Dobby Drone Troubleshooting Guide

Q: Help! My Dobby video is very bouncy, jerky, and not stable at all! 
A: Make sure your Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) is turned on!

Q: Why does my video quality seem less sharp with EIS on?
A: EIS tries to get the most stable footage possible. Due to this, there is some cropping and loss of detail that occurs. It usually isn't too severe though. If it bothers you too much, you can leave EIS on, then try editing the footage afterwards with Sony Vegas Pro, YouTube, or other editors that have a stabilization mode.

Q: Why does my Dobby seem so much more reliable outdoors, and not indoors?
A: Dobby does include an indoor, ultrasonic positioning system that doesn't rely on GPS. However, I recommend you only fly outdoors, with GPS guidance. It's much safer, and much more reliable than using the ultrasonic sensor.

Q:  Help! My Dobby video is wobbly! It looks like Jello!
A: This is a common problem with many drone, including Dobby, but is easily fixed. This article offers a good explanation of the "jello" effect. In general, you won't encounter this problem during early morning just after sunrise or just before sunset. However, during the brightest period of the day, when the sun is fully out, the jello can be a big problem. To fix this, either fly at a different time or day, fly only when cloudy weather, and/or use an ND filter while flying during really sunny/bright weather. Sometimes, tightening the propeller screws up just a little bit also helps.

Q. How do I place an ND filter onto the Dobby Drone?
A: Either buy a pre-made one, or 3D print a bracket to place a cut piece of one inside, or use a little tape (single or double sided) as I demonstrate here: http://dobbydronedude.blogspot.com/2017/04/dobby-drone-test-how-to-place-nd-filter.html

Q: My video looks a little less smooth after using a ND filter. Why is that?
A: If its even a little darker outside, the framerates will drop due to less light getting in. To fix that, while keeping the ND filter in place, go ahead and increase the exposure value (EV) under the parameters. I set it to 4+ with an ND filter. Thus, the jello effect is fixed while still keeping the video smooth.

Q: Help! My photos look dark now and/or my video is choppy after using an ND filter!
A: If you only want to take photos, try to avoid using the ND filter (it isn't needed, jello rarely impacts photos from the Dobby). If the videos are more "choppy" (even with EIS on) after using an ND filter, re-evalaute your conditions--it may be too dark outside or overcast for the EIS to function properly with the diminished light coming through the camera lens from the filter.

Q: Help! I have these big, black bars in my video. What are they and how can I get rid of them?
A: These black bars appear when Dobby has EIS on, and is working extra-hard to stabilize the footage. Basically, Dobby is cropping the video intensely to keep it stable, but sacrificing video boundaries for the sake of stability. You have two options: one is to prevent this from happening by flying slowly and avoiding rapid turns or flying in high wings, and the second is to edit any video this happens to (cropping even further into the video to remove the black bars, using a video editor). You can see an example of this cropping done here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3yWeBrCAA

Q: My original user guide shows a different-looking app menu then the current app. Why is this?
A: Since the original user guide was released, the app has been updated many, many times. Unfortunately, there isn't a new, updated user guide reflecting this (yet).

Q: Where can I discuss my [ specific question ] with other Dobby Drone users?
A: Facebook has an excellent ZeroTech Dobby Owner's Group that is very helpful and very active. Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/647444278754560/
Alternatively, RCGroups has a helpful user forum as well: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2733310-ZEROTECH-DOBBY-the-first-smart-selfiedrone-%28in-early-construction%29