Stock P2V 2.7 KM (8,850') Long Range Test

[SilentAV8R]

Re: Boost Wifi FPV Range by SOFTWARE

That would be awesome if more power and channel hopping abilities could be unlocked via software. And maybe the settings tweaked to deduce blackouts requiring reset oh the phantom to return the fpv feed.

That would also be illegal, at least in the US unless you are a licensed amateur radio operator (ham). FCC says you cannot tinker with anything, including the antennas, in a Part 15 certified device. Hams are allowed because they have band privileges and can operate uncertified equipment as long as they do not exceed the allowed power limits.

 

[mr_3_0_5]

I don't think any of them care if it's "legal"or not

 

[SilentAV8R]

I don't think any of them care if it's "legal"or not

Oh, then never mind, they can do whatever they want to then. Just speeding is OK as long as you don't care about the speed limit.

 

[mr_3_0_5]

I don't think any of them care if it's "legal"or not

Oh, then never mind, they can do whatever they want to then. Just speeding is OK as long as you don't care about the speed limit.

Or unless you live in Germany

 

[2trickpony]

I don't think any of them care if it's "legal"or not

Just speeding is OK as long as you don't care about the speed limit.

Thats a good analogy, but a lot of people go over the speed limit regardless of rules or legalities.

 

[PVFlyer]

Re: Boost Wifi FPV Range by SOFTWARE

That would be awesome if more power and channel hopping abilities could be unlocked via software. And maybe the settings tweaked to deduce blackouts requiring reset oh the phantom to return the fpv feed.

That would also be illegal, at least in the US unless you are a licensed amateur radio operator (ham). FCC says you cannot tinker with anything, including the antennas, in a Part 15 certified device. Hams are allowed because they have band privileges and can operate uncertified equipment as long as they do not exceed the allowed power limits.

I think it's hard to draw a line of modding or not in RC hobby. For instance, I did not mod anything of my P2V, but I simply replaced the stock repeater with UBNT Rocket M2. Rocket M2 does not come with antenna, thus I home made a pair of helical antenna (or buy any antenna) for it.

Modding 2.4G RF device is allowed in my country, as long as not exceeding legal EIRP limit - 4W (36dBm). I configured output power of my Rocket M2 to 200mW (23dBm) plus 10dBi helical with EIRP 2W (33dBm), which is well under the legal limit.

Obviously, adding 2W (33dBm) amplifier plus 9dBi helical with total EIRP 16W (42dBm) is 4 times WAY exceeding the legal ERIP limit in my country. Regarding speeding in my country, it usually has certain 5-10KM/h tolerance. Slightly speeding should not be a big problem, or maybe get a traffic ticket. But speeding 4 times the speed limit will definitely bring you to court or even put you in jail if you are caught.

 

[SilentAV8R]

All my comments pertain to the US only. I am not familiar with the laws of other countries.

 

[dave21]

Hey guys. I ve received from ebay this 5.8ghz 5dbi omni antenna in order to improve the control range a bit. I still prefer it to too long 9dbi omnis or the patch one. This one is specially designed on my order, I asked to put ufl connector and rgb cable. The seller is perfect and they added this product on ebay now. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=331178613761&alt=web

 

[FlyingFox]

A question for you long range flyers.

Your range depends on battery time etc when do you decide to turn around and head for home? 50% left or more? With a tail wind, just wondered what margins you leave in case the wind turns against you? :?:

 

[PVFlyer]

A question for you long range flyers.

Your range depends on battery time etc when do you decide to turn around and head for home? 50% left or more? With a tail wind, just wondered what margins you leave in case the wind turns against you? :?:

I'm a bit conservative. I prefer to LAND with >40% battery remained for long range flight. If I do a simple math, I turn back home with around 70% battery.

If you watch the video of my Vision+ 3KM flight (under my signature), I flew much faster during departure trip (55 KM/h) due to downwind with only 50% pitch or so. The return trip was much slower (35 KM/h) even with 100% pitch and you could see props spinning, which means the aircraft was tilting forward more against wind but still slower.

I usually fly over water for long range flight, if I turn around at 50% battery, the result is likely crash landing into river or pond.

 

[BenDronePilot]

A question for you long range flyers.

Your range depends on battery time etc when do you decide to turn around and head for home? 50% left or more? With a tail wind, just wondered what margins you leave in case the wind turns against you? :?:

That all depends on your setup and if you have a 2 or 3 axis gimbal or are using a regular p2 vision. Also factors such as wind speed and direction play a strong factor in flight distance. If you're using a gimbal to be on the safe side you should return around 70℅ to give you some buffer. If you're using a regular p2v you could probably get away with 60%. If its a very calm day and you're not flying over am ocean which tends to be more windy you could also probably get away with flying down to 55-60%

To be honest tho you never know what surprises can happen during a long distance flight such as unexpected winds or interference, and so forth. Also keep in mind your Phantom will start landing at 15% power so you should never drain to 50% when doing a long distance flight out as you will never be able to make the return trip. Better safe than sorry so you should keep distances no more than 4km out or 70% battery to give you a big buffer should something go wrong or you hit strong winds.

 

[Jecky]

Hi there, I am quite new in the quad flying and going to buy a phantom2 Vision plus. I am waiting and hope it will come in the next few days. Reading about the flight distance in this post (very impressive) raised again the question below.
I am struggling to understand the rules in HK. Independent of the common understanding of not flying in areas such as airport areas, crowded public places etc., is there any government rule which can give you a hard time? Or with other words, is it generally allowed to fly Phantom Quad in HK if I do not bother/ disturb people?
HK is a fantastic place with nice areas to shoot pictures and videos. Would be a shame to run into trouble with the police...
Thanks for a comment
Uwe

 

[PVFlyer]

Hi there, I am quite new in the quad flying and going to buy a phantom2 Vision plus. I am waiting and hope it will come in the next few days. Reading about the flight distance in this post (very impressive) raised again the question below.
I am struggling to understand the rules in HK. Independent of the common understanding of not flying in areas such as airport areas, crowded public places etc., is there any government rule which can give you a hard time? Or with other words, is it generally allowed to fly Phantom Quad in HK if I do not bother/ disturb people?
HK is a fantastic place with nice areas to shoot pictures and videos. Would be a shame to run into trouble with the police...
Thanks for a comment
Uwe

In Hong Kong (like many other countries), there is no specific rules or regulations for flying RC hobby class UAVs, helicopters & planes. There are some regulations for flying large (>7KG) aircraft or for commercial purpose.

I usually fly over water to minimize the chance of hitting people, cars or houses in case it dropped from sky.

Happy flying

Why fly over the ocean when flying over houses and bridges is so much more fun

 

[Jecky]

Good morning PVFlyer,
thanks for the advise. I will keep you posted about the flying. Still no info from the dealer. It seems still not arrived in HK

Are there complains or incidents already happen in HK? I realized that people are usually very excited to see a phantom, even asked for pictures. But there are others complaining about breaking the law and privacy violation, even flying over water. Anyway, hop to start flying soon.

Thanks

 

[SilentAV8R]

I've got to say you are far more bold than I am. Flying at altitude, at night, over busy freeway (I-5) is more than I am willing to do. Same with the long distance flight at lower altitudes. I refuse to cross roads, of any kind, fly over houses, people, vehicles, etc. I fly with the idea that it could drop out of the sky at any moment and ask the question that if it does, what is the worst that could happen. Smashing into vehicles on a busy freeway comes to mind as a potential worse case scenario.

BTW - I-5 is a published helicopter route and helicopter traffic could be transiting that corridor at altitudes far below what you are flying at.

 

[RemE]

Hey guys. I ve received from ebay this 5.8ghz 5dbi omni antenna in order to improve the control range a bit. I still prefer it to too long 9dbi omnis or the patch one. This one is specially designed on my order, I asked to put ufl connector and rgb cable. The seller is perfect and they added this product on ebay now. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=331178613761&alt=web

This looks great! Does that antenna base fit the stock TX directly? That would be very handy.

 

[dave21]

Hey. Thats the thing i wanted to post here. I found out that the diameter is a bit bigger and the base does not fit unfortunately. Maybe can be adjusted but it looses its usefulness

 

[RemE]

Hey. Thats the thing i wanted to post here. I found out that the diameter is a bit bigger and the base does not fit unfortunately. Maybe can be adjusted but it looses its usefulness

Can you post a picture of the two bases so we can see how much modification would be needed to make it work? This looks like a clean option if it can be modified to work.

 

[PVFlyer]

Hey. Thats the thing i wanted to post here. I found out that the diameter is a bit bigger and the base does not fit unfortunately. Maybe can be adjusted but it looses its usefulness

I prefer to use a 5.8G patch panel (directional) with a pigtail mod on the transmitter. This would give me more control range (3-4 KM) than Omni directional antenna. BTW, I'm still using the modded P2V transmitter for my Vision+.

 

[LMC]

Hey. Thats the thing i wanted to post here. I found out that the diameter is a bit bigger and the base does not fit unfortunately. Maybe can be adjusted but it looses its usefulness

No good, I have tried analogous antenna.