DJI P2V+ mods

[sdtag]

I have had my P2V+ for less than a week now and I want to try some stuff.
I read about the gps wire mod, tuck it under the shield.
I haven't had any gps issues but I might try this just because it seems like it would be more efficient.

I went to Naza M mode right away so I could have CL and HL, I never even tried Phantom mode.

Does anyone know if there are any available outputs on the receiver? I think I know the answer because I don't have any extra buttons or switches (that I am aware of) on the transmitter.
But it doesn't hurt to ask.
I want to add a laser pointer to my bird. I don't know how or why, but I think it would be cool, especially at night. Laser tag with drones!
oh stop rolling your eyes... I had to ask

 

[sdtag]

OK so I gave up on the laser pointer.
I cracked her open this afternoon and low and behold the gps sheild thing has already been done. Just a short 1" wire going to the board and even that has a sheild around it.
I checked the motor wires carefully. They don't look like they have been overheated at all. They have the silicone blob. The wires do seem a little stiff but I flexed the housing while it was apart and I think the silicone will absorbe any twisting or vibrations.
Long story short, everything looks good to me so I didn't do anthing except button her back up.

 

[holtneil]

They are very well made my friend thats why I say get one

 

[sdtag]

great. I bought my P2V+ a month ago and today they announce the 3. haha story of my life.
oh well from what I've seen I still like my 2. I better. haha

I have been reading about hard landings and the gimbal falling apart. I have seen some gimbal savers on ebay. I looked, I measured, I made my own out of 1/16" 1X1 6063 aluminum channel. I stuck it on with 3M vhb tape. This is the kind of 2 sided tape they use to put cars together. It is very strong. And I added a soft rubbery pad on the front side to soften the blow. The gimbal has totally free movement and I can engage and disengage the plastic support no problem. I gave it a quick test flight and the camera and gimbal work like they should.

 

[sdtag]

on to my next project...
One of my neighbors has a nice car he takes to shows and stuff. I told him I could make a video fly by of his car with my quad, fly up to it, fly circles around it, etc.
Wow, then I tried it. It is kind of hard to fly a circle and keep the camera aimed in to the center of the circle. I understand the the new P3 has "point of interest" mode, which I think is what I am trying to achieve on my P2V+. I saw a YouTube video on how to do this. Slightly hold the left stick to the right or left off center, depends on which way you are flying. Hold the yaw in position basically spinning very slowly. Then control the speed with the right stick left or right. I tried it around a tree and I think I get it. It's still kind of hard though. I think practicing will help of course. Then I had a thought. OH NOOOOOO!
On the transmitter:
I have already done the slow speed yaw mod and it works great. What if I added a switch and some resistors and I think I can make it fly a preset circle with the right resistors. I think that at least one of them, if not both, would need to be variable for fine tuning.
I like to tinker around but with my luck I will just get this perfected then someone will come out with "point of interest" on an ap. haha I think I want to try this anyway. Screw the warranty, I'm in.
Any thoughts?

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate there is another way used the homelock it will fly a circle on its own you you can just adjust camera , while I have you Hobby king has a FPV camera that has its own transmitter built in so you can FPV and record off the same camera
Camera

Homelock jump to 10.15

 

[sdtag]

now that you mention that I think I have heard this before. I have to set the home point where I want the center of the circle to be right? I have tried CL but I really haven't tried HL yet. On vacation right now in the big apple. I'll try this out when we get home next weekend. Thanks again.

 

[sdtag]

I watched that video again, thank you, but doing it that way using home lock the circle has to be huge. the 10 to 20 meter home point bubble ... 20 meters is about 50-60 feet right? 60 foot radius = 120 foot diameter circle. Much too far away to video a show car. I think I need to be much closer to the car than that. I'm thinking more like 10 foot radius, 20 foot diameter at about 10 feet elevation. I think that translates to about 3-4 meter radius to you. Am I right? I'm still thinking about the switch and the resistors. I think I will start slowly and add a switch and resistor to the yaw stick only, then manually control the roll speed to maintain the circle. I think the resistor should be variable for fine tuning the circle. I think this should work. I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work. C'mon back and burst my bubble. haha But no, really, do you see a reason why I shouldn't try this?

 

[sdtag]

ok I had another thought. I was on another site and I saw someone making a pretty tight circle using way points. I have played with way points and gs a little but not much. I'm still on vacation 2,000 miles away from home and my quad, but I want to try this when I get home. If I make a flight plan with way points and fly it, can I control the Phantom with the yaw stick and control the gimbal while it is flying a mission, without disturbing the mission? I haven't tried this yet.

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate yes cant see why not gimbal control is another lever , make sure you have the option of manual mode , if any thing starts to go wrong you can take control back , If you have never tried the phantom in manual mode a word of warning it is very very touchy on the sticks if you breath on the sticks it will respond very fast