This Parrot has ceased to be.

[Nidge]

Hi

I have very recently taken delivery of an Anafi extended package knowing the drone itself had expired. All the batteries and the remote however are fully functional.

The drone itself is totally unresponsive i.e. pressing the on button solicits absolutely no response from the drone.

I’ve stripped the drone down to its component parts and my initial assumption is that the small ribbon cable between the power distribution board (the vertically mounted board behind the camera assembly) and the main processor board might have been the issue as it separated far too easily, meaning it just fell out.

The only history of this Anafi I know of is that it was originally sold by Amazon, returned back to Amazon then sold via their Warehouse, where it then ended up in some auction house and purchased by the seller whom I purchased it from. Someone has been inside it but for reasons completely unfathomable they went for the WiFi circuit as evidenced by the bodged removal of the metal screening around this circuit.

As far as I can tell all the sub assemblies, camera, gimbal, motors, etc, are in working order and the two circuit boards, when viewed under a microscope, are free of any observable damage.

So I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced an Anafi, that to all intents and purposes, was completely devoid of life but were able to resurrect it, either themselves or via a repair shop, and if they found the cause of the fault?

Regards

Nidge.

 

[DeWe]

The best tip is: return to Amazon and try to replace

 

[Nidge]

The best tip is: return to Amazon and try to replace

I didn't buy it from Amazon, I bought it from eBay whereby the seller no doubt acquired it from an Amazon returns pallet auction.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[Liger 1956]

Did you by the one recently sold on ebay.co.uk? I did put a bid in but I went too high for me.
It can be the case the the component parts are worth more than the sum of the whole.
If you have 3 good batteries then these could be sold for about £50 each.
People are always looking for arms as these can break and also small parts that cannot be bought from Parrot.
Don't get me wrong, I would love for you to get it working again but if you cannot then you may be able to get back more than you paid for it by spliting it into parts.

 

[DeWe]

Sh... t happen...
hopefully you haven't pay so much.
In this case, you've only the choice, to check the power connector from the battery to the internal parts and maybe to disassemble the Anafi.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

@Nidge
If you can measure voltage you could at least check whether the battery voltage comes to the mainboard.

 

[Nidge]

Did you by the one recently sold on ebay.co.uk? I did put a bid in but I went too high for me.
It can be the case the the component parts are worth more than the sum of the whole.
If you have 3 good batteries then these could be sold for about £50 each.
People are always looking for arms as these can break and also small parts that cannot be bought from Parrot.
Don't get me wrong, I would love for you to get it working again but if you cannot then you may be able to get back more than you paid for it by spliting it into parts.

Yes I did. For the price I paid the extra batteries, case, and assorted USB cables it has evened out and compliment my existing Anafi my wife bought me for my birthday just before Christmas last year.

I’ve spent most of my life in electronics (marine radio and radar engineer, satellite communications analyst, and such) but was forced into early retirement a few years back after being diagnosed with a degenerative illness. So rather than spend my days sat watching Netflix in my underwear while scoffing down tubs of chocolate pudding I trawl the usual places looking for “spares n repairs” projects to keep what grey matter I still have active. Out of the fifty or so Drones I’ve picked up from the “Bay” as fixer uppers only one so far has gotten the better of me. However this was a Kickstarter jobby with proprietary firmware not in the public domain. Not all is lost with this one as I have a surplus Pixhawk FC which will work with it.

As for this dead Anafi I feel it will fly again. There’s absolutely no physical blemishes on it so it doesn’t appear to have been abused therefore I feel the problem is down to an electrical continuity issue. In fact once stripped down I found a bent pin on the battery connector, so fingers crossed once it’s all back together something wonderful will happen.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[Liger 1956]

Another member reported that their Anafi would not work and it was due to a bent battery pin so best of luck.

Anafi problem : battery doesn't fit anymore

Hi all, first of all I'm french so please excuse my poor english... So yesterday I took my Anafi out for a quick shot at night. I didn't had much time so i skipped the update (drone and controller). I tried to flight the drone but something was wrong - it took off but didn't start recording...

parrotpilots.com

 

[Waldo Pepper]

Hi

I have very recently taken delivery of an Anafi extended package knowing the drone itself had expired. All the batteries and the remote however are fully functional.

The drone itself is totally unresponsive i.e. pressing the on button solicits absolutely no response from the drone.

I’ve stripped the drone down to its component parts and my initial assumption is that the small ribbon cable between the power distribution board (the vertically mounted board behind the camera assembly) and the main processor board might have been the issue as it separated far too easily, meaning it just fell out.

The only history of this Anafi I know of is that it was originally sold by Amazon, returned back to Amazon then sold via their Warehouse, where it then ended up in some auction house and purchased by the seller whom I purchased it from. Someone has been inside it but for reasons completely unfathomable they went for the WiFi circuit as evidenced by the bodged removal of the metal screening around this circuit.

As far as I can tell all the sub assemblies, camera, gimbal, motors, etc, are in working order and the two circuit boards, when viewed under a microscope, are free of any observable damage.

So I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced an Anafi, that to all intents and purposes, was completely devoid of life but were able to resurrect it, either themselves or via a repair shop, and if they found the cause of the fault?

Regards

Nidge.

Hello Nidge,

Sounds like you have a good understanding of electrical components, that’s great this will hopefully help narrow down the issue with this recent Anafi purchase.

I did the same, knowing purshased an Anafi with issues at a good price. Only my Anafi did power on and flew, just didn’t have Tilt/Stabilitizer features working. In my case, the Tilt/Stabilitizer ribbon was loose that solved that problem when reconnecting. But then lost camera feed when reassembling, and I had damaged the SD card ribbon assembly tearing the ribbon, created two additional problems after fixing the tilt/stabilitizer issues.

Turns out the camera feed harness was damaged when reassembling, a forum member here on this forum sold me a damaged Gimbal assembly and with this removed and used that camera feed harness with my Anafi solving the Camera feed issue. Later, came across a very damaged Anafi on eBay, pefect for parts so removed the SD card ribbon assembly and mounted it onto my Anafi. Now, have a perfectly working Anafi.

Don’t give up with your Anafi, persistence sometimes pays off. I would look into the Motor board and the attached motor board ribbon, this is the vertically mounted board as you’ve already figured out. You mentioned someone fiddled with the WiFi circuit, hopefully they didn’t damage anything and the issue may be the motor board or motor board ribbon.

Good luck, hope all works out well for you.
Paul

 

[Jagerbomb52]

On my first Anafi that spent all winter up in a tree I think most of you know it flies but I do notice that it is not as stable at ground level. I mean when the bottom sensors should be helping it. I have flown my second Anafi in the same spot just minutes later and it is rock solid. So I am wondering if maybe my Tilt/Stabilitizer ribbon is the problem. I do not get any warnings like vertical camera but wonder if the sensor is damaged or maybe just not connected properly?
Don't mean to hijack the post but it seems like the best place to get a answer

 

[RedDeviluk]

. So rather than spend my days sat watching Netflix in my underwear while scoffing down tubs of chocolate pudding

An excellent grasp on life..lol
Good Man

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Waldo Pepper]

On my first Anafi that spent all winter up in a tree I think most of you know it flies but I do notice that it is not as stable at ground level. I mean when the bottom sensors should be helping it. I have flown my second Anafi in the same spot just minutes later and it is rock solid. So I am wondering if maybe my Tilt/Stabilitizer ribbon is the problem. I do not get any warnings like vertical camera but wonder if the sensor is damaged or maybe just not connected properly?
Don't mean to hijack the post but it seems like the best place to get a answer

Hello Augustine,

This is how we learn, I don’t think Nidge will mind.

The Tilt/Stabilitizer ribbon powers the motors so camera can Tilt (up or down ) and Gimbal Stabilitizer motor Camera/video feed are level as craft is flying making turns. If these two features are working I don’t think this will effect the unstable issues at low levels.

Although you’re not getting vertical camera warnings, see if the tiny eye to the vertical camera is dirty or maybe miss aligned? Have you tried removing the vertical camera ribbon and reconnecting it? Maybe that may help, hard to say these Anafi ribbons and harness are touchy.

I accidentally damaged the camera feed harness and SD ribbon assembly when disassembling it, but found replacements from a crashed Anafi on eBay and from a forum member . The SD card ribbon tore, the camera feed harness somehow got a short. its so easy to damage these ribbons and harness.

Always enjoyed your informative post, keep us posted if you fix the poor low level issues.

All the best,
Paul

 

[sthoward]

What’s wrong with pudding?

 

[Vegasrobbi]

Sorry guys I couldn't resist.

 

[Rocky the FS]

Hilarious! I never saw that one. Luckily, I haven't had to deal with a dead Parrot.....yet.

 

[Nidge]

On my first Anafi that spent all winter up in a tree I think most of you know it flies but I do notice that it is not as stable at ground level. I mean when the bottom sensors should be helping it. I have flown my second Anafi in the same spot just minutes later and it is rock solid. So I am wondering if maybe my Tilt/Stabilitizer ribbon is the problem. I do not get any warnings like vertical camera but wonder if the sensor is damaged or maybe just not connected properly?
Don't mean to hijack the post but it seems like the best place to get a answer

Not a problem, Augustine, as it is still very relevant to the subject and provides extra information. One thing I have noticed after uploading the recent firmware release to my working Anafi is the increased stability while holding a hover indoors with no GPS reception. Prior to this it would have a tendency to drift a little on all axis, horizontally and vertically, but now holds a rock solid stationary position.

As suggested by Waldo as it spent quite sometime exposed to the elements it would be prudent to inspect the downward facing camera and ultrasonic module for contamination. Also, rather than start disassembling the drone a factory reset followed by a full recalibration may improve the performance.

Finally, and this is purely hypothetical, the internal barometer may have suffered some moisture ingress. This device is a tiny metal component with a tiny hole in the top. It usually has a small piece of foam covering the top to dampen down sudden fluctuations in air pressure. If you haven’t already done so I would remove the bottom cover of the drone and immerse the whole craft into a bag of rice, though silicon desiccant is better but harder to come by, for about a week to ensure all moisture has been removed.

Overall the Anafi is quite a simple build but I feel Parrot should have paid more attention to the electrical connections. These are all just friction fit and personally, as the Anafi is a flying machine subject to many vibrations, would have seriously benefited from locking connectors especially the ribbon cables and the connections for the motors on the main power board.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I will go over it again to see if I had missed any contamination on the sensors. It does have the latest firmware and I have done several resets and calibrations already. It will give me the notice that precision take off has been marked. Once the Anafi is up past the 9 foot mark I believe GPS takes over and it becomes a lot more stable.
I collect those little bags of silicon desiccant that come inside different things to keep them dry so maybe I will just put one inside the Anafi for a while although I find it hard to believe there would be any moisture left after drying out in the house for weeks but I guess you never know.

 

[Nidge]

Just a quick update.

Progress is being made, slowly but surely. I wasn’t able to do anything over the weekend as my broken body had other plans. However this morning I have re-secured the motor/power board and temporarily connected the mainboard via the ribbon cable, connected a battery and hit the on button and VOILA!!! The little cooling fan energised and all the motors went through their self check function.

My conclusion is that the ribbon cable connecting the power/motor board had come lose or, more shockingly, was not fitted correctly at the point of manufacture as the drone itself is spotless and the manuals and other paperwork are still sealed. Even the fitted props are devoid of any microscopic scratches.

Hopefully all that remains is to put it all back together, fingers crossed no bits left over, and a firmware update and my morphine induced eBay gamble has paid off.

And thank you to all who commented. It’s great to have a community prepared to pitch in and offer support.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Excellent news.
Keep us updated with the final out come.

 

[Liger 1956]

I hope that this is not premature but Well Done. You appear to be a man after my own heart in that I cannot bear to throw broken things away without, at least, trying to mend them.