range

[RVD98072]

i have a P3A and whenever i take it out to around 2000 feet or so it starts to give me range warnings. i start to lose video and it gives warnings that the RC connection is lost, etc.

i am in the suburbs around a lot of trees and some hills.

is this range normal? i don't want to push it any further because i don't want to risk losing connection (even though i know that it will RTH since my home point is always set properly before taking off).

i guess i can try one of those range extenders but was just wondering if people had any other tips. the antennas on the RC are pointed up.

 

[toorboy]

hi RVD98072 yeh the wind surfer range extender or you can make one a few folks herw have done that I haven't passed 1000 meters yet I need to buy one as well

 

[RVD98072]

i have access to a 3d printer so i'll try one of the free designs available and see how that works...or maybe i'll just buy one of the 3d printed ones.

 

[Sinisalo]

i have access to a 3d printer so i'll try one of the free designs available and see how that works...or maybe i'll just buy one of the 3d printed ones.

This one is perfect! You can buy the copper foil tape on amazon, you need 100mm wide foil tape. Regular foil tape will work but supposedly the copper stuff is best and I think it is. DJI Phantom 3 / Inspire 1 Range Booster by giufini

 

[rulppa]

Personally I would skip all the 3d-printed/foiltape versions and get good one. Sure, 3d-printed works too but looks ghetto.. Aluminum Parabolic Antenna Range Booster fr DJI Phantom 3 Inspire 1 Windsurfer

 

[RoyVa]

Out at 2000 ft you are at about the maximum you can see with Visual Line of Sight which is within the guidelines if in the US. With the terrain you are describing without mods to the antenna I would say you are good. Angle the antennas a little and see if it improves a little. Good luck!

 

[Sinisalo]

Personally I would skip all the 3d-printed/foiltape versions and get good one. Sure, 3d-printed works too but looks ghetto.. Aluminum Parabolic Antenna Range Booster fr DJI Phantom 3 Inspire 1 Windsurfer

That looks like a cut in half soda can and it doesn't lock in at the top, I'll pass on that trash

 

[Sinisalo]

Out at 2000 ft you are at about the maximum you can see with Visual Line of Sight which is within the guidelines if in the US. With the terrain you are describing without mods to the antenna I would say you are good. Angle the antennas a little and see if it improves a little. Good luck!

What if he isn't getting it for flight in the U.S. or if he is using a spotter with spotting scope? Don't question why he wants to go farther, geeze I can't stand it when people on this forum feel the need to be the drone police!

 

[gringorio]

Personally I would skip all the 3d-printed/foiltape versions and get good one. Sure, 3d-printed works too but looks ghetto.. Aluminum Parabolic Antenna Range Booster fr DJI Phantom 3 Inspire 1 Windsurfer

These look nice! It looks like they would work with the P3P transmitter too? Anyone know?

 

[rulppa]

These look nice! It looks like they would work with the P3P transmitter too? Anyone know?

It does work, friend of mine has that one and had 3d-printed before (so did i). Pics (ebay,aliexpress,etc) of those 3d-printed looks pretty much ok, but when you get it.. monkey could tape the foil with less bubbles. I have DBSMOD now (which is way too picky for me, good signal but really needs to point accurate, slight rc movement -> from full bars to no signal pretty easy) ..

 

[RVD98072]

Cool! I don't really need much more range. I can see the drone at 2000 ft since I live in a fairly open area (no tall buildings, etc.). I probably only need to go another 500-1000 ft or so but also don't want to risk losing connection even at 2000 feet. The warning messages start at around 1800 ft or so.

I'll probably try a 3d printed one first since it's pretty much free for me (we have a 3d printer at work w/ supplies that anyone can use).

 

[RadRich]

I'm getting lousy range with my P3A and with windsurfers. Only getting about 7700 feet before image transmission loss... Out in the open, no trees or other obstructions. The next time I fly I'll try playing with the channel setting as well as tweaking the video stream (lower the resolution).

 

[Sinisalo]

Cool! I don't really need much more range. I can see the drone at 2000 ft since I live in a fairly open area (no tall buildings, etc.). I probably only need to go another 500-1000 ft or so but also don't want to risk losing connection even at 2000 feet. The warning messages start at around 1800 ft or so.

I'll probably try a 3d printed one first since it's pretty much free for me (we have a 3d printer at work w/ supplies that anyone can use).

Giuseppe Finizia is a master at designing 3-D printable items. I think some of the 3-D printed junk on ebay and amazon are not made to perfectly aim the signal at the antenna, but Giuseppe Finizia's design is a truly parabolic reflector. Also the holes for the antenna are perfect. He sells them as finished pieces but provides the file for free on thingverse too, here is the link to that one more time:

DJI Phantom 3 / Inspire 1 Range Booster by giufini

The copper foil tape can be bought at guitar stores, I guess they use the 50mm wide tape for the guitar pickups. Or you can buy HVAC foil tape at Home Depot 1.89 in. x 50 yd. 322 Multi-Purpose HVAC Foil Tape-1207792 - The Home Depot

 

[Sinisalo]

See my post above, I think most windsurfer parabolic reflectors are not truly parabolic, as in they do not aim the signal optimally at the antenna. Also make sure you follow the DJI antenna best practices tutorial.

 

[RadRich]

Giuseppe Finizia is a master at designing 3-D printable items. I think some of the 3-D printed junk on ebay and amazon are not made to perfectly aim the signal at the antenna, but Giuseppe Finizia's design is a truly parabolic reflector. Also the holes for the antenna are perfect. He sells them as finished pieces but provides the file for free on thingverse too, here is the link to that one more time:

DJI Phantom 3 / Inspire 1 Range Booster by giufini

The copper foil tape can be bought at guitar stores, I guess they use the 50mm wide tape for the guitar pickups. Or you can buy HVAC foil tape at Home Depot 1.89 in. x 50 yd. 322 Multi-Purpose HVAC Foil Tape-1207792 - The Home Depot

Mine look like very similar to those. It didn't improve distance or video signal.
Amazon.com: SKYREAT Copper Parabolic Antenna Range Booster for DJI Phantom 3 Inspire 1 Controller Transmitter Signal Extend(2 pcs): Toys & Games

 

[Sinisalo]

Mine look like very similar to those. It didn't improve distance or video signal.
Amazon.com: SKYREAT Copper Parabolic Antenna Range Booster for DJI Phantom 3 Inspire 1 Controller Transmitter Signal Extend(2 pcs): Toys & Games

The problem with those is that you are not ensuring the antenna are parallel to each other, which is important.

 

[RVD98072]

Ok I 3d printed the one from Giuseppe Finizia. I still seem to lose video at around 2000 ft or so but I'll try a few more times.

 

[Mark The Droner]

A parabolic antenna is a parabolic antenna. That's because a parabola is a parabola. Some are round like a bowl, but in our case we want one that's more on a plane because we know the signal we want to capture or send is vertical polarity as opposed to horizontal polarity.

If both transmitting and receiving antennas were at fixed locations, we can "tune" each antenna to perfection. But in our case, that is not reasonable because the aircraft is constantly moving. We need some "inaccuracy" purposely built into the antenna to widen its beam width due to our inability to aim it perfectly at all times.

These antennas work, whether you think they look like a soup can or not. If you're not sure, take an EMF meter and test your transmitter with and without. If you're disappointed with range, it might be you're not aiming it correctly, it might be you're flying in an unfavorable environment (humidity, trees, etc.) or it might be something else.

Hope this helps.

-ex Communication Technician, USN

 

[Sinisalo]

Ok I 3d printed the one from Giuseppe Finizia. I still seem to lose video at around 2000 ft or so but I'll try a few more times.

Nice, remember the DJI antenna best practices video:

 

[RadRich]

I had an awesome flight this weekend. Went ~ 2.5 miles out. Only just started getting loss of image, but control was still strong. I was using my windsurfers, however, what I did was fly in an area that had practically no Wi-Fi and all channels were good to go.

I would suggest taking a look at your channel settings. You want to be connected to a channel with the lowest Noise (like below -90 to -100).
Tutorial here: DJI Forum|[DJI GO Tutorial] Video Downlink Settings