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Dropped My Phone Trying To Clip It Into The Controller :(

IM35461

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And yes over concrete and it landed face down and smashed the glass :(

The phone clamp is IMHO the worse feature of the entire drone.

My phone also had the power button on the side so trying to clamp it without the button being pushed was also a challenge. Held down too long it would force a cold reboot.

New phone now on order with Android 8 for a new challenge...
 
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That is really bad news. My phone, Moto G5, also has the power button half way down the side. I put the phone in the clamp very carefully with the buttons towards the controller body where I can see that they are not bring pressed more easily.
 
And yes over concrete and it landed face down and smashed the glass :(

The phone clamp is IMHO the worse feature of the entire drone.

My phone also had the power button on the side so trying to clamp it without the button being pushed was also a challenge. Held down too long it would force a cold reboot.

New phone now on order with Android 8 for a new challenge...
Sad to hear.
Which new phone did you order?
 
The clamp is really poor indeed. They could at least have had a "lip" that retains the phone better at the bottom like at the top.
 
Very bad design,the fact is that any phone can pop out of holder and smash into both sticks at same time is very dangerous,even more if you are flying near obstacles,good example would be your backyard....anafi will smash into something and i dont think it will be cover under warrany
 
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It’s a shame really, it’s so close to being so much better than the SC2, but the stupid way you have to lever the phone into the slot makes me curse it every time.

I want to pop it open and add a less intense spring and some kind of better retaining bits for my phone, probably just with a bit of sugru or something.

SC2 had it much better with the button to release the clamp, then push it together to secure it.

Maybe I should just get a RAM mount.
 
After reading that IM35461 had dropped the same phone as mine, Moto G5, when trying to clip it into the controller I decided to design and 3D print a support for the bottom of the phone. Previously I had been in contact with Dirty J Designs regarding there Kicker but they do not have an EU distributor and postage + import duty + 20% VAT + £10 courier duty collection charge made it a none starter. I did not copy Dirty J's design but mine has turned out similar. To use my design which is designed in OpenScad, printed in ABS and the cold vapour smoothed with Acetone I have to extend the telescopic arm and the clip the support over the thin part of the arm before sliding it down (hope this makes sense). I have also glued some self amalgumating tape to the support to grip the phone. It appears to work well and grips the phone securely. My phone has to be fitted off centre as the on/off button is half way down one side.

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I had a very near miss during landing a couple of days ago due to the phone popping out of the lower clip and jamming onto the sticks. The drone flew 50 metres away 4 metres over a road before I could free the stick. Now I can see I'm not alone in this I'm going to report the near miss to Parrot.
 
Thinking about it more, the problem is that the design only works if the controller is completely still. In use it gets moved around and shaken slightly. These small movements cause the spring in the holder to stretch and momentarily loosen; when it comes back it can push the phone out. It should have a locking mechanism to stop the upper portion moving.
 
I ended up buying a cheaper case for my phone. I then cut the side of the case out where it would sit in the bracket. It is not perfect but seems to have a better grip. I do have a tablet I use sometimes and I use DirtyJ's holder with it but I get better range using my phone so I have been not using the tablet all that much lately.
 

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