Distance Problem

[GPS_Ken]

I just tested my maximum distance on my SE. It is NOT what I expected.

1. Not in beginner mode.
2. In USA.
3. Distance limit turned off.
4. Clear line of sight.
5. Fully charged batteries.
6. Both China settings turned off
7. Latest firmware update.


Maximum distance was a bit over 3200 feet (975 meters)

I bought this model for its range. I do not need 4km, but I do need 2km.

Could I be stuck in CE mode even though I'm in the mainland US?

Could the unit be defective?

Are there any other tests I can try?

Ken
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[grin factor]

Could be where you are flying.
The SE uses wifi so I'd guess you won't get the distance of the advanced or prof with lightbridge.

 

[MapMaker53]

Max distance of what... the controller signal or when your screen freezes up? My wifi (screen image) will crap out at around 300 yards if I am flying at a low altitude -- even with VLOS over a flat area. It also has limitations when any vegetation is between you and the Phantom as wifi does not penetrate moisture (in the leaves) very well.

 

[GPS_Ken]

I'm talking about the point where the automatic RTH (Return To Home) kicks in due to signal loss.

I was standing on a river bank with direct line of sight to the drone at all times. I was flying 150 ft over the water. No vegetation. Temperature was 48 F. Humidity about 60%. Clear dry day.

Ken
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[MapMaker53]

Well, that's certainly not a wifi issue. Has it happened at multiple flying locations or just over that body of water. I'm not an electronics engineer, but I'm wondering if a reflection of the RC signal off the water could be cancelling out the original signal with opposite radio waves at a particular altitude and angle, causing a loss of controller signal long enough to trigger an RTH.

 

[PhantomFlyer3SE]

Maximum distance was a bit over 3200 feet (975 meters)
Could I be stuck in CE mode even though I'm in the mainland US?
Ken
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You are not in CE mode, if you would , you would not be capable to fly 900 meter.
Distance is very dependent on environment. I fly on two different areas, I can fly always at least double distance on still area as I can do near urban region.

 

[Mark The Droner]

I like post #5.

FYI, several of us have studied this system and have concluded it's not really a wifi AC. It's sort of a hybrid. It seems the connection between the AC and the controller has all the characteristics of a classic lightbridge system, but the signal is converted to wifi and sent to the mobile device. This is detailed in several other threads.

Back away from the water a bit. Also, be sure you aim perfectly which means you must aim the two patch panels hidden inside the antenna - you must aim them straight out just a tad over the horizon like a sniper rifle. You might consider a tripod or a small table to keep your controller still and perfect. Fly your AC into the strength of your signal. Be aggressive - don't turn around when the app tells you with an alarming pulsing red glow that the signal is weak. Keep flying out at max speed. If your heart isn't pounding and your hands aren't shaking, you're not doing it right.

Edit: Here's what a P3S controller looks like. Yours is a different system but the antennas are positioned the same. Your patch antennas are installed and aimed like this. Those two antennas are the only antennas that communicate with the AC. The stick antenna communicates with the mobile device so you can pretty much ignore it. https://www.phantomhelp.com/Tips/Images/P3S-0021s.jpg

 

[GPS_Ken]

The only place I can do a distance test is out over the water. Everywhere else has houses and trees. Water does not reflect radio waves and if it did, it could not have any effect over 100 feet in altitude.

The SE is advertised as having a 4km range. I believe that getting at least 2.5km under line of site conditions is not unreasonable.

Ken
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[GPS_Ken]

I did not turn around on weak signal, I kept going until the automatic RTH kicked in. I'm not willing to go beyond that while flying over water.

Ken
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[Mark The Droner]

The only place I can do a distance test is out over the water. Everywhere else has houses and trees. Water does not reflect radio waves and if it did, it could not have any effect over 100 feet in altitude.

The SE is advertised as having a 4km range. I believe that getting at least 2.5km under line of site conditions is not unreasonable.

Ken
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Sorry but lots of things bounce off water - even stones. And radio waves too.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

The only place I can do a distance test is out over the water. Everywhere else has houses and trees. Water does not reflect radio waves and if it did, it could not have any effect over 100 feet in altitude.

The SE is advertised as having a 4km range. I believe that getting at least 2.5km under line of site conditions is not unreasonable.

Ken
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HI fcc 2.5m 4km ce 0.3m or 500mtrs,,must be fcc mode to get that range according to specs,and that's a good range on wifi I must say,,vps might have been having hard time over the water ,water moves and bit hard for it to calculate depending on your height and speed,(hope worded that right)

 

[PhantomFlyer3SE]

The only place I can do a distance test is out over the water. Everywhere else has houses and trees. Water does not reflect radio waves and if it did, it could not have any effect over 100 feet in altitude.

The SE is advertised as having a 4km range. I believe that getting at least 2.5km under line of site conditions is not unreasonable.

Ken
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Have you checked if there are other wifi hotspots around you? If yes try to find another starting point, where are no ones. And if possible be far from mobile stations as well

 

[GPS_Ken]

This is on a river bank with woods (no buildings, no roads) all around. It is my understanding that WiFi is only for video and would not effect the distance where automatic return to home is activated.
Ken
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[GPS_Ken]

Your patch antennas are installed and aimed like this. Those two antennas are the only antennas that communicate with the AC. The stick antenna communicates with the mobile device so you can pretty much ignore it. https://www.phantomhelp.com/Tips/Images/P3S-0021s.jpg

Great, I now understand. I thought the non-directional stick was the main communication element. It is possible that I was not directly facing the drone when it got far away and I could not clearly see it. I will try again tomorrow and try to keep it directly in front of me.
Thanks, Ken

 

[BanditsRoost]

For what it's worth Ken, I recently purchased a new P3SE. I also fly the P4, P3S and a couple Yuneec's. I have to admit after reading some of the woe's I was concerned after my purchase. However below is a copy of a recent post I made in another thread after a request to comment on my first flights. YMMV

["Played close to home for two days and then ran the SE out to 9400 feet distance and 240 feet altitude. Solid video all the way. I brought it back after reaching that point. I'm not a distance flyer but I feel confident it would have made the advertised distance. Granted, I'm in the country with little or no interference. My test site will allow 10,800 feet of clear straight out flight. (Corn, Tobacco and soy bean fields)
I've only ever taken the P4 out to that distance once.
Bottom line: I'm satisfied with
App. 3.1.23
Ver. 1.5.40
Phantom 3 SE
Short of the initial black screen before exiting and re entering GO wifi I had zero problems.
I flew P mode ATTI and IOC course lock, home lock and POI. All worked.
I flew out to 1000m, initiated RTH and the AC flew back to within one foot of the launch spot.
The photos and videos I shot were very sharp and crisp but terrible exposure. My fault I think, since i forgot I was shooting 4K with different camera instead of the normal P3S. Manual exposures so I can't blame the AC/Camera. I'll do a redo of that test.....

Hope that helps some."]

 

[PhantomFlyer3SE]

Great, I now understand. I thought the non-directional stick was the main communication element. It is possible that I was not directly facing the drone when it got far away and I could not clearly see it. I will try again tomorrow and try to keep it directly in front of me.
Thanks, Ken

If you fly far away it's important to hold the drone precizely targeted with the back of controller, and to keep away your fingers from internal antennas.

 

[GPS_Ken]

If you fly far away it's important to hold the drone precizely targeted with the back of controller, and to keep away your fingers from internal antennas.

Yes, This was my problem. I flew again today at a perfect location and aimed both the drone and the controller at a distant landmark. Maximum distance I got was 10,034 feet (3.06 km). I was expecting to get around 2.5 km, so I am very happy now.

Does anyone have any tips on how to aim the controller when you can no longer see the drone?

I'm now thinking about ordering some larger directional antennas to help get my signal through the trees.

 

[Mark The Droner]

The long distance guys like to aim the controller at a spot just slightly above the horizon. Then they fly out. They start the flight at, say, 50 or 100' up and fly horizontally - that is, they start above the strength of the signal and fly at a steady altitude so that they are always flying towards the strength of the signal. When the app shows signal weakness (when it shows you drop a bar), they increase altitude by 50 feet or so and keep going. Rinse. Wash. Repeat...

A tripod or small table (preferably with long legs) would be good to keep the controller high and steady...

One good antenna might be the ITELITE Maxxrange. It's an excellent long range antenna for 2.4 ghz. Unfortunately it won't work well for 5.8, so you'd have to keep it at 2.4, but it would get you some serious distance. You'd have to figure out how to mount it.


It's not really possible to push the signal "through" the trees unless the trees are very light and you can see sunlight through them. What actually happens is the signal goes "over" the trees (dense woods) if it works at all. You really want clear LOS with extra room around the strength of the signal. You can read about this in the Fresnel wiki page.

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

The long distance guys like to aim the controller at a spot just slightly above the horizon. Then they fly out. They start the flight at, say, 50 or 100' up and fly horizontally - that is, they start above the strength of the signal and fly at a steady altitude so that they are always flying towards the strength of the signal. When the app shows signal weakness (when it shows you drop a bar), they increase altitude by 50 feet or so and keep going. Rinse. Wash. Repeat...

A tripod or small table (preferably with long legs) would be good to keep the controller high and steady...

One good antenna might be the ITELITE Maxxrange. It's an excellent long range antenna for 2.4 ghz. Unfortunately it won't work well for 5.8, so you'd have to keep it at 2.4, but it would get you some serious distance. You'd have to figure out how to mount it.


It's not really possible to push the signal "through" the trees unless the trees are very light and you can see sunlight through them. What actually happens is the signal goes "over" the trees (dense woods) if it works at all. You really want clear LOS with extra room around the strength of the signal. You can read about this in the Fresnel wiki page.

Mark.....this information sure will help me when i take a long flight...and i'm very sure it sure will help many many others too....Thank you for the very informing post !

 

[P3$E pilot]

I have a small argument for Mark's reply about the radio signal. You can't "push" the signal through the trees as they just diffract the beam and send the signal scampering everywhere. They also ground out some of it, further reducing the power. Only the remaining portion of the beam path goes over the trees. The important thing to take away here is that the RC transmits a beam to the AC to maintain control and to receive video. The more focused the Beam can be on the AC, the stronger the signal at the AC assuming you don't increase the transmitter power. (That's a whole other discussion!) An aside note, the strongest radiation occurs at the base of the antenna, so that's the area to focus on for reflecting. HTH!