to support the aircraft when installing the camera is to put it in the case with the fuselage in the top of the case. ( gonna have to try it out to see what I mean ) this way it is supported and you can line up and lock it in properly. 99.9% of the time my X3 is on the Aircraft, I have an X5 and only use that for some really good work shots, but if I had to I would leave it on as much as possible and use the Gimble lock. THIS IS JUST MY PREFERENCE, IF YOU CAN DO IT GREAT , IF NOT , I GET IT .
Member Paul Mcmullen had success fixing his X5 with intermittent video trouble by replacing his flat cables , there are two of them form the Vibration board to the RC and are worth Inspecting or just replacing , they are inexpensive and fairly easy to replace , Here is his post to me .
"This morning I changed Part 17 'Fast Mount Gimbal Port cable 'and transmission is now rock steady and dare I say even sharper! No Intermittent picture loss any more.
The old cables had kinks and the smaller of the two had even a bit of copper wire showing so certainly worth investigating for £3 ($4) and 30 minutes of your time (nose cone and Gimbal mount off). Probably one of the cheapest DJI spare parts as well.
The new cables are now shrouded whereas the originals are not which I am sure helps."
- I use a simple windsurfer that I purchased on E bay , It seems to help and it does keep the antennas properly orientated, it is not for flying directly overhead so keep this in mind. If you do get overhead , simply drop the antenna to the Horizonatal positon , not all winsufers will let you but mine does . OR
Sometimes you need to remove the Windsurfer during flight ( If flying real close or directly overhead ) but it removes in a jiffy . These are not a must but do help a bit and are a must for distance flying .
Story time regarding low poere and signal strength :
- keep in mind as the power gets low on the aircraft the video signal will start to get funky ( at distance , not close up ) , I found this out the hard way , I was flying over lake Huron ( in Michigan ) and filming my friends boat , it was a beautiful day and I got carried away , suddenly I heard the low battery Critical alarm ( dont know how I missed the first one but I did ) I am over water mind you and I have about 18% battery and the gear is coming down automatically , oh boy , I though I have pleanty of Power to make it 4,00 feet home ...WRONG at a distance of almost 4,000 feet ( still in my line of sight over water no problem ) I start heading to shore but now I notice the video signal , is getting garbled, coming in and out the video is green and dropouts etc. I had tested low battery many times but NOT at this distance , anyway I made it to land and found an open clearing suddenly I lost all siganl with 3% battery remaining and started walking towards the Besch grass, Lucky all was well. ( I picked a open spot of beach grass and when the Gear uato drops that craft is landing !!!! so moral of th story at low power, say less than 20% the video Not nearly as strong, I thought it would be but it is Not .
-On occasion do a re link of the AC and the RC top make sure you dont have a corrupted link . start by clearing any pre sets on the RC :
Try resetting the RC by using the following button combination:
* Turn on the controller, and the aircraft should be off.
* Press C1, C2, and shutter on the controller then turn the controller off.
* Turn on both the aircraft and the controller
You must now re link the AC to the RC .
Inspire 1 = HOW TO RE LINK ***After you do an update to the AC and Or RC you may loose connection between the RC transmitter and the aircraft . Once you confirm that you have the proper updates on the AC and RC go to the Remote contol Settings tab on the go app. go to the bottom and in blue highlight it will say "Linking Remote Controler". Before you press that , make sure you can find the Red link button on ther aircraft , it is inside the Main fuselage behind the right top silver nose cone screw , ( You do NOT have to take anything apart to find it ) may need a flashlight to see it. Once you find it have the AC and RC on and press link button on Go app , you will then have 60 seconds to press the red button on the aircraft, press and hold that button in firmly for about 5 seconds, let go . You should then have a success box on the go app.
For those new members ( Or those who want a refresher ) , be sure to watch the Antenna video below , this is crucial for understanding your system.
That is it - if anyone has anything to add let me know.. I realize this wont fix all problems but this is what works for me .
Donnie
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