Mystery of the disconnecting video feed

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I am a relatively new Phantom 3 standard pilot, and have been flying for 7 and 1/2 hours so far.

I am happy with my drone, and have already taken some great shots, but as of today, i cannot fly more than 38-43 meters up, or more than 45-52 meters in front, without the video feed dropping out fully (goes to a grey image of what was last seen on the app). I am running the DJI Go app on an HTC One M9, and it will say that all signal has been lost. The signal bars won't decrease (for the Controller or Video link), they just drop out instantly. But here is the weird part: I can still fully control my bird, even though the Go app says it is disconnected. If i wait a bit, the app then asks if i want to return home. When it gets back within 40 meters of me the video feed reconnects, and it works perfect, like nothing happened.
I have tried using an IOS device, removing and reinstalling the app, calibrating and resetting pretty much everything, re linking the remote and flying in different places, but the problem still persists.

My Bird is hardly a 2 weeks old, and i have tried everything i could find, just short of taking the remote apart.
I have had no crashes or hard landings.

(UPDATE: It works perfectly fine at home, so it can't be a controller issue?, only does the video feed drop out at our beach house. Interference possibly?)
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(I have copy and pasted this off my DJI forum, as i got no answers there)
 
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Maybe because of interferences or something.. Just take a look at the environemental conditions (number of wifi networks, power lines, etc) which could disrupt the signal. You can also change antennas or add some windsurfer reflectors to the main antenna in order to enhance the signal.
 
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Maybe because of interferences or something.. Just take a look at the environemental conditions (number of wifi networks, power lines, etc) which could disrupt the signal. You can also change antennas or add some windsurfer reflectors to the main antenna in order to enhance the signal.

Mmm most likely is, but there is no power lines, only three wifi networks, and the nearest cell tower is over 2 km away. It's a bit strange, as i have no "strong interference" indicator on the app either, and the feed quality is perfect, and does not stutter at all, and then drops out instantly.

I do think it may possibly be caused by those Ultrasonic/electromagnetic pest repellers, because we unplugged them yesterday, and asked the neighbours unplug theirs too, and lo behold, i could fly my drone! But i don't see why they would interfere with it...
 
With that markedly limited range, I would suspect that the video antenna (middle one) has a poor connection, or none at all, inside the transmitter.

Opening the transmitter isn't difficult. You can follow the antenna lead to its attachment and see if you just happened to get one with the u Fl connector not completely seated.
 
Sorry. Got my antennas mixed up. The wifi antennas I believe are the internal patch antennas. Still, I would think you might want to check the internal connections with that limited of a range.
 
I think you have a similar problem than me. I have the ARGtek antenna, so mine drops out at about 100m, but the weird part is, that I still have a good connection to the aircraft. The only physical thing that changes is that the light on the controller lights up red. Once the No Signal pops up, it persists even when I myself have landed the aircraft, since I still have full control. Just like you, I've tried reseting everything to no avail.

After searching on this forum I found that the same problem had been happening to people last year, but then it seemed to get fixed. I guess the problem is in the app, but I have no clue how to fix it.


IMG_0210.PNG
 
Sorry. Got my antennas mixed up. The wifi antennas I believe are the internal patch antennas. Still, I would think you might want to check the internal connections with that limited of a range.

Yeah i originally thought it could be a faulty internal patch antenna too, but when i took the drone home from holiday, i could fly well over 400 meters, and it would be absolutely fine. Today i took the drone down to another area of Pauanui, about 2 km away from our beach house, and it flew perfectly. I'm starting to think it is some strange interface...a good excuse to upgrade to the advanced or pro edition i guess ;)
 
Yeah i originally thought it could be a faulty internal patch antenna too, but when i took the drone home from holiday, i could fly well over 400 meters, and it would be absolutely fine. Today i took the drone down to another area of Pauanui, about 2 km away from our beach house, and it flew perfectly. I'm starting to think it is some strange interface...a good excuse to upgrade to the advanced or pro edition i guess ;)
I don't know why your not giving those pest repellants a second thought. ELECTROMAGNETIC
 
I don't know why your not giving those pest repellants a second thought. ELECTROMAGNETIC

Well my quad still plays up, even if i go down to the reserve, which is about 100 meters away. I doubt it is the pest repellents, but i guess anything is possible.
 
With that markedly limited range, I would suspect that the video antenna (middle one) has a poor connection, or none at all, inside the transmitter.

Opening the transmitter isn't difficult. You can follow the antenna lead to its attachment and see if you just happened to get one with the u Fl connector not completely seated.

Well, i popped open the remote today (and probably voided my warranty in the process, oh well :rolleyes: ), and everything was connected snugly, so it's not a problem with the antenna connectors.
 
Well my quad still plays up, even if i go down to the reserve, which is about 100 meters away. I doubt it is the pest repellents, but i guess anything is possible.
When u say 100 meters away r u saying away w/ rc & quad or just quad. I'm sure interference will effect both the same. Just makes total sense from everything you've said
 
When u say 100 meters away r u saying away w/ rc & quad or just quad. I'm sure interference will effect both the same. Just makes total sense from everything you've said

With rc and quad. If i fly more than 50 meters away from the controler, the video feed will grey out :(
 
I got this with my standard and I had the ITElite panel fitted on my remote. It flew great in most areas but the areas close to city's or wifi/phone signals it would drop out of flicker now and again. I found adding a windsurfer to my stock antennas helped with range and weirdly video!

Maybe try a DIY paper and tinfoil one?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
I got this with my standard and I had the ITElite panel fitted on my remote. It flew great in most areas but the areas close to city's or wifi/phone signals it would drop out of flicker now and again. I found adding a windsurfer to my stock antennas helped with range and weirdly video!

Maybe try a DIY paper and tinfoil one?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Yea, i think i think i will add a windsurfer to the antenna. Or maybe I'll get an antenna mod for it
 

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