Mavic Distance limitation in Metro City

[Kate]

Hello

Ive a question for someone technical there.
i live in a large flat metropolitan city, and no matter where i fly i wont go further than 1km.
i understand the interference from wifi, metal concrete, antenna positioning and Line of sight.

even when factoring all these in, and flying different places around the city including the CBD! my Mavic pro seems inately born to fly no further than 1150m tops.

My best guess for this Static limitation is not that signal is being interrupted in the air, but that it never gets away from the controller properly in a flat metropolitan environment.

But this is guessing. Im hoping someone technical with experience flying in a capital city can explain it better

sorry for rambling a bit. its my first post
thankyou

 

[Logger]

Have you checked in DJIGo4 Settings area, that you have not inadvertently set a Distance Limit of 1km?

 

[halley]

There is also a "max distance" setting that you can change. The default is good for most fliers but if you're trying for distance, you need to know about every setting you have, and also the risks of going farther than you can control.

 

[Kate]

Have you checked in DJIGo4 Settings area, that you have not inadvertently set a Distance Limit of 1km?

I have yes.
At around 900m the screen will skip a bit and the controller/phone vibrates. If i go a bit higher, or adjust the antenae i can shake it off but, it's clear on the screen that the RC signal is down to 1-2 bars.

I think it bothers me because as long as i have GPS I wont get less than this distance. It's like the signal interference in the city is the same everywhere. Cell towers perhaps?

I'll check my settings again to make sure they are ok

 

[Kate]

I double checked the distance limit in DJI GO. Ive been using litchi for ahwile.
I turned distance limit on and turned it to 2km, just to be sure.

Im not looking to go distance for the sake of it. I've gotten to the point with my flying where im confident
enough to go a bit further to get the shot.

Maybe someone who flys in a Metropolitan City and immediate outskirts could comment on
their experience with RC signal limitations
thankyou

 

[larkin]

I had this issue in SF until I made it a habit of always switching to custom mode and choosing the 10hz signal window with the lowest noise.

 

[Kate]

yess! there is hope.

I thought i had the settings down pat by now.
im off to experiment, but may i ask
did you use any other app to establish the best signal, or just the custom mode
in settings?

thanks larkin

 

[Kate]

so does the video transmission signal directly affect the RC signal?
For example if video transmission signal is about to go, would that trigger an RTH?
Video stutter is the first sign Im about to reach maximum distance.

 

[RallySoob]

I learned its really important to make sure there are no trees or buildings etc in between you and your bird's signal path.

Here where I live, it is hard to fly further than a mile just because at that point its behind trees even at 400ft cuz of the earth arche... so here is the solution that i found; get on your roof! It works amazingly... in the direction I have no trees or buildings high enough to grab my lis I am able to go 2mile+... i still need to test ramge max but had 4 of 5 bars at about 7300 feet out so im guessing it will do alot more; we'll see. I dont have the balls to push it out past signal loss

Heres that flight

 

[Strafe1]

I'm sure you're doing this, but it bears asking........do you have your antennae oriented correctly?

 

[Aceospades2207]

I learned its really important to make sure there are no trees or buildings etc in between you and your bird's signal path.

Here where I live, it is hard to fly further than a mile just because at that point its behind trees even at 400ft cuz of the earth arche... so here is the solution that i found; get on your roof! It works amazingly... in the direction I have no trees or buildings high enough to grab my lis I am able to go 2mile+... i still need to test ramge max but had 4 of 5 bars at about 7300 feet out so im guessing it will do alot more; we'll see. I dont have the balls to push it out past signal loss

Heres that flight

Hey Rally, I always thought the same thing. I live in a suburban city area myself. And I've always wanted to try getting on the roof because you gotta figure the height and most houses you 10 to 12 feet off the ground and have a good line of sight. Bringing the controller up to the same level as the aircraft giving it more of a direct signal. I've got 8700ft as my farthest distance. I think the whole 4 mile radius on the Mavic Pro is factored with 2 miles out and 2 miles back. But I have seen 7 miles capability on the Mavics. Just all depends on the terrain and the antennas around it.