Is the X5 gimbal replaceable apart from the lens/camera?

[Sigboi]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum, and have been looking at a couple Inspires that are for sale locally.

One seller has a V2 pro black edition, but says the gimbal is broken, however lens is good. I wanted to ask if its possible to replace just the gimbal itself and reuse the lens?

Lastly, he's asking 1400 obo for this one with 2/TB50 batteries / 1-TB48 battery. Does this seem like a good buy assuming the gimbal is not too much cost to replace?

Thanks!

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Welcome to the forum @Sigboi, yes the gimbal and camera lens are separate items. If the lens was on the gimbal when it was damaged there could be hidden damage on the lens. Yes you can replace just the gimbal. An X5 gimbal/camera used can be priced from $500 - $1000 without a lens. You do need to ask more questions and ask for images of all equipment including screen shots of the battery conditions. If you can not be provided these walk away from the deal.

How was the gimbal damaged, was it involved in a crash on the Inspire 1 that is for sale?
Is the Inspire one damaged, repaired, refurbished?
How many cycles on the batteries? Ask for screen shots.
How much flight time on the Inspire 1?
What lens are we talking about, DJI 15mm?
Is this a true V2 or a modded V1?
Ask if you can do a live facetime to see the Inspire 1 flying.


Let us know how this works out.

 

[TruGreen]

TB50 is the Inspire 2 batteries.... TB47 and TB48 are Inspire 1 battery

I have a converted V1 TO V2 black edition flown 5 times has single TB47 and X3 gimbal. everything works like new I'd sell ya can remove the X3 and just sell the bird, RC, batt, and rest PM me and we can work something out my price is under the $1400 also

 

[Sigboi]

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate your experience and insights! I'm a complete newbie to the Inspires, I've only played with hobby drones, and was wanting to move into a mavic pro or similar, when I saw this for sale. Seller was also willing to trade, and so it might be a favorable deal for me as long as there's no major or hidden issues with it.

On the gimbal, he said his son stepped on it and broke the mount arm off. On the batteries, my guess is this seller doesn't know much about the drone either? He's sending me some photos of it, also says there's some minor crash damage

I'll upload these asap, please let me know if you see anything!

 

[Sigboi]

 

[TruGreen]

the camera is junk unless you send it to DJI to be fixed. unknown amount but prob $300ish ballpark guess. and minor crash damage I dont see. but for $1,400 Id pass unless you can talk him down

 

[Sigboi]

Thanks for the info TruGreen, the damage I was worried about is in the 2nd photo, the base of the motor mount arm is chipped, and its exposed. Is that a straight path for dust/debris to get to the motor, or is there another layer before the motor? Is that arm section housing easily replaceable?

Assuming all else looks good, what do you guys think is a fair offer for this, 1k? Or less?

 

[TruGreen]

the piece missing is actually just a sticker cover, ebay for like $10 get a whole sticker set (PART 38) but id still be worried what else is wrong from a crash. like how it happened? how far it fell?

 

[Sigboi]

the piece missing is actually just a sticker cover, ebay for like $10 get a whole sticker set (PART 38) but id still be worried what else is wrong from a crash. like how it happened? how far it fell?

Thanks for the quick reply! So that damaged piece is just a sticker? From the photos it looks like a plastic or metal plate, right at the base of the motor. Seller said it was damaged when landing, he grabbed it out of the air trying to land it on his hand, and lost grip of it, and it fell on that corner.

 

[TruGreen]

nope not metal. ive bought an repaired 6 busted inspires. just a sticker. but wit it open it no real harm unless you fly it wet area then id be worried on ESC getting damaged

 

[Sigboi]

nope not metal. ive bought an repaired 6 busted inspires. just a sticker. but wit it open it no real harm unless you fly it wet area then id be worried on ESC getting damaged

That's awesome, I appreciate your expertise! Any red flags to look for on one of these? I'm worried about that moving landing gear and its complex mechanism.

 

[TruGreen]

long as none of its bent it should be fine. ask him for more pics showing it

 

[Mixchief]

long as none of its bent it should be fine. ask him for more pics showing it

ask him for a video showing full movement of landing gear, from landing to storage and landing to flight

 

[SPS]

Yup -- $300 and change will be your repair on that, only DJI has the part and can do the job. If the cable is damaged, the cost will be closer to $400. What you are seeing is a notoriously weak point in the X5 design....not sure what that arm is made of, I suspect pot metal, which is frustrating. If you are new to Inspires, I would suggest you make a habit of manually transitioning to landing configuration when on final approach rather than wait for the ground proximity system to do it for you. Depending on where you are flying, surprises can sometimes happen when you start dropping down near stuff, and things can get woolly if you are not prepared. If anything happens where you have to land swiftly, relying on auto will have you in a position where your bird reaches the ground before your gear is down and that vulnerable little arm will take the brunt of whatever is going on. Practicing this in atti mode is a really good thing to do....