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Q500 4K - CGO3 camera troubleshooting help...

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OK, had a hard landing last week when a propeller lost a blade about 25-30' into a flight. Fortunately the landing was on a thick lawn and after replacing the landing skids and snapping the camera back together I'm encountering the following issues....

1 - Camera won't connect? Doesn't show up? Red light on the camera is on. Camera faces downward only.

2 - Lights keep flashing on the drone even after acquiring 14 SATs. Turned GPS off and was able to test motors which seem to be working fine but lights continued to flash even while the motors were running?

Any assistance on how to troubleshoot this and getting my bird back in service would be greatly appreciated. We have vacation plans next week and was hoping to bring it along to the beach.
 

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Very good first post, but some clarification is still needed. The words in bold italics are from your post:

"snapping the camera back together"
What did you have to snap back to together? If the rubber dampers came out, we need to talk about the three black wires, and possible damage to the gimbal board. (The pictures suggest it was just the camera nose)

"Red light on the camera is on"
Which red light? I can't be sure from the picture. Is it the red light beside the camera lens, or the one up in the gimbal board area? The picture suggests the one beside the lens, but your thumb is over the small hole that should show the light. The fact the nose cover was off, added to the apparent dispersal of the red light, suggests the clear plastic rod that focuses the light got jammed back into the camera board, causing damage.

"Lights keep flashing on the drone"
Please describe the color and pattern of the flashing lights. Can you identify the pattern from the chart below?
Have you tried to power up the drone with the camera dismounted?
 

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Last edited:
snapping the camera back together"
What did you have to snap back to together? If the rubber dampers came out, we need to talk about the three black wires, and possible damage to the gimbal board. (The pictures suggest it was just the camera nose)

Yes, just snapped the nose back on.

"Red light on the camera is on"
Which red light? I can't be sure from the picture. Is it the red light beside the camera lens, or the one up in the gimbal board area? The picture suggests the one beside the lens, but your thumb is over the small hole that should show the light. The fact the nose cover was off, added to the apparent dispersal of the red light, suggests the clear plastic rod that focuses the light got jammed back into the camera board, causing damage.

See attached image...

"Lights keep flashing on the drone"
Please describe the color and pattern of the flashing lights. Can you identify the pattern from the chart below?
Have you tried to power up the drone with the camera dismounted.

I think the light pattern is the normal blinking pattern that it does before I have enough SATs connected for flight. I will double check that and also compare to the chart you provided ib your post.
 

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Made a short video with the light pattern at start up...


Also noticed a solid orange light visible from above through the vents...see pic below.

20190918_195137.jpg
 
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Made a short video with the light pattern at start up...
Also noticed a solid orange light visible from above through the vents...see pic

Light pattern: Yes, that is the normal pattern while waiting on GPS lock. Please note that "acquiring" and "Locked" are two different things. The drone may "see" satellites that are not strong enough to calculate a "lock". This happens sometimes if you are indoors, or in some other place that interferes with good GPS.

Solid orange light visible through the vents: That is the receiver. It goes through a pattern of flashes at different frequencies during different stages of the bind process. It glows solid orange when a full bind is achieved.

The big problem is the red light and camera position. Normally, the solid red light indicates a problem with the camera board or the sensor (lens) board. But neither of those problems explain why the camera is hanging straight down.
If you level the camera by hand with power ON, will it stay level? Will it do so with power OFF?
 
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If you level the camera by hand with power ON, will it stay level? Will it do so with power OFF?

No & No, it returns to the downward position as soon as I let go either way.
 
Can you check to see if the 3 wires are still connected to the board seems to me you don't have power to the gimbal if is returning face down after you manually moved.
 
This is a long shot. It almost sounds as if the camera "rolled" all the way around backwards during the event. There are two plastic stops that normally prevent this. Try this:
With power OFF, roll the camera by hand both up and down. In each case, it should stop solid BEFORE the nose hits the Yaw motor.
 
When you have power ON, do you see ANY lights in the gimbal area? You will have to look close, as they are pretty well hidden by the gimbal enclosure.
Can you hear any beep codes from the camera, or any buzzing sounds from the gimbal motors?
 
20190918_213722.jpg

No beep codes from camera. Yes, humming noise from Gimbel motors almost like a fan running. Also noticed while testing the stops that it will 'rest' while facing backwards without dropping back to the downward position.
 
There actually is a fan on the WiFi board. That may be what you are hearing.
Not sure what happened to the camera. It really looks like it is "wound up", and trying to return forward to it's normal position. But that doesn't seem possible without breaking the stops.
You didn't mention any lights up in the gimbal board area. I suspect you have at least two problems, and maybe three. One is just the position thing, which could probably be resolved by removing the front half of the shell, and rotating it forward to it's normal position. (the stops are part of the front shell)
The solid red light could be something unplugged inside. Or a broken wire or two.
The apparently dead gimbal system is the most worrisome. The gimbal board has two main functions. It provides power to the camera itself (two separate circuits), and it controls the gimbal. The gimbal control is almost completely separate from camera power, and I worry that it is damaged. If you could see any lights up in that area, it would be of help to at least make a guess at possible repair.
 
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