Don't read unless you like long range

[ajkm]

DJI have made it clear that the advertised range of their products is a “proxy” for the control link stability and reliability. It has nothing to do with the actual distance the aircraft can or should be flown (though they themselves now indicate that VLOS is required). Discussions about range, based on DJI advertised distances, are therefore entirely moot, or at the least, nothing to do with what DJI advertises.

 

[Fran duncan]

As the title says, the mavic air 2 has a hard coded 11km distance limiter. At least five people have hit it... The air 2 losses signal and returns home no mater what.

I know this video will generate a lot of hate, but some people will want to know before purchasing the air 2.

I actually like the distance the way I look at it is if there not allowed do that distance then they shouldn't be allowed sell them,great flight are you on youtube if so send me link and ile sub you

 

[Deleted member 94047]

DJI have made it clear that the advertised range of their products is a “proxy” for the control link stability and reliability. It has nothing to do with the actual distance the aircraft can or should be flown (though they themselves now indicate that VLOS is required). Discussions about range, based on DJI advertised distances, are therefore entirely moot, or at the least, nothing to do with what DJI advertises.

DJI's advertised distance is 10km. The 11km the OP was able to achieve already exceeds that. DJI are actually under-advertising the range (even if by a little).


Having said that, it is always good to know about these unadvertised and undocumented limits. So cudos to the OP!

 

[HWCM]

What is the problem? You cannot fly even to 10 km legally, which is the advertized distance. You must maintain line of sight, can you spot your drone if its just 1km away? No you cannot, at least I start losing sight after ~750ish meters depending on weather...

So as long as the signal is not breaking below 1 km we are all good.

Bahahaha hahaha, we found the fun guy at parties. ?

 

[BenF]

I watched a YouTube video of a guy flying a Mavic Mini while being the passenger in a boat. He was VLOS the entire way, the total distance flown from the home point was about 14Km as I remember. I kept thinking if it went return to home, he would be screwed.

 

[batman305]

The purpose is simple actually...
The mavic pro and the mavic 2 have a hardcoded limit of 17.9km.
This is not the first drone they have done this to. All occusync drones have a hard coded limitation.

The point is, in my opinion to make sure they don't go as far as the other models.

Mavic air 2 should not go as far as mavic 2....

All the wifi drones, like spark, mavic air 1, and mavic mini have unlimited range as long as you do the mods to go further.

I've taken the mavic mini to 14.8km

Do you have line of sight on this and the MA2 flight? On the MM and MA2 I get around 3,000 distance then it dies out. I fly it from my backyard and there are other houses in close proximity. I was surprised to find I get better range with my MM with directional antennas. Maybe i need more altitude, I have been a little reluctant to fly too high.

 

[Hauptmann]

I'm impressed! I added a pair of Lume Cube strobes--real rock scorchers--to extend VLOS of my M2P. I also installed outboard Cree nav lights for dawn/dusk flts. Bad news is, they add considerable weight and drag, thus reducing fly time. Don't know how much, since I haven't tested yet. I'm guessing .5X or so.

While I have no need or desire to exceed 2 miles or so in distance, I'd like to get some or all of that lost fly time back. Seems to me that a setup like yours might do the trick.

How does your aux. battery affect fly time? 1.25X? 1.5X? 2X? 1.5X or more would be ideal. 2X would bring me back to normal.

Thanks to you (and all the rest of you) for being on this forum!

 

[Phantomrain.org]

As the title says, the mavic air 2 has a hard coded 11km distance limiter. At least five people have hit it... The air 2 losses signal and returns home no mater what.

I know this video will generate a lot of hate, but some people will want to know before purchasing the air 2.

This was a fantastic video as I was just getting ready to test my Mavic Air 2 and now I dont have to.

That Distance far surpassed my needs and not having to do the test myself is a blessing as I dont need to take the risk.

I think hundreds of others will also feel the same. I Will pick a number that I feel confident with flying and tag a light on the drone and be done..

These type of videos be it Long Distance or Flying in the Pouring Rain will always take some Heat.

Heat fades < The video lives on and you save thousands from having to test out there own drones to the extreme or panicking .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain.
Coal

 

[Justinswidebody]

I'm impressed! I added a pair of Lume Cube strobes--real rock scorchers--to extend VLOS of my M2P. I also installed outboard Cree nav lights for dawn/dusk flts. Bad news is, they add considerable weight and drag, thus reducing fly time. Don't know how much, since I haven't tested yet. I'm guessing .5X or so.

While I have no need or desire to exceed 2 miles or so in distance, I'd like to get some or all of that lost fly time back. Seems to me that a setup like yours might do the trick.

How does your aux. battery affect fly time? 1.25X? 1.5X? 2X? 1.5X or more would be ideal. 2X would bring me back to normal.

Thanks to you (and all the rest of you) for being on this forum!

45min hover time with this battery combo

 

[gb160]

45min hover time with this battery combo

So the downside is the motors are working a bit harder than normal to lift the extra weight of the modified battery?

Im interested in the weight difference between standard ma2 with battery, and your with mod battery...
Any idea?

Is the handling noticeably different?

 

[Deleted member 94047]

So the downside is the motors are working a bit harder than normal to lift the extra weight of the modified battery?

Im interested in the weight difference between standard ma2 with battery, and your with mod battery...
Any idea?

Is the handling noticeably different?

There is a whole thread dedicated to MA2 battery mods; you would probably find better answers there.
MA2

 

[Andrewandron]

Can someone try flying their MA2 along side a car on a lonely road and see if the signal still cuts out at 11 km?

 

[Justinswidebody]

Can someone try flying their MA2 along side a car on a lonely road and see if the signal still cuts out at 11 km?

No it will not. It will continue to fly.
It's distance from controller, not home point.... Works off time domain retriever

 

[Tom-Air]

As the title says, the mavic air 2 has a hard coded 11km distance limiter. At least five people have hit it... The air 2 losses signal and returns home no mater what.

I know this video will generate a lot of hate, but some people will want to know before purchasing the air 2.

So much for staying within FAA regulations. Because of folks doing this they will lock hobby drones down.

 

[WolfSpring]

I have no dog in this fight, but is it hardcoded or is it signal strength and math? And if it is hardcoded does DJI account for height in their hard coding? If you include the height equation in your numbers you gt your 11.09, which is only 10 meters more than without height(Pythagorean theory), but that doesn't look like an exact hard limit at all but instead science/math and signal limitations. Maybe the mavic 2 and pro have a better transmitter in them going both ways, more power out or something. I work a lot with radios and cabling and I have seen some stuff that baffles people until you look at the math. I've cut five foot off a cat V cable that was over the "recommended limit" and had no signal and it had perfect working signal after that. Moved a LOS point to point to point antenna system 100 meters closer on a mile long shot due to someone misreading a map on a shot that had no signal strength and had perfect strength. I haven't researched anything on these systems, nor do I plan on it, but a lot of times these limits they quote are for a reason and they were tested out in depth. That said sure I could see them putting in a safety feature to Nerf the distance so people can't start suing them when they drone goes to far and they think it wouldn't make it back at a certain distance to cover their backsides, but I don't think they give it that much thought.

 

[Tom-Air]

The drone police are out in force in this one. Sheesh!

If you love flying drones, the drone police should be out. Stay within the regs. Sheesh!

 

[sinbrad]

If you love flying drones, the drone police should be out. Stay within the regs. Sheesh!

These forums are for like minded people discussing all things drones whether it be range, speed or whatever. What it doesn't need are people who jump on the bandwagon stating that
what they are doing is illegal and against the law when we all know the regulations that are in place. Perhaps what you should instead be doing is contacting the drone manufacturers direct and tell them by manufacturing these drones and giving them the capabilities of flying beyond VLOS that THEY are infact breaking the law! We'll soon see how that affects the drone hobbyist!

 

[gb160]

Perhaps what you should instead be doing is contacting the drone manufacturers direct and tell them by manufacturing these drones and giving them the capabilities of flying beyond VLOS that THEY are infact breaking the law!

I agree with your post except the last bit mate.
Car manufacturers aren't breaking the law by manufacturing cars that go above the speed limit, so how are drone manufacturers?

This whole argument kinda reminds me of the drug/teenage sex debate.
People need to wise up and concede that some teenagers are going to have sex and some people are going to take drugs, no amount of telling them not to is going to change that, in fact its likely to do the opposite...it's exactly the same here.
The conversation needs to move towards educating about the dangers and how it can be done with as little risk as possible.

 

[juakola]

So you would be fine with a 2021 Camaro with a top speed of 70mph right?....you know....since it is within legal limits.

There are places and countries where I can drive legally much faster than that. Germany for example. So no, I would not buy it. And the analogue does not work here either, the MA2 flies much much farther than it is legal to fly. So what is the problem?

How I read the advertised 10km distance: I can fly within legal limits with no worries of the signal breaking up. And I think the drone holds this promise pretty well.

 

[Tom-Air]

These forums are for like minded people discussing all things drones whether it be range, speed or whatever. What it doesn't need are people who jump on the bandwagon stating that
what they are doing is illegal and against the law when we all know the regulations that are in place. Perhaps what you should instead be doing is contacting the drone manufacturers direct and tell them by manufacturing these drones and giving them the capabilities of flying beyond VLOS that THEY are infact breaking the law! We'll soon see how that affects the drone hobbyist!

Good point, I hadn't thought about notifying the manufacturers . I love flying my drone, I just don't want to see FAA tighten it down more than they already have. Everyone can do anything they want that's illegal.....just don't get caught!