Range extensions worth?

[sniip1]

Hello, I have a P3S and I love this drone! I used it for a while now and really got used to it's controls. No problems with the drone only one arm has some stress cracks but I fixed it with some glue and braces. The only problem with it now is that the drone doesn't fly really far :/ at max I got it to 700 meters, normally it can go up to 400 meters. I fly in a place that has quite a lot of trees tho it's not a big forest. Sometimes I can't fly even 100 meters if I go low altitude (tried to film a crop field). I haven't tried any mod on it yet not even a windsurfer but being an IT technician my fingers always itches to mess with it.

I am going to try out a homemade windsurfer but that probably will not satisfy me (would like to reach 2 kilometers lol)

I read a quite a bit about antenna mods like Argtek for the transmitter but a lot of people were saying that it's not worth the time and money and I will end up with a shittier range than P3 Advanced or even ruin my current range. So they suggest me to sell my P3S and add some money and get a P3A. But knowing that i'll have to buy either a refurbished unit or a used one I don't really like the "lottery" factor of getting a normal one in first try.

My question is: Is it worth investing time and money into antenna mods or should I just stick with a windsurfer for a time being and just buy a better drone like P3A or P3P. If modding is worth a while then what mods should I use?

Sorry for the long post, just want to get this clear for me once and for all.

 

[andyimages]

Flying out of sightline? If you are putting that radio signal through anything I would suggest a better radio, and even then you are taking your chances....right.

 

[anotherlab]

A lot of this is dependent on your budget. A windsurfer type of antenna reflector is pretty cheap and effective. I paid around $60 for the ARGtek range extender and it greatly extended my range. Other people have reported poorer results, but it worked for me. The P3P and P3A are better machines, with better remote controllers, you get more functionality than just a further range.

If I were to buy another drone today, I would probably get a Mavic Pro because it takes up a lot less space.

 

[sniip1]

A lot of this is dependent on your budget. A windsurfer type of antenna reflector is pretty cheap and effective. I paid around $60 for the ARGtek range extender and it greatly extended my range. Other people have reported poorer results, but it worked for me. The P3P and P3A are better machines, with better remote controllers, you get more functionality than just a further range.

If I were to buy another drone today, I would probably get a Mavic Pro because it takes up a lot less space.

Thanks for suggestion. I don't really need any other functionality at least for now. I probably could spend up to 150 euros on modifications before it becomes not worth to invest in the drone.

 

[sniip1]

Flying out of sightline? If you are putting that radio signal through anything I would suggest a better radio, and even then you are taking your chances....right.

There was one line of trees and a small river in front of the crop field. But flying behind the trees at about 10 meter altitude was impossible even at 50 meter distance. I believe it should have performed a bit better since I could see the drone through the branches.

 

[120CCPM]

You talk about Euros, so I assume you're in CE zone. If that's the case, try Magic Power (free, requires a PC) or Icarus (around $5, runs on Android only). Both are supposed to improve only the 2.4GHz video downlink, although some people swear that the "US" region setting of Magic Power improved also the 5.8GHz control link. I tried Icarus - on a trip to Europe - and it seemed to affect only my video downlink (which is good anyways, as I'd rather loose control but see/know what the AC is doing, than vice-versa).
My P3S is bare stock and I'm happy with its range (at least here in the US, at FCC power levels) but if I had to do a mod, it will be the Alpha antennas on the RC (kit can be purchased for $35 off eBay) and maybe the P3P antennas on the AC (see Birdside antenna mod version 2.0.). I like the Alpha mod as it's very clean and you can quickly remove the antennas and fit the RC in the P3S case.

 

[anotherlab]

Thanks for suggestion. I don't really need any other functionality at least for now. I probably could spend up to 150 euros on modifications before it becomes not worth to invest in the drone.

The ARGtek should be about 1/3 of your budget. Before I installed it, I was losing video at 150 meters. After installing it, I had clear video reception at 600 meters. I haven't flown past that distance, but I could probably get a 1 km over open space.