So I know the P3P has an out of the box distance rating of 1.3 miles, however when to you get to the point of anxiety winning out and aborting the attempt? Not until you get the red led disconnect light on the RC? I went for a mile the 1st time recently, all indications stayed green, but was afraid to press on for the .3 mile I had left according to DJI. What's the threshold for you, besides batteries? Do you go until you lose contact, then pray RTH works properly?? Interested to know what different folks do..Are you in ATTI round trip, or just when returning home? Or at all? Thanks
Distance chasers, how does this work???
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I push out until I start getting warning of weak signal. It's usually the video feed that gets weak first. Sometimes I adjust the antennas and can go even further, sometimes I push on anyway with video cutting out and then video comes back. Other times, it's just not ideal conditions and I abort. I have lost contact before and when the RTH kicks in I just wait for video/control signal to come back and then I abort. Never pushed it to the point where I needed to fly in ATTI in order to gain more speed on the return flight. ATTI gets you more speed but you also have to compensate for wind so your line isn't as straight as when in GPS. The bottom line is, have confidence in the RTH and you're fine even if you lose signal. Just have your RTH altitude set properly!
Right, I have a pretty high Alt set for RTH, no worries there, and I also saw my video weak signal warning flashing off and on a bit. But even if you lost video feed and was still showing good RC signal strength, do some press on? Your still getting all the telemetry info, radar, ect..aren't you? Or switch to map mode to follow the bird? Just curious what the options would be if I ever get to that point.
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Yes, keep pushing on while watching telemetry and RC signal. The view is really personal preference, I keep the camera full screen with the map in PiP. Losing connection isn't bad. 5 sec of no contact and it will start RTH. You'll usually start regaining signal in 10sec or less.
Good to know, and I guess if you just trust the technology you should be fine, allow the Fail Safe (RTH) function do it's job. Just a bit hair raising to see the red (International color code for danger ha) lost connection with your $1500 bird" led slap you in the face. Additionally that 5-10 second "lost" feeling until you get the green "connected" led back.
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Atti get you more speed? Is that how some people are hitting 80mph? I can only get mine around 40 with a good tail wind.
There is no speed gain on the 3 series when in Atti mode. That was for the old 2 and 1 series. 80 mph is accomplished by flying with a 40 mph wind at your back after flying against the wind to a starting point for your speed run.
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Meta4
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You'd better prcatice with RTH to understand how it works and have confidence that it does work rather than hoping
As Jeff48920 pointed out, atti gives no more speed for the P3.
Also, RTH will come home at a leisurely 10 m/sec rather than the 15 m/sec the Phantom does when you are driving.
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I personally tested speed in ATTI and was getting a good bump when flying with a tail wind. The drone definitely pitches forward at a steeper angle. I believe I was getting 40mph in P-GPS and 47mph in ATTI if I recall. Will have to do it again this weekend.
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Meta4
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Wind affects your speed the same, whether in atti or GPS.
P2 flyers looking to record high speeds used atti and hitched a ride on a tailwind because the P2 flies faster in atti than in GPS.
But the P3 doesn't go any faster in atti.
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I could have sworn on my last outing 2 wks ago I was switching between GPS/ATTI and getting a bit of a speed bump.
Meta4
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If there is a wind, you have to be careful with how that affects on your speed. That you quoted 40 mph shows wind was a factor. If the wind was variable in speed or angle, that can make comparison tricky.
So far my testing shows no increase for atti.
So far my testing shows no increase for atti.
I bought a Windsurfer antenna booster (mentioned in another post). I was able to send my P3P almost 2 miles away over thick trees at 250ft altitude and still watch progress with just some lag issues. At 200 altitude i was also able to reacquire signal and cancel failsafe RTH for more exploring at around 1 1/2 miles. I was flying from a field so my line of site was obscured by the trees at about 1200 feet.
I guess I lack the guts to go out more than a mile, I hit a tree but did nothing but broke the tip off the prop but I landed it ok, someone who drown theirs makes a good point DJI need to sell the drone without the controller because lets face it the controller is fine if you crash the drone.
Meta4
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They do ... but it's not cheap.
It's usually better to buy a whole new Phantom kit and sell the extras that you don't need.
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