NOT The Usual Range Thread.....

[plastictoast]

I've seen plenty of threads about poor range, issues with dropping signal, etc.

People are complaining that their Phantom won't reach the advertised 11km, or anywhere near that, and are annoyed. I mean, let's be honest, all companies lie. As long as DJI haven't done an Apple and have built our P4 Pros to break just as the P5 comes out I think we're good!

Yet I'm getting less than 1000m and random signal breakups at less than 100m at times. Obviously utterly fuming having just spent £2000 on a drone. Not only this, but this is DANGEROUS. I get that the Phantom has sensors to prevent crashes, but the other day while religiously staying within the confines of an empty field, the signal went out and in the few seconds it was out, I'd inadvertently drifted over a busy road.

Now my question is this -

Is this an error with my unit which means it requires returning? Or something about my environment?

Is there anything that can be done to check for signal interference in my area? I've tried both 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz, no difference.

Yes, I've read the sticky. No, I'm not buying a range extender. I expect a product I bought for £2k to work as advertised (or realistically near to) without having to spend more money on it.

 

[Foosy]

I think the first thing you need to do if you are concerned, is check the logs.
Loss of signal DOES NOT equate to drift. If you lose your video signal completely then the drone should hover if you are not playing with the joysticks, at least until it decides to RTH.

You are describing at least two problems which are unrelated.
The drift could have happened from an incalibrated compass, a compass interference or a very strong wind gust.
The loss of signal could have happened due to a 2.4 or 5.8 interference.
Since it did not RTH, one thing you should try is reduce the video downstream bandwidth. This should reduce occurrences of your video breaking.

Finally there is also a hardware malfunction possibility in one of the transceivers: either in your remote or in the phantom. If this happens all the time and you. An eliminate all other reasons, I would send the bird to a lab.

 

[Fly Dawg]

People are complaining that their Phantom won't reach the advertised 11km, or anywhere near that, and are annoyed. I mean, let's be honest, all companies lie.

Could you provide information on advertised 11km?? You should get better than 1000m, but that depends on environmental and clear VLOS.

 

[plastictoast]

Excellent, thank you for your reply.

I didn't make clear (and given this question is asked a lot I admit I was kind of baiting for replies - bad I know but I'm desperate) that the drift WAS down to me simply carrying on flying while the FPV downlink was breaking up. I had visual with the drone (as one must) but couldn't tell exactly whether it was still in the field or over the road. I turned to my friend and sarcastically said "well, if they were bothered about me killing people on the road, they'd have sent a unit that worked". I was, and still am, extremely angry.

It's brand new, so I'll just send it back. FORTUNATELY didn't buy grey market, but admittedly didn't buy from a major UK retailer, I bought from Drones Direct, who offer great prices but I fear their poor reviews of post-sales care might come into play here.

So what you're essentially saying is - if I could still fly the craft, but lost video downlink, it's probably an issue with the bandwidth of the video, not my transceivers?

 

[plastictoast]

Could you provide information on advertised 11km?? You should get better than 1000m, but that depends on environmental and clear VLOS.

My mistake, it's 7km.

DJI Phantom 4 Pro – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads

I think I got 11km from a YT video posted by someone who pushed it beyond normal limits with very clear line of sight in a remote area (no interference).

 

[Southern Style]

If you could control the bird, then the transmitter signal going to the drone related to controls was fine...

If the signal was breaking up, then it was a weak connection reference to video feed.

If you lose transmitting signal, the bird would have come home. Just because you lose transmission (video) signal, does not mean you lose control of the bird... I think what he is saying is, if it was just the video signal... then the transmission signal (controlling the drone) was still fine.

Remember 2.4 ghz and 5.8 ghz ... One is video and one is transmitter (or steering capabilities)

 

[Fly Dawg]

Remember 2.4 ghz and 5.8 ghz ... One is video and one is transmitter (or steering capabilities)

This is incorrect. They are on switchable frequencies, not separate frequencies.

 

[rockydog]

My mistake, it's 7km.

DJI Phantom 4 Pro – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads

I think I got 11km from a YT video posted by someone who pushed it beyond normal limits with very clear line of sight in a remote area (no interference).

The range for the UK is quoted as 3.5km, not 7.

 

[plastictoast]

Hmm, well I'm trying a few things.

Tried to fly from my own house, as opposed to my friend's house which is more rural.

This time I'm getting 2000ft at MOST, which is only around 600m. There's no discernible difference between 2.4 and 5.8 ghz.

Tried lowering the downlink bitrate to 4mpbs but this throws up a new problem - you can only change the bit rate on custom channel settings. This seems to either make the issue worse or the same at best. The only difference is the downlink quality is crap! I'm guessing this is because on custom channels (mine was on 17 which seemed best, but the signal strengths are constantly moving on all channels) you're locked to just one, and it doesn't dynamically change as you fly.

To note too - I'll tried to "push on" hoping it's local interference rather than anything across the board. Video signal does occasionally come back, depending on direction of travel, but then shortly afterwards the controller signal then vanished too - it returned to home and then both signals came back up as it got closer. That was around 600-650m, so I've established this ISN'T just video downlink .

I'm wondering if maybe the area I'm in is an issue - I'm in the Liverpool Airport CTA which I knew about anyway as I used to fly light aircraft out of Liverpol. Aircraft don't fly below 1500ft here so I'm safe (I've locked my height limit at 500ft just to be sure), and well outside the actual airport zone, but I'm wondering if that might be something to do with it? Radar signals or something?

There's also a large rocky outcrop (hill/cliff) near me, but that's behind where I'm trying to do signal tests, so I doubt it's that. There's also a 400kv transmission line running parallel to the general area I'm flying, so could it be that? I do accept that the area is HEAVY with WiFi and 4g phone signals, so understand 2.4ghz will always be a busy frequency band, but this is just daft - practically unusable.

I'm going to try going up said hill, and a little further inland to try and see if there's any difference.

Basically if I am going to take this up as a warranty issue I want to exhaust ALL possibilities before having to do so, because as I say, the place I bought it from doesn't have great customer support reviews, so I'd rather avoid it if possible.

 

[Paul55]

reduce the video downstream bandwidth

Hi Foosy.....can you please explain your comment about reducing the video downstream bandwidth? I am very happy with the performance of my P4P and since updating to a new ipad have had excellent reception however periodically the video does break up . Where in the settings can I make such an adjustment? Thank you for your info!

 

[microlinux]

DJIs distance numbers are for an area with no WIFI interference and a completely clear LOS. It sounds like you are in an area with interference. DJI is unable to alter the laws of physics.

Even being out in the middle of nowhere is not a guarantee you will be 100% clear of interference, 5.8ghz (and to a less extent 2.4ghz) can be used for wireless distribution networks and PTP links.

 

[whitelineNI]

I bought my p4pro from Drones Direct (UK), i got my p3pro last year from them as well...i gotta say i have no problems in recommending them...i will probably buy my next drone there too.
I started a post regarding the range in the UK a couple of days ago, the p4pro (in the UK anyway) has nowhere near the stock range that the 3 series had...fact. I get 1200ms max and 1600 with the windsurfers...nothing i can do about it.
That said...its a fantastic bit of kit and 1200ms is plenty for any work i wish to do, its just sickening at times hearing about the distances our friends across the pond are getting lol.

Also...my mate has the p4 standard and hes pulling 3.5k with the windsurfers...at the same location...figure that one lol