Definitely range issues with Mini 3 pro

[MS Coast]

Sorry MS, I did not intend to necessarily fire in your direction.

Well, it's difficult to see it as not as directed toward me when you quoted my post.

My point is that if you are going to quote drone law at least use the correct one when you post.

Again, I provided direct references to the relevant regulations.

And again, I agree that commenters should be careful to cite the appropriate regulations, as you've pointed out in five recent posts.

Peace.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I’m not trying to be mean, self righteous, or indignant, but quoting rules that apply in your country and not theirs just makes no sense whwhatsoever.

I can see the sense in this if it is cited as an example...

"Don't know what the rules are in Australia, but here in the US it's defined like this [cite FAR], the rules down under are likely similar".​

Thoughts, @DoomMeister?

 

[DoomMeister]

I can see the sense in this if it is cited as an example...

"Don't know what the rules are in Australia, but here in the US it's defined like this [cite FAR], the rules down under are likely similar".​

Thoughts, @DoomMeister?

This is a personal opinion and not necessarily that of the staff of this forum although I am a member of the staff.

Most countries have rules that are very similar in nature, but if we are going to quote a rule to another member take the time to research and quote the one that actually applies to them. Although similar they are not binding nor enforceable so why quote them. I personally try to avoid citing drone laws outside of the US as they do not affect me and it is up to each pilot to know the rules that apply to them.

 

[JDubyaM]

I did some testing later today. I flew from a 2nd floor balcony, over a golf course, then over some short buildings.
I did manage to get the Mini 3 out farther than I thought, but the RC reception started getting spotty very early, then came back and it was back and forth, having to aim the controller extremely precisely to try to keep the signal constant.

I wanted to try the RCN1 controller with the Mini 3 Pro, but I tried everything I could think of to get it to pair, and it wouldn't. I did let the controller do a firmware upgrade, which allowed the pairing mode, but it just didn't work. I must have done something wrong, but I followed the instructions to the best of myhh ability.

If I have a chance tomorrow I'll throw the Mavic 2 Pro up on the same course and see what I come up with.

Ever have any luck connecting your Mini3 Pro to the RC-N1controller? I have the same setup and have had signal dropout at 3200' over rolling terrain.

 

[slup]

...signal dropout at 3200' over rolling terrain.

Now, your choice of words describing the geography where you fly may mean nothing... or everything, when it comes to signal interruptions.

In general WiFi doesn't penetrate, put something or anything between the RC & drone... especially if the distance between them is far, you will get interruptions & disconnects.

"Rolling terrain"... if you fly over that with a constant height over the ground beneath (up the hills & down into the valleys) I'm not surprised that you have signal interruptions... but it depends on how high you fly.

Below is maybe like bashing in an already open door... you already understand all this, but many thinks that if the drone is up on 400ft (120m) nothing should interrupt the transmission signal ever, no matter how far out the drone is.

Example...
If I fly from my backyard I have a tree line in front of me... the distance to the trees are 190m (620-ish ft). Have an app in my phone called "Clinometer" that let me aim through the phone camera to the top of the tree line to get the angle up to the top of the trees... it says 7 degrees. If I'm flying straight out over those trees at a height of 120m (400ft) I will start to get signal interruptions at approx 1000m out (3280ft) & a total disconnect at approx 1050m (3445ft).

If I do the trigonometry math here with 7 degrees & a height of 120m (400ft)... I see that the transmission path starts to get obstructed by those tree tops in front of me when the drone is 977m out (3205ft). So it all matches, if I want to fly out further than those 1000m (3280ft) over that tree line I need to increase the height above those legal 120m (400ft).

Below is a graphical representation of the circumstances that are in play... with a bit different figures, but this is the principal when it comes to staying within LOS (unobstructed line of sight between RC & drone). Perhaps all this is your culprit?

 

[ExEvo]

In my limited experience, some physical VLOS barriers have little or no effect on the strength of the signal. My range actually increases when I stand in my back yard behind a 6ft tongue-and-groove timber fence where the controller's LOS is quickly blocked out. But put me anywhere near trees and it's a different story.

 

[slup]

In my limited experience, some physical VLOS barriers have little or no effect on the strength of the signal. My range actually increases when I stand in my back yard behind a 6ft tongue-and-groove timber fence where the controller's LOS is quickly blocked out. But put me anywhere near trees and it's a different story.

WiFi penetration through & between objects at short or long distance with different frequencies is science.

As a drone pilot, you should for your own sake consider most obstacles as possible signal blockers... that's why I wrote "In general WiFi doesn't penetrate".

 

[MS Coast]

In my limited experience, some physical VLOS barriers have little or no effect on the strength of the signal. My range actually increases when I stand in my back yard behind a 6ft tongue-and-groove timber fence where the controller's LOS is quickly blocked out. But put me anywhere near trees and it's a different story.

Fence - dry. Trees - filled with water

 

[Torque]

It's the water in living trees that's the culprit... radio transmission wont go through water, when the trees becomes fully leafed it will be even more water in the transmission path & you will not be able to go as far behind trees as during late autumn or winter.

Exactly. I encounter this often flying in the PNW. Seattle and its suburbs are surrounded by either water or forest. My signal bounces off buildinga quite well, but when outside of the city, a single large cedar can limit my range severly.

 

[Mr500CM]

I just got the Mini 3 Pro and flew it a few days ago for the first time. I was only able to get 2100 ft before i started to get signal problems. I'm still playing with the settings. I was able to go a lot further with my Air 2 and the older technology then now.

 

[Droning on and on...]

In my limited experience, some physical VLOS barriers have little or no effect on the strength of the signal. My range actually increases when I stand in my back yard behind a 6ft tongue-and-groove timber fence where the controller's LOS is quickly blocked out. But put me anywhere near trees and it's a different story.

It's all about water. Period (really!)

The darn stuff is everywhere. And it blocks our control signals quite effectively because of some basic physics... Microwave Ovens.

Turns out 2.5-5 Mhz is just the right wavelength to wiggle water molecules. So they absorb the EM radiation and vibrate. This is literally what heat actually IS – vibrating molecules – hence the operation of a Microwave Oven.

For us, it means signal attenuation. Living things – plants and animals – and dirt tend to have a lot of water.

Concrete, drywall, bone-dry wood, glass, all pass these signals well, hence the ability to fly pretty far from inside most houses. I get more signal dropout when the drone is behind me and the signal is passing through my body than an entire home structure.

 

[FlushVision]

Going back to the VLOS discussion in this thread I just want to put my two pence worth in.

As well as having just acquired a M3 Pro I also have a Typhoon H480 drone. A much larger beast than the mini and larger than the majority of consumer/hobbyist drones. It's also black so it contrasts in the sky better than the grey of the M3 Pro. Now at a stretch with the TH480 I could probably argue that I have VLOS to maybe about 750 meters, maybe even about 1 Km if the weather is CAVOK and although I wear glasses that correct my eyesight very well I certainly can't claim to have VLOS beyond that.

With the much smaller (grey) mini 3, then, I will call out anyone who maintains they have VLOS at distances of 3 Km.

I have said my piece and I'll now go get my coat.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I fly near the Canadian border and if I cross that invisible line in the sky I fall under their jurisdiction

This got my imagination going pondering a hypernanny DJI drone (The M3P International SuperSafe Edition ) that implemented ever restriction or regulation that could be automated, from every governing body.

What an interesting – and frustrating – locale to fly the hypothetical M3PISSE. You gotta worry about flight path considerations most of us don't.

I think @Kilrah in the same boat.