Long Range Phantom 3 Standard Setup, 3 Miles!

[Aussie markD1969]

Wow you guys are spending that kind of dough to get extra range ? I have a standard and a advanced , argtek booster on the standard it’s still crappy range that’s why l bought the advanced l use both but the standard does get a lot less use now . Mainly because of the controller it’s annoying having to take of the mods for transport ie antennas and the iPad holder . The advanced is a way easier option and great range . Just my opinion .

 

[Mark The Droner]

Wow you guys are spending that kind of dough to get extra range ?...

You have no idea...

 

[Aussie markD1969]

No l have a very good idea , it’s fun to make things work and get better range ,l understand that . I like my standard and yes there are lots of mods u can do , but at a major cost . Anything decent is very expensive . Battery life is a major reason you don’t need 10 mile range , l get an easy 2 mile range from my adv , and by the time I’ve taken a few pics and looked around it’s time to return .. l know others have different uses for there quads but u can only go so far on those batteries ..

 

[kevinp3s]

My first objective is to get a solid / reliable connection for both 2.4 and 5.8 @short to medium range ( 500m to about 1km ) ... I have done the magic power to 24db.. but I still get signal loss (mainly 5.8 ghz) from about 300m (btw RTH works well ..LOL)... waiting for a windsurfer which I ordered ... what should be my next mod ?? Thanks for all the advise on the forums !!

 

[shesiter]

I just ordered everything on the list I needed. I already own the ARGtek system so that reduced my cost. All items purchased on ebay from all US sellers (for quicker shipping times) for 238.00. Honestly if I can get only 1/2 of the improvement this promises , I will be happy. Im sick to death of flying 1300 feet and loosing video signal. Very frustrating just at the time when flying starts to become a journey. I enjoy Arial exploration and the lack of range is a annoying buzz kill. Plus this mod is far cheaper than purchasing a mavic pro or P3Pro. Thanks so much Ian Cognito for your help on this . Im too excited to put this all together and get airborne.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

The ability to make the device outperform it's original design is thrilling and well worth it if you choose to try.

I understand this concept all too well, although I probably wouldn't take it to this extreme. Good luck with your efforts and be sure to post the video of your cross-state flight.

 

[Iancognito87]

I just ordered everything on the list I needed. I already own the ARGtek system so that reduced my cost. All items purchased on ebay from all US sellers (for quicker shipping times) for 238.00. Honestly if I can get only 1/2 of the improvement this promises , I will be happy. Im sick to death of flying 1300 feet and loosing video signal. Very frustrating just at the time when flying starts to become a journey. I enjoy Arial exploration and the lack of range is a annoying buzz kill. Plus this mod is far cheaper than purchasing a mavic pro or P3Pro. Thanks so much Ian Cognito for your help on this . Im too excited to put this all together and get airborne.

Make sure to keep me informed, and if you have any questions just let me know!

 

[shesiter]

I understand this concept all too well, although I probably wouldn't take it to this extreme. Good luck with your efforts and be sure to post the video of your cross-state flight.

I live in city conditions far from rural areas. I just want better than sub 1/2 mile range I tolerate now. This limited range is terribly suffocating for what I want to explore. I've out grown the default distance limitations of my loved P3Standard. But cant afford and P3Pro or mavic. This will add life and increase the overall value of my drone that has made flying from a lightly considered hobby into a serious passion. Time to take the next step! Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Just_nick]

I live in city conditions far from rural areas. I just want better than sub 1/2 mile range I tolerate now. This limited range is terribly suffocating for what I want to explore. I've out grown the default distance limitations of my loved P3Standard. But cant afford and P3Pro or mavic. This will add life and increase the overall value of my drone that has made flying from a lightly considered hobby into a serious passion. Time to take the next step! Different strokes for different folks.

You say that, but a P3P can be had for $400 or so. A P4 has been posted for $500. The antenna kit is over $100, so selling your P3S and getting a P3P or P4 can be had for almost the same cost, except you get a far superior drone. And I've gotten 15,000 feet out of a P4 without a single modification and on the 5350 battery.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

I live in city conditions far from rural areas. I just want better than sub 1/2 mile range I tolerate now. This limited range is terribly suffocating for what I want to explore. I've out grown the default distance limitations of my loved P3Standard. But cant afford and P3Pro or mavic. This will add life and increase the overall value of my drone that has made flying from a lightly considered hobby into a serious passion. Time to take the next step! Different strokes for different folks.

I can appreciate where you're coming from because I understand that you're limited in pursuing something that you have a passion for. Were in your situation, I'm quite certain that I'd want more out of my P3S as well, and would likely search for ways to accomplish that, although probably not to the lengths that you have. Fortunately, I've been blessed in that I have access to some rural farmlands for flying. I'm also blessed in that I have a P3S that gets some amazing range without the need for any mods. For the record, my Standard can routinely get 6000 - 7000' before RTH kicks in. My personal best range was a bit over 9200' last summer, all without any mods, windsurfers, or boosters. This was all done over rural or isolated lands with little if any population, although with wooded or forested areas. I do have a P4 that performs very nicely but, my P3S will always be very special to me. All of that aside, I do understand your drive to do more with what you have and I wish you well in your quest.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

You say that, but a P3P can be had for $400 or so. A P4 has been posted for $500. The antenna kit is over $100, so selling your P3S and getting a P3P or P4 can be had for almost the same cost, except you get a far superior drone. And I've gotten 15,000 feet out of a P4 without a single modification and on the 5350 battery.

I could be way off on this but, I think that shesiter is looking at this more from a personal challenge perspective of finding a way to overcome an obstacle and doing more with what they already have, rather than buying something that's readymade to accomplish that end. As strange as it may sound, I understand that concept.

 

[phantomflyer28]

Dude, my uncle built that!!!!! And his drone went so high we lost all signal. We one of his friends found it 4 miles away. He was glad he had a drone parachute.

 

[Ajax]

I installed an Argtek kit on my P3S and I got fantastic results. Try it you will not be disappointed.

 

[shesiter]

I can appreciate where you're coming from because I understand that you're limited in pursuing something that you have a passion for. Were in your situation, I'm quite certain that I'd want more out of my P3S as well, and would likely search for ways to accomplish that, although probably not to the lengths that you have. Fortunately, I've been blessed in that I have access to some rural farmlands for flying. I'm also blessed in that I have a P3S that gets some amazing range without the need for any mods. For the record, my Standard can routinely get 6000 - 7000' before RTH kicks in. My personal best range was a bit over 9200' last summer, all without any mods, windsurfers, or boosters. This was all done over rural or isolated lands with little if any population, although with wooded or forested areas. I do have a P4 that performs very nicely but, my P3S will always be very special to me. All of that aside, I do understand your drive to do more with what you have and I wish you well in your quest.

Oh man I would love to get that kind of range. I cant even get 1/2 mile where I live and thats with a decent line of sight. Too much interference i guess. Maybe I will take a trip out to the country and give it a try there. Just when it starts to get fun, I lose video signal. And strangely , RTH fails. Thankfully the compass and map are still visible and I have to fly home using the remaining telemetry. I just dont understand why RTH doesnt work? I assume it records the GPS cordinates before it takes off and should be able to RTH if it loses signal. I thought thats what it was for?

 

[shesiter]

Dude, my uncle built that!!!!! And his drone went so high we lost all signal. We one of his friends found it 4 miles away. He was glad he had a drone parachute.

Wow. My friend was a daredevil with his P3Standard. He flew up about 2500 feet. Tried to bring it home but it emergency landed and he lost it for almost 3 months. 2 weeks ago a neighbor knocked on his door and returned his drone in perfect working condition. No telling how long it was outside in the elements and they said they called DJI for assistance locating the owner and they werent at all helpful. The kid used some of the video from the SD card and somehow tracked down my friend. And whats crazy is that he tracked the approximate landing spot using the flight logs, and they claimed the found it right were the logs showed. Even though he immediately searched there. Nice Inspire BTW.

 

[shesiter]

I installed an Argtek kit on my P3S and I got fantastic results. Try it you will not be disappointed.

I have the ARGTek and my personal best in terms of distance away is 1900 feet and of course I lost video signal and had to fly home using the compass. And RTH failed several times. I think its just something I will have to accept that flying in a populated city is just not going to yield ranges over 1/2 mile unless I break the rules and fly over 400 feet to escape interference from the ground. Too much radio interference I assume. Glad your ARGTek is working out for you.

 

[shesiter]

Well I finally got all my parts in and completed Incognitos list and I am very happy. It all works as expected. I havent been able to reach the massive distances yet, but as I am discovering there is more to be learned. Its not as simple as boosting the signal and getting huge returns. Im starting to learn as I have read before from some of the long range masters, that line of sight and antenna aim are crucial for extended range. You can have all the power in the world but if your signal is obstructed, especially at extended distances, its useless. And holding the drone in your hands with even the slightest movements can cause loss of signal. To understand this, think about what long range snipers must over come to put their shots on target. The rifle must remain perfectly still and their bodies as well. So I made a very ghetto style tripod base I hope to test out today. And Im still experimenting with different antenna configurations to see which work the best. Thanks again. I will report back with results as they come.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

I just dont understand why RTH doesnt work? I assume it records the GPS cordinates before it takes off and should be able to RTH if it loses signal. I thought thats what it was for?

Sorry to hear you're having a problem with RTH. If you've verified that all your RTH settings are active and correct, I suspect something else may be going on. If there's one thing I can count on with my P3S is the RTH doing what it's designed to do. In spite of all the times that I've lost control signal, or disconnected and never reconnected, RTH has performed flawlessly. Even those times where I completely lost control signal and didn't hear RTH engage, a few minutes later I hear the familiar swarming of bees in the distance.
I live in the suburbs, so my distance there is not the best. Maybe 3000 - 4000' due to a lot of interference and obstacles, so I really don't fly there any more. Where I fly out over rural farmland, I get some great distance. Today was the first time flying in two months because of bad weather. Got a few good flights in with my P3S and P4. The P3S got 5300, 5400 and 6300 before RTH kicked in. I've gotten a bit more than that before, but that was good enough for today, and I didn't really push it any further. Try driving out to a rural area and fly there. You should see an noticeable improvement. Good luck. Hope you get your RTH issue resolved.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Just when it starts to get fun, I lose video signal. And strangely , RTH fails.

Just reading your post over again and it almost sounds like you're expecting RTH to engage when you lose video signal. Did I misunderstand your comment?

 

[shesiter]

Just reading your post over again and it almost sounds like you're expecting RTH to engage when you lose video signal. Did I misunderstand your comment?

Okay I will explain. When I have reached about 1300 feet away, the video loses signal, the screen goes from color to black and white last image the drone sent back. DJI go says signal lost and offers RTH option which I accept. About 3 seconds later, it says RTH failed. Follow up attempts always result in RTH failures. I was always able to fly home using the compass map in the bottom left corner but still. I thought it was supposed to be such that it rarely would if ever fail. I dunno. I even have video of this happening.