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2020Steadi-Newbies forum

Gimbal balance asymmetry after rotating orientation on a stabilizer rig

What the thread found

  • A gimbal that balances correctly in one direction but shows imbalance when rotated 180 degrees typically stems from the pan bearing not being properly centered to the yoke
  • The post supporting the gimbal may not be perfectly round or cylindrical, contributing to directional balance issues
  • Shimming material can be used to attempt recalibration of the bearing centering on budget stabilizer rigs
  • Higher-end stabilizer models incorporate adjustable centering mechanisms and tighter manufacturing tolerances to compensate for these alignment problems

Depends on

  • This diagnosis is based on visual inspection of photos and may not apply to all stabilizer designs
  • Budget stabilizers have inherent manufacturing tolerances that make perfect centering difficult or impossible to achieve
  • The shimming solution is a workaround rather than a complete fix for rigs with fundamental centering issues

Parts

Gimbal Bearing

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