Flight distance question.

[Audioblaster]

I have had my p3 pro for about a year now and I have never updated the drone or the controller from the day I got it out of the box. It has always worked great although I have heard this drone should go multiple miles in distance and I do not believe I have ever retained image transmission past 1 mile. Would updating the software on both the drone in the controller fix this issue as to where I could fly much further and still have image transmission? Thanks.

 

[BigAl07]

Lots of things can affect signal strength and you have to remember... those advertised distances were performed under PERFECT conditions. Trees, structures, environment, hills & mountains, and local WiFi signals can all play a part in reducing signal strength.

 

[Audioblaster]

Lots of things can affect signal strength and you have to remember... those advertised distances were performed under PERFECT conditions. Trees, structures, environment, hills & mountains, and local WiFi signals can all play a part in reducing signal strength.

Ok thanks, most times it is in my backyard with neighbors, wifi, trees, and power lines. But doesn't seem to go much further than 1000 feet before loosing transmission. Is that possibly normal?

 

[Mark The Droner]

If you're talking about putting trees between you and the AC, yes, you can lose the connection. For decent distance, you really need clear LOS at the very least.

 

[BigAl07]

Ok thanks, most times it is in my backyard with neighbors, wifi, trees, and power lines. But doesn't seem to go much further than 1000 feet before loosing transmission. Is that possibly normal?

Try different areas around your town/county and see if it's something local. We fly our P3P out much further than that on the stock antennae but you'll have to do some testing to see if it's a problem with the UAS or local conditions limiting your signal.

 

[Jav]

Put a wind surfer on. I have a std and have been 4600 feet surfer done all that. Get one

 

[Jav]

And there are trees in the way to

 

[grin factor]

And there are trees in the way to

Really? Out of line of sight?

 

[Jav]

Really? Out of line of sight?

I live on a 10.000 hectare farm no houses just my land. I have only done that once and it scared the crap out of me. Lol

 

[grin factor]

Cheers Jav. That tickled my sense of humour

 

[Audioblaster]

Put a wind surfer on. I have a std and have been 4600 feet surfer done all that. Get one

got any links to a good one? or is a cheap ebay one just fine?

 

[Newbieguy]

Standard with a cheap windsurfer.

 

[SrChap]

I live in Dallas so I can’t expect to get a lot of distance from mine. I’ve noticed that radio and cell towers REALLY mess with the distance.

 

[Damon0]

you can improve the distance of the RC signal also with a home made windsurfer I made this and it really works well:

 

[Mark The Droner]

Is that the one from freeantennas? Looks nice but normally you'd want those antennas on the controller to be parallel to each other.

 

[Mordor]

If you update, you will loose distance....
For instance, RC outpower will decrease after 1.6fw....

Small details......

 

[Damon0]

Is that the one from freeantennas? Looks nice but normally you'd want those antennas on the controller to be parallel to each other.

I made it at home, I found a template here:
Booster9dbi2_4Ghz_Phantom3.pdf

For antennas the recommendation is that they should not be crossed, but they can be divergent

Before mounting that I lost signal at about 1.3 km, now I have full signal at the same distance (note that I'm in Italy and the RC works with minor power than in USA)

 

[Mark The Droner]

The guy at freeantennas designed the template for the classic homemade windsurfer quite a while ago. Many sites have copied and reposted his design.

You might want to research what a signal looks like as it leaves an antenna, and also how best to position the receiving antenna relative to the transmitting antenna. Also - you might look into what each antenna does on your controller (the right one vs the left one). If you do that, I think you'll find positioning your antennas like rabbit ears is technically not ideal.

There are windsurfers you can buy - cheap - that are less wide which may work better than the way you have it set up. Good luck.

 

[Alan Russel]

You should be able to get 3 miles with a stock P3P, try flying over flat farmland with no trees or buildings in front of you. Also I find if it is a bit cloudy signal is really good.

 

[rkingsb353]

Add a wind surfer. Cost is around $15. It will greatly increase your distance.