Very short range P3S

[LuvMyTJ]

Yeah, you've made it pretty clear you're not interested in why or how stuff works, that's why I made that video for you. I could have just asked you to hold a shoelace between your hand and shoulder and then bend your arm, but I'm sure you wouldn't try that.


What exactly am I looking for? I'm fully aware there are lots of people that are having range problems. What is your point?

Think what you want about ole Dirkclod, but he is pretty much the resident antenna & long range wifi guru around here. He may not of got the tension issue of that wire when bent right (it is backwards of what one would expect), but he can send a P2 or a P3S miles out & back with no issues. He has experimented with just about every popular antenna out there for the P2 & P3 wifi there is, and has helped out many a member on here with free advice & parts.

The internals of the DJI wifi antenna for the TX looks like this...

 

[P.Lindblom]

Think what you want about ole Dirkclod, but he is pretty much the resident antenna & long range wifi guru around here. He may not of got the tension issue of that wire when bent right (it is backwards of what one would expect), but he can send a P2 or a P3S miles out & back with no issues. He has experimented with just about every popular antenna out there for the P2 & P3 wifi there is, and has helped out many a member on here with free advice & parts.

I was proving my point to help other people who might stumble upon this thread, not to attack him or offend him in any way. If I did I'm sorry. I know he can send his P3S halfway around the world and I certainly applaud him for that. I'm not less impressed than anyone else, but I must be allowed to point out when someone's wrong, even if he or she is a helpful veteran.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

They have changed some things, like the antenna itself. It is now a long grey wire as DJI must have realized their error.

 

[jettabrett92]

P.Lindblom - Thanks for your post - it was very helpful. I plan to leave my antenna folded now.

 

[Scottfree]

I wouldn't be surprised if many, if not most of the P3S range problems are caused by snapped 5.8GHz antennas. Most people seem to blame the firmware, for some reason.

Have you ever considered that it was because the problems began immediately after updating and we have checked antenna wires more than once? That is the reason I blame the firmware. Of course we have checked the most obvious and easy to find issues first.

 

[P.Lindblom]

Have you ever considered that it was because the problems began immediately after updating and we have checked antenna wires more than once? That is the reason I blame the firmware. Of course we have checked the most obvious and easy to find issues first.

I certainly have and I’m not saying the problem is definitely caused by bad antennas, it might be the firmware’s fault.

However, I don’t think I’ve seen a post from someone experiencing this issue, who’s also opened up his/her remote and had a look. If the problem is firmware related, you would think most people with that same firmware version would have the same problems. On the other hand, I’ve seen stranger problems being caused by IOS upgrades in combination with certain batches of iPhones, but the main reasons I have a feeling the problems are caused by bad antennas are these two.

• The problems described in most range related threads are consistent with what would happen if the 5.8GHz antenna breaks in half.
• The antenna is obviously very stretched and there are quite a few posts from people whose antennas have snapped. Also, DJI has apparently recognized the issue and replaced the antennas with slightly longer ones (thank you for the picture, LuvMyTJ). What I haven’t seen is a post from someone who’s solved the problem by upgrading the firmware to the latest version.

Again, these are just my reflections on the issue. I might be way off, but in any case I hope we'll find out.

 

[joeb1999]

Dji geofenced your drone.

 

[Alan Russel]

Took my P3s for early morning flight and got out to 800m before RTH kicked in (stock antenna) I never applied
recent cold battery update due to reading about other pilots having range issues...safe flying!

 

[RodPad]

That distance is do-able, I haven't installed the last 2. I want to fly before an after and document all the procedures.

 

[jettabrett92]

I'm running the latest firmware on my stock P3 standard. I flew out to 1500 feet today and lost RC signal triggering the RTH. Signal was showing 5 bars right before it was lost. I never lost FPV feed.

It wasn't a big deal because I was planning to turn around anyway. Next time I'll try to push it a little further - maybe it was just a fluke. It was a pretty open area, so I expected a little more range.

EDIT: BTW, my RC signal was restored a few seconds after RTH was initiated. Didn't want anyone to think it was lost for the entire flight.