R/C Lost Connection @2000ft Away

[Steve Shead]

08/29/15 - Interesting flight today - went to a new location (less than 1/4 mile from last time) with a few more trees - nothing dense (Silicon Valley) - was flying to a point 2000ft away and the R/C lost connection. Along the way the "lost signal" flashed a couple of times. The bird went into RTH mode and flew back (thankfully) and, for the rest of that flight seemed to lose signal a few times on and off, nothing longer than a second or two.

I just uploaded the flight to healthydrones.com and it shows a 7.2 second signal loss 2000ft away, at a height of 300ft. It showed 117 minor signal errors during the entire flight, and GPS signal was poor. The flight on the second battery didn't lose signal, but GPS signal was also poor. The only difference (other than minor location change) was the weather - humid with low cloud (unusual for around here), temp was around 80 degrees.

I'm going to test again tomorrow (I only get to fly at weekends) - I'll try a location I know works, as well as the new location to see if there's still issue.

Has anyone seen erroneous R/C signal drops like this? I did nothing out of the ordinary - no hard landings and haven't dropped the R/C. Obviously I'll know more tomorrow, but wanted to get some thoughts on this.

08/30/15: UPDATE: It seems it's a little congested around the area I live - I can get around 2400ft line of sight, flying at around 300ft - after that I get a few drops in signal. There's trees on every street and it's quite a densely populated area, so that may be as far as I'm going to get. Since I'm relatively new to this I want to make sure I have practiced enough before I go out to the hills for longer flights.

Anyone else live in a dense area and have distance issues?

 

[bobmyers]

Interesting flight today - went to a new location (less than 1/4 mile from last time) with a few more trees - nothing dense (Silicon Valley) - was flying to a point 2000ft away and the R/C lost connection. Along the way the "lost signal" flashed a couple of times. The bird went into RTH mode and flew back (thankfully) and, for the rest of that flight seemed to lose signal a few times on and off, nothing longer than a second or two.

I just uploaded the flight to healthydrones.com and it shows a 7.2 second signal loss 2000ft away, at a height of 300ft. It showed 117 minor signal errors during the entire flight, and GPS signal was poor. The flight on the second battery didn't lose signal, but GPS signal was also poor. The only difference (other than minor location change) was the weather - humid with low cloud (unusual for around here), temp was around 80 degrees.

I'm going to test again tomorrow (I only get to fly at weekends) - I'll try a location I know works, as well as the new location to see if there's still issue.

Has anyone seen erroneous R/C signal drops like this? I did nothing out of the ordinary - no hard landings and haven't dropped the R/C. Obviously I'll know more tomorrow, but wanted to get some thoughts on this.

Good info-- thanks

 

[bbfpv]

Anyone else live in a dense area and have distance issues?

Everyone who flies in dense areas have distance issues. It's a limitation of the technology.

 

[thestone11]

Too much interference from all the Silicon Valley high tech companies lol!

 

[Steve Shead]

Too much interference from all the Silicon Valley high tech companies lol!

Yeah - gawd knows what's being broadcast around here!

 

[Ken Taylor]

08/29/15 - Interesting flight today - went to a new location (less than 1/4 mile from last time) with a few more trees - nothing dense (Silicon Valley) - was flying to a point 2000ft away and the R/C lost connection. Along the way the "lost signal" flashed a couple of times. The bird went into RTH mode and flew back (thankfully) and, for the rest of that flight seemed to lose signal a few times on and off, nothing longer than a second or two.

I just uploaded the flight to healthydrones.com and it shows a 7.2 second signal loss 2000ft away, at a height of 300ft. It showed 117 minor signal errors during the entire flight, and GPS signal was poor. The flight on the second battery didn't lose signal, but GPS signal was also poor. The only difference (other than minor location change) was the weather - humid with low cloud (unusual for around here), temp was around 80 degrees.

I'm going to test again tomorrow (I only get to fly at weekends) - I'll try a location I know works, as well as the new location to see if there's still issue.

Has anyone seen erroneous R/C signal drops like this? I did nothing out of the ordinary - no hard landings and haven't dropped the R/C. Obviously I'll know more tomorrow, but wanted to get some thoughts on this.

08/30/15: UPDATE: It seems it's a little congested around the area I live - I can get around 2400ft line of sight, flying at around 300ft - after that I get a few drops in signal. There's trees on every street and it's quite a densely populated area, so that may be as far as I'm going to get. Since I'm relatively new to this I want to make sure I have practiced enough before I go out to the hills for longer flights.

Anyone else live in a dense area and have distance issues?

I live in Southeastern CT with very dense areas. I was having distance issues as well, on the very best day I was able to get it to 1.2 miles, but it only happened once.
I have since installed the DBS ItElite antenna and I got it out to 3 miles, but I was at the shoreline of the mystic river going inward.
I can say that I have no problem going way over a mile and a half where I usually fly though.
I just switched to the Litchi app and SDK FW and haven't taken it more than 2200' away yet though.

 

[Steve Shead]

I live in Southeastern CT with very dense areas. I was having distance issues as well, on the very best day I was able to get it to 1.2 miles, but it only happened once.
I have since installed the DBS ItElite antenna and I got it out to 3 miles, but I was at the shoreline of the mystic river going inward.
I can say that I have no problem going way over a mile and a half where I usually fly though.
I just switched to the Litchi app and SDK FW and haven't taken it more than 2200' away yet though.

Good to know - thanks for posting - I'm going to try the Windsurfer mod first - then go for the DBS if that doesn't give me enough to play with.

 

[JKDSensei]

If only we could keep the bureaucrats away from our fun <sigh>

Just so folks can be ready when the FAA publishes it's finalized rules....
"Line of sight" doesn't mean you are in a direct line with he aircraft, it means you must be able to actually "see" the aircraft. Most people can't actually see a 18" object past about 450 feet. For me more like 300 feet. I'm putting this here more for the benefit of those curious what flying their UAS in the future might be like. Things are a changing. ESPECIALLY in California.

Anyway this is what's proposed nationwide at this point....

FAA
Overview of Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the operator or visual observer. At all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the operator for the operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses.

• Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation.

These rules will eliminate a LOT of what we do now unfortunately.

 

[Ken Taylor]

If only we could keep the bureaucrats away from our fun <sigh>

Just so folks can be ready when the FAA publishes it's finalized rules....
"Line of sight" doesn't mean you are in a direct line with he aircraft, it means you must be able to actually "see" the aircraft. Most people can't actually see a 18" object past about 450 feet. For me more like 300 feet. I'm putting this here more for the benefit of those curious what flying their UAS in the future might be like. Things are a changing. ESPECIALLY in California.

Anyway this is what's proposed nationwide at this point....

FAA
Overview of Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the operator or visual observer. At all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the operator for the operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses.

• Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation.

Where's the fun in that? lol

 

[JKDSensei]

Where's the fun in that? lol

I know I know.....
Don't shoot...I'm just the messenger

 

[Steve Shead]

I know I know.....
Don't shoot...I'm just the messenger

Yep - it's gonna be bad if that goes through - although I saw this on the DJI portal - doesn't sound much different.

Model Aircraft Operations

* Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
* Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
* Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
* Don't fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying*
* Don't fly near people or stadiums
* Don't fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
* Don't be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft

 

[Ken Taylor]

I think *most* of us know that we are supposed to fly VLOS, but again, where's the fun in that.
Seriously though, with shorter distances it can be hard to see your bird, depending on a multitude of factors. I was filming some tall ships this weekend and could make out my bird except when it was in front on the sails, easy to loose track. In truth it was probably a tad too far and I had to rely on my FPV in those instances. Ugh, my old tired eyes....

 

[Ken Taylor]

I also forgot to add that as I live in an area of CT with A LOT of undeveloped land, it is fun to see how far out I can get..

 

[Farmer]

08/29/15 - Interesting flight today - went to a new location (less than 1/4 mile from last time) with a few more trees - nothing dense (Silicon Valley) - was flying to a point 2000ft away and the R/C lost connection. Along the way the "lost signal" flashed a couple of times. The bird went into RTH mode and flew back (thankfully) and, for the rest of that flight seemed to lose signal a few times on and off, nothing longer than a second or two.

I just uploaded the flight to healthydrones.com and it shows a 7.2 second signal loss 2000ft away, at a height of 300ft. It showed 117 minor signal errors during the entire flight, and GPS signal was poor. The flight on the second battery didn't lose signal, but GPS signal was also poor. The only difference (other than minor location change) was the weather - humid with low cloud (unusual for around here), temp was around 80 degrees.

I'm going to test again tomorrow (I only get to fly at weekends) - I'll try a location I know works, as well as the new location to see if there's still issue.

Has anyone seen erroneous R/C signal drops like this? I did nothing out of the ordinary - no hard landings and haven't dropped the R/C. Obviously I'll know more tomorrow, but wanted to get some thoughts on this.

08/30/15: UPDATE: It seems it's a little congested around the area I live - I can get around 2400ft line of sight, flying at around 300ft - after that I get a few drops in signal. There's trees on every street and it's quite a densely populated area, so that may be as far as I'm going to get. Since I'm relatively new to this I want to make sure I have practiced enough before I go out to the hills for longer flights.

Anyone else live in a dense area and have distance issues?

I lost connection today and it was only 400 metres away.
Regained connection and pressed on - I use this for checking stock and my worker was about to move stock into a new paddock.
I noticed my video had stopped recording and I could not get it or the camera to work????

And I am rural and there is no - should be no electronic interference around here.
60 flights, 200 plus km and have not experienced this before.