Q500 4k camera problem

[Thunder horse]

I have been working on my q500 4k camera and have replaced the wifi board,but still controller says, can't connect with the camera when I try to bind the camers! Any body have any suggestions? The camera was a crash cam I got off eBay.The camera had no visible damage,only three broken wires. I taped them up and used the jumper wire for camera drone connection!

 

[WTFDproject]

Main question: Does the LED on the front of the camera flash green?
Next question: Does the camera ID show up in white on the bind screen?

Some other stuff that might provide a clue:
Does the camera stabilize?
Does the camera respond to tilt?
Do you hear any beeping sounds from the camera?


As a side note, you really ought to get rid of those three black wires sometime. At some point when it's convenient, see this thread:
Removing CGo3 "Three Black Wires"
Note the second post is that thread might have some bearing on your current issue.

 

[Thunder horse]

Ok went back in and removed the broken wires,camera does respond to tilt,does stabilize can only here the fan running in sied have a green light on front of camera!! Could there ge damage on main board in the drone itself? Board with broken wires shows no damage,and yes it does show up in white on bind.That is when I get the can't connect to camera warning!!

 

[WTFDproject]

Could there ge dammage on main board in the drone itself?

No. Lack of video signal does not indicate a problem with the drone mainboard. (The video signal is a direct 5.8ghz WIFI signal that goes directly from camera to controller.)

The new WIFI board has a different signal than the original. It has to be re-bound to the controller just as if it were a new camera. You mentioned binding, but in a way that I'm not sure if you meant the actual bind process had been completed, or if you were just referring to connection.
Have you re-run the actual camera bind process?

You did not mention whether the white camera ID showed on the controller bind screen, so for the moment I will assume it did not, and make the following suggestions to start narrowing the possibilities. If the white ID is showing, these suggestions have less potential for providing a clue.

I THINK you also have a Typhoon H with a CGo3+ camera available. If so, these combinations can help us troubleshoot:
1.) The CGo3+ video WIFI is the same as the CGo3. Can you bind the CG03+ to the ST10+ to determine if the controller is working? The CGo3+ can be powered either by the Steadygrip or the TH while binding to the ST10+. Don't bind the drone, just the camera. Again, the camera bind process has to be run the first time.
2.) Also mount the problem CGo3 camera on the TH and see if it will bind to the ST16 controller. This will determine if the CAMERA is actually good.

IF neither combination works to produce a visible image, that is also a clue.

 

[h-elsner]

A good indication to troubleshoot is an WiFi Analyzer on you mobile, tablet or notebook. Simply just to see if a WiFi hotspot was set up and how strong the signal is.


The problem may be caused by a broken antenna cable in the cam. It's nearly impossible to measure something there but a visual check is worth to do.


The red arrow points to the most sensitive or problematic part.

br HE

 

[WTFDproject]

Board with broken wires shows no damage, and yes it does show up in white on bind.

I don't know how I missed that, but I did. The camera ID showing up on the controller is a big deal. Now we need to find out where the process is failing. In other words, it's time to run the "Binding Verification".
The verification is not fun. It will take as much as 30 minutes. But it has solved many such mysteries. Please work your way through this thing, carefully looking for the exact responses. The main goal is to find the place that "Nope. It's not doing that." That's where you stop, and come back to the thread with the news. Knowing where the sequence fails helps us figure out WHY it's failing.

Binding Verification - ST10+ / Q500

 

[Thunder horse]

OK problem solved! I was not seeing what I was seeing!! Sound crazy? Yep,What got me thinking was the binding process,the drone when being bound asked for a simple password and the bind process was complete ! Now here is where I missed the boat everytime. My first drone was a crashed DJI phanton 3 standard,Why you ask? Well I like to fix things that are broken and gives me something to do. When you enter the DJI world, you log in with a password to get to the flight controls and that is it. Now with the yuneec's you login with the password and username to get to the controls and when you bind the drone,you input the password and the drone connects.I was thinking the q500 4k was like the DJI and camera was all one item!! not so! The q500 also has to bind the camera which I new,but like I said about the DJI, I was over looking the password The minute I added the password the bind was finished Many thanks to all who helped me with this,had you not mentioned the bind process I would have never looked back,cause I was in the DJI frame of mind LOL!!

 

[Thunder horse]

Is there an adjustment to increase the upward tilt on this camera?

 

[h-elsner]

No unfortunately not. This feature came with Typhoon H and CGO3+.

br HE

 

[BigRHS]

I am sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is the purpose of the 3 black wires you are talking about?
I usually subscribe to the thought of " if it isn't broke don"t fix it " but it sounds like these wires can cause more problems than their worth.
I am asking because I just bought a Q500 4K a couple of days ago and still have not flown it for the 1st time. I am trying to learn as much as possible about the bird first, plus I have just been too busy but, I plan to do my 1st flight with it this weekend.
Is this something I should do before I do a flight ?
Been on here reading like a mad man and have learned a lot. This is my 2nd Yuneec drone. My other is a Mantis Q. I also have a F450 and a couple of other drones but nothing as nice as the 500.
Thanks

 

[WTFDproject]

I am sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is the purpose of the 3 black wires you are talking about?

They supply the camera with power, and with the signal that controls manual control tilt. They run from the three contacts you see on the camera mount (the "hotshoe") down to the gimbal board. This makes putting the camera on and taking it off slightly more convenient because you don't have to plug the camera into the Q500. That's the benefit of the three black wires.
The down side of the three black wires is that it is common for the rubber dampers to get pulled out by relatively minor mishaps. The wires then get yanked off the gimbal board, often causing damage to the board. If the board survives the initial event, it is often damaged when the operator powers the camera up using the pigtail without securing the remains of the wires.
Some folks try to avoid the damage by anchoring wires between the board and the hot shoe contacts. I've seen tie wraps, knots, small clamps. All work to an extent. This helps avoid damage to the board during the initial event, but does not remove the concern of subsequent damage if the wires are not repaired or properly secured prior to using the pigtail.
Folks think that if the wires are pulled off the contact board, they are no longer powered up. That is wrong. The gimbal board ends of the wires are traced to the same places as the wires from the pigtail. If the wires are still attached to the gimbal board, they are energized by the pigtail. If they are still connected to the hot shoe, they are still powered by the hotshoe. If they are broken somewhere in the middle, they are powered from both ends when you power up from the pigtail. (Powered from both ends is what can happen if you secured the wires via one of the anchor methods.)
This is a matter of personal preference. If the convenience of the hotshoe outweighs the risk of damage to you, then leave as is, and try not to crash. I prefer to remove the wires. Like many folks, I store the drone with the camera mounted anyway. And I have had to repair or replace enough damaged cameras.

 

[BigRHS]

They supply the camera with power, and with the signal that controls manual control tilt. They run from the three contacts you see on the camera mount (the "hotshoe") down to the gimbal board. This makes putting the camera on and taking it off slightly more convenient because you don't have to plug the camera into the Q500. That's the benefit of the three black wires.
The down side of the three black wires is that it is common for the rubber dampers to get pulled out by relatively minor mishaps. The wires then get yanked off the gimbal board, often causing damage to the board. If the board survives the initial event, it is often damaged when the operator powers the camera up using the pigtail without securing the remains of the wires.
Some folks try to avoid the damage by anchoring wires between the board and the hot shoe contacts. I've seen tie wraps, knots, small clamps. All work to an extent. This helps avoid damage to the board during the initial event, but does not remove the concern of subsequent damage if the wires are not repaired or properly secured prior to using the pigtail.
Folks think that if the wires are pulled off the contact board, they are no longer powered up. That is wrong. The gimbal board ends of the wires are traced to the same places as the wires from the pigtail. If the wires are still attached to the gimbal board, they are energized by the pigtail. If they are still connected to the hot shoe, they are still powered by the hotshoe. If they are broken somewhere in the middle, they are powered from both ends when you power up from the pigtail. (Powered from both ends is what can happen if you secured the wires via one of the anchor methods.)
This is a matter of personal preference. If the convenience of the hotshoe outweighs the risk of damage to you, then leave as is, and try not to crash. I prefer to remove the wires. Like many folks, I store the drone with the camera mounted anyway. And I have had to repair or replace enough damaged cameras.

Thanks so much for that info, that clears that up for me. I will most likely be storing mine with the camera attached also, but does detaching the wires effect the warranty or cause any issues with Yuneec's customer service in any way if you do have an issue and need them ?

 

[WTFDproject]

Many, if not most, manufacturers will deny a warranty claim if ANY modification has been done. IF you are concerned about the warranty, don't remove the wires without at least talking to them.

 

[BigRHS]

Many, if not most, manufacturers will deny a warranty claim if ANY modification has been done. IF you are concerned about the warranty, don't remove the wires without at least talking to them.

Thanks again for the reply and info.
That's pretty much what I figured so I may do the zip tie fix for now and when the warranty is over then do the removal.