Enterprise took a spill…back of gimbal has small crack

[ValhallaSkies]

I’ve enjoyed the Enterprise 640T immensely, but tonight it went down. It was a night flight…just looking at wildlife. It was about 15 -20 feet off the ground when it clipped a limb. It went down. I examined the drone, and I found a tiny crack on the back of the gimbal. It hasn’t responded to calibration, but the camera works and it does move. Initially it was saying “Gimbal motor stall protection please check around” and “Gimbsl motor close will work again after starting the aircraft.” repeatedly, but after several restarts, the messages stopped. I got the drone off the ground a few feet and everything seemed to be in order, but when I attempted to straffe left, the gimbal turned counterclockwise about 25 degrees, and the same messages came on my smart controller. I have no idea what to do from here. I wrote the company I purchased it from an e-mail, but it’s Sat night. The drone came from China (inventory issues) despite my understanding it was coming from the USA. The only numbers I have for support are in China. I’m kind of freaking out here because I don’t EVER foresee myself being able to afford a drone like this again, and I truly enjoy it and had plans to get my certification and use it for additional income…to at least cover the cost of the drone. Anyway, from what I’ve read, it appears my plans have come to a screeching halt, and I’m stuck with a $5000 paper weight. Any info, preferably good news, would be greatly appreciated. This sucks so bad. Thanks.

 

[Detritalgeo]

That looks like a small plastic plate that covers the gimbal motor and wiring.. Is the metal arm cracked as well?

Did you redo a imu calibration post incident? Also make sure the payload cable connectors have not become dislodged.

 

[ValhallaSkies]

No, that’s the only damage I can see. I will do a IMU calibration now and check cable connectors. I’ll post results. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Detritalgeo]

In that case the crack may be on the metal components of the gimbal but there is still the question about how the crack formed and what may have been impacted behind that cover plate.

If the calibration does not work it may be worth sending in for a repair estimate,.. just to know if they can fix the gimbal or take the easy route and want to replace the entire gimbal assembly...

 

[ValhallaSkies]

IMU calibration was good. Gimbal seemed to be moving okay, but due to the weather, I can’t get it out for a lengthy test. I’m still getting that warning occasionally, and I don’t like the crack, so I’m gonna reach out to Autel tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[thercules]

If it's the enterprise drone and the IMU calibration doesn't work, look into getting a new gimble, they should be swappable on the enterprise version. If cost is the issue you could just go with the 1-inch 6k camera; however, I'm not sure if the different versions matter but I bet someone at vertigo drones could help answer that.