I've read of 2 cases on this forum of the toad dropping the gimbal unexpectedly. Both guys were on the ground and over grass. I am preparing for my first uav flight with my movi. Should I be concerned or were the cases user error or possibly a version 1 toad in the hole? Do any of you use a safety strap? Cheers.
It appears to be reliable over hard surfaces. It tends to fail over grass and other softer surfaces. Ok, just kidding. But I simply had to.
I was one of the cases that failed, and I suspect the cables caught caught around the toad and that is how it disengaged. Unfortunately it happened so fast that I can only guess. That said, it has not disconnected since then, and that was ages ago.
I believe Dave King experienced what he described as a failure, and he reported it to Freefly. I don't recall if that situation was resolved. I have had one problem with my MōVI M5 on my copter but it was operator error (forgot to fully tighten the Toad's latch). Fortunately I noticed the problem before getting too far. And the Toad still held and allowed me to land with no issue.
I do not. I'm not sure how you could do that without impeding the 360° rotation capability of the MōVI.
Well the latch itself only stops rotation and I would think to some degree just based on friction it would help hold the toad together.
I have designed and built a safety plate that mounts between the toad female and movi. This would allow for a strap to be attached. I haven't decided if I will use it or not. I'm out of town so I can't post a pic.
i think you're misunderstanding. The Toad in the Hole allows free rotation. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the question.
Yup, oops. My bad. But how would a safety strap work? If you're talking about an aerial setup, it'd be pretty iffy as to whether a multirotor could fly with a MōVI bouncing around on a strap under the copter.
It could be a secondary safety device. And ya. If the toad came apart and the movi dropped a little the 2 straps would hold the load centered so I could land. The multi would adjust no problem. I have lifted water jugs on rope. This is just a thought at this point.
Chris only a couple of instances were reported. To the best of my knowledge they were typically user error. Not fully seating the Toad, not locking the the lock. Even unlocked it holds the load but nothing to stop it from rotating in the hole. So follow the directions, run safety checks before flying and have fun...