I'll bet you love it!! I got it a couple months ago and have not used the DJI go app since
Still getting constant "Strong Interference detected" warnings.
- Thread starter Pepino Grande
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I'll bet you love it!! I got it a couple months ago and have not used the DJI go app since
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I fly 2 miles out with the DBS on my p3s, using litchi I won't get a single message the whole time.
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DBS antenna, look it up. Pretty solid upgrade for the standard. Will greatly improve your range. You do need to open up the controller to install it though. Really something anyone can handle. YouTube is your friend!
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Just wanted to make sure you know (maybe you do) that the litchi app doesn't have a RTH icon on screen like the go app does. You have to toggle the upper left s2 switch two times (down-up-down-up) to initiate RTH.
Litchi has a good help page on their website. Worth a look.
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All,
This thread seems to be going in an odd direction. The base assumption seems to be that the strong interference warning is a software hardware problem with the drone. In the cases I have investigated with my P3 4K, there are geographic locations, my favorite park in Cambridge, where I regularly get these warnings, and I fly despite them. This is a dangerous decision because every time I investigate the warnings with a wireless laptop completely unrelated to anything drone, there are indeed very strong other wireless signals about in the atmosphere. The drone reports are CORRECT. Choosing to ignore them is a bold decision. Your drone is at a potential risk. You have no idea whether or not the interference will weaken or strengthen with changes in altitude or course. What you are exposing your drone to is a battle between the wireless signals passed back and forth between the drone and it's controller, and the world wide web of home wireless routers etc. I have multiple times counted more than 50 signals, all potentially competing with that pairing. The 2.4 mhz channels are worst, but there are 5.8 channels active as well.
All urban environments are subject to this to caring degrees. DJI, I think, attempts to avoid the worst channel interferences, but I haven't proven conclusively, that it channel hops to avoid colliding with other powerful users on that channel. All the hardware mods to improve channel strength/ channel selection are good ideas, and should help, but I have seen no good tests of exactly what is going on in those situations in terms of understanding the interactions of a random collection of external interference sources, and the mods.
A better approach to me would be, as part of a pilot's responsibility to "situational awareness', a vital part of real pilot training, is to accept the warnings as real until proven otherwise, and respond accordingly. In my mind, that doesn't mean not flying, but flying expecting at any time to have control signals behave weirdly/not at all, and have a fallback planned. Having the homeport set, and properly programmed is the obvious first step, but it is not clear that jamming the drone-controller link will necessarily trigger RTH. It probably will, but again I have seen no literature on tests to prove that one way or another. DJI could certainly tell us, but their track record of providing detailed tech info is poor. The flight logs are very helpful for monitoring the aircraft-controller overall signal strength, but they don't show anything about foreign signal interference that I have seen, although they clearly know about it, as that is what triggers the warning that pops up.
Overall, I would take the warnings as real, and not a software error, and respond accordingly. Blaming DJI for a problem outside their ability to control, is putting your head in the sand. I appreciate warnings about situations that could lead to the loss of my beloved bird.
This thread seems to be going in an odd direction. The base assumption seems to be that the strong interference warning is a software hardware problem with the drone. In the cases I have investigated with my P3 4K, there are geographic locations, my favorite park in Cambridge, where I regularly get these warnings, and I fly despite them. This is a dangerous decision because every time I investigate the warnings with a wireless laptop completely unrelated to anything drone, there are indeed very strong other wireless signals about in the atmosphere. The drone reports are CORRECT. Choosing to ignore them is a bold decision. Your drone is at a potential risk. You have no idea whether or not the interference will weaken or strengthen with changes in altitude or course. What you are exposing your drone to is a battle between the wireless signals passed back and forth between the drone and it's controller, and the world wide web of home wireless routers etc. I have multiple times counted more than 50 signals, all potentially competing with that pairing. The 2.4 mhz channels are worst, but there are 5.8 channels active as well.
All urban environments are subject to this to caring degrees. DJI, I think, attempts to avoid the worst channel interferences, but I haven't proven conclusively, that it channel hops to avoid colliding with other powerful users on that channel. All the hardware mods to improve channel strength/ channel selection are good ideas, and should help, but I have seen no good tests of exactly what is going on in those situations in terms of understanding the interactions of a random collection of external interference sources, and the mods.
A better approach to me would be, as part of a pilot's responsibility to "situational awareness', a vital part of real pilot training, is to accept the warnings as real until proven otherwise, and respond accordingly. In my mind, that doesn't mean not flying, but flying expecting at any time to have control signals behave weirdly/not at all, and have a fallback planned. Having the homeport set, and properly programmed is the obvious first step, but it is not clear that jamming the drone-controller link will necessarily trigger RTH. It probably will, but again I have seen no literature on tests to prove that one way or another. DJI could certainly tell us, but their track record of providing detailed tech info is poor. The flight logs are very helpful for monitoring the aircraft-controller overall signal strength, but they don't show anything about foreign signal interference that I have seen, although they clearly know about it, as that is what triggers the warning that pops up.
Overall, I would take the warnings as real, and not a software error, and respond accordingly. Blaming DJI for a problem outside their ability to control, is putting your head in the sand. I appreciate warnings about situations that could lead to the loss of my beloved bird.
I fly just under a mile with the ARGtek Antenna System on my P3S. Before the upgrade I got 2500 to 3000 feet in the same locations. I don't always get strong interference warnings but I do more often than not. I always check my settings and fly anyway. Many flights with no issue. I'm using The GO App.
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I have the same experience. I fly regularly in areas of high interference, and have had no crashes. I have had a number of RTH from signal loss, which have all been successful. I sometimes get 1200 ft, and sometimes not. I don't think that distance measuring is particularly useful, as it depends totally on what the interference pattern is at that moment in that location for that flight. Anyone in probably a 1-3 mile radius can change the calculation by booting up his wireless enabled computer or laptop, or turning on a smart enabled appliance which may also be using that wireless channel. Certainly using signal boosters and vacant channel selection can reduce the errors, but there is no guarantee that it will make it safe at any given point in time. We are at the mercy of everyone and his electronics in that close radius.
An additional thought. We don't know exactly what DJI is reporting with that strong interference message. It could be that they are reporting interference that will directly impact the particular channel one is flying on, or whether it is just a strong signal in the 2.4 band. Just detecting a strong signal is easier and cheaper that detecting a strong signal on one of the many channels that use the 2ghz band, and if they use channel hopping, as some think they do, the problem gets even m,ore complex.
An additional thought. We don't know exactly what DJI is reporting with that strong interference message. It could be that they are reporting interference that will directly impact the particular channel one is flying on, or whether it is just a strong signal in the 2.4 band. Just detecting a strong signal is easier and cheaper that detecting a strong signal on one of the many channels that use the 2ghz band, and if they use channel hopping, as some think they do, the problem gets even m,ore complex.
The Litchi app doesn't seem to have that message, based on most comments here
Call me crazy, but since it's proven that every time there is an interference message in the Go App you can actually always find a lot of WiFi signals, using the Litchi app is, if anything, more dangerous. I know it's not what you are saying (others did, though), but suggesting to use the Litchi app to avoid the messages is like the proverbial ostrich, burying the had under the sand
I prefer using an app that warns me, so that I can decide if I want to disregard the warning (but at least I know I'm an an area of interference) than an app that says nothing
Your phone/tablet can easily run a wifi sniffer app. Try using one when you get that error, and you'll see how much signal there is around you (there also are commercial wifi point-to-point links using directional antennas). You won't see the other potential problematic signals (like strong cellular), for that you would need a spectrum analyzer
Especially with the P3S, believe the Go app when it says that there are interefences
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I second that advice.
There is a very good wifi sniffer for the Mac, that will list all the WIFI networks it is in contact with, what the WIFI source is named - usually DebbieandJoe of Negear25, it's individual signal strength relative to 100%, and what channel it is one. If your drone is powered up and connected to the A/c you will see it as well, it's channel and signal strength. There is no equivalent that I have founder the iPhone or iPad. I have it on my Macbook Air for just these purposes.
Using that tool, I have 10% verified the existence of real interference sources that DJI has correctly identified. I would be very wary if the DJI app found it and the Litchi app didn't. The Litchi app would be very dangerous at that point.
All of this discussion would stand for further clarification from DJI re;
1. Does Go report interference specifically on the channel that the controller/aircraft are currently using, or sources an all the channels in the 24 GHZ space?
2. At what point does the app decide the interference is strong enough to warrant popping the warning?
3. How much margin is there between the warning and actual problems with the drone communications?
4. What is the nature of the effect of interference? Is it slowing the communications down as function of the ratio between the drone signal strength and the interference signal strength, or a go/no go of communication? The answer to this question will provide some answers on how reliable the RTH function will be. If it is a go/no go, RTH should work fine after comms fail for 3 sec. If it is a dramatic slow down, RTH may not kick in at all, and you won't have real time control of the aircraft - bye bye birdie.
All of this I think warrants extreme piloting caution, and not searching for a solution that refuses to display the real problem eg DJI upgrades etc. This problem is real.
There is a very good wifi sniffer for the Mac, that will list all the WIFI networks it is in contact with, what the WIFI source is named - usually DebbieandJoe of Negear25, it's individual signal strength relative to 100%, and what channel it is one. If your drone is powered up and connected to the A/c you will see it as well, it's channel and signal strength. There is no equivalent that I have founder the iPhone or iPad. I have it on my Macbook Air for just these purposes.
Using that tool, I have 10% verified the existence of real interference sources that DJI has correctly identified. I would be very wary if the DJI app found it and the Litchi app didn't. The Litchi app would be very dangerous at that point.
All of this discussion would stand for further clarification from DJI re;
1. Does Go report interference specifically on the channel that the controller/aircraft are currently using, or sources an all the channels in the 24 GHZ space?
2. At what point does the app decide the interference is strong enough to warrant popping the warning?
3. How much margin is there between the warning and actual problems with the drone communications?
4. What is the nature of the effect of interference? Is it slowing the communications down as function of the ratio between the drone signal strength and the interference signal strength, or a go/no go of communication? The answer to this question will provide some answers on how reliable the RTH function will be. If it is a go/no go, RTH should work fine after comms fail for 3 sec. If it is a dramatic slow down, RTH may not kick in at all, and you won't have real time control of the aircraft - bye bye birdie.
All of this I think warrants extreme piloting caution, and not searching for a solution that refuses to display the real problem eg DJI upgrades etc. This problem is real.
Yip the right mods p3s can go a very long way ,,,,,,,,don't forget about underground cables they give strong magnetic interference aswell
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Magnetic interference will not bother the drone-controller communications, nor will it show up in the "strong interference" warning stuff. It presents a very different hazard. It will throw off the compass or compasses totally, and perhaps interfere with the imus, although I don't know what chip DJI is using for that function, and as a result don't know what the magnetic impact might be on them. Compass mismatch between the drone magnetic compass and the magnetic heading deprived from the GPS positioning stuff is a known problem. It appears to create erratic flights, where the GPS and Magnetic information fights for control.
If anybody has a schematic of the main control board in the drone, with IC part numbers, we could have a lot more understanding.
The WIFI antenna mods, and the power boost mods certainly reduce the likelihood of an incident caused by interference on the WIFI channel. Whether or not the DJI alarm take that into account is unknown.
If anybody has a schematic of the main control board in the drone, with IC part numbers, we could have a lot more understanding.
The WIFI antenna mods, and the power boost mods certainly reduce the likelihood of an incident caused by interference on the WIFI channel. Whether or not the DJI alarm take that into account is unknown.
Getting the same problem with my new P3S, had a major upside down crash with the previous one and the motherboard will not light up. With the new one had to go through the software update before use and receive this notice in places where I flown before without problems. Been considering opening it up to check the abtenna connections till I saw this post
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What would answer your question on the health of the drone signal itself is to look at the DJIGO GUI. In the upper bar there is a very simple signal strength indicator for that signal. An antenna problem would show up there.
Thanks for that, and reading your earlier posts have helped also. Have recently upgraded home wifi to a unit with far better range that now extends to my back yard, which is the first place I discovered the trouble.
The warning doesn't say "don't fly". It says that there is a strong interference and you might have problems if you fly too far away from the controller. Which is exactly what I like to see, in order to be able to make an informed decision on where/how far to fly. For example, I know that flying very far with a P3S in my neighborhood (suburban with a high concentration of tech geeks) would be a bad idea. But puttering along in my backyard (or inspecting my roof) is perfectly safe (even safer if I turn off my strong wifi router)
When I'm flying in a sports field far away from anything (where drone flying is permitted), I know that there is one spot with a strong wifi signal, but the rest of the field is safe. So, as long as I fly away from the source of the interference (and my controller is closer to the P3S than the wifi device), I know I can fly safely
I quite like how DJI implemented this: just a useful warning, non intrusive. If I'm flying far away and that warning starts popping up, I know I'm approaching a source of interference, and I can decide what to do next
I get the 'electromagnetic interference' warnings most places I go, whether rural or semi urban.
I have also noted 2 types of interference. In the semi-urban areas (large parks,) it not normally kicks in after hitting a specific height e.g. 165 feet. This is the warning I am most wary of, as I reckon this type of interference is a radio signal from a nearby transmitter. When I identify this type of interference I won't fly higher than the height where it first appeared. I have had 'weak RC signal' problems at relatively low height when faced with this type of interference.
A 2nd type of interference I have noted in very remote areas, where you cannot even get a phone signal. This one crops up when the Phantom is is sitting on the ground. I am less wary of this type of warning, as I reckon it's possibly due to mineral deposits in the ground. Once the Phantom takes off the warnings quickly disappear, and I can I reach the maximum legal height limit.
These are just my personal theories, and of course I could be totally wrong.
I have also noted 2 types of interference. In the semi-urban areas (large parks,) it not normally kicks in after hitting a specific height e.g. 165 feet. This is the warning I am most wary of, as I reckon this type of interference is a radio signal from a nearby transmitter. When I identify this type of interference I won't fly higher than the height where it first appeared. I have had 'weak RC signal' problems at relatively low height when faced with this type of interference.
A 2nd type of interference I have noted in very remote areas, where you cannot even get a phone signal. This one crops up when the Phantom is is sitting on the ground. I am less wary of this type of warning, as I reckon it's possibly due to mineral deposits in the ground. Once the Phantom takes off the warnings quickly disappear, and I can I reach the maximum legal height limit.
These are just my personal theories, and of course I could be totally wrong.
A bit off-topic, but could you tell me exactly where? I tried to find that info in the .txt logs from DJI GO (as I'd like to display it with Dashware) but couldn't, and was told it's not there.
EDIT: even Airdata UAV tells you that "it calculates signal strength based on the connection to the remote - it searches for signal loss based on minor signal interruptions", which seems to indicate that signal strength is not available as a direct value.
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Please someone tell me where I went wrong...Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones
Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones
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