Flight range is poor

[RamiAgonistes]

Hey guys. I'll keep it short and to the point. Everything for the most part is working fine on my PA3 with the exception of the range. I'm flying at 200ft high and maybe 500ft max from the remote and I'm getting the poor signal message. This was at two different locations. Any advice?

I'm on latest firmware and don't have any aftermarket parts attached

 

[flux45]

Hey guys. I'll keep it short and to the point. Everything for the most part is working fine on my PA3 with the exception of the range. I'm flying at 200ft high and maybe 500ft max from the remote and I'm getting the poor signal message. This was at two different locations. Any advice?

I'm on latest firmware and don't have any aftermarket parts attached

Likely candidate is interference. If you are flying in the city limits or even around heavy lines in a rural area this will happen.
It probably wont do anything but maybe try adjusting the antennas on the remote and keep them pointed line-of-sight at the craft.

 

[RamiAgonistes]

I live in Staten Island NYC. I'm on ground level when flying and the Phantom is out of my field of vision. However, even still I thought i would get better range. I'm going to try the beach where I have a clear line of site with no obstructions. If that doesn't fix it I'll call DJI

 

[bbfpv]

I live in Staten Island NYC. I'm on ground level when flying and the Phantom is out of my field of vision. However, even still I thought i would get better range. I'm going to try the beach where I have a clear line of site with no obstructions. If that doesn't fix it I'll call DJI

If you're flying behind trees and buildings, you're going to get poor range. I bet you get 6x the range at the beach.

 

[aburkefl]

Hey guys. I'll keep it short and to the point. Everything for the most part is working fine on my PA3 with the exception of the range. I'm flying at 200ft high and maybe 500ft max from the remote and I'm getting the poor signal message. This was at two different locations. Any advice?

I'm on latest firmware and don't have any aftermarket parts attached

Do not point the antennas directly at your Phantom. The antennas should, as much as possible, be broadside to the Phantom. There is very little radiation coming directly in line with the tips. The antennas in the Phantom are nothing more than miniature vertical antennas and they radiate broadside to their orientation. The antennas would work so much better if they had some kind of helical arrangement - like the ones you often see with stand-alone FPV equipment.

 

[RamiAgonistes]

Thanks for the advice guys. I went to pretty much the same spot and got better results this time. Roughly 1500 ft at 200ft altitude. I put my phone in Airplane mode which may have helped. Still not satisfied though. I'm going to test in a wide open area like the beach.

 

[RamiAgonistes]

Update:

Took this bad boy near the coast line and got it to around 2600 ft still with full connection bars! Definitely some type of interference at my previous locations.