I'm upgrading to a Phantom 3 standard

[John Locke]

Wonder how most wound feel if someone produced a booster That would get you Lightbridge distance or better for 200 or less.


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I own a Yuneec Q500+, and I can tell you WiFi, and the baggage that comes with it is the reason I bought a P3P. WiFi is cheap to implement, and it was never intended to be used for real time video connections in quads. It's a shortcut to a serious task.

Boosting wifi with more distance is not the primary benefit to consider. WiFi inherantly includes TCPIP handshake protocol. That means each packet of information does a check sum and comparison and acknowledgement, etc. This bi-directional handshaking in the WiFi spec causes video lag, sometimes really bad depending on the interference of city surroundings. Then.... when you get to the distance limit of your WiFi signal, it often freezes the video, because the link was lost. To re-establish the link you have to fly back toward yourself blindly or increase the altitude. This usually takes 30 to 60 seconds sometimes. This is all because of the TCPIP protocol that takes a while to re-establish after a radio connection is re-established. With Lightbridge, the digital signal is a broadcast technology, no handshaking to delay things, and when it reaches it's distance limit, it re-establishes the link within a few seconds. This momentary glitch of streaks in the video is your warning your reaching the limit, which does vary depending on environment. I've see glitches at 2500' in the city with Lightbridge, but not often. Far superior to WiFi...... FAR!

LightBridge is totally worth the money, I'll never buy another bird with WiFi, unless it's not for me, maybe a nephew or something. Low latency and fast reconnections are totally worth it.

I was so disappointed when Solo was released using WiFi. I was bummed.

 

[dirtdobber903]

Boosting wifi with more distance is still not the same, I would never compare it that way. WiFi inherantly includes TCPIP handshake protocol. That means each packet of information does a check sum and comparison and acknowledgement, etc. This bi-directional handshaking in the WiFi spec causes video lag, sometimes really bad depending on the interference of city surroundings. Then.... when you get to the distance limit of WiFi, it often freezes the video, because the link was lost. To re-establish the link you have to fly back toward yourself blindly or increase the altitude. This usually takes 30 to 60 seconds sometimes. This is all because of the TCPIP protocol that takes a while to re-establish after a radio connection is re-established. With Lightbridge, the digital signal is a broadcast technology, no handshaking to delay things, and when it reaches it's distance limit, it re-establishes the link within a few seconds. This momentary glitch of streaks in the video is your warning your reaching the limit, which does vary depending on environment. I've see glitches at 2500' in the city, but not often.

LightBridge is totally worth the money, I'll never buy another bird with WiFi, unless it's not for me, maybe a nephew or something. Low latency and fast reconnections are totally worth it.

I was so disappointed when Solo was released using WiFi. I was bummed.

With all that you said some are having those type issues with lightbridge. lol


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[bighi]

Same here. Never again WiFi. Here is the kind of photo you would need heavy customization of a standard in order to achieve whereas with my bone stock advanced I can do all day long. To give an idea, I was flying my bird from the other side of that peninsula which is just under 1km wide. No stock standard would achieve that. Only one with inelegant bunch of antennae and wires all over that transmitter and even then, who knows. Whereas on a stock advanced or professional it's business as usual. Though there are a lot of folks out there who are more into photographing or videotaping the tree top level stuff near them. Not for me. I like photographs I would need an aircraft to get

 

[jjpetroski]

So I'm one of those getting ready to drop the $$ on a Quad any day now. Could someone explain the camera thing to me. I hear 2.7K, great, but lose 1080P/60 frames too? Obviously I won't give up Glosnas and Lightbridge, but I'm wondering if I should now wait for some news on a PH3 Advanced camera upgrade. Me soooo confused....

 

[BrewserB]

So I'm one of those getting ready to drop the $$ on a Quad any day now. Could someone explain the camera thing to me. I hear 2.7K, great, but lose 1080P/60 frames too? Obviously I won't give up Glosnas and Lightbridge, but I'm wondering if I should now wait for some news on a PH3 Advanced camera upgrade. Me soooo confused....

1080/60 is really good unless you have a 4k TV or computer that can handle it. Depending on where you live you will be running out of summer soon so if you're going to wait you might want to wait for next spring.

 

[jjpetroski]

The other Phantom 3 models and the higher-end Inspire 1 will get a firmware upgrade for these piloting options in coming weeks per CNET...
I'm in Florida, so it's our Winter when you consider rain vs. snow.

 

[macsoft]

View attachment 26611[/QUOTE]

Same here. Never again WiFi. Here is the kind of photo you would need heavy customization of a standard in order to achieve whereas with my bone stock advanced I can do all day long. To give an idea, I was flying my bird from the other side of that peninsula which is just under 1km wide. No stock standard would achieve that. Only one with inelegant bunch of antennae and wires all over that transmitter and even then, who knows. Whereas on a stock advanced or professional it's business as usual. Though there are a lot of folks out there who are more into photographing or videotaping the tree top level stuff near them. Not for me. I like photographs I would need an aircraft to get View attachment 26611

heavy customization? All you need is an Itelite Antenna on the Tx of my P2 and you get even better range than your P3. AND I get a better images with the better gopro camera than your P3.
AND most people here to like to customize so that is a plus.
Now go and fry an ESC on your P3 and you go buy an entire board for your bird, while I just buy a new ESC.

 

[John Locke]

View attachment 26611

heavy customization? All you need is an Itelite Antenna on the Tx of my P2 and you get even better range than your P3. AND I get a better images with the better gopro camera than your P3.
AND most people here to like to customize so that is a plus.
Now go and fry an ESC on your P3 and you go buy an entire board for your bird, while I just buy a new ESC.

Questions about your GoPro.
1. Can you take photos, then during the same flight trigger the camera to take video, start and stop?
2. Does the Phantom power the GoPro like the Solo, or do you have to charge the GoPro all the time?
3. Can you change the exposure setting during flight?
4. Can you review the video or photo you just took while in flight?

I'm just wondering about the downside to using GoPro. I know they're good cameras, but the utility of having control of the camera after takeoff is what seems hidden from most conversation. Solo claims to be the first to offer mid-flight camera control of GoPro, implying there's absolutely no control of a GoPro after takeoff on all other quads. Hence my questions.

 

[macsoft]

heavy customization? All you need is an Itelite Antenna on the Tx of my P2 and you get even better range than your P3. AND I get a better images with the better gopro camera than your P3.
AND most people here to like to customize so that is a plus.
Now go and fry an ESC on your P3 and you go buy an entire board for your bird, while I just buy a new ESC.

Questions about your GoPro.
1. Can you take photos, then trigger the camera to take video, start and stop?
2. Does the Phantom power the GoPro like the Solo?
3. Can you change the exposure setting during flight?
4. Can you review the video or photo you just took while in flight?

I just wondering the downside to using GoPro. I know they're good cameras, but the utility of having control of the camera after takeoff is what seems hidden from most conversation. Solo claims to be the first to offer mid-flight camera control of GoPro, implying there's absolutely no control of a GoPro after takeoff on all other quads. Hence my questions.[/QUOTE]
I think the big throw back on most phantoms is the camera. You can't upgrade it. That is why DJI launches so many models, so it can keep up with the fast evolution of cameras. They make money because the camera in your bird gets obsolete way way before the rest of your drone does.
That is why I like the GoPro solution so much. But.. there is not a perfect one on Phantoms.
The 3DR solo really has as beat there.
I'm finishing a customization that lets me use a gopro with the DJI app so no need for external FPV. And for now I cannot trigger it or change settings during flight.
This works ok for me, because even with my P2V+ camera I start recording before taking Off, and only stop when I land. THat way I know I haven't missed a shot.
Unless you are flying outside, and get onto an hanger midflight, I dont see the need to change exposure settings during flight.
I'm an experienced electronic guy, and if I really need to, I can find a way to control all GP functions remotely. I just don't see the need for now.

But for me, the P2V+ platform is the best DJI has to offer:
- well tested 3 version drone.
- decentralized components you can change if they fail (if you burn an ESC on a all-in-one P3 board, you have to change the entire board);
- 3km range (with an Itelite antenna on the TX and exernal antennas on the bird)
- AND with the gopro and the internal FPV mod, I can always upgrade the camera, without changing my perfect flying platform, and not needing external FPV

I have 2x P2V+ just for that reason.
I see no advantage on any P3, and I can get better movies and more secure flying with any of my P2V+.
the ONLY thing on a P3 I dont have is 720p resolution FPV. But really.. FPV does not need that much resolution for me, the real high quality movie is on the camera already.

 

[John Locke]

So I'm one of those getting ready to drop the $$ on a Quad any day now. Could someone explain the camera thing to me. I hear 2.7K, great, but lose 1080P/60 frames too? Obviously I won't give up Glosnas and Lightbridge, but I'm wondering if I should now wait for some news on a PH3 Advanced camera upgrade. Me soooo confused....

The 1080P on the P3A is a bargain for what you get. However you'll only get a 57W charger with the P3A. It's reallly dumb that DJI did that, but it did make me buy the Pro. If you buy the P3A you'll want to buy the 100W charger for $60 to charge batteries faster, and use the 57W for the controller. They say not to connect a battery and controller at the same time to the charger, even though both wires are there separately to do so.
I bought the P3P primarily for the 100W charger, I know, sound silly. However the 4K camera setting may get used someday. I don't have a 4K TV nor the ability to edit 4K video, so I record in 1080 ALL THE TIME. Great clarity. Maybe someday I'll have 4K needs, so I splurged for the Pro. Plus it says "PRO" on the quad, proving I'm a Pro, right? ;-)

 

[rrmccabe]

Yea 3DR is the only one to apparently made the deal with GoPro to do that. It connects via the Hero port on the back and when 3DR releases a gimbal for the Solo there should be special GoPro firmware available to integrate the two. So control and battery charging via Hero Port. Anything that connects to GoPro via HDMI port will have zero control or charging.

That is the beauty of Solo. Full camera control, stills during video, upgradable camera. Little higher framerate with Hero 4 black.

 

[macsoft]

Yea 3DR is the only one to apparently made the deal with GoPro to do that. It connects via the Hero port on the back and when 3DR releases a gimbal for the Solo there should be special GoPro firmware available to integrate the two. So control and battery charging via Hero Port. Anything that connects to GoPro via HDMI port will have zero control or charging.

That is the beauty of Solo. Full camera control, stills during video, upgradable camera. Little higher framerate with Hero 4 black.

Well, stills during video sucks. They are not realy stills, they are just screen-grabs from the movie, limited to the movies resolution and not the full resolution a still could be. Anyway, you have some apps that do just that on the Phantom.
Charging the GoPro during flight is also easily done on the Phantom.

 

[dirtdobber903]

So I'm one of those getting ready to drop the $$ on a Quad any day now. Could someone explain the camera thing to me. I hear 2.7K, great, but lose 1080P/60 frames too? Obviously I won't give up Glosnas and Lightbridge, but I'm wondering if I should now wait for some news on a PH3 Advanced camera upgrade. Me soooo confused....

Please don't listen to the few replies you get here. Get all the opinions you can then do the research into what you wanting to do. But I can say this 4k vid brought down to 1080 make for a much better 1080. IMO !! I hope the is a upgrade for the advanced also.
Good luck


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[AlmostTan]

My face feels fine. I'll take lightbridge, glonass, and 1080p/60 over 2.7k and wifi any day of the week.

It looks like you have flown both the P2 and P3 - was the addition of GLONASS satellites a big difference in terms of stability of the aircraft?

 

[rrmccabe]

Well charging and stills are only minimal things compared to the control it should get with the solo... note I said should.

I personally am OK with the p3 camera setup!

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[bbfpv]

It looks like you have flown both the P2 and P3 - was the addition of GLONASS satellites a big difference in terms of stability of the aircraft?

The 2nd biggest contributor to lost P2s (behind idiotic operators) was lost GPS. So yeah the additional +/-10 sats with glonass is HUGE.

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[skyhighdiver]

Well... for me this whole post is moot. I got my P2 from DroneCamp, and they just said I couldn't exchange it for the Standard (even though I'm edging for the Advanced anyway). I find it strange that I can't return it after only a week and a half....

that's why I have bought all of my phantoms from Amazon 30 days no questions asked just send it back
had to send 2 back from bad gimbal and one cracked screw holes sent me a new one day of return

 

[envisionabove]

I bet lots of users that shoot homes for money will like the lower cost out of pocket.
At least for a back up...
And just camping or family events it's a winner as well.

DJI does one thing good and that's Marketing savvy!

 

[Meta4]

So I'm one of those getting ready to drop the $$ on a Quad any day now. Could someone explain the camera thing to me. I hear 2.7K, great, but lose 1080P/60 frames too? Obviously I won't give up Glosnas and Lightbridge, but I'm wondering if I should now wait for some news on a PH3 Advanced camera upgrade. Me soooo confused....

In hitech electronics there is always something newer and better just around the corner.
If you want to ride, you have to get on sometime.

 

[Meta4]

But for me, the P2V+ platform is the best DJI has to offer:
- well tested 3 version drone.
- decentralized components you can change if they fail (if you burn an ESC on a all-in-one P3 board, you have to change the entire board);
- 3km range (with an Itelite antenna on the TX and exernal antennas on the bird)
- AND with the gopro and the internal FPV mod, I can always upgrade the camera, without changing my perfect flying platform, and not needing external FPV

I have 2x P2V+ just for that reason.
I see no advantage on any P3, and I can get better movies and more secure flying with any of my P2V+.
the ONLY thing on a P3 I dont have is 720p resolution FPV. But really.. FPV does not need that much resolution for me, the real high quality movie is on the camera already.

Have you actually flown a P3 or just read about them?
It's hard to imagine how you would think that the P2 is better if you had tried the P3.