P3A 10th flight lost all confidence

MISTERDARKBOY · Jul 10, 2015

took my beloved p3a up today.

10th flight
Fully charged
Calibrated
Imu reset after upgrade
Flew in open field where I have been practicing before.
Closed all apps on iPhone 5s

Took off and went to 100 meters. The iPhone screen went black and got 'no signal' at the top of the screen

My heart sunk thinking I would have a fly away. Then I realised I still have full control but with no video on screen. I promptly landed and although I landed safely I won't fly again until these bugs have been ironed out. Please dji get on with it!

envisionabove · Jul 10, 2015

It's really not a bug....many many things could be the one time issue. You will be waiting a long time for a perfect environment.

The tablet is an enhancement to the drone, as you found out you had full control still, wonder how they flew when the enhancement was not available...fly los

F6Rider · Jul 10, 2015

I bet you took off and went straight up from your takeoff point 100m (333') and you lost signal on the video because the antennas were pointing vertical, sending the signal out in front of you in a 45º arch, Not straight up to where the bird was. (video needs more bandwidth) This is not a fault of the P3, but more likely the operator, if you are going to fly overhead at altitude you need to change the antenna orientation to accommodate that.

MISTERDARKBOY · Jul 10, 2015

F6Rider said:
I bet you took off and went straight up from your takeoff point 100m (333') and you lost signal on the video because the antennas were pointing vertical, sending the signal out in front of you in a 45º arch, Not straight up to where the bird was. (video needs more bandwidth) This is not a fault of the P3, but more likely the operator, if you are going to fly overhead at altitude you need to change the antenna orientation to accommodate that.

I think you hit the nail on the head!!! I had the antenna at a slight 'v' shape!
****! I have no idea why I did that. I think it's mixed up YouTube tutorials. Cheers 46rider

silverstoned83 · Jul 10, 2015

Environmental conditions play a big part in RC signal range and penetration, even humidity plays a part. Was it foggy out at all? Smokey perhaps from nearby forest fires? I was not aware of how much smoke can effect the video signal until recently.

F6Rider · Jul 10, 2015

MISTERDARKBOY said:
I think you hit the nail on the head!!! I had the antenna at a slight 'v' shape!
****! I have no idea why I did that. I think it's mixed up YouTube tutorials. Cheers 46rider

No problem, easy to do. The signal comes off the flat side of the antenna at about 45º vertical, like so < if you bird is overhead it will only get scatter, the controller is not the problem as it has a low bandwidth requirement, its the video that needs a solid signal.

ianwood · Jul 10, 2015

Someone needs to explain the RF doughnut. Oh, heck, I will.

See this doughnut? It's the signal between your controller and your P3. You and your controller are right smack in the middle of it. Z is where your antennas are pointing. If you exit the doughnut, no sweets for you! So if your antennas are straight up, don't fly straight up.

silverstoned83 · Jul 10, 2015

ianwood said:
Someone needs to explain the RF doughnut. Oh, heck, I will.

See this doughnut? It's the signal between your controller and your P3. You and your controller are right smack in the middle of it. Z is where your antennas are pointing. If you exit the doughnut, no sweets for you! So if your antennas are straight up, don't fly straight up.

This would explain why I had such poor reception when the smoke was rolling through Seattle. I thought the RF signal was more like the shape of an apple based on how it behaved on crystal clear days.

mikesher · Jul 10, 2015

silverstoned83 said:
This would explain why I had such poor reception when the smoke was rolling through Seattle. I thought the RF signal was more like the shape of an apple based on how it behaved on crystal clear days.

Did you get some good video/pics of the amazing sunsets? I'm here in Seattle also, but haven't flown since last weekend.

silverstoned83 · Jul 10, 2015

Nothing special, I didn't have much free time. I was only at the field to try and finish breaking in my two batteries.

This was taken in West Seattle. You can barely see the city to the right.

VoicOfReason · Jul 10, 2015

I think it's a bug. I've lost signal flying and had full control. 3 times with different firmware for 2 of them.

silverstoned83 · Jul 10, 2015

VoicOfReason said:
I think it's a bug. I've lost signal flying and had full control. 3 times with different firmware for 2 of them.

This is not a bug... Just as F6Rider has explained, this is simply due to the video signal having more bandwidth requirements to maintain a smooth video feed... The control signal requires much less bandwidth, so it is able to maintain control with much more ease.

VoicOfReason · Jul 10, 2015

How can I fly with out video? It needs to be fixed whether a bug or not.

silverstoned83 · Jul 10, 2015

The map works pretty well. I can confidently fly my P3 back to within visible range simply by using the map feature, along with the other sensor measurements that are included in the telemetry.

BenDronePilot · Jul 10, 2015

VoicOfReason said:
How can I fly with out video? It needs to be fixed whether a bug or not.

These two videos might be of some help.

MISTERDARKBOY · Jul 11, 2015

I didn't have smoke, quite a dry day in the UK, 27 degrees Celsius. I did shoot straight up within 5 meters of myself. That graph/diagram makes perfect sense as the trajectory of the signal matches this. I would imagine the 'v' shape would have contributed too. Just need that sensor fix now!

jpd6541 · Aug 6, 2015

I had this happen to me tonight. No signal, it said 0 satellites, and the screen was blank. I could still see the map but my P3a wasn't moving in map. Thankfully I kept it in line of sight and was able to bring it home. Once I landed I shut everything down and restarted. It initially showed where i originally lost signal but then if reset my home point and took off with no issues. Is it some kind of glitch?

I have Around 50 flights and this is my first issue. I haven't updated to latest firmware yet. I still have the previous one. Could that have been the cause?

jryser · Aug 6, 2015

ianwood said:
Someone needs to explain the RF doughnut. Oh, heck, I will.

See this doughnut? It's the signal between your controller and your P3. You and your controller are right smack in the middle of it. Z is where your antennas are pointing. If you exit the doughnut, no sweets for you! So if your antennas are straight up, don't fly straight up.