"Buzzing" Anafi ?

Naviator · Dec 3, 2018

Just curious, have any of you other Anafi drivers experienced an intermittent "Buzzing" sound from your drone while in flight?

I have experienced this phenomenon since the machine first came out of the box, brand new, and has exhibited itself frequently during some of it's 60 plus flights. This is most interesting as this is now my second Anafi, the first having been returned in warranty exchange after non recovery from being "bricked". That first machine never exhibited any anomalous noises in well over 120 fllights. The sound is evident occasionally, not always on every flight, is somewhat cyclical, similar to a resonance from the airframe rather than a propeller generated noise, and is most noticeable in hover or slow flight. The frame and body are sound with no loose fastenings. The machine flies well, the camera performs outstandingly.

The machine has never been crashed.

I have thoroughly checked all the dynamic components and have found nothing loose, bent, rubbing or misaligned. The props are pristine, without nicks, dings or even scratches. The blades track well while in hover. Gently touching the airframe while in a stable hover does not reveal any unusual vibration.

Any one else have similar experience, thoughts suggestions?

RemE · Dec 3, 2018

Naviator said:
Just curious, have any of you other Anafi drivers experienced an intermittent "Buzzing" sound from your drone while in flight?

I have experienced this phenomenon since the machine first came out of the box, brand new, and has exhibited itself frequently during some of it's 60 plus flights. This is most interesting as this is now my second Anafi, the first having been returned in warranty exchange after non recovery from being "bricked". That first machine never exhibited any anomalous noises in well over 120 fllights. The sound is evident occasionally, not always on every flight, is somewhat cyclical, similar to a resonance from the airframe rather than a propeller generated noise, and is most noticeable in hover or slow flight. The frame and body are sound with no loose fastenings. The machine flies well, the camera performs outstandingly.

The machine has never been crashed.

I have thoroughly checked all the dynamic components and have found nothing loose, bent, rubbing or misaligned. The props are pristine, without nicks, dings or even scratches. The blades track well while in hover. Gently touching the airframe while in a stable hover does not reveal any unusual vibration.

Any one else have similar experience, thoughts suggestions?

Interesting, can you record some video of it making this noise? I'd like to hear it.

xmavic · Dec 4, 2018

Yes i hear that uneven vibrating sound when it is in hover from time to time and not always. If you give any movement it goes away. I think it is typical of parrot product as bebop2 does the same thing. You will not notice it when flying outside. I learned to ignore it because i could not find any obvious reason for that sound. It mostly comes in idle hovering at low altitude. Let us know if you find a solution or a reason for it.

Dirk_ANAFI · Dec 4, 2018

Naviator said:
Just curious, have any of you other Anafi drivers experienced an intermittent "Buzzing" sound from your drone while in flight?
...
I have thoroughly checked all the dynamic components and have found nothing loose, bent, rubbing or misaligned.
...
Any one else have similar experience, thoughts suggestions?

... all the dynamic components ...
What about the fan? Some reported noise from the fan ...

Jagerbomb52 · Dec 4, 2018

The only time I hear a change in noise is when the wind picks up and the Anafi changes pitch.

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk

snosnosnosno · Dec 4, 2018

Mine (after a few flights) is intermittently exhibiting bad bearing noise on the cooling fan. Its set up for return - as this could spell trouble down the line if the thing overheats.

As an indication of what type of sound, it is this one (clearly this is just a PC fan, its just for reference of the exact noises being made):

Randy · Jan 3, 2019

Hello guys. I have the same problem you discribed here. When I fly out with my Anafi on an cold day (0°C) and the flight beginns the fan runs smooth like it should. But after a few minutes when I land the Anafi the fan runs much louder. Sounds like a problem with the bearing. When I switch off the Anafi and power on (back) immediately the humming/buzzing is gone.

What would you recommend me to do? Should give the Anafi to vendor for replace? I already did this before because on my first Anafi I had Image-issues (pink flickr in video and black dots anderen Strips on pictures).

Thank you for you help.

ds2atc · Feb 9, 2019

Mine has the same problem. It started right after I landed it on the dusty ground. and When it was powered on, it sometimes ok but sometimes buzzes. I'm thinking to disassembly to see what is causing the problem.

jmbsmt63 · Feb 9, 2019

Naviator said:
Just curious, have any of you other Anafi drivers experienced an intermittent "Buzzing" sound from your drone while in flight?

I have experienced this phenomenon since the machine first came out of the box, brand new, and has exhibited itself frequently during some of it's 60 plus flights. This is most interesting as this is now my second Anafi, the first having been returned in warranty exchange after non recovery from being "bricked". That first machine never exhibited any anomalous noises in well over 120 fllights. The sound is evident occasionally, not always on every flight, is somewhat cyclical, similar to a resonance from the airframe rather than a propeller generated noise, and is most noticeable in hover or slow flight. The frame and body are sound with no loose fastenings. The machine flies well, the camera performs outstandingly.

The machine has never been crashed.

I have thoroughly checked all the dynamic components and have found nothing loose, bent, rubbing or misaligned. The props are pristine, without nicks, dings or even scratches. The blades track well while in hover. Gently touching the airframe while in a stable hover does not reveal any unusual vibration.

Any one else have similar experience, thoughts suggestions?

As mentioned above, my first thoughts also suggest the Anafi's cooling fan. It will ramp up if needed and that will make quite a noise. It is also very low on the drone and very exposed so I suspect it would be easy to get dirt/debris in there and just a touch of imbalance or foreign material will really affect that. Take a real good look at that and maybe see if it might be loose or maybe a wire or something might be floating around in there?
Mine had a small sliver of a tan "paper" material hanging from the rear by/in where the rear battery attachment slot in the body is. I was able to grab it with a tweezer and it ripped right off. I suspect it was an excess part of some insulating material between the body and the mainboard?

Thanev · Feb 9, 2019

Would a shot of canned compressed air in the fan area be harmful? Works great cleaning my computer,but there is also a much larger fan/area involved.DONT shake the can!

SkyPilot Steve · Feb 11, 2019

As Randy mentions above, I have also noticed this noise when the Anafi is flying for awhile on cold days. The last time, I just tapped on the body and the noise stopped.

scottalmas · Apr 9, 2019

SkyPilot Steve said:
As Randy mentions above, I have also noticed this noise when the Anafi is flying for awhile on cold days. The last time, I just tapped on the body and the noise stopped.

Same exact experience here, although I cannot say yet whether warm days will produce the same sound. I got my drone in December and live in the Northeast.

Any thoughts on a home grown fix to try would be great. I hate the thought of sending my bird in for repair.