Upgrades!

G'day.

I fly a multirotor hexacopter for serious use. Just completed a govt. sponsored accreditation course towards a commercial licence.

Like all good possums, I regularly update the software and firmware.

After my latest 'upgrade' to the camera firmware my ground station now displays a USB symbol with 'Files are available' but it's no longer receiving a live video feed.

I contacted the camera supplier and asked for a 'downgrade' back to the previous version. This was their answer:

We're sorry to hear that you've encounter some incompatibilities between your Gimbal and your camera.
Unfortunately, once you've updated the camera's firmware you will probably loose that connection compatibility.
The reason is simple. All cameras start acting as MTP devices meaning this, "Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)", is an extension to the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) communications protocol that allows media files to be transferred atomically to and from portable devices.

Also, downgrading the firmware is no longer possible since it will make you losing the warranty of your camera.

Any doubts, feel free to contact our support.

Not a happy chappy. Actually quite pi**ed off.

* Danny M *

ps. Does anybody have the GoPro firmware update files pre June 2016?

Edited By Danny M2Z on 06/09/2016 11:08:57

That stinks, Danny

The least they should have done was give a clear warning in the release notes !!

The only positive thing I can see is their 'threat' about the warranty ... This does imply that [despite what they say] it is possible to downgrade the firmware.

MichaelG.

Hi Danny,

I hate, loath and despise MTP because in my world it exists only to create awkward compatibility problems.

More positively, it's possible that your ground station supports MTP but it has to be configured manually. There may be an MTP option somewhere in the ground station's setup menu, assuming it has a setup menu that is. Sometimes the MTP option only appears in the setup list when an MTP device is physically connected.

It's likely that you are not alone with this. Keep googling: someone might suggest a solution. Does the supplier have a user forum? Internet feedback is a good way of inspiring suppliers to do better.

Dave

Danny,

There may be some help here: **LINK**

http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-2572330/mtp-usb-device-unable-disk-computer.html

MichaelG.

Thank's all.

Dave, it is not the ground station, it is the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal controller that passes camera info from the USB port to the video transmitter.

It appears that I am not the only one that has been caught out like this and I am awaiting a reply from DJI who manufactured most of my flight electronics.

It is in DJI's interest to solve this otherwise they will be stuck with their stock of gimbal controllers.

I shall keep you all updated if a solution presents itself.

* Danny M *

A 'work-around' solution was suggested by the DJI support staff.

I have to activate the GoPro camera and select a mode before flight and then plug in the USB connector.

This actually works so now I have video on my groundstation.

Not ideal, but the support from DJI (who did not make my flight camera) was very good compared to the GoPro muppets.

I am posting this in case somebody else runs into the same problem.

I have already put out a plea to anybody who knows how to downgrade my camera back to what used to work without all the hassles.

* Danny M *

They should make pro cameras like Canon DSLRs - you can put a complete different OS on the SD card and it will run that, but when you take it out the camera is exactly as it was before.