Losing Video at 300'

[Happyflyer]

wow 7200?! thats very impressive. I'm pulling the trigger on the RE700 for sure. that supposedly doubles the wifi range. is the stage 2 you have the pilots side? how was the installation? thank

I have to agree with Dirk. If you are handy with small tools, can follow videos, and take your time, you should not have any problems with the stage 2 mod. The "old" version took a little more work, but with the new "holder" design makes it much less of a job. My distance increased BIG when I added mine. With both controller and quad done, I have made 10,000 feet away and still had FPV and control. Could have gone more, but chickened out. Others have done better.

 

[JimC6]

wow 7200?! thats very impressive. I'm pulling the trigger on the RE700 for sure. that supposedly doubles the wifi range. is the stage 2 you have the pilots side? how was the installation? thank

I have to agree with Dirk. If you are handy with small tools, can follow videos, and take your time, you should not have any problems with the stage 2 mod. The "old" version took a little more work, but with the new "holder" design makes it much less of a job. My distance increased BIG when I added mine. With both controller and quad done, I have made 10,000 feet away and still had FPV and control. Could have gone more, but chickened out. Others have done better.

How high do you need to fly to get those distances? At 10,000 feet out how much battery is left when you return?

 

[Happyflyer]

.....How high do you need to fly to get those distances? At 10,000 feet out how much battery is left when you return?

I was in a 95% WiFi free area, about 500 feet up, almost no wind, and went out fast in atti. Came back same way. Don't remember what I had left, but the low alarm had not gone off yet. Total flight time was 14 min 40 seconds so I would guess it was getting close to low. Those that have gone MUCH farther I sure were way up in the air.

 

[moswissa]

wow 7200?! thats very impressive. I'm pulling the trigger on the RE700 for sure. that supposedly doubles the wifi range. is the stage 2 you have the pilots side? how was the installation? thank

I have to agree with Dirk. If you are handy with small tools, can follow videos, and take your time, you should not have any problems with the stage 2 mod. The "old" version took a little more work, but with the new "holder" design makes it much less of a job. My distance increased BIG when I added mine. With both controller and quad done, I have made 10,000 feet away and still had FPV and control. Could have gone more, but chickened out. Others have done better.

what do you mean the quad done? which mod was that?

I talked to tony and he said i can send him my TX and RE and he can install it for me. 10k feet away is crazy i would love that!

today i downloaded the FPV booster app for the vision for 9 bucks and noticed I got less range compared to no booster. 900ft vs 800ft. waste of 9 bucks lol
ill keep trying the booster in the meantime while i get my RE700. i would love doing FPV flight 10k feet away that would be awesome

 

[Happyflyer]

....what do you mean the quad done? which mod was that?

I talked to tony and he said i can send him my TX and RE and he can install it for me. 10k feet away is crazy i would love that!

today i downloaded the FPV booster app for the vision for 9 bucks and noticed I got less range compared to no booster. 900ft vs 800ft. waste of 9 bucks lol
ill keep trying the booster in the meantime while i get my RE700. i would love doing FPV flight 10k feet away that would be awesome

The work on your "drone" or "quad" is outside antennas for both the FPV from the camera and the control of the quad. Another set of antennas. If you don't feel like you want to do the work, best to let Tony work on it.
Pictures below show parts of the quad mod. At least, my version of it.

 

[moswissa]

....what do you mean the quad done? which mod was that?

I talked to tony and he said i can send him my TX and RE and he can install it for me. 10k feet away is crazy i would love that!

today i downloaded the FPV booster app for the vision for 9 bucks and noticed I got less range compared to no booster. 900ft vs 800ft. waste of 9 bucks lol
ill keep trying the booster in the meantime while i get my RE700. i would love doing FPV flight 10k feet away that would be awesome

The work on your "drone" or "quad" is outside antennas for both the FPV from the camera and the control of the quad. Another set of antennas. If you don't feel like you want to do the work, best to let Tony work on it.
Pictures below show parts of the quad mod. At least, my version of it.

**** that setup looks intense! how much farther are you trying to send your drone with that antenna ?

i think ill be good with 10k range, thats like 2 miles away lol
does the video quality get better once you get the stage 2 FPVLR?

 

[Happyflyer]

...**** that setup looks intense! how much farther are you trying to send your drone with that antenna ?

i think ill be good with 10k range, thats like 2 miles away lol
does the video quality get better once you get the stage 2 FPVLR?

The only intense part is getting the sealer off a couple of very small connectors on the receiver board.
That is far enough for me. Don't really intend to use that much distance, but at least I know it should still hold if 1 mile away.
Well, video quality(what camera is recording)doesn't change, but your FPV on your phone or tablet will not drop out. Quality can be adjusted in the app, but, as long as there is a picture good enough to see what is happening on my tablet, that is good enough for me.

 

[moswissa]

...**** that setup looks intense! how much farther are you trying to send your drone with that antenna ?

i think ill be good with 10k range, thats like 2 miles away lol
does the video quality get better once you get the stage 2 FPVLR?

The only intense part is getting the sealer off a couple of very small connectors on the receiver board.
That is far enough for me. Don't really intend to use that much distance, but at least I know it should still hold if 1 mile away.
Well, video quality(what camera is recording)doesn't change, but your FPV on your phone or tablet will not drop out. Quality can be adjusted in the app, but, as long as there is a picture good enough to see what is happening on my tablet, that is good enough for me.

The real intense part is when ya send it out over 5000' is waiting to hear it coming back Just gives ya a warm and fuzzy feeling :mrgreen:

i know that feeling just from it going 800 feet away and you cannot see or hear it, can't imagine going 5000 feet.
Im getting the RE700 tonight on ebay used for 100. next is the stage 2 FPVLR

You are making me wanna attempt to install it myself and not send it out to tony. I seen the video on youtube where the guy was changing the antenna on the TX, it took him quite a while to get it off. I notice the stage 2 also makes you do some mods to the RE which i didn't see on the video, do you know any tutorials for this ?

 

[moswissa]

Here is one and there are many more on YT . Watch several on this and you shouldn't have any problems .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEHzDi4hHKU

thanks a lot man! also i wanted to ask about your locator and where you mounted it?

I noticed that one seemed pretty big, i did a quick ebay search seen them for a really good price. is there a specific model?

 

[moswissa]

Here is one and there are many more on YT . Watch several on this and you shouldn't have any problems .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEHzDi4hHKU

thanks a lot man! also i wanted to ask about your locator and where you mounted it?

Used to have it Velcroed under battery then moved it to leg and strapped it on... Locater not that big really .

Ok so here is an update.

I got my RE700 just now. I'm going to attempt to bind it. So do I need to bind it the same way I did the RE500 and scan the QR code on the box?? Can't wait to fly it but I want it done right.

I also got the tk102 GPS from Amazon it's porbably a clone because it was only 24 bucks. Either way I'll try it out. I'll be buying a sim from tmobile and 10 bucks for 3 months prepaid credit as wel. I'm going to use Velcro and attach to the belly of the bird for now

 

[moswissa]

Yes you bind it the same way .
BE SURE when you attach the locater to your bird to do a full calibration before you fly with it as it might cause you a problem and if you have any problems with the tracker just pm me and I will send you so more instructions I have on setting it up.
Enjoy your more distance


ADDED / Also just for safety add a string or something to act as a back-up if it lets go of the Velcro , I had fishing line tied to the leg Now where I have it I use little zip ties

full calibration as in a compass calibration? I do that before every flight. so I should attach the GPS first, then do a full calibration?

thanks ! I haven't flown it yet because im scared hahaha

 

[moswissa]

Yes ! After you move anything around on your quad you need to do a full compass calibration. Now read the top line in my signature bro

took my first flight with this RE700 and WOW! impressive! i was flying in outside my house, wifis everywhere and i still got at least 1200ft. before i would only get barely 600ft. i did lose connection when there was a house blocking my LOS but when I got more altitude the connection came back. Ill be good with this RE700 but i feel like I'm gonna get addicted and want more range. what happens when you upgrade the antennas with FPVLR and lose sight of the phantom, does it also disconnect? I'm leaning towards the stage 2 for now

 

[Happyflyer]

You have to have LOS at all times between your bird and TX or you will lose connection .

....And you don't have to be a long distance away. I have made just under 10,000 feet at 500 feet up with my setup, but at my house full of trees, I have lost connection when quad was 250 feet away. A big, nasty oak tree full of leaves got between controller and quad.
Leaves suck up WiFi signals like they were food.

 

[moswissa]

So I inagine when you guys fly long distance you usually are at a higher altitude. I've seen YouTube videos of ppl with stage 3 flying miles away with full FPV and control Imits hard to imagine that they have LOS of their bird but then again the human eye can only see so far

 

[Happyflyer]

So I inagine when you guys fly long distance you usually are at a higher altitude. I've seen YouTube videos of ppl with stage 3 flying miles away with full FPV and control Imits hard to imagine that they have LOS of their bird but then again the human eye can only see so far

In this case LOS or line of sight would have to refer to a direct straight line from controller to quad. Not that you could actually see it. And no big tree or building between you and quad.
Yes, to get a long way out, UP makes a big difference.

 

[JimC6]

My RE700 arrived last night and I took out for a quick test today. From my front yard I took it up to 200' and then flew down the street 600' before I returned it home. It is already better than the 300' I was getting with the 500. I'll get it out over the weekend in an open area to see how far it will keep video. Pretty confident this was the solution to my initial problem. Thanks to B&H Photo for RMA'ing my 500 and swapping it with the 700. Thanks for all the responses everyone.

 

[1st_time_flyer]

My RE700 arrived last night and I took out for a quick test today. From my front yard I took it up to 200' and then flew down the street 600' before I returned it home. It is already better than the 300' I was getting with the 500. I'll get it out over the weekend in an open area to see how far it will keep video. Pretty confident this was the solution to my initial problem. Thanks to B&H Photo for RMA'ing my 500 and swapping it with the 700. Thanks for all the responses everyone.

that's great news....I am getting about 500ft before with my re500 and just ordered the re700 from ebay this afternoon....plan on getting the stage 2 kit after I test out the re700 first....should see a noticeable difference between the 500 and 700 tho I hope...

 

[R4boat]

Good to know you are getting better range. I just purchased the RE700 and did the bind this am and it seems to work. Can't fly since it is raining out today but will try it soon. Also I can use the Re500 if I choose as they both seem to sync up with the App if you choose them in the Wifi settings. So I can use the Re500 as a backup. I am using my Samsung Galaxy Tab and Galaxy 4 phone and it worked on both. So when I get to test them out I will post the results.

 

[moswissa]

Not hardly ya have FPV till you do lose signal then it hits RTH and I usually will get FPV back quick and then just come back on in . Stage 2 is what I started with on the 700 and just added to it and it is very addictive :twisted:
You have to have LOS at all times between your bird and TX or you will lose connection .

so today i switched to NAZA M, i noticed the LED codes changed right away. i read up on the naza codes. my question is do i wait for my phantom to acquire satellite before doing a compass calibration or do i calibrate first then wait for satellites?

thanks in advance!

 

[moswissa]

My RE700 arrived last night and I took out for a quick test today. From my front yard I took it up to 200' and then flew down the street 600' before I returned it home. It is already better than the 300' I was getting with the 500. I'll get it out over the weekend in an open area to see how far it will keep video. Pretty confident this was the solution to my initial problem. Thanks to B&H Photo for RMA'ing my 500 and swapping it with the 700. Thanks for all the responses everyone.

that's great news....I am getting about 500ft before with my re500 and just ordered the re700 from ebay this afternoon....plan on getting the stage 2 kit after I test out the re700 first....should see a noticeable difference between the 500 and 700 tho I hope...

same here I'm getting the stage 2 kit once i get used to flying it better. the RE700 was an awesome upgrade! I'm getting about double the range! i also bought the GPT TK102 tracker on amazon for 23 bucks. haven't tried activating it yet i still need a SIM but from what I'm hearing from the pros is that its a MUST.