Guys,
My beeper stopped working a few days ago and can't afford to fly without one. The pasture grass is getting high now and without a beeper I wouldn't be able to find my birds. I had to take the bird apart to make the repair so I thought I'd provide some pictures and suggestions to give you guys some things to think about.
Here's what happened to the beeper. The little plastic connector that is attached to the FC for the beeper actually lifted off of the board:
The tiny leads on the connector lifted the pads with it, making soldering it back on impossible. I attempted to solder it in hopes that it would grab but it didn't. If you look in the lower left corner of the board in the next picture you'll see the burn marks from my attempt to get some solder to take. Fortunately, there were additional pads under the board so I was able to solder the beeper back on to those pads. You can see the two white wires going underneath the board in the same area:
In this same photo note the little glob of hot glue behind the connector on the middle, left of the board. In light of this beeper issue I will be putting a little dab of hot glue behind each plastic connector to give them a little more strength.
As I was taking the bird apart I noticed that the carbon fiber side plates for the camera mounts were both cracked (again) just under the camera mount screw holes. I have replacements so I'll use them but I need to find a solution to this issue.
The little pins on the aluminum camera mount were also sheared. In the next picture you'll see a new one next to the sheared one.
One of the issues you'll run into with the GT2 (as you start flying faster) is that the angle for the GoPro camera mount is too low. As Keith found out, you'll get some really high quality shots of the ground! I fashioned a standoff to raise the front of the canopy. The back does not need to be modified and the bolt holes will still line up. This mod just increases the angle of the cameras and provides a little more room under the canopy.
Lastly, I fashioned a little peice of stiff foam to help protect the battery and help it from slipping out of the strap. I recently purchased some thin silicone baking mats and I'll start attaching a small peice over the foam to give it even more gripping strength.
The GT2 is an awesome bird but like any other it has its weaknesses. I'm going to continue to look for a better solution to the camera mount/canopy problems. I might make some side plates out of thicker carbon fiber.
Hope this helps out some of you guys!
Jerry
My beeper stopped working a few days ago and can't afford to fly without one. The pasture grass is getting high now and without a beeper I wouldn't be able to find my birds. I had to take the bird apart to make the repair so I thought I'd provide some pictures and suggestions to give you guys some things to think about.
Here's what happened to the beeper. The little plastic connector that is attached to the FC for the beeper actually lifted off of the board:
The tiny leads on the connector lifted the pads with it, making soldering it back on impossible. I attempted to solder it in hopes that it would grab but it didn't. If you look in the lower left corner of the board in the next picture you'll see the burn marks from my attempt to get some solder to take. Fortunately, there were additional pads under the board so I was able to solder the beeper back on to those pads. You can see the two white wires going underneath the board in the same area:
In this same photo note the little glob of hot glue behind the connector on the middle, left of the board. In light of this beeper issue I will be putting a little dab of hot glue behind each plastic connector to give them a little more strength.
As I was taking the bird apart I noticed that the carbon fiber side plates for the camera mounts were both cracked (again) just under the camera mount screw holes. I have replacements so I'll use them but I need to find a solution to this issue.
The little pins on the aluminum camera mount were also sheared. In the next picture you'll see a new one next to the sheared one.
One of the issues you'll run into with the GT2 (as you start flying faster) is that the angle for the GoPro camera mount is too low. As Keith found out, you'll get some really high quality shots of the ground! I fashioned a standoff to raise the front of the canopy. The back does not need to be modified and the bolt holes will still line up. This mod just increases the angle of the cameras and provides a little more room under the canopy.
Lastly, I fashioned a little peice of stiff foam to help protect the battery and help it from slipping out of the strap. I recently purchased some thin silicone baking mats and I'll start attaching a small peice over the foam to give it even more gripping strength.
The GT2 is an awesome bird but like any other it has its weaknesses. I'm going to continue to look for a better solution to the camera mount/canopy problems. I might make some side plates out of thicker carbon fiber.
Hope this helps out some of you guys!
Jerry
