P3S range problems - CE Mode

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Greetings from Athens Greece. I purchased my P3S about 15 days ago after lots of research and reading. I fly my bird via an LG G3 32GB phone which is more than enough in terms of hardware for smooth video feed, as well as software (Android 5).

Upgraded to 1.6.8 right out of the box and after calibrating compass i tried my first flight in an urban area. I would go more than 60-70 meters without image transmission errors but i could still control the bird with no problem. The other day i downgraded firmware to 1.5.7 and tried it in a non urban area. I was happy to see that i had no problem reaching 300m distance which was my limit via app (noob mode on).

Yesterday i tried 1.5.7 in the same urban territory i was in the first time, i went to 240m range and 50m alt but with continuous image transmission problems all the way....

I contacted DJI via the online chat 3 times. first two operators instructed me that there was something wrong with the bird and that I should return it (loose it for a month during summer....pfff). The last operator seemed much more experienced and informed me that this is normal. He also told me that in a non urban env. (like the one I reached 300m without loosing signal) I would easily go up to 500m.

So, IMHO i have two options:
a) return the bird and hope for a good repair that would increase range
b) mod RC with 2 - 2.4ghz antennas Omnidirectonal 8 db 50 Ohms RP-SMA (easy & cheap to do), however i loose warranty

are the above ranges correct in CE mode? should I return the bird or proceed to plan B and mod the h*ll out of the RC to increase range? any opinions?

thank you for your hospitality ladies and gentlemen.

PS: searched and read a lot before posting....
 
My understanding is in CE mode, your P3S stock should go up to 500 meters max distance. That would be the max range if everything is perfect. So it seems to me, before you return it, you should test it out at least two more times in two different locations, both times in a perfect rural environment and try to get the 500 meters.
 
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good news, tried again in a (almost) rural environment, my P3S was transmitting @ wi fi channel 6 alone (at last)... there were 2 more networks around but in different channels. I went to 500m with solid rock RC & video signal and stayed there for a while to check things out, everything seemed OK... I pushed it till 836m until RTH and my heartbeat went sky high since i had no view of the drone. It took a while to return (i had home lock mode ON & RTH kicked in but I was hodling the right stick down all the way back) and I only calmed down when I saw it again.... Only drawback was that I did not regain Video signal until it was close, no idea why.... Also found out that in high distances video signal was a bit affected by the rotation of the drone, a few degrees of rotation and the signal went strong or weak at the same position...

Totally happy with the above performance... however, I intend to mod RC with 2 - 2.4ghz antennas to improve video performance and I will never upgrade FW again until a stable one is launched by DJI
 
...everything seemed OK... I pushed it till 836m until RTH and my heartbeat went sky high since i had no view of the drone. It took a while to return (i had home lock mode ON & RTH kicked in but I was hodling the right stick down all the way back) and I only calmed down when I saw it again.......

Great - congratulations! However, next time you're out that far and you lose signal, to make better time home, don't use RTH or homelock all the way home because while RTH is slow, home lock is even slower! When you have a signal, take control and just drive it straight in at full throttle. It's already pointing home so all you have to do is adjust it once or twice while it races home. You'll get home much quicker. Enjoy.
 
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thank you! that crossed my mind since it is mentioned all over the forum as well as in some videos on YouTube, problem was that I regained signal when drone was close enough, no idea why... will try it on next session. Thanks a lot
 
Πατριώτη δες εάν μπορεις να το δώσεις και να πάρεις το advance .



Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Friend suggested to sell my p3s and move on to the advance model in order to enjoy range. I am happy with current performance and as said before, I will mod RC with 2 - 2.4ghz antennas to improve video performance even more...
 
2 x 2.4GHz 7dBi High-gain Omni-directional Antennas....

cant wait to try my new setup. Tried indoors with a standing still drone, controller signal was getting weaker as i was travelling away (doors, walls, outside the house etc.) till it was completely lost, never lost video signal! hoorayyyyy!!!


20160713_143454.jpg
 
good news, tried again in the same (almost) rural environment and got 1050meters (CE mode) without loosing video signal. I did not push it more since it was night and i was flying above the sea... It was clear that I was able to reach more range.... before mod at the same area and same scenario I had RTH at 836 meters...

cables cost was at 2-3 euros and new antennas (TP-Link) at 5-6 euros..... amazing transformation for less than 10 euros. Mod was easy to do, it took me about an hour after lots of research and video study so as to be confident to proceed to such mod....
 
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Another test today night. Urban area, i was in a roof of a building with lots of houses all over the place and tens of wifi rooters. Tried full range test till rth. 1080 meters. I am still in CE mode @17 db. More than happy. I wonder how further i can go with FCC mode @ 27 db. Also think that in a rural area i may reach 1500+ meters.... Tests continue...
 
Yet another test. This time applied papatitas patch v3.1 @27 db. 2350 meters with solid video. Semi rural environment. Control signal almost lost. No rth. Very happy indeed....
 
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Only drawback was that I did not regain Video signal until it was close, no idea why.... Also found out that in high distances video signal was a bit affected by the rotation of the drone, a few degrees of rotation and the signal went strong or weak at the same position...

The firmware 1.6.8 fixed a problem that 1.5.7 had that video world not reconnect when lost.
I think your drone works perfectly (as designed). The Lightbridge technology on the more expensive drones give a more stable connection, especially in a noisy environment.
My drone (P3Standard CE) also can lose Video feed after 50-100 meters in a place with moderate wifi "pollution" while a P3P can do just fine. But when I get my P3Standard out in the countryside with "clean air" I can get 1,3 km before losing connection. You should try it. [emoji2]




Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
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2 x 2.4GHz 7dBi High-gain Omni-directional Antennas....

cant wait to try my new setup. Tried indoors with a standing still drone, controller signal was getting weaker as i was travelling away (doors, walls, outside the house etc.) till it was completely lost, never lost video signal! hoorayyyyy!!!


20160713_143454.jpg



wow looks cool, how did you put those 2 antennas onto the radio control?
 
thank you, it is not hard, you can take a look here:
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I did not change the 5.8 Ghz antenna, just both 2.4 Ghz. I had to buy two cables like these Amazon.com: 2X U.FL Mini PCI to RP-SMA Pigtail Antenna WiFi Cable: Computers & Accessories and two 2 x 2.4GHz 7dBi High-gain Omni-directional Antennas.... total cost less than 10 euros
I also had to drill two small holes on my RC... The only hard part was unclipping the old cables and clipping the new ones...
 
Took a test flight today to capture one of the small islands nearby. Range was fine @ 2.2 km... Video and telemetry signal were just fine but I need to do something with the 5.8Ghz since it was dropping first.... Might try directional 5.8 antenna before playing with amps...

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PS: Lots of seagulls around... pretty scary.... however none of them tried to approach the phantom...
 
I wonder if a Windsurfer on each antenna may give even more range ?

I have to admit that I wondered why Argtek and DJi use collectors for the 2.4 instead of like you - stick antenna.

Nigel
 
I wonder if a Windsurfer on each antenna may give even more range ?

I have to admit that I wondered why Argtek and DJi use collectors for the 2.4 instead of like you - stick antenna.

Nigel

I think that if I use windsurfers to all my antennas then I will get a much more "directional" setup which will probably give me more range. I will try directional antennas though (flat panels) in my 2 2.4GHz just to check but at this time my video and telemetry are more stable than my 5.8Ghz signal. I have to do something with the 5.8
 

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