Long Range Phantom 3 Standard Setup, 3 Miles!
- Thread starter Iancognito87
- Start date
no I always activate RTH via the UI. I may try this. Every time my video freezes from loss of signal and the full color goes to black and white. If I try RTH it fails every single time. Doesnt make sense to me I thought it was a fail safe for low battery or loss of signal. I assume RTH shouldn't need a signal to work?
I would kill to have that kind of range. My personal best is 1900 feet flying around 350 feet up. My RTH settings appear to be correct. I suspect this may be due to the ancient Galaxy S4 Im using. If I could get anywhere near 1/2 a mile I would be as giddy as a kid in a candy store. I dont think im a distance junkie but its a bit disheartening when I continuously hear about just about every other PS3 owner reaching far longer ranges than I ever have. Even with a boosted signal im not seeing very much improvement. Im thinking it may be my phone.
For what it's worth, I'm using an "ancient" Galaxy S5, and it handles either the DJI GO app or the GO4 app without any problems. While the video freezing could be attributed to your phone, I doubt that your phone is directly impacting your distance. I suspect that may have more to do with interference/obstacles. If you haven't already done so, there are some things you can do to improve your phone's performance.
For what it's worth, your not alone in getting less than the published range. While there are some pilots that report better than advertised distance, there is a larger number of pilots who report the type of range that you're getting. After reading hundreds of postings, I have to say the number of pilots getting anything significantly better than advertised range is small. My suggestion is to try and fly in a more rural area to see if your range issue is due to hardware or interference/obstacles. Good luck.
Yeah you're right. My affinity for urban exploration probably doesn't marry up well with my expectations for distance. I may save up and get a mavic Pro. But I likely wont sell my P3Standard. Where I live , there are 2 major fireworks celebrations each year less than 1/2 a mile from where I live. The very few drone pilots brave enough to fly into a fireworks displays have said they prefer their P3Standard for this. Not sure if its the size and weight or other factors. But it may just come down to the risk / reward math. I asked them why they preferred the P3Standard over other more advanced drones but never got a definite answer. I will continue to experiment with differing antenna configurations and improving the tripod I made on the fly to see if things get better. But my gut tells me line of sight is likely the key if my phone isnt to blame.
Last edited:
I would tend to agree with that assessment. The P3S is very capable of shooting fireworks displays but would be more expendable than, say, the P4 series were something to go wrong, not that anyone would want to sacrifice a P3S. While not as advanced as the other Phantoms, for the investment, a P3S is a very capable and proven performer.
A fireworks display will happen soon around July 4th. I will likely have to do this on the sly. But if my drone survives I will share footage.
Oh yes. Good luck same here where I live and its over a lake. But I attended last year with no drone. We were so close to the launch site, fireworks debris were landing on our heads and the area was engulfed with smoke. We knew we were very close from the intensity of the sound. I can easily launch from there un noticed. Hopefully I dont suffer a direct hit.
