ADV vs. Standard w/Antenna Mod

[TheTanger]

So, my new ADV arrived yesterday and initial impressions are very good. The range with Lightbridge is certainly more stable. It came out of the box needing all updates, so did that and decided to take a night flight to compare against my P3S modded with a DBS Panel & FPVLR (I swap the two). Although I got this new ADV for a steal ($649 shipped), a $799 ADV vs. a $499 Standard + $110 DBS mod (or $160 FPVLR mod) still puts the Standard w/mods cheaper by $150-200.

The ADV's shell FEELS different...slightly more matte, not so smooth. The motors seems to not turn as freely when off (whereas the P3S's motors easily spin). As for the VPS, I can't really see a need for that. The Standard is EASIER to land manually than the ADV. It is much harder to land the ADV with VPS ON, and still harder than the Standard even with VPS switched off for whatever reason. BTW...I almost NEVER hand catch.

The ADV seems a LITTLE faster (about 2mph according to Healthydrones) and sounds a little different flying. Where the ADV excels obviously is the range-not only in distance, but more solid video feed. Since the P3S uses both 5.8 (RC) and 2.4 (wifi FPV), I think there's a bit of discrepancy for folks (i.e. either RC or FPV will cut out first). With the 2.4 for both on the ADV, both seem to get weak in step, which is probably why it feels less random when things would drop vs. the P3S.

So, I took them both out for another night flight over transmission towers nearby (didn't want to drive anywhere) and here are the numbers:

ADV (stock-no windsurfer or anything)
-5,632 ft. before I turned back. It MIGHT have gone a bit further but the video was deteriorating quickly and I just did manual RTH on the controller.
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

P3S (DBS panel)
-5,335 ft. before RTH
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

P3S (FPVLR)
-3,507 ft. before RTH (this one is weird cause their other night I CRUSHED it with this over 7K ft. same route).
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

So, what kind of drives me nuts a bit is the INCONSISTENCY of the the FPVLR mod. Overall, the DBS Panel SEEMS a bit more consistent, but the FPVLR got the longest range of either the ADV or DBS on that same route just a few days ago! HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

As I get more flights under my belt with the ADV I will be interested to see how consistent the range is. I will then probably do a windsurfer because it seems very effective with the P3 ADV/PRO controllers...whereas on the P3S, the FPV gets blocked.

 

[larrythesimpleton]

Great info here. Thanks for all of the hard work you are doing (can I call it hard work?)
I bought my P3S last month, and haven't flown it for a second yet (waiting for decent weather), and the more I read on these forums the more I think I should have bought an Advanced. I think I'm really going to want that distance. But your P3S comparisons with the two mods is extremely helpful. I just need to pony up and buy one of those as well probably.

 

[Quinten]

Nice subscribed


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[TheTanger]

Great info here. Thanks for all of the hard work you are doing (can I call it hard work?)
I bought my P3S last month, and haven't flown it for a second yet (waiting for decent weather), and the more I read on these forums the more I think I should have bought an Advanced. I think I'm really going to want that distance. But your P3S comparisons with the two mods is extremely helpful. I just need to pony up and buy one of those as well probably.

Haha...yea...it's not really work is it? I guess the write up is more than anything else. Yes...if you have a P3S, I definitely can recommended a MOD for your transmitter-NOT a windsurfer. You will be very pleased and have like 90% of the capabilities of an ADV.

One more thing to note...the satellite difference GLOSNASS/GPS vs. GPS only didn't matter much for MY location.

 

[Quinten]

Yea I want to go buy the dbs mod right now but property taxes are due have to wait till end of March

 

[spyder11]

As I get more flights under my belt with the ADV I will be interested to see how consistent the range is. I will then probably do a windsurfer because it seems very effective with the P3 ADV/PRO controllers...whereas on the P3S, the FPV gets blocked.

Can you elaborate about this FPV getting blocked by the windsurfer issue? I just tried the windsurfer on my P3S yesterday and it seems to work fine. Although when I was already close to home point and my aircraft battery was at about 30% I started having FPV issues and it eventually disconnected. Do you think this was due to the windsurfer blocking the signal and it being more pronounced once the battery was lower?

 

[BillH]

Haha...yea...it's not really work is it? I guess the write up is more than anything else. Yes...if you have a P3S, I definitely can recommended a MOD for your transmitter-NOT a windsurfer. You will be very pleased and have like 90% of the capabilities of an ADV.

One more thing to note...the satellite difference GLOSNASS/GPS vs. GPS only didn't matter much for MY location.

 

[ozzwashere]

Thanks. Very useful information. Well written. By the way, how did you find 650$ ADV deal?


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[TheTanger]

Thanks. Very useful information. Well written. By the way, how did you find 650$ ADV deal?


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It was an eBay refurb from buydig.com offer with a 90/day manufacturer warranty (no returns). I posted it in classifieds here, and decided to take a chance on it-figured $150 less than new but looks like new...why not? Turns out it came new and sealed...1 year warranty when I went to register it on the DJI Go app, so I lucked out.

Box has a sticker on it about being BRAND new and sealed, etc.

 

[TheTanger]

Can you elaborate about this FPV getting blocked by the windsurfer issue? I just tried the windsurfer on my P3S yesterday and it seems to work fine. Although when I was already close to home point and my aircraft battery was at about 30% I started having FPV issues and it eventually disconnected. Do you think this was due to the windsurfer blocking the signal and it being more pronounced once the battery was lower?

Well, at least with the windsurfer I bought, it went rather low on and if the antenna is tilted forward (along with the windsurfer), it may partially block the FPV wifi signal. For sure it strengthen's the RC, but MAY weaken the video...widening the disparity. So, you'd likely lose video feed and be blind but still have RC control at longer ranges.

Again, there would be many factors-including the shape/height of your windsurfer. Heck, when it was stock, I'd even notice losing a bit of FPV strength if my finger got in the way when I tilted the camera or held it on there on the end.

This picture isn't the best picture (think it's actually a P2 controller), but it's similar to the P3 standard, and shows where the antenna is. There's one on the other side too-and it's one of my biggest complaints about the P3S remote. With the antenna mod though, I don't even have to worry about it-I can hold my fingers there all I want because the antenna is more in front.

You can sort of see how the windsurfer COULD block the wifi antennas partially...especially if tilted forward or sideways.

 

[ozzwashere]

Lucky you [emoji5]. I just returned my P3S and ordered ADV. Arriving on Monday. P3S range was not what I was looking for. Hopefully I will be able to fly my P3 Advanced without any connection problems.


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[BillH]

Someone nudge me! ...... I just need a little shove and I'll be returning my P3S and getting the Advanced. What's the best price now on the Advanced that you guys know of? I got my Standard from Amazon and feel like I should get it from them unless it's much cheaper somewhere else.

 

[ozzwashere]

The price is same everywhere. 799$. Amazon service is reliable.


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[Mark_DeKruyter]

$649 is what I paid for my P3S, when it first came out....nice deal on the advanced.

 

[RadRich]

Someone nudge me! ...... I just need a little shove and I'll be returning my P3S and getting the Advanced. What's the best price now on the Advanced that you guys know of? I got my Standard from Amazon and feel like I should get it from them unless it's much cheaper somewhere else.

my suggestion is if you never purchased from jet.com before, go there, use their first time buyer discount code and get $50 off the 799 price. free shipping and no tax for most states (except NJ & NY). Jet.com is awesome and IMHO beats Amazon on a lot of products.

 

[BillH]

WHAT ? They're claiming the Advanced with extra battery on Amazon only has 1080P camera? I thought it was supposed to be 2.7K .... Look ...
Amazon.com : DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter Drone Bundle with Extra Battery : Camera & Photo

But this one without extra battery has the 2.7K . I didn't know they even had the different camera options.
Amazon.com : DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter Drone with 2.7K HD Video Camera : Camera & Photo

 

[Tony Cowan]

Can you elaborate about this FPV getting blocked by the windsurfer issue? I just tried the windsurfer on my P3S yesterday and it seems to work fine. Although when I was already close to home point and my aircraft battery was at about 30% I started having FPV issues and it eventually disconnected. Do you think this was due to the windsurfer blocking the signal and it being more pronounced once the battery was lower?

I'm not sure the windsurfer caused you to disconnect.
I don't use windsurfer and I lost fpv as the drone was over head and I did not adjust Tx parallel to ground. It was only 10 ft away. So that is issue as well. I'm still waiting on windsurfer. I got 4K stock the other day. Video entire time. Hoping for better results with windsurfer.


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[spyder11]

I'm not sure the windsurfer caused you to disconnect.
I don't use windsurfer and I lost fpv as the drone was over head and I did not adjust Tx parallel to ground. It was only 10 ft away. So that is issue as well. I'm still waiting on windsurfer. I got 4K stock the other day. Video entire time. Hoping for better results with windsurfer.


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You could build one yourself if you don't want to wait. It worked for me and took 30 min to build with readily available materials.

antenna - Tom's Tech Time

 

[RadRich]

WHAT ? They're claiming the Advanced with extra battery on Amazon only has 1080P camera? I thought it was supposed to be 2.7K .... Look ...
Amazon.com : DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter Drone Bundle with Extra Battery : Camera & Photo

But this one without extra battery has the 2.7K . I didn't know they even had the different camera options.
Amazon.com : DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter Drone with 2.7K HD Video Camera : Camera & Photo

That's before the firmware upgrade. When you receive your Advance, it'll already have the firmware upgrade that makes your camera 2.7K

Or if you have an older, not yet upgraded firmware P3A, if you update it to FW 1.5 or above, the camera will now have 2.7K

 

[TheTanger]

Ok guys...did another ADV test this afternoon. Almost no winds. This test was not head to head vs. my P3S, but I used a rural route that I've run many times before with my P3S w/antenna mods.

With the DBS Panel, I could get almost 9,000 ft. before my P3S lost video feed and I would have to RTH. Usually anywhere between 7,000 ft-8,500 feet is typical on this route. The FPVLR got very similar range on this same route. Example: HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

Sadly (because I am fond of my P3S and it's inherent price point/value), if you're into LONG RANGE & SOLID VIDEO, the P3S is really no competition against a ADV/PRO even with antenna mods like DBS or FPVLR (unless boosted).

I have NO IDEA what guys on the ADV/PRO forum are complaining about when it comes to range and not getting more than 1KM, etc. Sure it comes down to location, but I've read people getting less than a mile out in the middle of nowhere. So, I can clearly dispel that myth.

On the ADV this afternoon, I got 15,256 feet on the same route. This was TOTALLY stock, NO channel hack, NO windsurfer with my iPhone 6 as device. Once video started getting choppy (I was really pushing it), I used the app to start RTH and watched her come come the whole way.

Didn't have to initiate RTH blindly like I do with the P3S...where I would not have a video feed for hundreds to thousands of feet until it came close enough.

So, to summarize...over 15,000 feet on a bone STOCK P3A and a P3S w/DBS & FPVLR could only manage between 7,000-9,000 feet.

My LONGEST run with the P3S was almost 12,000 feet with the DBS Panel, but that must've been perfect conditions. That was run in the same spot, but SE instead of due south. See here: HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters The FPVLR is newer to me and not as consistent-but gets similar range although I haven't had a chance to get it past 10K just yet.

If I mod this P3A...oh man, battery life would be my issue. Have windsurfer on the way and will try it again. HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters