- Joined
- Aug 30, 2014
- Messages
- 555
- Reaction score
- 19
I've done the antenna mod on my old Remote and on my new V3 remote. I added a pair of external 3dbi antenna to the drone for WiFi. That has much improved the video signal and increased the number of sats (by moving the 2.4ghz signal outside the drone body). But ever since I've done that I think I've lost a lot of range. My old record was 6233 feet while perched on top of a hill out over a big lake in a very rural setting.
Normally I drop control signal long before I drop video so I really don't know why I bothered with the video antenna on the drone. Just seemed like a super easy mod.
Today I wanted to do some testing and see if I've messed anything up. I've got 3 antenna.
With the 9dbi TP-LINK TL-ANT2408CL on the old remote I got 2700' at 200' off the ground over wide open desert.
With the 9dbi TP-LINK TL-ANT2408CL on the NEW V3 remote I only got 2000' at the same 200' off the ground over wide open desert.
I ran the test three times on both and it was consistent. The new remote has 700' less range. Has anyone else who upgraded noticed a drop in range or did I mess up the mod somehow?
I switched to my 5dbi TP-LINK TL-ANT2405CL and got the exact same result! I would have thought the other bigger antenna would give me a lot more range but it didn't make any difference. Crazy!
Finally for fun I moved to my el-cheap-o Ebay special - an 11dbi flat panel - got 3500' before I lost video. I kept on with the remote throttle forward for a bit then hit the RTH switch. I got video back at 3700' so I think the bird was still receiving the 5.8ghz control signal and I'd just overflown the video signal distance. This was on the new V3 remote. I ran out of time so no test on the old remote.
In all cases my range was better than the normal 500m (1640') range that DJI claims but it's far off my record.
I'm thinking either the new remote has less power or I've screwed up something when I did the antenna mod or possibly the 3dbi antenna are messing with the control signal.
Tomorrow I'm going to remove the external WiFi antenna mod from my drone and test again.
Normally I drop control signal long before I drop video so I really don't know why I bothered with the video antenna on the drone. Just seemed like a super easy mod.
Today I wanted to do some testing and see if I've messed anything up. I've got 3 antenna.
With the 9dbi TP-LINK TL-ANT2408CL on the old remote I got 2700' at 200' off the ground over wide open desert.
With the 9dbi TP-LINK TL-ANT2408CL on the NEW V3 remote I only got 2000' at the same 200' off the ground over wide open desert.
I ran the test three times on both and it was consistent. The new remote has 700' less range. Has anyone else who upgraded noticed a drop in range or did I mess up the mod somehow?
I switched to my 5dbi TP-LINK TL-ANT2405CL and got the exact same result! I would have thought the other bigger antenna would give me a lot more range but it didn't make any difference. Crazy!
Finally for fun I moved to my el-cheap-o Ebay special - an 11dbi flat panel - got 3500' before I lost video. I kept on with the remote throttle forward for a bit then hit the RTH switch. I got video back at 3700' so I think the bird was still receiving the 5.8ghz control signal and I'd just overflown the video signal distance. This was on the new V3 remote. I ran out of time so no test on the old remote.
In all cases my range was better than the normal 500m (1640') range that DJI claims but it's far off my record.
I'm thinking either the new remote has less power or I've screwed up something when I did the antenna mod or possibly the 3dbi antenna are messing with the control signal.
Tomorrow I'm going to remove the external WiFi antenna mod from my drone and test again.