Best mavic mini range extender??

shutterup · Sep 6, 2020

I'm in the UK so not on FCC and find the mini to struggle a little in SOME urban areas

What's the best range extenders? Yagi? Parabolic?

Thanks

zeusfl · Sep 6, 2020

shutterup said:
I'm in the UK so not on FCC and find the mini to struggle a little in SOME urban areas

What's the best range extenders? Yagi? Parabolic?

Thanks

In extender, Parabolic in my opinion is the best. Now in boosters, the Allientech 2.4Ghz is your choice for CE mode.

lannes · Sep 6, 2020

I suspect it would depend on the location as to which one is better, both appear to work better than stock

Remember the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz Yagis are built differently, the CE 2.4 GHz have 4 long rods, where the 5.8 GHz have 6 small rods.

HUAYUWA 1 Pair Yagi-Uda Remote Controller Antenna Signal Booster Range Extender Fits for DJI Mavic Mini/Mavic 2/PRO/DJI Spark/DJI Mavic Air Drone Accessories: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders. Buy HUAYUWA 1 Pair Yagi-Uda Remote Controller Antenna Signal Booster Range Extender Fits for DJI Mavic Mini/Mavic 2/PRO/DJI Spark/DJI Mavic Air Drone Accessories at Amazon UK.

www.amazon.co.uk

OldGuy · Sep 7, 2020

shutterup said:
I'm in the UK so not on FCC and find the mini to struggle a little in SOME urban areas

What's the best range extenders? Yagi? Parabolic?

Thanks

If you really want to extend your range then you have to go for one of the Alientech signal boosters (4Hawks also make them but I have not tried them). I have two Alientech range extenders for my Mavic Mini. The Duo 2.4/5.8 Ghz passive directional antenna which gives roughly a 2 km range and the Pro 2.4 Ghz with power amplifiers which gives a 4 km range approximately. The range is effected by location, terrain, interference etc so the figures that I quote are the average that I have experienced in flying in a rural area. Remember it’s not all about long range but more importantly good signal strength with no loss when flying VLOS. Alientech will give you this.
I have tried all the cheap range extenders some of which work reasonably well but if you want consistent results then you have to pay for it in my opinion.

Pushkur · Sep 7, 2020

OldGuy said:
If you really want to extend your range then you have to go for one of the Alientech signal boosters (4Hawks also make them but I have not tried them). I have two Alientech range extenders for my Mavic Mini. The Duo 2.4/5.8 Ghz passive directional antenna which gives roughly a 2 km range and the Pro 2.4 Ghz with power amplifiers which gives a 4 km range approximately. The range is effected by location, terrain, interference etc so the figures that I quote are the average that I have experienced in flying in a rural area. Remember it’s not all about long range but more importantly good signal strength with no loss when flying VLOS. Alientech will give you this.
I have tried all the cheap range extenders some of which work reasonably well but if you want consistent results then you have to pay for it in my opinion.

shutterup said:
I'm in the UK so not on FCC and find the mini to struggle a little in SOME urban areas

What's the best range extenders? Yagi? Parabolic?

Thanks

FCC hack with simple cheap yagi 5.8 / parabolic set gives me 4km+ in semi rural with the mini 7,000 + with M2Z
No need to open up your remote and fit large antennas
.

Dov1978 · Sep 7, 2020

UK also and I wasn't very impressed with the Parabolics tbh. I didn't notice much if any improvement to distance so bought some cheap 5.8 Yagi's. Coincedintaly they fitted perfectly inside the Parabolics and the difference was night and day used together. I sent mine off over the fields for about 1.5 miles then brought it back over the built up area of my town. Not a single drop of signal the whole time. I won't be using it to go that distance normally but it gives a lot of confidence for normal use

shutterup · Sep 7, 2020

What's the FCC hack?

Pushkur said:
FCC hack with simple cheap yagi 5.8 / parabolic set gives me 4km+ in semi rural with the mini 7,000 + with M2Z
No need to open up your remote and fit large antennas
.

Gary R · Sep 7, 2020

Pushkur said:
FCC hack with simple cheap yagi 5.8 / parabolic set gives me 4km+ in semi rural with the mini 7,000 + with M2Z
No need to open up your remote and fit large antennas
.

I see you are in Chang mai Thailand which is a CE country. Do you have an FCC or CE model mini ?

What Fly version are you using when using the FCC hack ? I've heard that the latest version negates the FCC hack..... Have you tried it ?

Pushkur · Sep 8, 2020

Both M2Z and Mini are Ce version.
M2Z has FCC and Boost hack from NLD (on latest firmware.)
I set Mini to FCC with my android phone ..WHICH HAS THE EARLIER FLY VERSION.
Mini now has the latest firmware and still flys in FCC with my iPad Pro,which has the latest Fly version.
Connect remote to mini,and start propellers by pulling down and in on the sticks as soon as remote connects 4 solid lights. (no need to take off or use tin foil etc.)
Then connect the phone/tablet...you can’t change settings now that drone has powered on,so have the settings to your liking when first using fake gps and switching to 5.8 manual.
Remember that since the propellers are already powered,that to take off,you just apply throttle and height...if you forget and use the slide for normal take off ...you will be back in Ce mode.
Always disconnect the phone/tablet just before touch down,and Mini retains FCC settings.
I have got used to start propellers,then connect iPad,...land disconnect phone/tablet prior to touch down for so many months,it’s second nature.
What your asking though is could I reset it again if I lost the FCC setting for some reason.....I don’t know !!! ?
After reading so many posts about the gps hack no longer working with the new updates,I’m reluctant to try it untill a number of first time people confirm it still works ,following the above procedure.
The fact that mine still flys in FCC with the latest Fly and firmware suggests it still works,but I don’t want to risk going back to Ce,which is only ok in very rural areas ,especially for distance, when used with parayagi in 2.4.
Where I fly is mostly semi rural and FCC 5.8 is the way to go.
If anyone can confirm the gps hack still works on the latest versions, doing the above method ,please post.
otherwise it’s find the earlier Fly version on the internet for you guys.

Pushkur · Sep 9, 2020

shutterup said:
I'm in the UK so not on FCC and find the mini to struggle a little in SOME urban areas

What's the best range extenders? Yagi? Parabolic?

Thanks

Try this with FCC hack,you won't be disappointed !
Works great with Mini and my M2Z in 5.8

Zombie_Cutter · Sep 11, 2020

Got some parabolic from Amazon that seem to work well, I think they were 15 bucks.

Rich Farren · Sep 13, 2020

I’ve found parabolic antenna boosters help to get a strong clear signal. Best solution for more range for me was purchasing the drone “boost mode” hack upgrade from drone-hacks.com. It patches the remote control firmware so it always uses FCC mode (equivalent power) regardless as to which FLY app version you use. Cost was 20 euros as a one off and can be re-applied after drone firmware updates.

Pushkur · Sep 13, 2020

Rich Farren said:
I’ve found parabolic antenna boosters help to get a strong clear signal. Best solution for more range for me was purchasing the drone “boost mode” hack upgrade from drone-hacks.com. It patches the remote control firmware so it always uses FCC mode (equivalent power) regardless as to which FLY app version you use. Cost was 20 euros as a one off and can be re-applied after drone firmware updates.

Yep ultimate combo...CE models on steroids,got my Ce M2Z and Mini on FCC with parayagi 5.8... Way better signal strength and distance... CE mini is poor apart from far away from interference out in the country

Jayjay rockershaft · Sep 13, 2020

I’m a newbie, Bought myself a Mavic mini, because I was impressed with the range of up to 2 km. In reality when I flew it I started getting weak antenna signals at 60 m distance and 30 m height, I was flying in a reasonably high intense Wi-Fi area, so I Manually changed to channel 149 5.6 GHz, and there was a marked improvement but still getting dropouts but doubled the distance. I’m going to try a parayagi next, but out in the countryside. Here is an interesting YouTube video, where this guy does the FCC location hack, then measures the difference with an RF meter. Very interesting!

doublemint76 · Sep 14, 2020

Rich Farren said:
I’ve found parabolic antenna boosters help to get a strong clear signal. Best solution for more range for me was purchasing the drone “boost mode” hack upgrade from drone-hacks.com. It patches the remote control firmware so it always uses FCC mode (equivalent power) regardless as to which FLY app version you use. Cost was 20 euros as a one off and can be re-applied after drone firmware updates.

Interesting, never heard of this before.

Nauman35 · Sep 17, 2020

If you want range boost ,get yagi for 2.4ghz and if want a little more then put both parabolic and yagi together like i did shown in my video below ,i managed to get 4km from back of my garden and thats a city environment ,i had one low intereference channel always which also made the difference and not to mention you need clear line of sight .after flying mini from back of garden i rushed towards my first floor window where i had clear line of sight of drone and even could see a small speck upto 900 meters . Make sure to check UAV app to have minimum to low wind to help and fly opposite to wind direction even with low wind. Below is the video .

DrizzyDrones · Sep 23, 2020

I recently ordered a pair of yagis and a pair of parabolic and they can both be put on at same time no modifications.. have yet to try them

Gary R · Oct 4, 2020

Jayjay rockershaft said:
I’m a newbie, Bought myself a Mavic mini, because I was impressed with the range of up to 2 km. In reality when I flew it I started getting weak antenna signals at 60 m distance and 30 m height, I was flying in a reasonably high intense Wi-Fi area, so I Manually changed to channel 149 5.6 GHz, and there was a marked improvement but still getting dropouts but doubled the distance. I’m going to try a parayagi next, but out in the countryside. Here is an interesting YouTube video, where this guy does the FCC location hack, then measures the difference with an RF meter. Very interesting!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

This guy did a good test on the output of the CE mini. The problem was that at the time he did not understand the readings and incorrectly determined that the output in the FCC mode was less than the CE. He did not take into account the negative (-) reading....
I assume that you have looked at the comments on the clip and how the correct way to read the outputs was explained.

Craig Notts · Oct 4, 2020

Dov1978 said:
UK also and I wasn't very impressed with the Parabolics tbh. I didn't notice much if any improvement to distance so bought some cheap 5.8 Yagi's. Coincedintaly they fitted perfectly inside the Parabolics and the difference was night and day used together. I sent mine off over the fields for about 1.5 miles then brought it back over the built up area of my town. Not a single drop of signal the whole time. I won't be using it to go that distance normally but it gives a lot of confidence for normal use

Hi there,I have just ordered one of the new combo setups similar to what you use now from China . ie parabolic+ Yagi , I went for the 5.8 version as well .when you use it do you fly on auto or do you set to 5.8 band width on your controler. I am in the UK

Craig Notts · Oct 4, 2020

Pushkur said:
Both M2Z and Mini are Ce version.
M2Z has FCC and Boost hack from NLD (on latest firmware.)
I set Mini to FCC with my android phone ..WHICH HAS THE EARLIER FLY VERSION.
Mini now has the latest firmware and still flys in FCC with my iPad Pro,which has the latest Fly version.
Connect remote to mini,and start propellers by pulling down and in on the sticks as soon as remote connects 4 solid lights. (no need to take off or use tin foil etc.)
Then connect the phone/tablet...you can’t change settings now that drone has powered on,so have the settings to your liking when first using fake gps and switching to 5.8 manual.
Remember that since the propellers are already powered,that to take off,you just apply throttle and height...if you forget and use the slide for normal take off ...you will be back in Ce mode.
Always disconnect the phone/tablet just before touch down,and Mini retains FCC settings.
I have got used to start propellers,then connect iPad,...land disconnect phone/tablet prior to touch down for so many months,it’s second nature.
What your asking though is could I reset it again if I lost the FCC setting for some reason.....I don’t know !!! ?
After reading so many posts about the gps hack no longer working with the new updates,I’m reluctant to try it untill a number of first time people confirm it still works ,following the above procedure.
The fact that mine still flys in FCC with the latest Fly and firmware suggests it still works,but I don’t want to risk going back to Ce,which is only ok in very rural areas ,especially for distance, when used with parayagi in 2.4.
Where I fly is mostly semi rural and FCC 5.8 is the way to go.
If anyone can confirm the gps hack still works on the latest versions, doing the above method ,please post.
otherwise it’s find the earlier Fly version on the internet for you guys.

I see you can get the Yagi in copper for a little extra cost . Anybody know if they are any better then the normal ones .