P3S Signal Loss Issue & Best DIY Booster Mod To Get?

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I'm still a newbie in the hobby with 46 flights under my belt since buying my P3S five weeks ago. (I have flown it at least once a day and the most was three in a day). I've been fortunate so far with only one "fly away" incident due to extreme upper level wind conditions that ultimately ended well after it switched into RTH mode and slowly muscled its way back to the home point. Lesson learned!!!

Never did like that overwhelming feeling of helplessness I experienced as I watched my most prized possession all but disappear from my line of sight, accompanied by the alarming & unfamiliar beeps blaring loudly from the controller. Thankfully it performed as designed and came back in one piece.

Anyways, my question is about the normal expected range of a P3S straight out of the box. Mine does well out to about 300 ft. with good line of sight but I've noticed what appears to be a "blind spot" when the drone rotates around while in a fixed position. It completely loses the signal when the drone is in front of me and facing between 8 & 11 on a clock face. Is this normal? Is it a known problem? Or could I possibly have an issue with one of the onboard sensor/antennas?

Also, I am looking into installing one of the aftermarket booster mods within the controller to bring it closer to the range of the P3P. Any recommendations?
 
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I get 2500 feet in a crowded neighborhood
2016-02-23 17.49.27.jpg
 
I get 2500 feet in a crowded neighborhoodView attachment 47115
I have this as well.
There are quite a few mods out there. Do some research for what is best for your goals, and your budget.
There are several threads that have started just like yours. Search the forums and you will find a ton of information on exactly what you are looking for.

ARGtek is what I use. I am very happy with it.
My range is about 1 mile, although I do not travel that far.
Most importantly for me is the fact that I do not lose video. That"s why I got this mod.
Not to say that any of the others are bad. Just my choice.

Mike
 
I just got my phantom about 1 month ago as well. I live in a heavily wooded and wifi congested residential area so I got about 500m max out of the box.
Most of those mods are $75 or $120 and I'm under 18 and not working so I don't have much money to work with. I ordered 3 bigger antennas and 3 cables. I paid about $37 total and I'm pulling off 1000m easy now. The new antennas I got could easily go father, the drone starts to go behind trees at 1000m which cuts signal very quickly.
If you're interested I can give you the parts.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
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You should always post your improvements to the board.
This helps out any other person that may be interested in what you have done to make yours better.
Pictures and how-to would be great.

Thanks,
Mike
 
The FPVLR mod is known to be one of the best. It's expensive and a bit technical to install, but if you can, it's 100% worth it.
 
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I got 7000'+ using a home made windsurfer. I was flying into a canyon. Without the windsurfer, I was getting about 2300'.

Yes, I notice a blind spot as well when Im flying at distance.
 
Since the P34K uses the same frequencies as a P2V+, you'd learn a lot by reading some of the threads in the P2V+ antenna mods forum.

Although there are plenty of cheaper alternatives, I think you'll find that the ITELITE and FPVLR mods are the best. You might do one, the other, or a combination of the two.

Antenna Mods
 
Wow, this is an active forum!!! Thanks for all of the great responses.
One more question, when not in use, is it best to keep the gimbal brace on the camera?
 
yes always don't want to break it
 
I think I would have more success at solving a Rubiks Cube blindfolded and using only my feet, than figuring how to put this clear acrylic gimbal brace back on correctly!!!

Flpholt said "Yes always don't want to break it." So I stopped trying before I did somehow manage to break it!!!

This is a great example of how the most simplistic tasks tend to become the most enigmatically impossible tasks when you begin to overthink them!!!

I looked online & found some good pics of it in place, so I'll give it another try after my frustration subsides.
 
The most important thing this forum has taught me is to check your flight records at Healthy drones.com. Made it so easy to troubleshoot my issues. U could Mod the hell out of the thing n still not correct your main issue. A little past 300' is pretty close to be having problems
 

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