Do range extenders really work?

[Goldengate98]

Two questions really:
1. does anyone have any data that shows they work?
I travel a lot so I will find myself in places with good open spaces as well as mountains and forests. I live in suburbia (sadly) where there are trees and obstructions that limit clear air between me and the bird.
2. Do range extenders help with interference in the fresnel zone? or
3. Do they boost connection enough to offset a poor signal caused by obstructions?

Ok that's three questions.

 

[parkgt]

Out in the wide open (where safety is not much of a concern) most can fly as far as wanted; having enough battery reserve to get home is often the limiting factor.

In suburbia where safety is a concern due to proximity to people and property where VLOS is more strongly advised; I have yet to loose connection even when trees or small structures are briefly blocking my view.

I have used range extenders on other drones but have not felt any need for them with the M2, YMMV.

 

[jaysrmc]

Two questions really:
1. does anyone have any data that shows they work?
I travel a lot so I will find myself in places with good open spaces as well as mountains and forests. I live in suburbia (sadly) where there are trees and obstructions that limit clear air between me and the bird.
2. Do range extenders help with interference in the fresnel zone? or
3. Do they boost connection enough to offset a poor signal caused by obstructions?

Ok that's three questions.

unless you are going to do a battery mod, I would say no in most cases but I use a ground station that I take to places like a forest. In the open, you can pretty much get it to the battery limit.

 

[CanadaDrone]

I don't know where you live, but most countries have VLOS laws. Unless you live in an area where flying out of VLOS is legal, there isn't really any reason to get a range extender. If you are in an area of really high interference it might help with that though. In FCC mode it's hard to imagine anyone needing to increase the range of a Mavic 2 since it is already excellent, and range tests are asking for trouble.

 

[Mike4884]

I think people know this canadadrone....dont think he came here for legal advice‍

 

[Thomas B]

FWIW, I have Firehouse ARC2strobes on my MPP and can see the White one easily at 2-2.5 miles distance in suburban and rural areas, mostly national forest and mountains of AZ. I also have an Alienware antenna and at these distances I still get max controller signal at these distances. I do not fly in congested urban downtown areas with tall buildings or in FAA NFZs.

 

[FormerMember07122019_2]

I offer some additional speculation based on just enough knowledge of antenna theory and RF transmission to be dangerous and also with no experience with range extenders. The units I have seen are passive “cups” that fit over the existing antenna. Since they don’t actually boost the signal per se, they are signal focussers which just trade off distance in one direction with reduced response in other directions. So the downside of using them is that you will need to be much more cognizant of the direction the controller is pointing with respect to the aircraft or you could actually get less range.

 

[Thomas B]

The Alienware both boosts and as you say focuses... honestly, if I am facing the way my drone went I don’t notice the lose of about 20% in max signal width. If it gets out beyond my sight, 2.5- 8 miles the pointing direction becomes much more critical.

 

[Thomas B]

That is to say that the Alienware. Actually sends a higher wattage signal, about twice. It is true that it focuses to a narrower beam also

 

[CanadaDrone]

I think people know this canadadrone....dont think he came here for legal advice‍

Lots of people don't know - drone laws are sometimes difficult to interpret and constantly being amended by various governing bodies. It can be hard to stay on top of all the changes - here in Canada that is a huge frustration among drone owners. He could also be in CE mode, not knowing he can flip over to FCC, which would very likely have one looking for range extending options. He also could live in a country without VLOS laws, or be unaware of VLOS laws in his country.

Many drone laws are very specific and not open to the user's interpretation, and for very good reason. People thinking they can just do whatever they want is how things get banned, or how we end up with far more restrictive laws. Should I be able to go fly around my local airport or over people because I think I'm special or I personally think I can do it more safely than the next guy?

 

[Thomas B]

Canadadrone... I agree with you and am very concerned about the new refs that are coming, but just FYI 95% of the land in AZ is national forest, BLM (Native American reservation), or state trust land. I avoid people other than those with me, but when I do fly urban I want to get away from homes and parks so I fly to a mountain preserve about a mile from my house.

 

[Goldengate98]

A lot of useful feedback and commentary. thanks all. What I experienced was a signal loss warnings as I flew over a thick stand of trees. As a flew over the trees, increasing elevation just enough to keep site of my bird over the trees, I got a warning and felt like the response was a bit delayed. My reference to the Freesnel zone was because I can certainly say that the trees were overlapping that zone. From the sound of it some of you also fly in forests (probably more dense than anything I'm dealing with) and done seem to get a drop in connection. I am beginning to wonder if there is some RF or magnetic interference that might be a factor.
As for the range extenders I think I may wait until my next trip to the water and try flying down with a longer VLOS. Not trying to set distance records but also want to get out of the sandbox sometimes!

thanks again

 

[Turn11]

Like @Thomas B said. We live in similar (terrain wise ) parts of Arizona. I can go in one direction and fly miles without anything higher than 20 feet above the ground. I can fly in another direction and get into the hills and washes on the way up to 3700' or higher (our official elevation is 504').

I use a Titan Switch range extender. I don't use it as a range extender but to get better saturation and coverage. The Omni antennas gives me more coverage when I dip down over a ridge. I normally use the 9DB whips (RC has been modified to accept whips or the directional antenna) NO POWER INCREASE in the RC, just better antenna's.

 

[Arrington baron]

Two questions really:
1. does anyone have any data that shows they work?
I travel a lot so I will find myself in places with good open spaces as well as mountains and forests. I live in suburbia (sadly) where there are trees and obstructions that limit clear air between me and the bird.
2. Do range extenders help with interference in the fresnel zone? or
3. Do they boost connection enough to offset a poor signal caused by obstructions?

Ok that's three questions.

Yes they do help but it`s not a magic bullet, I live in an area with rolling topography, wooded hills and open fields. I always take-off from the highest unobstructed elevation possible. I limit my range to 2 miles.

 

[iowahill]

Like @Thomas B said. We live in similar (terrain wise ) parts of Arizona. I can go in one direction and fly miles without anything higher than 20 feet above the ground. I can fly in another direction and get into the hills and washes on the way up to 3700' or higher (our official elevation is 504').

I use a Titan Switch range extender. I don't use it as a range extender but to get better saturation and coverage. The Omni antennas gives me more coverage when I dip down over a ridge. I normally use the 9DB whips (RC has been modified to accept whips or the directional antenna) NO POWER INCREASE in the RC, just better antenna's.

Same here with the same setup. Still had 100% signal at half a mile away for the controller and video while flying a Litchi mapping mission ~150' lower elevation than the home point. Same +9dB whips and the Titan booster.

 

[ChicagoOutfit]

I offer some additional speculation based on just enough knowledge of antenna theory and RF transmission to be dangerous and also with no experience with range extenders. The units I have seen are passive “cups” that fit over the existing antenna. Since they don’t actually boost the signal per se, they are signal focussers which just trade off distance in one direction with reduced response in other directions. So the downside of using them is that you will need to be much more cognizant of the direction the controller is pointing with respect to the aircraft or you could actually get less range.

Agreed. Also, because there is a constant “communication” happening between drone and controller... one would also have to boost the drone’s signal back to the controller. Simply boosting the controller’s signal wouldn’t increase the drone’s ability to send data back from farther distances.

 

[iowahill]

Agreed. Also, because there is a constant “communication” happening between drone and controller... one would also have to boost the drone’s signal back to the controller. Simply boosting the controller’s signs wouldn’t increase the drone’s ability to send data back from farther distances.

The Titan Switch system uses bi-directional amplification for both the controller and the video feeds.

 

[FormerMember07122019_2]

The Titan Switch system uses bi-directional amplification for both the controller and the video feeds.

I think in this case bi-directional means transmission from the controller to the aircraft is one direction and transmission from the aircraft to the controller is the second, therefore bi-directional. To boost the aircraft’s signal would require modifying the internal electronics of the drone. I haven’t heard of anyone doing this, yet.

 

[Thomas B]

Have to agree with Camino Ken. Range extenders allow better signal from controller to AC, and somewhat better reception of existing signal strength from the drone, although the latter is debatable.

 

[iowahill]

Have to agree with Camino Ken. Range extenders allow better signal from controller to AC, and somewhat better reception of existing signal strength from the drone, although the latter is debatable.

I believe you'll find that those of us using the Titan boosters will unanimously agree that the signal reception for both the bird's telemetry and the video feed is vastly improved. My communication with Titan Drones (commandcase.com) has assured me that the booster has bi-directional amplification on both antenna feeds.

The battery time on the bird becomes a more significant issue when using any type of range extender. Some of us are using auxiliary batteries in various configurations to extend flight time.