Need help with CGO3+ Camera after replacing main gimbal control board

Dayam · Mar 1, 2019

I recently got my hands on a Typhoon H Drone from a friend. According to said friend, the drone itself works fine but the camera had issues. The main problem was it would not tilt up or down but could pan left and right just fine.
I already checked the ST16 to make sure all the controls responded fine. I did notice that if i lightly pushed the camera while trying to tile up/down it would briefly work. So I know that the signal is going through to the drone. After looking at a few youtube videos on repairing, I came across that the main gimbal control board had some damage (corrosion). got some alcohol and cleaned off board and let it dry. plugged it back in hoping it would fix the problem only to find the camera going on the fritz. when powering on the drone instead of the camera resetting to home position, the camera now just swings around constantly in all directions. I can no longer control through the st16 any longer. i can still see camera feed through the screen though.

anyways i ended up ordering a replacement board from yuneec and installed it. good news the camera no longer swings around but now the gimbal doesn't respond at all. camera will not reset to home when starting up drone. can't control gimbal from st16. i can still bind camera and get a camera feed though. I've tried rebinding the drone and camera. I've updated everything to the latest firmware. am i missing something? or did i just get a faulty board from yunnec? i did take the camera apart futher and didn't see any other damage (no other corrsion or damaged wires). If i connected the old board the same problem comes back where it moves uncontrollably. i did see that on the yuneec site they stated "authorized service use only" which got me wondering if there was some special thing i can't do. i did test the drone itself and was able to fly it around without any problem. hoping this is something easy to fix and thanks in advance for any help.

Typhoon H CGO3+ Main Gimbal Control Board | Yuneec USA

us.yuneec.com

just in case you guys are wondering which part i replaced.

AH-1G · Mar 1, 2019

I think you need software to calibrate this? Call Carolina Dronz and ask.

Carolina Dronz

carolinadronz.com

Dayam · Mar 1, 2019

AH-1G said:
I think you need software to calibrate this? Call Carolina Dronz and ask.

Carolina Dronz

carolinadronz.com

thanks for the reply. i've contacted them but need to wait for their tech to come back from lunch. will update once i speak to them.

WTFDproject · Mar 1, 2019

[QUOTE=". i did see that on the yuneec site they stated "authorized service use only" which got me wondering if there was some special thing i can't do.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, there is definitely something you can't do when the camera is a plain CGo3, and maybe for your CGo3+. I don't know why Yuneec sold you the board with out ensuring you knew, one way or the other. For the CGo3, the board and camera have to go together to the "Secret Chamber", at your expense, before it will work again. Ever. Sounds like it may be the same for the CGo3+?

WTFDproject · Mar 1, 2019

Also, you may want to ensure you got all the connections in the correct place. This drawing can help with that:

cgo3+ Gimbal Board Connections WITH BEEP CODES.jpg

yuneecpilots.com

Steve Carr · Mar 1, 2019

Most gimbal repairs can only be done by an authorized repair center because of the special calibrations needed. You will most certainly need to send the camera in to get it working properly.

Dayam · Mar 1, 2019

thanks for the replies. still haven't received a call back but looking at the rest of the thread, it seems like sending the camera is the best choice.
the yuneec site did mention that some best buy locations are 'authorized repair centers' but have heard they are mostly clueless and unhelpful. luckily my local best buy is one of these locations. i figured i'd try them before shipping.

Steve Carr · Mar 1, 2019

Dayam said:
thanks for the replies. still haven't received a call back but looking at the rest of the thread, it seems like sending the camera is the best choice.
the yuneec site did mention that some best buy locations are 'authorized repair centers' but have heard they are mostly clueless and unhelpful. luckily my local best buy is one of these locations. i figured i'd try them before shipping.

You might get faster service if you contact Terrestrial Imaging or Carolina Dronz.

WTFDproject · Mar 1, 2019

Dayam said:
I did notice that if i lightly pushed the camera while trying to tile up/down it would briefly work.

I was just re-reading your original post and realized I missed that part. That was not a calibration issue, and not certain to be a symptom of a "bad board", per se. Originally, you had a bad contact somewhere (corroded?), or maybe a bad wire. If you still have the original board, you might be able to save the downtime and expense of shipping for repairs.
I know the first cleaning made the problem worse, but would you be willing to thoroughly clean the board again, blow it off with air while still wet, and see if it returns to something close to normal control? Since the board had salt contact, it would be more effective to use demineralized water to dissolve the salt, followed by alcohol to remove the water, and compressed air to better remove the alcohol.

Exactly WHERE and HOW were you pushing on the camera when it would start working again?