Zhaoyun rolling a few degrees

[mediaguru]

Looking for some advice. I have an Arris Zhaoyun 3-axis gimbal with a NEX-5T. It isn't balanced well and perhaps that's part of the issue, but it worked okay for a while without a super balance.

Indoors when powering up it usually sets up level and right. Out in the field it rolls a few degrees so my horizon is not level. Trying to figure out if this is a PID thing, power level thing, or the cold? Or maybe it is launching the copter from an uneven surface?

Advice appreciated.

 

[Hexacrafter]

I am assuming this is a AM based controlled gimbal?
If so, this was a very common issue with AM boards. IMU drift due to temperature.
In the early AM days, we would put roll on a knob as well as pitch so that we could use the RC control to adjust the horizon to level when in cooler temperatures.
This is why the higher end gimbals/ controllers use heated IMU's.
I hope this explains things as we experienced them.

 

[mediaguru]

I am assuming this is a AM based controlled gimbal?
If so, this was a very common issue with AM boards. IMU drift due to temperature.
In the early AM days, we would put roll on a knob as well as pitch so that we could use the RC control to adjust the horizon to level when in cooler temperatures.
This is why the higher end gimbals/ controllers use heated IMU's.
I hope this explains things as we experienced them.

That makes sense. Thanks for the response. I do have the extra channels available so I could definitely hook up a roll trim knob on my taranis.

I DID just spend a couple of hours playing with balancing it with some fishing egg sinkers made of lead. I've got it well balanced (I think). It will stay level, even pitched up to 90 degrees, by itself with no gimbal power.

I'm going out for a test flight in a few. It just snowed. We'll see how your temp theory works out.

 

[mediaguru]

Ok I had it level in the shop. Outside its fairly cold, probably the 30's. Roll was off quite a bit. Definitely temperature related. I'll be looking into setting up a roll trim knob. Thanks Hexcrafter.

 

[mediaguru]

Last night I got the roll axis assigned to a channel and make it tweakable via my Taranis. Testing out in the field today. I'll just bring a bubble level with me and check the gimbal before flight.

 

[mediaguru]

As predicted the gimbal rolled a few degrees off in the cold. I tweaked it with the roll knob and it leveled out. HOWEVER, I still need to adjust the speed at which the gimbal rolls I guess. When yawing and straightening out the roll is again tweaked, and takes several seconds to level out.