Lost signal at 4,000 feet distance?

[eoren1]

Purchased my first drone (P4P) and have been exploring it over the past few weeks. On 1/8, I headed out at sunset to take photos but decided instead to shoot a video of the coast of our New England town.

I used the Litchi app on my iPad Air and went straight out 4,000 feet and then got the dreaded 'disconnected' message. I don't recall the warning that the Litchi threw out but it initiated a return to home. I stupidly saw the flashing RTH button and...pressed it. Thankfully the drone responded to commands and I piloted it back.

I have my log on healthydrones.com and was wondering if I was pushing the limits - though I doubt it.

Flight time Altitude Home Distance Type Notification
A 00m 00s 1.3 ft 0 ft Mode Mode changed to AutoTakeoff
B 00m 00s 2.6 ft 0 ft Mode Mode changed to GPS_Atti
C 02m 39s 161.4 ft 1,278 ft Data Loss Downlink data connection lost for 1.41 seconds
D 02m 47s 161.4 ft 1,628 ft Data Loss Downlink data connection lost for 1 seconds
E 02m 49s 159.8 ft 1,723 ft Data Loss Downlink data connection lost for 1.4 seconds
F 03m 01s 160.4 ft 1,841 ft Data Loss Downlink data connection lost for 1.4 seconds
G 03m 42s 162.4 ft 3,482 ft Data Loss Downlink data connection lost for 1.91 seconds
H 04m 23s 168.0 ft 4,080 ft Data Loss Downlink data connection lost for 27.51 seconds
I 04m 23s 168.0 ft 4,080 ft Mode Mode changed to GoHome
J 04m 24s 168.0 ft 4,079 ft Mode Mode changed to GPS_Atti
K 07m 31s -11.5 ft 11 ft Mode Mode changed to AutoLanding
L 07m 35s 0.0 ft 11 ft Mode Mode changed to GPS_Atti

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

Video:

Thanks,

E

 

[smiller]

Interference? Terrain or building obstruction?

I thought Litchi will continue the mission upon signal loss? Or maybe RTH was initiated only because you hit the button.

 

[eoren1]

Hey Smiller,

I wasn't running a mission - just opened the Litchi app and flew while it recorded video. This was a race against the dwindling light move so didn't have time for planning and decided to just fly toward the causeway.

It was a straight shot without obstructions and over water/along the coast.

 

[$gambino$]

I would get acquainted with drone before really going to far. Anyways if u go to hd setting is it in 2.4 or 5.8 auto? When i switched mine to 5.8 auto my distance was insane. Remember watch your wind going out if u notice u have a nice tail wind going out and u are cruising it's going to be harder to get back so save yourself a little extra battery, for instance u went out at 50 mph cuz of wind well on way back against wind u are only doing 30. It will take you longer plus eat some more battery just always keep that in mind

 

[smiller]

Ah, I see. Is it possible that you inadvertently changed the controller orientation? At that range it's important to keep the main transmission lobes of the antenna aimed precisely at the aircraft (i.e. the broadside of the antenna aimed at the drone.)

 

[KingDad1985]

I got 5,642 ft on 5ghz. Only reason I turned back was because I got nervous. I had full bars but my hands were shaking too much, I'm a wuss I know. This was over mostly open desert, not much interference, I also had 21 sats locked.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[eoren1]

Thanks everyone. Great suggestions.

 

[Wrice4]

Before every flight i look at the 5.8 and 2.4 frequencies and see which one is more stable. Then I set the frequency to the one that has the lowest channel interference, depending on the area, before I fly.

 

[F3honda4me]

Both 5.8 and 2.4 are capable of 4 miles, it just depends which is better in your area. You can try both, as well as change your image bitrate down to 4mbps. Also ensure you are orienting your antenna correctly on the controller.