How is signal affected flying blind side of a large hill

[Bazzo]

Hi folks
So I live in quite a hilly region of Spain.. not quite mountains but much bigger than hills.
I have a mini mountain at the rear of my house, and I would love to explore the other side of it with the drone. It’s too steep to climb and just fly from the top, so the question is this..
If I flew up from my house and over the ridge and down the other side what would I lose first, I’m guessing video...
But then if I lost rc I know it will return to home, but if it was say 50m down from the ridge would it just fly straight back to home, and I guess into the side of the hill? Or would I need to set the return to home altitude to above the hill top.
It’s probably 100m high from my house.
I know out if site is not a great idea, but on google maps I can see it’s not populated at all, just a few ruins and a couple of old mining turrets.

 

[MapMaker53]

Yes, you would have to set the RTH to a higher altitude than the hill top. But I wouldn't bother to attempt a decent down the other side of the hill as you will surely loose signal. Even if you lose video first, you can't just fly blindly with no idea where it is. So I'd say this is generally a bad idea. Best to just fly to the top of the hill and take in the view. Even at the top of the hill, your Phantom will be beyond your sight -- illegal to do in the U.S., but I am not familiar with the regulations in Spain.

 

[Bazzo]

ok.. i get it.. is it a case of as soon as it drops out of line of site ive lost signal, or is there a few warnings of low signal first?

 

[Offroader]

Going by experience, you may not even get a low signal indication before it loses communications entirely.

 

[Bazzo]

So... Line of sight means no obstructions in the way at all... it does not mean i can see the drone, ie, if i fly a straight mission at say 100m alt, and i fly for 1km i wont be able to see it, but it would be a safe flight for the drone?

Im just trying to get a handle for whats possible.
for instance if i was in a clearing in the middle of a woods, i flew straight up to 50m, then flew say 500m away, i would not be able to see the drone at all, would i still get signal?

Have to point out that i live in a fairly desolate part of spain, and could easily fly 2 or 3km with no danger of passing over houses.

 

[Andy9]

You're right about straight view with no obstacles.
Even the tree, particular if many leaves on may block the signal so definitely you'll going to loose the signal flying in the wood over the trees top.
About the high of the hill you can measure it directly - put the drone up and when it's just above the top of it see what is the altitude. You need to go at les 30m higher than that depends how big the trees are. So you get the RTH altitude.

 

[Bone4Drone]

You're right about straight view with no obstacles.
Even the tree, particular if many leaves on may block the signal so definitely you'll going to loose the signal flying in the wood over the trees top.
About the high of the hill you can measure it directly - put the drone up and when it's just above the top of it see what is the altitude. You need to go at les 30m higher than that depends how big the trees are. So you get the RTH altitude.

I was flying my P4P v2.0 in a large wooded park (no people) and noticed when I got out about a quarter mile that the video signal went to black & white and said Weak Signal Detected. The RTH button brought it back with no problem. I had the DJI Racing Goggles on at the time and, once the drone landed, I noted that my antenna were not facing the drone when signal problem occurred. Does the Occusync system on the P4P v2 help with controlling the drone when it is blocked from sight by trees or other obstructions?

 

[Meta4]

Does the Occusync system on the P4P v2 help with controlling the drone when it is blocked from sight by trees or other obstructions?

No .. if obstacles are blocking your signal, you lose signal.