The Official "My P4 Range Is Too Short" Thread - Don't Start New Range Threads!

arnok9010 said:
Took my P4 (totally stock) to my parents farm. Yes there is a lot of trees but I got to 700m and it lost connection and RTH, which is a lot less than the 5km it states. No chance of interference from other sources (Australian outback and cows don't tend to emit 2.4Ghz !!) but there were quite a few trees (think small forest) between me and the P4. I was on the high side of the farm and flying at 35m (115ft). Tallest tree would have been 25m. Any ideas or was it just a case of the trees got in the way ? On the upside I got some awesome shots of an outback sunset :) Just would have been nice to include the giant dam at the back of the property.

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Try taking it up higher, my old stock set up would routinely get 2klms at 120mtrs up. Keep an eye on your signal strength and ease it up as it drops. Trees are a killer.
 
arnok9010 said:
I wanted nice shots just above the trees hence the low flight. It was fine at 100m but I didn't get the depth of shot I wanted. Thanks though [emoji106]


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Exactly. It's a flying camera, not a record breaking distance setter. Flying higher just to maintain signal is of little value, if you then can't get the shots you want. Might as well use Google Earth instead, if you have to be above 300 feet! We need to be able to maintain signal at low altitudes for photography. Amped DBS-02 on a GL300A does the trick for the P4.
 
MGS9500 said:
I did some research and came up with the following specs from Johnny B.

So, if the GL658C really does have an output of .743 watts, which is over twice the GL300c, will the GL658C work with the phantom 4??.

Has anyone tried this??
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Yes, any GL658 will work better than GL300C that comes with P4. The GL300C is the weakest Lightbridge controller DJI has ever made. Jake at MaxxUAS has stated that all GL658s (A, B & C types) adjust their power output to what ever craft you link it to, hence it does not transmit the full power capability the FCC filing claims for power output. I haven't confirm Jake's claim, but I tend to believe it's true. However, I do know for a fact the GL658 puts out 50% more power than GL300C (my measurements) when linked to a P4 craft. My range capability with GL658A and P4 mirrors what early P3P could get for range, about 3mi with windsurfer, or about 2mi without windsurfer.
 
I feel the Drones should do as advertised. NO WAY will my stock P4 or P4P get close to what I expected them to do out of the box. With my FVP mod & boosters I can get 22,000 feet & now have maxed out the Drones battery . The stock P4P will not come close to 4 miles .
 
Rotax Rick said:
I feel the Drones should do as advertised. NO WAY will my stock P4 or P4P get close to what I expected them to do out of the box. With my FVP mod & boosters I can get 22,000 feet & now have maxed out the Drones battery . The stock P4P will not come close to 4 miles .
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I beg to differ. With the stock P4P controller, set to Auto 5.8Ghz, I am flying over 4 miles away with no problem, in hightly urban areas, as low as 50 feet AGL at the extreme, with clear LOS. The range is the best yet of any stock DJI controller! The P4P battery, with OAS turned on, limiting speed to 30mph, delivers true 25 to 26 minute flight times, even at full speed, covering 57,000 feet per flight! :cool:
 
OK so here it is. I have a P4 A P4P & now a P4P+ There is no way out of the box that you can go over 10,000 feet under 400 feet elevation. If so I purchased 3 lemons in a row. With the FVP boosted I can get to 22,000 feet & not at 400 feet. Both my P4 & the pro are boosted & the P4 gives me the same performance with the 5870 battery. SO I purchased the Drone battery mod. 5500 battery split & now I can go all the way to 23,000 feet. So $250 plus $125 for the battery got me 1000 feet more. I want to add one other thing, My P4P+ on P mode goes 40 to 42 mph & on sport mode 70 mph . CRAZY In RTH 32 mph I must of got the Super Phantom P4P+ ??
 
Gadget Guy I would love to see a screen shot of this. 28,500 feet one way on stock batteries .??
4 mile range at 50 feet AGL . What over water ???
 
one other thing we may all be missing , when DJI advertises 4.3 miles is that one way or a round trip. It states the range is 4.3 miles . So 2.15 miles one way & 2.15 miles the other way is a 4.3 mile range . Just my way of thinking !!
 
Rotax Rick said:
OK so here it is. I have a P4 A P4P & now a P4P+ There is no way out of the box that you can go over 10,000 feet under 400 feet elevation. If so I purchased 3 lemons in a row. With the FVP boosted I can get to 22,000 feet & not at 400 feet. Both my P4 & the pro are boosted & the P4 gives me the same performance with the 5870 battery. SO I purchased the Drone battery mod. 5500 battery split & now I can go all the way to 23,000 feet. So $250 plus $125 for the battery got me 1000 feet more. I want to add one other thing, My P4P+ on P mode goes 40 to 42 mph & on sport mode 70 mph . CRAZY In RTH 32 mph I must of got the Super Phantom P4P+ ??
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What RC boosting mod and what battery mod are you using on the P4P? Links please. The reported speed in sport mode is probably kmh, not mph. There's a known bug in the displayed speed.
 
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I bet that's what is going on. KMH I'm reading in P 42 mph & in S 70 mph. The other readings are in feet ? I have the FPV antenna from Tony & his boosters. The boosters are only in 2.4 so I had to limit the Pro to 2.4 in the controller. There a big improvement . I also on the P4 installed the Drone long rang battery kit. A 5500 split . The added weight eat up any benefit. I only picked up 1000 to 1500 feet. $250 for the install & $125 for the battery . NOT WORTH IT !.!!

I want to add one mor thing. I don't like knocking anything until it's fully tested. The Drone battery upgrade has 2 inlets. Rather than a 5500 mAH split I would like to try two 1000 mAH batteries .
I think that may give me more power without the weight penalty .
 
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Rotax Rick said:
Gadget Guy I would love to see a screen shot of this. 28,500 feet one way on stock batteries .??
4 mile range at 50 feet AGL . What over water ???
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57,000 feet is not straight out and back. More of an oval, with a 22,500 feet away from the Home Point at the farthest, and it's never more than 50-80 feet AGL at the far end, but I start out at 240 feet above sea level, and descend to 80 feet AGL above built up urban areas to get there. Clear LOS is essential.
 
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Rotax Rick said:
I bet that's what is going on. KMH I'm reading in P 42 mph & in S 70 mph. The other readings are in feet ? I have the FPV antenna from Tony & his boosters. The boosters are only in 2.4 so I had to limit the Pro to 2.4 in the controller. There a big improvement . I also on the P4 installed the Drone long rang battery kit. A 5500 split . The added weight eat up any benefit. I only picked up 1000 to 1500 feet. $250 for the install & $125 for the battery . NOT WORTH IT !.!!
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That's your problem. Use Auto and 5.8Ghz with the stock RC, and you will be getting 4+ miles, too! I can't get more than 2 miles on 2.4 Ghz, no matter what I do! Amplifying the worst band to get less than the stock 5.8GHz delivers is a waste of money. Try using Auto and set it to 5.8Ghz with Tony's antenna mod and report back. I had heard that his antenna setup might work on the 5.8Ghz band, too, but not if they terminated the 5.8Ghz leads in the conversion. So no battery mod to the P4P yet? If you did a P4P battery mod, who did it and how?
 
I have Tonys antenas on both my P4 & P4P He makes a special P4P antenna BUT to use the boosters with it on the P4P you have to run in 2.4 There are only 2 leads in both the P4 & P4P
The controller changes the Ghz. 2.4 is known for better range. With both the P4 & the P4P I can go way out past where I could ever make it home on the drone battery./ So I feel I'm good there.
The drone power is the next thing to beat. 23,000 feet playing the wind in accenting & descending slowly to save power is the drones max. Now I see these flights over the water but try it from my house . The Drove battery conversion is fro FVP Customs. I even have carbon fiber blades & new hubs coming in. No expense considered.

I will go to the 5.8 auto tomorrow and see . I will report tomorrow evening .
 
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And sitting in a metal cave!!! Move away from the car when you do range check please. There are too many range check threads going up without any science. The position and proximity to object of the antennas is vital.


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I have both small and large ITElite antennas running on boosters that I bought from maxx uav, I tried both antennas on my P4 and neither of them gets the distance that can get on my stock P4P+. My stock Mavic even gets more range. My fliying is in a built up area.

In my optinion all aftermarket antennas are are now redundant given out of the box Mavic, P4P+ and Inspire2 drones all have 2.4 and 5.8ghz switching and beat any of the older models with boosters and aftermarket antennas.
 
Does anyone know if there are any boosters that can handle the 2.4 / 5.8 Ghz switching on the P4P?.. my guess is that u would need two boosters. Can someone please confirm whether this is the case.
 
Tahoe Ed said:
Here is a AirShou screen capture of a 5000m flight. It has been edited for time. Note that when the Phantom reaches over 5000m the RTH point is well behind the the battery's remain capacity. This required returning in Sport mode. The craft did make it back but did not catch up to the RTH point until about 500m from the HP.

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