Phobotic CenterPiece Owners Thread.

[jfro]

I'm running GH3/ Gh4 with small lens and I'm running pretty good on the 3.34 firmware. I spend more time Tuning than I did with the last firmware. I'd autotune then go noodle around with yaw follow.

Now I have to mess a bit with tuning, but new firmware has a soft setting for yaw follow that works pretty good.

I did run into a little trouble after doing a ton of experimenting with some gimbal configurations. When I put my gimbal back together, I had some difficulties which were fixed by changing the center point on the yaw axis. Moved it towards the back.

I have been doing so much reconfiguring my MR's and gimbals, I have just been doing to quick test flights getting ready for spring colors. Also got side tracked with flying a new Inspire which has been a problem with camera issues.

I have not had as much success with a new DIY smaller sized gimbal. Still working on that.

 

[Cameraj]

I think the board wants such a specific build characteristic, if it doesn't like it then buzz away, it's ironic that Phobotic can't make a list of gimbals that there board works with, I have two of them with know such luck, I do have to say when you can deal with Roee things start to get closer, I will buy the new dji ronin m when it comes out, 5lbs like the Movi and plays well with all my cameras. I think phobotic need to make a video on tuening, that would help a lot

 

[jfro]

I think the board wants such a specific build characteristic, if it doesn't like it then buzz away, it's ironic that Phobotic can't make a list of gimbals that there board works with, I have two of them with know such luck, I do have to say when you can deal with Roee things start to get closer, I will buy the new dji ronin m when it comes out, 5lbs like the Movi and plays well with all my cameras. I think phobotic need to make a video on tuening, that would help a lot

I'd think twice about the Ronin. Things crash, wear out and break. Right now, service on inspires is a quoted 6-8 weeks. Mine died on March 23, sent in on the 26th. They received it according to UPS the following Thursday. I just got a confirmation email last night and a zendesk link to show they have received it. They will not look at it for another week or 2. I was quoted 5-6 weeks, and I don't think that includes shipping time.

Specifically to my issue ($100 freight each way which they are paying for as this was my 2nd failure in 4 - 5 outings), their tech support was "don't know, have to send it in for lost camera connection. Mine reply, if I were in tech, would have been, do you work on Mutirotors and build things? Yes, well why don't we send you a new $30 part and camera and see if that solves your "no camera " signal issue. We will bill you for them and credit you when you return the defective parts.

The parts became available the week after I sent it in. I would have paid the $30 to try the housing unit first. Service time is long and the communication/ service process is frustrating beyond description.

On the plus side, they do have a couple peeps that are helping with little issues on the forums. I used "Ed" to speed my process of getting a mailing sticker. I was promised in a few hours and after a day, I had to get hold of Ed to see what was up. Got a quick response after that. It helps, but still no way to run service. Also, according to internet posts, repairs are getting done properly.

If you are in business or have a limited flying season, can you or would you want to be without your gimbal for 6-8 weeks? If you called for help, would you like to wait 20-40 minutes when you call them? All but 1 of my calls were long wait times.

I've been to hell and back with gimbals and controllers. I'd consider a slam dunk gimbal for a higher price, but certainly not DJI with their current state of repair and customer service.

Just my 2 cents on the service end. Also, plenty of others on the forums and DJI's inspire forum with the same complaints. The Inspire is a fun to own and fly MR, but the service end is a utter failure.

 

[SleepyC]

There are several reasons the Cp doesn't "KILL" the Movi.

1) Start up time. On a set no one has 4 - 5 minutes to wait for a gimbal to start up.

2) Tuning. I can change a lens, rebalance and tune the Movi in about 2 minutes total. CP... not so much

3) Turning on in wind or conditions Movi can be "held still" when turning on in windy conditions, I find it VERY hard to get the CP to boot up in anything but perfectly calm weather.

I had super high hopes for the CP and I'm sure it works great for some gimbals and cameras, but the initial claim to work with ANY gimbal etc is falling short. I have 2 very high-end gimbals that the CP just will not work with. A converted Cinestar gimbal and a Hexacrafter. Will they work with these gimbals eventually? Probably, I do not doubt the product will work, but do I have time to tune and tune and auto tune and see failure and readjust and tune, and change motors and tune, and re adjust and tune and re configure and tune and wait for a start up and tune... NO.. I need a unit that works quickly, easily, and repeatedly. Right now the Movi is that unit.

I truly hope the CP get's a bit more refined, I have a LOT of money into a few gimbals built for the CP that sit doing absolutely nothing week in and week out...

 

[Cameraj]

I have had the same results, Having over a thousand dollars in two boards and countless hours in tuning and that doesn't count all the money tied up in two three axis gimbals, I feel that Phobotic should take them back for return until they work out the bugs,

 

[sk8brd]

jfro-6-8 month repair time on zens-straight of box defective...many have reported..imagine trying to work with that..not everyone can afford to buy another one while the other is being serviced. some dealers will not swap em out for you cause they don't want the lost revenue while the unit is being repaired so your stuck..

 

[Hexacrafter]

The "Golden Goose Gimbal Story".......
Phobotic......After more than a year of tests, modifications, waiting for new firmware, more tests, more modifications and again waiting for new firmware...and so on and so on...I hereby call "UNCLE". HexaCrafter will no longer be in the gimbal business.... Effective Today. About three or so years ago we entered the gimbal business at the request of our clients as options were very limited and "the show must go on". HexaCrafter has been through the servo, AlexMOS & now Phobotic technology and spent tens of thousands of dollars with negative net returns.
When the Phobotic Centerpiece was announced, we were hopeful that a "reliable", "simple" and "automatic" brushless gimbal controller was finally here........ For Us, This has not been the case.... Although we have seen some very promising results with certain size cameras & configurations, our efforts have not been able to produce a gimbal that will perform like we would like with the Centerpiece for our clients. I wish to go on record as saying that this has not been without extensive effort, unreasonable financial costs and EXTREME patience.....
HexaCrafter will focus our resources on our core products and continue with providing engineering, design ad fabrication of custom frames.
Our days of "Chasing the Golden Goose" are over.....
For the last year, we have recommended the Movi series gimbals to our clients as they are simple, reliable and just "work".
As such, we have designed accessories to have these gimbals easily interface with our aircraft & load rails.
There appear to be many new gimbal offerings from DJI and other manufacturers that are quickly making a $2000.00 gimbal a reality.... so with the $400.00 CP or the $600.00 CPHV..... this leaves little room to produce gimbal mechanics that may or may not work......
My advice for the Forum ........ Wait...... Do not jump on the next hot thing..... If you need something now...... bite the bullet and pay the costs for the Movi..... concentrate on your business... not on playing with gimbals.....that may or may not produce the results you need. Only time will prove out if these new gimbal offering will match the reliability of the Movi.....
Thanks....
Andrew

 

[Motopreserve]

So sorry to hear this Andrew. But I completely understand the sentiment of concentrating on work (or fun for some) instead of chasing a light that seems possibly unreachable, off in the distance.

I've still got some fight left in me - but fortunately I have the luxury of not having clients waiting.

Good luck with your other endeavors.

 

[SamaraMedia]

Thanks for your honesty Andrew! I haven't devoted the time and effort that many have expressed here on setting up my CP, instead I've read and digested all the comments from those that have and decided I will hold off on my pursuit of this product for now. While I don't have the means or craft that can lift the Movi with camera I will continue to try and find a happy medium with the equipment I do have to grow and learn from the talented people on this forum. There does seem to be a tremendous amount of $2k gimbals coming out that look promising and a few new camera releases, BlackMagic Mini, so I will weigh my options as these units become available an field tested.

I have a new Tarot X6 that I recently completed and hope to add a DSLR size gimbal or 4-3 mirrorless camera to.

 

[SamaraMedia]

Well, finally able to do a maiden flight of my Tarot X6 with Quadframe DSLR gimbal and Phobotic CP control. Did a bench autotune of the gimbal which now has a T-Motor yaw motor instead of the stock RC-Timer motor which I shorted out the windings using too long a screw to secure to frame.

For this test I mounted a GoPro on one of the front arms under the motor mount to monitor gimbal movement, my FPV cam with SuperX OSD for UAV orientation and a Sony HDR-CX580V camcorder for main video. Not sure if that is the camera I will continue to use since I don't think it has AV out but has manual exposure and zoom capabilities, a welcome option not offered on my GoPro. I'm also using a quick release gimbal mount that I made from some UAP1 battery plates I had hanging around and four 12mm QR clamps I purchased on ebay.

Once I got to the field I calibrated the SuperX then powered up the CP, took just a couple minutes for it to go through its warmup then it was time to fly. I had made some adjustments to the SuperX gains prior to this flight but had not tried them out yet and there was some gusts of wind so things are not properly tuned just yet. Enough about the setup, let's go to the video...

I will submit a settings evaluation to Roee and Samur for fine tuning pointers.

 

[Mactadpole]

Well, finally able to do a maiden flight of my Tarot X6 with Quadframe DSLR gimbal and Phobotic CP control. Did a bench autotune of the gimbal which now has a T-Motor yaw motor instead of the stock RC-Timer motor which I shorted out the windings using too long a screw to secure to frame.

For this test I mounted a GoPro on one of the front arms under the motor mount to monitor gimbal movement, my FPV cam with SuperX OSD for UAV orientation and a Sony HDR-CX580V camcorder for main video. Not sure if that is the camera I will continue to use since I don't think it has AV out but has manual exposure and zoom capabilities, a welcome option not offered on my GoPro. I'm also using a quick release gimbal mount that I made from some UAP1 battery plates I had hanging around and four 12mm QR clamps I purchased on ebay.

Once I got to the field I calibrated the SuperX then powered up the CP, took just a couple minutes for it to go through its warmup then it was time to fly. I had made some adjustments to the SuperX gains prior to this flight but had not tried them out yet and there was some gusts of wind so things are not properly tuned just yet. Enough about the setup, let's go to the video...

I will submit a settings evaluation to Roee and Samur for fine tuning pointers.

Looks like you have the same bouncing/wobbly effect I have been having with the same gimbal, anti-vibe system, and CP. Although I have been flying a Nex 5 and now an A5100, so I think lighter cams. Will be interested to see if you get rid of those. Thanks for sharing.

 

[fltundra]

Well, finally able to do a maiden flight of my Tarot X6 with Quadframe DSLR gimbal and Phobotic CP control. Did a bench autotune of the gimbal which now has a T-Motor yaw motor instead of the stock RC-Timer motor which I shorted out the windings using too long a screw to secure to frame.

For this test I mounted a GoPro on one of the front arms under the motor mount to monitor gimbal movement, my FPV cam with SuperX OSD for UAV orientation and a Sony HDR-CX580V camcorder for main video. Not sure if that is the camera I will continue to use since I don't think it has AV out but has manual exposure and zoom capabilities, a welcome option not offered on my GoPro. I'm also using a quick release gimbal mount that I made from some UAP1 battery plates I had hanging around and four 12mm QR clamps I purchased on ebay.

Once I got to the field I calibrated the SuperX then powered up the CP, took just a couple minutes for it to go through its warmup then it was time to fly. I had made some adjustments to the SuperX gains prior to this flight but had not tried them out yet and there was some gusts of wind so things are not properly tuned just yet. Enough about the setup, let's go to the video...

I will submit a settings evaluation to Roee and Samur for fine tuning pointers.

A lot of prop vibrations going on. Are the props and adapters as they came from kde, or did you balance them? Can you post or send me the log file from that flight?

 

[SamaraMedia]

I have not balanced them, stock setup from KDE and DJI props. I did notice some jello on the GoPro out under the motor mount, that is just held on with electrical tape. FPV cam shows some vibes too but the BB graphs aren't off the charts either from what I can see.

http://log.xaircraft.com/report.htm#2015_07_06_072807.750_105.1.03.59
http://log.xaircraft.com/#2015_07_06_072807.750_105.1.03.59



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Motopreserve]

I had similar results, even after chasing changes to the dampening plate, very similar results.

The BB vibe readings were low, and my GoPro footage (hard mounted to center plates on Roee's request) showed perfectly stable footage. So I would certainly suggest getting the MR vibe-free, but that might not be the only issue that's causing these issues on the Quadframe gimbal.

 

[SamaraMedia]

Thanks Motopreserve, I'll balance the props and check motors too but I think this frame may be a little flexible and sensitive to vibes because of it's folding nature. As Jakub and a few others have mentioned, the S900, which this frame is based on, has vibration issues. Also, that was my first test with the gimbal and the CP so I'm sure there is plenty on fiddling to do before it smooths out.

 

[Motopreserve]

No doubt that it's important to get the frame and motors working as vibe-free as possible. Otherwise you will be chasing your tail.

Do you have any alternate dampening balls you could try in the dampening plate?

 

[fltundra]

I have not balanced them, stock setup from KDE and DJI props. I did notice some jello on the GoPro out under the motor mount, that is just held on with electrical tape. FPV cam shows some vibes too but the BB graphs aren't off the charts either from what I can see.

http://log.xaircraft.com/report.htm#2015_07_06_072807.750_105.1.03.59
http://log.xaircraft.com/#2015_07_06_072807.750_105.1.03.59



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I personally think their is room for improvement. But your right, they aren't bad at all.

 

[SamaraMedia]

You're right, there's always room for improvement but I'm comfortable where they are, for now. I will take off all props, weigh them and try and match them up well and balance them but you can spend soooooo much time tweaking to get vibe free and still have issues with a gimbal setup.

 

[Motopreserve]

But realize that you don't want to spend a ton of time on fixing the gimbal only to realize that the MR is what was causing the issues

Best to eliminate all you can before getting knee-deep in the gimbal affair.

 

[fltundra]

True, having spent many hours on mine. Know all to well!