Problem with camera mount

[griz11]

Noticed the camera on my H was sitting a little lopsided. Found the two missing fasteners but then found a post where that is the way they come from the factory so I kept looking. This is what I found.

I've flown it twice. No crashes so I assume this happened in shipping. Found the piece that broke off rattling around in the mount. Gonna try and super glue it but I doubt that will fix it. Kinda disappointed at the lack of strength in this area. The part is very thin. And that camera will fall to the ground if this happens to someone else. So I'd put a tie around it for sure. Now how do I go about getting this fixed? Hope I don't have to send in the camera that would really tick me off as I am about to go on vacation and had planned on taking the drone with me.

Dan

 

[Dragonflyerthom]

Call Yuneec that Is a very strong piece. Did you drop it?

 

[griz11]

Nope no drops although I did hear a noise when doing the gps calibration. A little popping sound but I hear the plastic creak a lot when handling it so didn't think anything of it. Wasn't turning it fast though so if it was then it was already cracked. Have to disagree on the strength. Those two pieces that fit onto the rail are very thin. Looks like that piece goes away with the Realsense cam which I'm going to buy as soon as they are released so hopefully since its carrying more weight it will be stronger. Cut down a velcro battery strap to fit around the whole thing so from now on I'll be flying with that. Might have been like this from the get go. I just noticed it when last night. Camera wasn't level. What's up with the missing fastners. Seems like 4 would be much safer after all they don't have bolts. Guess they are going for a break-away design to protect the camera if it hits something but if that is the case it needs some kind of a tether so it doesn't fall a long way.

 

[DroneClone]

Yuneec will fix it , call them, You can also buy the part on their site for minimal $$$

 

[BFD400]

That is a sacrificial piece (designed to break in a crash) to absorb the damage. I think I read on here that it is about $5. Call Yuneec and they will probably send you the piece.

 

[m20b_pilot]

Mine had the same issue. I only had one flight on it and I went to put the camera on yesterday when I found it that way as well.

 

[griz11]

Oh I'm not worried about them fixing it. Just don't want to have to send it back. Haven't heard any bad reports on Yuneec service at all. Well except for that one guy on youtube that complains about everything and loves his p4. I looked for parts on the website but only saw the wizard and terrestrial cam. I think I can fix it well enough for my vacation. Managed to glue the piece back on just letting it cure now. I have some extremely strong glue I use to glue carbon fiber together. It should hold it well enough with the strap. A velcro battery strap will fit between the two pieces and still allow enough movement. I saw a vid on yt a review where the guy had a problem with the camera mount and used a wire tie. I think he broke his trying to get the cover off. They need a couple of bright dots on that thing where you should grip it to remove it. I'd seen how to do it properly on a video but if I hadn't I might have grabbed the wrong area too. All but the most expensive gimbals are a bit on the fragile side. Weight being the biggest factor in making them that way. The rest of the gimbal looks to be nice and strong metal plates lots of screws. I'm wondering if the piece that broke is even going to stay on the drone when I put the R ealsense on it. I don't think it will. The few pics I've seen of the Realsense it looks like that block is incorporated in the camera mount. I bought this drone specifically because it has the Realsense camera. A buddy of mine has one already and has software working on it via ROS. Might end up putting one on my rover to go along with the Zed camera. They are a very nice camera. Tons more setup controls than you have with the Zed. And a ton quicker in fps that can be processed. The Zed is about 15 fps on a 64bit embedded tegra board with a GPU. 60fps with the Intel cam on the same board. You need at least 15fps for continuous operation. The human eye is basically a 18fps camera. The part would be easy to change. There are some wires on a terminal block you can see through the gap between the block and gimbal. So as long as you wrote those down before detaching its a no brainer to change it out. Going to see some night drone races tonight here in San Antonio. Lots of activity here and in Austin. Two drone friendly towns. Austin just relaxed its drone laws. Since the video on these birds is easily captured I'm hoping the Realsense video feed is broadcast as well as the regular cam or be able to switch between the two. If so I can capture that with the rover and use the images to create maps for autonomous operation. Easy enough to make the H follow the rover a piece of velcro and the wizard. Just a new bird niggle it happens. Not going to effect my view of the product in the least.

 

[griz11]

I forgot to raise the landing gear on one flight. Noticed some fairly heavy vibration on the vid. So I'm wondering if there are combinations of attitude and speed that could set up a big vibration and fatigue this attachment.

 

[griz11]

They are sending one out and I bought another one. They are 4.99. Part # YUNCGO3P101

 

[raymond captuo]

same exact thing happened to me....only thing is i didn't realize it until the camera/gimbal fell off from about 10-15 feet from the ground....i was initially disappointed because yuneec had me send in the camera/gimbal....they then tried to charge me for parts and labor, but later decided not to....I didn't think they believed me when i told them thats how i got it....no crashes no hard landing....i noticed the horizon was really tilted that day and brought it down...thats when the whole frigging camera/gimbal fell right off....i was dumbfounded...thank god it was only about 10-15 feet up...camera landed in the grass....no damage...i also hope that plastic piece is eliminated with realsense module...

 

[Buddy Collins]

They are sending one out and I bought another one. They are 4.99. Part # YUNCGO3P101

What SITE did you locate and purchase that part from?

 

[DroneClone]

Yuneec and Ingenious Ingenuity, NY has them

 

[Mickeyboo]

Call Yuneec that Is a very strong piece. Did you drop it?

That is not "a very strong piece" and is not intended to be so, they do not want that gimbal to remain attached in a crash thus
the thin bars of plastic. When I had a mishap in Iceland my gimbal broke away from H resulting in not even a scratch on the gimbal. All that needed replacement was the low cost square plastic top of the gimbal.

 

[griz11]

Yea I can see that the part needs to be sacrificial I just think its a little too thin. I think mine was broken while I did the gps calibration. I heard a little pop but its pops and creaks when you handle it so I thought nothing of it. Other than that no hard landings or hard handling. I'm going to be sure and pull the gimbal off when calibrating the H from now on. I think when its arms up there is too much torque on that mounting. I took a velcro strap and cut it pretty thin. Looped that through the opening between the gimbal and mounting block and up and over the piece it fits onto. Not really tight just enough to make sure it can't fall. You need to make it thin though or it will hit the gimbal and bind causing slipping when you pan makes the video stutter a bit if its too tight. Also be careful there are a few wires in that area make sure you go under those. If you make the strip narrow enough there is no binding anywhere and its safe. You will see it hanging unless you are way up there. And a smooth landing should keep it attached. Just needs to be a little thicker for sideways loads I think. Having been involved with lots of product roll outs I know its totally impossible to catch everything. What looks good on the computer and has the math to back it up will fail under conditions noone ever thought about. Or you get a run of parts where the plastic is out of spec. I don't think I'd be going out on a limb to think that someone is already looking at this part. Unfortunate your new machine fails and you have to wait to fly again but as long as they make it right I'm good. Went to a night FPV quad race the other night. Amazing. Those little things scoot. And flying FPV at night must be a real gas.

 

[TimboSlice]

I am very new to the drone world and the H, so forgive my ignorance in advance...

I have had my H for about two weeks, and noticed that the camera mount is only connected by two of the corners- not all four. After reading this post, I understand the need for the mount to be able to break away during a crash. It just seems to me like the camera is "barely hanging on" - finally a question- should all four corners be connected with the rubber piece? Like Griz- I am contemplating securing the camera on my own, but don't think I should have to.
Have only flown the bird 3 times - no hard landing. WHAT A GREAT DRONE! any insight appreciated.

 

[Dr Delta]

Hi Timbo,

Welcome to the forum and glad to hear you love the H.

All four of the rubber dampers should be connected. In two (opposite) dampers there is the safety pin. This is standard.
Some pilots add a (or two) loose loops of fishing line to make sure the camera does not break away from the drone in case of mishap. If it does the wiring between mount and gimbal may get seriously damaged (break) which results in a nasty repair.

 

[TimboSlice]

Hi Timbo,

Welcome to the forum and glad to hear you love the H.

All four of the rubber dampers should be connected. In two (opposite) dampers there is the safety pin. This is standard.
Some pilots add a (or two) loose loops of fishing line to make sure the camera does not break away from the drone in case of mishap. If it does the wiring between mount and gimbal may get seriously damaged (break) which results in a nasty repair.

Thanks for the reply - after further reading, I am think I am going to go with the light filament line as a safety precaution. I live on a big lake and will be flying a lot over water, and no chance to recover camera should it come off. Again, thanks, I at least feel better to know that the mount is the way it is supposed to be out of the box.