Typhoon H gimbal seems dead

[edliew]

Hi everyone,
New here and hoping someone might have an idea what's wrong with my Typhoon H gimbal.
Haven't had much flying with the drone and kept it for some 3 years now. Took it out for test and on powering up, the gimbal was spinning in all directions very fast. Don't remember it booting up that way. The camera will beep in 2 long and 1 short sequence none stop with the lens pointing down.
So far I've tried:

1. gimbal calibration, nothing happens.
2. rebind the camera with the drone, no improvement.
3. reinstall the upgrade firmware, nothing changed.
4. follow a few youtube video and dismantle the gimbal to check if any wire connection came loose, seem fine.
5. mount back the gimbal and it's still the same.

Also, all my 6 batteries have swelled, only 2 still kept power (usable) and the blue light on the charger indicating the other 4 batteries have error.
Has anyone had this kind of problem before? Appreciate all the help.
Regards,
Ed

 

[Chris Koch]

Very warm welcome to our Yuneec forum Ed, I am sure that some of our clever staff members will be able to help you

 

[edliew]

Very warm welcome to our Yuneec forum Ed, I am sure that some of our clever staff members will be able to help you

Thank you Chris

 

[WTFDproject]

Has anyone had this kind of problem before?

There are several possible problems (seems there always are). But the implied long storage and the code described in your original post brings one in particular to the forefront.
There are three small ring magnets used in association with the position encoders. They are subject to spontaneous degradation over a period of time. The "Roll" magnet and the "Pitch" are particularly susceptible. And problems on either of those axes tend to produce behavior on the "Yaw" axis (spin). The code you mentioned is the pitch encoder error. Its encoder/magnet is under the hub on the camera's right arm. Please check the magnet under the pitch encoder for degradation. The image below is an extreme example of degradation. The magnet degradation symptoms start with only weak magnetism. The symptoms progress over time to a few light flakes of chrome, and then continue to the mess shown in the picture below. The roll axis is similar and is under the encoder at the rear arm. If neither magnet is bad, we can discuss other possibilities.

 

[DoomMeister]

The beep from the camera is the pitch encoder/motor per Attch 10 in the attached document. The encoder can be replaced without having to send in for calibration (no end user software to do the calibration).

I see @WTFDproject posted some information so I will skip to the batteries.

It is likely the batteries are beyond saving at this point. If you are still using the OEM charger it is likely they were not kept at storage level when not in use, and sitting for three years without attention does not bode well for them. You need to use a multimeter to check the voltages of each cell. Report them in a reply here for each battery. I’m also attaching a document to show how to read the cell voltages.

 

[edliew]

@WTFDproject @DoomMeister Thank you for the info. Will check the mentioned encoder over the weekend. Update you with the outcome.
Thanks again.
Ed

 

[DoomMeister]

@WTFDproject @DoomMeister Thank you for the info. Will check the mentioned encoder over the weekend. Update you with the outcome.
Thanks again.
Ed

If you have a multimeter please post the readings for your batteries. If the swelling of your batteries is slight and they slide in and out of the aircraft without rubbing or binding they may still be usable (at least for ground operations).

 

[WTFDproject]

Will check the mentioned encoder over the weekend. Update you with the outcome.
Thanks again.
Ed

This new document may be of use for checking the pitch magnet. The same basic ideas apply to the roll magnet.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[edliew]

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the late reply, was on a last-minute assignment. Just open the gimbal motor and it was dirty. Notice that the magnet was missing (no idea what happened to it). After cleaning and replacing the magnet (from my old damaged Typhoon), the beeping stop but the head is still not right. Please refer to the photos and video. Any idea what's wrong?

 

[WTFDproject]

Just open the gimbal motor and it was dirty. Notice that the magnet was missing (no idea what happened to it)

That "dirty" stuff IS the magnet. That's what happens to them when they are really degraded. I think yours is the new worst example we've seen.

You may get lucky by moving the pitch magnet around in small increments and get it close enough for the camera to function. You also need to ensure the similar magnet on the Roll motor at the back of the camera is strong enough to produce a good signal. Mostly it sounds like it will be necessary to send the camera for repair/calibration.

 

[edliew]

Video link of the gimbal after booting up

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[edliew]

That "dirty" stuff IS the magnet. That's what happens to them when they are really degraded. I think yours is the new worst example we've seen.

You may get lucky by moving the pitch magnet around in small increments and get it close enough for the camera to function. You also need to ensure the similar magnet on the Roll motor at the back of the camera is strong enough to produce a good signal. Mostly it sounds like it will be necessary to send the camera for repair/calibration.

Hi @WTFDproject
Thank you for the reply. I must say you did an excellent job with the PDF troubleshooting menu. It makes understanding matters so much clearer.
I'll open it to check the roll motor now. Update later.
Thank you again.
Ed

 

[edliew]

Open and install back both pitch and roll motors. Sadly the result is the same.

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Photo is of the roll motor.
Any idea how much will a used camera cost?
Ed

 

[WTFDproject]

Just saw the video. That's what I call the "crazy dance". It generally means things are out of calibration, but also can result if any of the motor/encoder/IMU/UART plugs get swapped around or damaged by accident. Did you have anything unplugged on the gimbal board?
The camera is slamming around without the covers in place over the gimbal board. Check to ensure none of the connectors on the board got hit by the arm and cracked the solder.
John Mitchell at Yuneec Skins offers a camera repair service and also has cameras for sale. He ships world-wide. Shipping might be expensive. https://yuneecskins.com/all-product...mera-repair-estimate-service-cg3-cmr-rpr-stm1
An Ebay search might show up a camera closer to your location.

 

[edliew]

Just saw the video. That's what I call the "crazy dance". It generally means things are out of calibration, but also can result if any of the motor/encoder/IMU/UART plugs get swapped around or damaged by accident. Did you have anything unplugged on the gimbal board?
The camera is slamming around without the covers in place over the gimbal board. Check to ensure none of the connectors on the board got hit by the arm and cracked the solder.
John Mitchell at Yuneec Skins offers a camera repair service and also has cameras for sale. He ships world-wide. Shipping might be expensive. https://yuneecskins.com/all-product...mera-repair-estimate-service-cg3-cmr-rpr-stm1
An Ebay search might show up a camera closer to your location.

Thank you @WTFDproject. Will contact Yuneec Skins to check on repairing the gimbal.
Appreciate all the assistance.
Ed

 

[Pier2162]

@WTFDproject : what is the reason of that degradation on the magnets?
Is it because of bad quality, humidity, bad storage or what else?
I'm a little concerned about my cg02 and Cg03 cameras...

 

[Vaklin]

The price of the nickel is the root cause. The second one is a planned degradation.

Lifetime Products are not good for manufacturers.

 

[WTFDproject]

@WTFDproject : what is the reason of that degradation on the magnets?
Is it because of bad quality, humidity, bad storage or what else?
I'm a little concerned about my cg02 and Cg03 cameras...

I have no idea why it happens. The comment by @Vaklin about the nickel suggests it may be an interaction of incompatible alloy/materials in the magnet itself, or possibly interacting with the surrounding materials as an unintended "sacrificial anode". Storage conditions do not seem to be an issue. Most of the examples I have seen were on cameras that were otherwise clean and undamaged. I have no way of knowing the full history of the affected cameras so can't comment on any effects of local environment.
The degradation seems to occur only on one size of the magnet. This size is used on the pitch and roll encoders of CGo3, CGo3+, CGoET, and on the pitch encoder of the C23/E90. The CGo2 series has no pitch and roll encoders.
I don't recall seeing the degradation on any other magnet size. That does not mean it does not exist. It just means I haven't seen it.