WHERE DID THE DRONE GO?

     Have you noticed the lack of drone footage in the last few videos? Well back when we went to visit the Stewart homestead in Green Swamp we had an Issue. On the way out we crossed a large open area and went to launch but the gimbal just kept twitching around. I did not crash it and no hard landing. The message said “Gimbal Overload.” I tried resets, on the side, upside down and yet not change. No obstruction found. Two months later I final ordered a new ribbon.
   The repair… how hard could it be? The gimbal is small, very small. The screws that hold the shell together are 1.5MM that kind of small. The ribbon is fragile, thin, and flat. The ribbon winds and folds its way around each of the 3 motors. The tabs are very, very small and each one must be attached to a small toothed plug. There is only one way to attach it correctly, or it will fail. If you pinch it wrong it will break. Heavy sigh… I have done many repairs on electronics and vehicles over the years and this has to have been one of the most brain wrecking one ever. The whole thing is around the size of a walnut. After removing the old ribbon with no visible damage, I put it back on a couple of time just to work out how it would wind its way around. The 3rd time I put on the new one, hoping that it was going to fix the issue. If I had hands the size of a squirrel it would be a breeze.
      With that all said and done, I have rebooted the drone and was able to calibrate the gimbal. How long will it last? Not sure but the next time it should be easier because I have done it 3 times so far. Now to chase down that squirrel and get the gimbal back.

THINGS OF NOTE:
Follow a video when taking apart the drone.
The front of the shell is hard to get apart.
Take plenty of photos along the way.
Don't pinch the new ribbon.
Practice with the old one.
Make sure you remove the glue on each connection. especially the two right behind the forward sensors.
Take your time.

TOOLS:
Small Philips head.
Tweezers.
1.5 mm Allen head.
Tray to lay out the parts.
Jewelers Magnifying glasses.

​The ribbon we bought on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/36xDHJ9

Jewelers Magnifying glasses.
https://amzn.to/2sYryya

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