10km = only 3200 feet ?

[Biggie777]

I know they say the mini 2 has a range of 10 km,or 6 miles.. Im only getting about 3200 feet tops where I live.

Now,I live in the suburbs and I'm flying right off my backyard deck and I have hundred foot trees in front of me about 20-25 feet away so I understand these are signal busts and I love this mini 2,it's totally awesome and I'm having a blast flying it around where I live but even with interference factors such as tall tress,I would think a 10 km signal would still do better than an average of a half a mile..

Anyone have any thought on this? Is my drone running properly,I have all the firmware updated and never wrecked it (knock on wood) plus I'd like to add that it's not a forest of trees,just the back yard woods that you can see the golf course on the other side and even in one direction,the trees are at least half a football field away ?

 

[slup]

... I have hundred foot trees in front of me about 20-25 feet away so I understand these are signal busts
...I would think a 10 km signal would still do better than an average of a half a mile...

Going out of unobstructed line of sight is totally devastating for your signal ... much more than you might think. And with leaves (full of water) it will block out even more.

Do a test run away from any kind of WiFi interference (both on the RC & AC location) & keep LOS ... then you will know.

 

[Biggie777]

Hello Biggie777,
Your Mavic mini 2 hase aforward range from 10 miles. But your altitude is standard 3200 feet, that's correct, when you look into factories description you will find the same number.

No,I'm saying the range as in distance maxes out around anywhere after 3000 feet even if I climb to 400 feet high,the signal starts to turn orange and bars go down untill it finally hits "weak signal" generally anytime after 3000 feet away from me in distance,not altitude.

The transmission range is rated at 10 km which equals to about 6 miles so I figure even with trees around me,I should able to get the least of one mile with no problem but let's just say 3500 feet 'Distance' is the farthest I can go and that's on a good day and just over a half mile,what maybe 3/4 mile(?)

Anyone else only getting a fraction of DJI's advertised "10 km?" I get the signal pattern being that of a rugby ball or football but the whole point of .along a 10 KM systems isn't so you can fly 10KM,it's so you have an excellent signal/and protocol that isn't going to choke to death on someone's home wifi,or a pack of trees.

Crossfire has like over a 21 mile range,not that you will ever go that far but this ensures you can fly into gutted concrete buildings and structures without losing signal .. I need to know if I got a dud,is all.

 

[Biggie777]

Going out of unobstructed line of sight is totally devastating for your signal ... much more than you might think. And with leaves (full of water) it will block out even more.

Do a test run away from any kind of WiFi interference (both on the RC & AC location) & keep LOS ... then you will know.

Right,leaves. Our trees haven't filled out yet from winter so I'm still looking at trees without leave mostly but You're right,I have to find a place to do this. Was wondering if this was about right for anyone else because I have seen people make videos on YouTube and in the city and simular places that got at least 2 miles..

 

[old man mavic]

@Biggie777 those hundred foot trees are your problem where you are flying from,even if you went up to the max 400ft elevation once you get several hundred feet away they are going to cause the signal to degrade and when in full leaf it will be even worse ,the quoted range is what the RC and drone could achieve on a perfect day,there are many factors that can reduce the range, the main virtue of the Ocusync transmission system is to provide a stable signal between the drone and RC ,from outside interference from other radio sources ,the range is about that signals ability to have a clear line of sight between the RC and drone

 

[Biggie777]

@Biggie777 those hundred foot trees are your problem where you are flying from,even if you went up to the max 400ft elevation once you get several hundred feet away they are going to cause the signal to degrade and when in full leaf it will be even worse ,the quoted range is what the RC and drone could achieve on a perfect day,there are many factors that can reduce the range, the main virtue of the Ocusync transmission system is to provide a stable signal between the drone and RC ,from outside interference from other radio sources ,the range is about that signals ability to have a clear line of sight between the RC and drone

@Biggie777 those hundred foot trees are your problem where you are flying from,even if you went up to the max 400ft elevation once you get several hundred feet away they are going to cause the signal to degrade and when in full leaf it will be even worse ,the quoted range is what the RC and drone could achieve on a perfect day,there are many factors that can reduce the range, the main virtue of the Ocusync transmission system is to provide a stable signal between the drone and RC ,from outside interference from other radio sources ,the range is about that signals ability to have a clear line of sight between the RC and drone

Ok,so this is a normal range considering the obstruction of trees ? It does make sense as I figured that when I was starting to get signal fade,I knew to climb higher which I did take to 400 feet and it improved but even so,the angle puts the trees right I the signals path,obstructing it.

So this is a normal distance considering? ..and hypothetically (which I would never ever do) if I were allowed to take it up twice the distance,this would greatly improve the signal,isn't that right?

 

[old man mavic]

any obstacle in the path of the signal between the RC and drone will at a certain point prevent control ,and just going higher will improve the reception ,but as you know this is not possible within the rules we fly under its not just starting off low and climbing that is an issue either
if you were high up over a valley and descended then unless you are right on the edge and have the RC antennas pointing at the drone you will loose signal at some point as you go down

 

[Yeunglings]

Something else to consider is that you're in the suburbs. Everyone has their own interpretation of what that means or entails but one relative constant in today's world would be an enormous amount of electricity and wifi. Basically every house creates a sort of Faraday cage like bubble that also transmits tons of interference and all the wiring on telephone poles do something similar. Not to mention that you're more likely to have an almost gridlike pattern of trees along the streets and between homes to interfere with your signal. Where I'm at most of the time I can manage about 2 miles distance in one direction, 3 in another and less than half a mile in the other 2 because of both natural and man made RF obstacles. Flying N or W there's a minor but advantageous elevation change and lower density of infrastructure but to the S and E I have a main thoroughfare and large shopping center right behind me with tons of wifi, electrical lines and such so I have less than a half mile of range. If I parked on the other side of the shopping center( about 2 blocks from my normal homepoint) and took off, which I have, I jump back up to roughly 2 miles of range. Out in Lancaster County, Amish country, with its low and slow rolling hills and nowhere near the amount of cellular/ wifi and all that I can easily push upwards of 4 miles. Maybe more but I don't have enough spotters available willing to twiddle their thumbs waiting for my bird to fly by.

 

[Biggie777]

This forum is awesome. Everything you all say makes sense especially combined with the little bit of knowledge I read about the signal from tx to drone and back, is shaped like a rugby ball,or football (?) As I don't see a big difference in shape between the two either way unless you have very little in the line of sight,you will get a large degradation of signal.. So I think considering where I am flying,mine does pretty well.

I have heard even having a large object (such as a house) right behind you can be less than optimal when it comes to signal though I admit I don't understand that,I forgot where I read it.

So do any of you know of ways to,let's say,raise your signal - like somehow in a way,connecting your controller to a tall antenna or something that would amplify the signal or throw it farther like giving it a better position ? I.e remember the old school buddy box system when you could tie your radio to someone else's and let your friend fly your plane? Just thinking of something like that but with a really long wire and the other end on the top of my house or a tree ? Lol ? I realize that sounds funny but Im just giving a desperate example .

 

[old man mavic]

@Biggie777 unfortunately extending the antennas in the way you have mentioned will not be an option due to signal loss in the long cable ,you would also need some remotely controlled way of moving the antennas way up in the tree so you could follow the drone ,as it moved around the sky,and then of course you would not be able to see it from where you were unless you were up in the top of the tree yourself,and so on and so on,easier and cheaper to find a spot to fly away from trees and all forms of interference,if you can

 

[Parkland]

Having the same concerns though I am in the rural without interference from anything but trees and my own buildings. I am forced to fly low but I expected more range considering what I read. I have yet to try a different location. Hope that gives me a better idea incase there is some problem with my drone/RC. Good luck.

 

[reaperman]

I'm in a rural area with heavy tree cover. Were just coming out of winter so the trees have no leaves yet. When flying in the trees my signal starts to weaken and video transmission gets laggy around the 1000 meter mark. When I fly over an agriculture field without obstruction, I've flown over a one mile and still had full signal strength showing on the meter with a perfect video feed. Trees matter.

 

[PascalG]

Any obstruction will drastically reduce range and yes, trees between you and the drone will cut it down a mile or less

so far in the last month with the MM2 I ve done a few flights as far away as 2nm (about 10/11000 feet). Clear line of sight over water or low islands. No signal loss.

2nm one way is pretty much the limit though because of battery life. Flying straight out there in sports mode, a minute or two on station and coming back, landing with 15/20% battery remaining. Still very impressive for such a small drone and much better than most.

 

[Bodkin's Best Photography]

Are you not able to go further due to signal degredation, or because the drone won't travel further? Under the settings there is a "max distance" setting. Choose your max range there.

 

[Jamesz]

Or you could keep the drone in sight, so there wouldn't be a problem and you would be a safe, legal pilot, not a cowboy.

 

[Laggard]

Or you could keep the drone in sight, so there wouldn't be a problem and you would be a safe, legal pilot, not a cowboy.

Amen brother.

 

[Biggie777]

Or you could keep the drone in sight, so there wouldn't be a problem and you would be a safe, legal pilot, not a cowboy.

I'm flying over trees and golf course with utterly nothing for it to drop on when I have pushed it out of Vlos -

 

[Biggie777]

Are you not able to go further due to signal degredation, or because the drone won't travel further? Under the settings there is a "max distance" setting. Choose your max range there.

Signal degradation.I have it set to 5000 ft. Only got to 3 something. I think it is the trees though,think that is the case but I'll find out when I have time to take it to some open land.

 

[CLAYB.7]

Signal degradation.I have it set to 5000 ft. Only got to 3 something. I think it is the trees though,think that is the case but I'll find out when I have time to take it to some open land.

I'm pretty much in the same exact boat you are in Brother as far as the ? foot trees go mine are only around 80 feet or so LOL HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ? so you definitely got me there, but on everything else we're dead even I was having the same exact problem so I decided to go to a place that was a big open space for a few miles and I noticed that right away I was being able to fly way further than ever before and I was extremely good with what I was getting now so I don't have a problem with leaving my house now to go flying now that I know for sure it's going to fly the distance that DJI says it will!!! (10KM-6.2 MILES)!!! OR AT LEAST RIGHT AT IT ((WITH NO OBSTRUCTIONS))!!! GOD BLESS SINCERELY CLAY B.

 

[Biggie777]

I'm pretty much in the same exact boat you are in Brother as far as the ? foot trees go mine are only around 80 feet or so LOL HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ? so you definitely got me there, but on everything else we're dead even I was having the same exact problem so I decided to go to a place that was a big open space for a few miles and I noticed that right away I was being able to fly way further than ever before and I was extremely good with what I was getting now so I don't have a problem with leaving my house now to go flying now that I know for sure it's going to fly the distance that DJI says it will!!! (10KM-6.2 MILES)!!! OR AT LEAST RIGHT AT IT ((WITH NO OBSTRUCTIONS))!!! GOD BLESS SINCERELY CLAY B.

Awesome ! Thanks bro,I love to hear this and now looking forward to doing this.