Flying near power lines

Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
154
Reaction score
31
Age
49
Location
Rio Rancho, NM
I live near interstate transmission power lines.

How close to the power lines can I fly my P3P before signal interference is expected?
What about flying on the other side of power lines? In other words, will the signal be affected if I fly over the power lines and then descent on the other side and fly away from the power lines?
 
It's been asked many times but it's not possible to give one simple answer.
If you're talking about high voltage transmission lines I'd be wanting to keep about >100 metres away. I've had issues (working, not flying) with the magnetic field of HV lines affecting a compass and making it take me on a curved path rather than a straight line.
 
The Electric Utility Industry is doing a lot of testing on this topic right now. They want to do line and substation inspections, but, have the same question you have.
There should be a lot more information coming out as things mature.
 
I live near interstate transmission power lines.

How close to the power lines can I fly my P3P before signal interference is expected?
What about flying on the other side of power lines? In other words, will the signal be affected if I fly over the power lines and then descent on the other side and fly away from the power lines?
As Meta4 so well stated, this has been asked hundreds of times on this site. Do a site search.
How close? Until you hit the wires.
Power lines do not radiate RF energy at the frequencies that could affect your R/C equipment.
Power lines do not have a large magnetic field because they are usually balanced lines and the magnetic field generated by one will be cancelled by the opposite current flow in the other wire. Three-phase is not quite as good but it's less common and usually only found on lower voltage (typically 440-volts) neighborhood distribution. But still, the magnetic interference from three-phase power lines is minimal. Your flight may be a curve rather than a straight line. The steel towers holding the wires will contribute a more significant compass error.
Power lines can shadow the control signals to your Phantom, but the Phantom has to see a loss of control signal for three seconds before it enters a Failsafe mode. If your Phantom is in motion as the wires come between you and the Phantom, you are unlikely to see Failsafe. Again the steel towers are as opaque to microwave signals as a building.

Personally, I avoid power lines simply because they are difficult to see.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GUP-GX

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,357
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31