ST16/camera problem

Brewsir · Sep 3, 2017

Ok, let me just start by saying my H has been gathering dust for a while. I live in Houston, and wanted to get it out and see if I could use it to help. Maybe find lost pets, or observe homes still flooded. Just, whatever I might do to help. I mistakenly assumed that most firmware issues would be resolved by now, so I updated the ST16 and the H to the latest. I calibrated the accelerometer, compass, and gimball. The first thing that I checked was stability, then a flew for a bit. The problem I'm having is that the camera refuses to face directly forward, it points forward at about a 45 degree angle. (After messing around for a while, it did get to where it would face forward, until the H and ST16 connected) I went into hardware monitor to check buttons and sliders, and discovered the K2 and K3 range is only half what it should be. So I enabled advanced and went into the channel settings, thinking I could change its range, but, either it won't let me, or I'm just ignorant (or both

). Anyone else experience this, or know how to correct it? Thanks in advance. Oh, and I'm sure someone will probably say, "Google is your friend". I tried that, and while I found issues, I didn't find my issue. I also called Yuneec support, but, the wait was going to be about an hour and a half. I have too many things going on right now to waste that much time on hold. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.

Steve Carr · Sep 3, 2017

Brewsir said:
K2 and K3 range is only half what it should be

Since you haven't flown in awhile, the pots probably have developed a film of oxidation on them. Get a can of electrical contact cleaner (safe for plastic type) and try to spray the sliders while rotating them. Let it dry and then check in Hardware Monitor again. I don't know if the spray will make it's way into the pots without opening the ST. But it's worth a try.
I doubt that is the issue with the camera alignment. Does the camera respond to K1 okay? When you flip both S1 & S2 to the top does the camera move straight ahead or is it at an angle?

A couple of other things to try. (I'll be gone most of the afternoon). Remove the camera and clean the contacts on the gimbal and the H with a pencil eraser. Reinstall and test. If it still isn't right then try the gimbal alignment. Follow the video below starting at minute 5:25. It can take several minutes for the alignment to complete and you may have to do it 2-3 times.

Brewsir · Sep 3, 2017

When I can get somewhere that would have contact cleaner I'll give that a try. If it was an issue of the contacts within the slider, wouldn't the odds of them both having exactly 50% range be kind of long? That, and it works fully within that range.

Oh, one other thing that I forgot to mention. The camera body gets hot. I don't recall it getting hot like that, but then I don't recall having to mess with it before, while getting some flying time in.

PatR · Sep 3, 2017

I've uploaded the latest firmware to a pair of H's and have not encountered any issues with either of them.

I haven't noticed either of mine getting hot in "normal" weather, but of late I've been flying in 100*+ weather and the H will become extremely hot to the touch after 6-9 minutes of flight. Camera as well. The top of the H will cause some discomfort to the fingertips in very short order. Recognizing you have likely already done this, have you tried a new gimbal calibration starting out with the tilt slider and pan knob in the center positions?

PSA: Careful flying around the Houston area right now. The FAA and first responders have made some very firm requests that nobody not authorized by authorities to fly drones avoid doing so for any purpose. There's a pretty large TFR covering the area.

Brewsir · Sep 3, 2017

I did the calibration with the H, as you stated, no dice. Cleaned the contacts with a pencil eraser. As far as flying in the Houston area, I live very close to IAH, and was going to call them before doing anything more than checking the operation of the H. There was a coast guard helicopter about 200 feet above my house just a few days ago, and I see Blackhawks fairly regularly, so, yeah, I wasn't gonna do much until I looked into it.

Steve Carr · Sep 3, 2017

Brewsir said:
I did the calibration with the H, as you stated, no dice. Cleaned the contacts with a pencil eraser. As far as flying in the Houston area, I live very close to IAH, and was going to call them before doing anything more than checking the operation of the H. There was a coast guard helicopter about 200 feet above my house just a few days ago, and I see Blackhawks fairly regularly, so, yeah, I wasn't gonna do much until I looked into it.

I only suggested the cleaner because I assume it was working properly when you put it away. If they look smooth and responsive in Hardware Monitor then you can do the ST16 calibration which should restore them to full scale. That should fix the slider issue but it's unlikely to help the camera.
The next step would be to create a new model, give it a name and then select a new camera and go through the binding process.

Rayray · Sep 3, 2017

I'm sure you've wiggled the sticks thru a lot of motion with the ST16 off, to see if action will help them.
Might try the secret menu, use magnifying glass search to find it.

Mickeyboo · Sep 5, 2017

The contacts themselves on the 480 may no longer be properly aligned or in place. This has happened to me more than once (I wonder if the contacts on 520 have been redesigned) look to see that the Typhoon 480 gold colored elevated pieces of metal are properly touching the camera connection points and have not become recessed, Meaning they are no longer standing at the same height and are no longer able to properly touch the gimbal contact points. The solution is to take a pin, I used a safety pin and use the pin to draw the recessed contacts back up and out to uniform height so they all make proper contact with the camera contact points.