Hi,
I tried flying my drone at the weekend and I noticed it now has a strange "flutter" where it is rapidly oscillating when in stable flight. I managed to land it and today I recalibrated the IMU but again when I flew it again it still had the wobble. Here is a video with the wobble at 6 seconds and at the end, apologies for the quality but I didnt want to crash the drone while filming it!


Any ideas what I could do to debug it?

Aloha fanscbb,

     Good to be cautious, but in this case and judging from the recorded sounds of your camera, you seemed to get a wind effect at 6 to 9 seconds.  The test for this is to record video on to your SD card to see if the gimbal compensates for the wobble.  If the video is smooth, then it was just wind effect.

     You will be amazed by the gymnastics your P4 can pull off to stabilize a shot.  I was shooting in the mountains here with a 17 mph side wind and I swear my P4 was tilted like a beret.  Not to mention the wobbles left and right!

     Good you are observant and concerned.  I think you have nothing to worry about, but that does not mean you should ignore the situation.  Keep an eye on it and observe other wind related situations.  It is an education.  Be sure you are doing the IMU, gimbal, RC and compass calibrations correctly.  Properly managed, the P4 is an amazing bird.

Aloha and Drone On!

It looks like a P3A to me....
Still, i think its got alot to do with the conditions.

Could you please clarify which Phantom model you have?
Have you tried to do the IMU calibration on a completely flat surface?

Do it again wirh no wind because it seems the wind is causing it to do that

Phantom3ProPilo Posted at 2016-11-22 12:40
Do it again wirh no wind because it seems the wind is causing it to do that

Hey all, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! It is a phantom 3 professional running 1.9 fine for the last few months. Yes it was windy when I flew it for the video, but I wanted to get some footage showing what was happening. I flew it again when I got home. It happened again but it is difficult to see  in the dark!


I have recalibrated the IMU twice on a flat surface and still the same problem. Anything else I should look at.

Another thing that may be a red herring. Just before I had the problem at the weekend, When I turned it on it did a firmware update, which was strange because it was updated months ago. I recently got a new battery so I thought it must be updating the firmware on it but I was flying with new battery before then and had no problems. This evening it said the firmware on my controller wasnt up to date. A bit of a strange error.....

I have two P3P's that do the same thing. They used to be rock solid stable, but those days are gone! I didn't matter if there was some wind or not,.. it use to be stable.

MJLSTUDIOS Posted at 2016-11-22 22:02
I have two P3P's that do the same thing. They used to be rock solid stable, but those days are gone! ...

Im sorry but i have to Agree i had one and it was even worse then this video in windy conditions and also without wind i returned it.

Hawks100 Posted at 2016-11-22 00:56
It looks like a P3A to me....
Still, i think its got alot to do with the conditions.

Aloha Hawks,

     Oh yeah!  I missed it.  Still wind though and even more justification for wind wobble.  The P3P and P3A are no where near as stable as a P4.  I was stretching it thinking it was a P4, but P3A much more confident that it is a wind wobble.  Mahalo for the correction!

Aloha and Drone On!

Hi All

I have recently updated my P3S to the new firmware.  I had to use my Ipad to get the update to show up.  Now when i use my galaxy S5 it says Firmware Ver N/A.  Anyway when I flew it the other day I noticed it moved around a lot when I took off and tried to let it hover.  it used to sit rock solid, there was no wind.  I have not had a chance to try again but it is very similar to your 2 videos.  Will try and try again in the next day or so.
cheers
Adrian

Hilarious - mine has just started doing the same thing. One day I was flying it, nothing was updated or anything in between flights, then I pulled it out when my mate got his Mavic and we did a test hover and thats when it started wobbling like yours !

fanscbb82d58 Posted at 2016-11-22 09:09
Hey all, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! It is a phantom 3 professional running 1.9 fine ...

Aloha fanscbb,

     Well, I stand corrected again but in my defense the camera angle is difficult at best.  None-the-less the problem should not be a game changer for your flying.  But, you should always be observant as you appear to be doing and approach all ventures carefully.  The earlier you spot and understand a problem, the more survivable it is.  

     BTW, I meant to ask if you are touching the sticks at all in these videos?  Because stick settings and calibration have a big effect on wobbles.  Also find a good location for a compass calibration and then leave it alone after you calibrate it.  The ideal location for compass calibration is well known on the Forum.  If you get too close to a large metal source (heavy equipment, metal structure, etc.), then go back to that ideal calibration location and calibrate again.  Never leave your P3P near metal.

     I went through a period of wobbleness with my P3P, not extreme but enough to make landing in the narrow confines of my back yard way more difficult.  Even a P2 was more stable.  In other threads I have said I calibrate the IMU at the drop of a hat and I still do.  If I have more than 30% left on a battery, it is a good excuse to calibrate.  I have a level available at all times and my picnic table is the most level in the neighborhood and the jungle.  

     After a while my P3P started getting stable again and is way better now.  Be sure your remote controller is 10 feet or more away from your P3P when doing compass and IMU calibrations or so it has been suggested here on the Forum - and no metal.  Be sure your level calibration platform has no metal in the frame.

     Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

SmItLeR Posted at 2016-11-23 10:39
Hilarious - mine has just started doing the same thing. One day I was flying it, nothing was updated ...

It would be far easier to judge the amount of drone movement if the camera were being held still. You are moving all over the place, maybe back up a little too.
I notice that the camera is vibrating pretty well too. Have you checked your prop balance?

KM5RG-Robert Posted at 2016-11-22 23:50
It would be far easier to judge the amount of drone movement if the camera were being held still.  ...

I was thinking props maybe as well.
doesn't take much unbalance to show up in flight ...

SmItLeR Posted at 2016-11-22 16:39
Hilarious - mine has just started doing the same thing. One day I was flying it, nothing was updated ...

Aloha SmItLeR,

     Robert and Kirk are pointing you in the right direction.  Your P3P is not wobbling, it is vibrating.  This is mostly caused by unbalanced props.  You can test this by putting all new DJI source props on the P3P and see if the vibration goes away.

     Prop balancers are available for P3Ps 9450 propellers from numerous stores.  If you are handy, you can look at the design of the balancer and configure something that will tell you if your propellers are out of balance.  If they are out of balance, you might want to invest in a balancer.  Balanced props are also quieter and more efficient so your P3P performs better and lasts longer.

     Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

fansc41bc860 Posted at 2016-11-22 16:18
Hi All

I have recently updated my P3S to the new firmware.  I had to use my Ipad to get the update  ...

Aloha Adrian,

     After a firmware update, you really need to calibrate your remote controller, compass, IMU and gimbal.  This will really help stabilize your P3S.  Be sure to calibrate your gimbal before the IMU.  For me the camera turns out more level when I do it.  If it is different for you, do the IMU before the gimbal and see how that works.

     Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

It looks like a really severe vibration to me, more than just an unbalanced prop, more like a prop with a nick in it or a bit missing.

I would check motor screws for tightness. If a motor has come loose, then it might move causing an in balance.

To be honest in the videos it seems more like the drone props are out of balance but due to them saying it flew just fine before the update I don't think that's the problem...
Look at the gimbal from @SmItLeR videos, you can clearly see that the whole camera unit is shaking in all directions. Really looks like an unbalanced prop but even he said before the update it was fine so I think DJI just did something wrong with the update.

Hi guys - I really appreciate the help and feedback, very much appreciated!

Regarding my videos, I've tested the drone with 3 different (full) sets of DJI props, 2 of the sets were brand new with the plastic wrapper still on the hubs! Unless I'm really unlucky and went from having a perfectly fine drone, to all of a sudden having issues with 3 full sets of props :\ very bizarre !

I've also gone through all the motors and wiggled them in their cradle (with the props off) and they are all seated fine, but I nipped up the screws anyway underneath just to be sure.

I'll keep hunting and see what I can come up with.

Cheres,
Brad

SmItLeR Posted at 2016-11-23 06:04
Hi guys - I really appreciate the help and feedback, very much appreciated!

Regarding my videos, I' ...

It's clearly out of balance. Have you run it without props. If there is no vibration when you fire it up without props then it is definitely one or more props. Besides the gimbal there are only 4 moving parts which really narrows it down.

Has anyone rolled back the firmware yet to see if this resolves the issue.?

EpicLPer Posted at 2016-11-23 05:43
To be honest in the videos it seems more like the drone props are out of balance but due to them say ...

I agree, the update. I have the same issues. Severe vibration. Brand new props, no difference. I have tried everything. Every calibration and set to defaults. I just posted a tread about my issues. I wish there was a way to downgrade everything.

Hawks100 Posted at 2016-11-23 11:45
Has anyone rolled back the firmware yet to see if this resolves the issue.?

How do you do a downgrade? I get message that the firmware  is a lower version and it wont let me do any downgrading.

RSW Posted at 2016-11-23 08:32
It's clearly out of balance. Have you run it without props. If there is no vibration when you fire ...

I take back my declaration that it is clearly out of balance now that others are reporting this after a firmware upgrade. It could be firmware related if there is a rapid fluctuation of RPMs in one or more motors. This would cause up and down motion of the arm(s) with the affected motor(s).

i looks lookes it can be downgraded  

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... ote_en_20160613.pdf

RSW Posted at 2016-11-24 00:32
It's clearly out of balance. Have you run it without props. If there is no vibration when you fire ...

I've managed to get it cleared up, using the same props. It was definitely not a prop balance issue, I knew this from the beginning because the last time I used the drone it was working perfectly, I placed it in it's hardcase with the props off, and they were safely away from anything that could press against it inside the case. I got home from work, pulled the drone out and put the props on and flew just like I did every other time and it started vibrating - plus I tried with 3 separate brand new pairs of props, all having the same issue.

I'm just editing up a video of my fix now so everyone can see.

I'll revert back once I finished fumbling my way around FCP :\

So I've managed to fix my gimbal vibration issue.
I spent the time today to create a level platform, calibrated the IMU, Gimabl, Compass and Transmitter - put on the same set of props that I used when the vibration was happening, and this was the result:


Then I took off the props and started some work with the drone. The first thing I needed to do was to complete a walkthrough of my property, this is when I noticed that the vibration would come back sponteneously, at random points :


I walked around the house after that trying to invoke thi vibration, but I couldn't do it. so weird!

I'm leading to believe it is a software issue, it's not a prop, motor issue.

Cheers for reading!

SmItLeR Posted at 2016-11-24 19:54
So I've managed to fix my gimbal vibration issue.
I spent the time today to create a level platform, ...

There is something very odd going on there, during the last clip, I saw and heard the anti-drop pin on the left side rattling. That can only happen if something in the gimbal is causing one of the gimbal motors to oscillate. I think your aircraft needs to go in to be fixed.

I still think its due to an update issue.
People are reporting the same thing with P3S,P3A and P3P.
They cant all need to go in for repair following a recent update.

Cetacean Posted at 2016-11-23 19:24
Aloha Adrian,

     After a firmware update, you really need to calibrate your remote controller,  ...

Cheers Cetacean,

will do that before next fly and see what it does.