rc range suddenly drops under 150 feet :(

[zmb]

hi,

after a week of non-flying i took the baby outside and fly a little round.
then after a dist. of ~100m/330ft and an altitude of ~75m/250ft the msg "control signal lost" appears on my iphone screen
it goes off again.... comes back in a few seconds, same for 4-5 times, then the copter goes "going home" mode.

flying mode is phantom

i checked the rc:
- checked the orientation of the antenna, was in 90° position to copter (the long side...)
- fcc mode, beep twice .... seems ok
- batteries 1-4 > 1.3 volt.... seems ok
- open the rc for the atenna cable..... no damage/connector still plugged in ..... seems ok
- uses the same iphone 5 with gsm on. mobil radio was not a problem before... so... seems ok

before that, i reached on open field a range > 3000 feet dist. with 430ft altitude, only the wifi drops out, not the control signal.
i use this setup: -> viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3880&p=55706#p55706
all was fine.

and now that...
i dont have a clue, wtf this is...

do anyone maybe have an idea?

 

[OI Photography]

When the Phantom is climbing to altitude, you need to be careful that the tip of the antenna is not pointed towards it. The weakest part of the signal comes out of the tip, so it's easy to lose the connection when the Phantom gets very high. Just twist the antenna around so the long part is oriented towards the aircraft at all times.

 

[LeoS]

That is a pretty extreme drop.

Even when I accidentally cut my PV tx's antenna after a transmitter firmware upgrade, it reduced my range but I could still go to 500' before triggering RTH (return to home). My antenna was cut just near the opening, so I had some 10cm of shielded wire before the exposed end.

I wonder if your antenna cable was dislodged somehow and got completely detached inside? (The part that's covered with the gooey glue crap).

 

[zmb]

@OI Photography
hm, yeah... i know. antenna was in 90° to the copter. as i said... i had no problems to fly that thing a week before to over 3000ft away and 430ft high

@LeoS
exactly, the drop is too extreme ;( in the rc at least, the atenna(-cable with plug) looks ok, not checked inside copter yet...

 

[zmb]

ive made new testflights today with....

- new batteries in the rc -> ok
- open the copter and control the plugs of the antenna cables -> ok
- with the original wlan-range-extender without any modification

in FCC mode: 200m/650ft dist. / 130m/420ft alt. -> rc signal lost
in CE mode: 100m/330ft dist. / 55m/180ft alt. -> rc signal lost



i think, the transmitter in either the RC or in the copter is broken/damaged