How is karma in 2020

[dronelover]

Hi,

iv been following this site for 2 weeks now.
Seen more bad things about karma than good things.

When it seems to work, its wonderfull.
But when its bad, its really bad.

iv bought a karma base setup used with no stabilizer and no camera.
I havent flown it yet because of said parts missing from the setup.

how is karma in march 2020 is like?

from what i read here:
from stabilzer stopped working out of nowhere to stabilizer stop working after an update.
camera stop working/ disconnects and the drone falls from the sky.

what is happening to this particular drone?

should i invest on the 2 missing parts that i need to fly or is/will this be a money pit and should sell it?

 

[JCLs]

This site is full of mostly bad comments because this is what people like to do, complain about problems. Nobody seems to take time to or comment on good things. Human nature I guess.

My Karma quit working for unknown reason after sitting for 2 months and then applying update. In end, after logical progression with GoPro I have a new or refurbished Karma that works fine.

I believe my Karma does what I want it to just fine. I have other quads and most not near as sophisticated so I can really fly one independent of GPS etc. I think that is basic requirement and lack of such skill single biggest cause of Karma losses. Yes the GPS system may not be best, but I have not seen huge issues with it in a decent environment.

Your call on what you do but components directly available from GoPro at reduced prices.


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[dronelover]

Thanks for taking the time on replying my questions.

Used hero 5 are cheap these days and karma grip system is still cheaper than new.

been wanting this drone since released but never had the money to pull it off.

based on research, my karma has the bigger battery latch in the compartment meaning mine would be the re-released model.
thats fixed.
Im still scared about the gimbal not initializing for no reason.
Also the camera. Having camera issues mid flight or any (physical) disconnection of the camera on flight results in karma drone’s motors turning off.
i cant understand how is the camera affecting the basic mechanics of this bird.

On your drone, what wa sthe findings or what happend to it that made it unoperable after not being used for some time?

 

[JCLs]

The specific cause of my gimbal not initializing was never specifically determined. Was within the core but never specifically determined. Have never heard of camera failing while in flight and motors shutting down. If that happened was probably a complete power failure. I have never had camera or power issues. I do not see how camera issues could affect the mechanics of the quad itself. If camera failed and quad crashed most obvious cause is a power failure.


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[dronelover]

About the camera shutting down it was a site i read or was it here. I forgot.
But one thing i know is that the system refuses to start if there is no camera or gimbal installed.

it should atleast be able to fly even without a camera and startmotors etc... if it doesnt, then that means if that camera disconnects mid flight, so does the system shut down midflight.

i dunno.
I really want to fly this thing but im still worried this could be a money pit.

 

[JCLs]

A lot of comments, statements made here that simply are not true.

You can remove gimble, start core and pair it. I have done it as part of trouble shooting my Karma problem. GoPro told me to do it. The Karma will not let you fly without gimble/camera assembly. It would have a lot of difficulty flying anyway as it would be way out of balance.


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[dronelover]

Also jcl.

in course of years you have owned the drone, did you always plug unplugged the gimbal from the karma to use it with the grip? That could explained it that the ports had loosend and may not giving a tight fit.

 

[JCLs]

I only used grip a few times. Left camera in Karma. Had not used grip in a long time (since I got a Hero 7) as just no significant benefit. Gave grip itself away some months ago. Connections pretty good. First GoPro exchanged my stabilizer as thought problem with it, but got same results with new stabilizer. Took new core to solve problem. Karma was working last October Went yo fire it up to put the upgrade on in January and it didn’t work. Never touched stabalizer/camera assembly in between.


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[dronelover]

Shite!! I think. Im beggining to feel iv got a lemon here used. That explains it why the owner of my karma didnt include the stabilizer or camera and made excuses that his wife loves the stabilizer.

id did the newupdate on both the controller and the drone itself even with the missing parts and it was fine.

 

[Ironspear]

Shite!! I think. Im beggining to feel iv got a lemon here used. That explains it why the owner of my karma didnt include the stabilizer or camera and made excuses that his wife loves the stabilizer.

id did the newupdate on both the controller and the drone itself even with the missing parts and it was fine.

G'day mate.
I have been using my gopro5 in the Karma drone and handheld battery and on its own since I got it (2 years now). You just have to be careful when docking and undocking it from the camera stabiliser housing.

When you start out flying it look for somewhere with wide open spaces, a park or field etc. Check the flying rules in the area first. Try flying ever increasing circuits so you can get the feel of the controls in relation to the drones position. Remember flight controls are reversed at times depending on the drones position. Never let the drone out of your site, never. Dont fly over water or over anywhere you wont be able to retrieve the drone if it does come down.

Once you start flying it you will love it!
I have had a couple of minor "crashes" but not broken the drone yet! (touch wood) Mainly during landing.

This forum is more of a "can you help site". You mainly read bad things that happened to peoples drones here.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[dronelover]

Well i really hope the previous owner didnt fool me into buying his drone.
I bought it for 200 and he wanted 250 for it. It took one week to convince him. I surely do hope its ok.

im a careful guy with my things.
I dont chuck/slam things like people in youtube slamminh the battery to lock into place or wiggle the camera/gimbal into place.

so in my hands this drone will defenitely feel happy.
Im also gonna limit the distance/altitude to around 70meters with a return home alt. Of 60 meters.

i will try to purchase the parts to get this thing up in the air.
There is a hero 7 black for only 150 near my place.

 

[dronelover]

How do you break the landing gear? Also, iv heared that the landing gear is the compass.
If so, if one having issues with compass calibration, shouldnt they replace the landing gear? Hence the tiny cable that connects inside the landing gear when disassembly.

 

[Ironspear]

How do you break the landing gear? Also, iv heared that the landing gear is the compass.
If so, if one having issues with compass calibration, shouldnt they replace the landing gear? Hence the tiny cable that connects inside the landing gear when disassembly.

Hmmm, I thought the landing gear just clipped on, no antennae in it. I may well be wrong though.

 

[dronelover]

Thats what i thought so but looking at disassembly clips in youtube, there is a tiny cable that connects to it. It must serve a purpose otherwise there will be no point for that cable.
I hope in the future there will be a curious enough user somewhere in this world that would like to take on the task to do a full overhaul on these drones and finally fix their decomissioned karmas back to life.
be it software or hardware.

 

[JCLs]

Wow, this took off with a lot of misinformation. There are other places on this forum that have good information.

The pair of wires going to landing gear are connected to switch that determines if landing gear locked open. That’s all!!!! No antennas of any type in landing gear. Try setting Karma on nice surface with legs not all the way open and see what happens.

Karma has two wifi antennas in the body. One for receiving control signal, one for transmitting video/data/audio signal. The controller has two tiny planar (directional) antennas in it for the other end of the link.

GoPro no longer shows stabilizers for sail. Could call and see. They still selling harnesses if you could find stabilizer some place else. Stabilizer assembly was $80 new from GoPro.


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[dronelover]

I havent tried this but,
Then if so. That landing gear could be another culprit why karma wouldnt fly.
And of course, the locking mechanism for the landing gear could wear out and give an error to not be able to fly.
Hmm ill sure try to fix that landing gear should i get an error i cannot fix (knock on wood).

 

[JCLs]

Calm down. If landing gear not fully opened, controller tells you that and you cannot take off. It is a simple switch locked in place when gear fully open. Cannot fail in flight. Even if it did I doubt logic control in the Karma would allow it to kill the Karma.


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[Mokuluanui]

The Karma is a great quad, I've used several and it is a pleasure to use. Does it get glitchy at times? Yes, but they all do, it's not something unique to the Karma, it's not even something more than average.

 

[Ironspear]

The Karma is a great quad, I've used several and it is a pleasure to use. Does it get glitchy at times? Yes, but they all do, it's not something unique to the Karma, it's not even something more than average.

Couldnt agree with you more!

 

[derelekt1]

Love mine. Did three years ago and still do today.