Drones in a time of coronavirus (be careful with WiFi models)

[cav01c14]

My yellow did something similar one day. I made it do a cool flip and then it took off full speedstraight up with no connection. Watched it til I could no longer see it. Found it 4 blocks away by chance it landed between the sidewalk and boulevard.

 

[unionglzr]

My yellow did something similar one day. I made it do a cool flip and then it took off full speedstraight up with no connection. Watched it til I could no longer see it. Found it 4 blocks away by chance it landed between the sidewalk and boulevard.

those flight records would be interesting to see

 

[t76turbo]

It’s been well documented that a lot of WiFi interference from nearby routers/hotspots degrade performance on the Air. I’d assume the same applies to the Mini and Tello.

The wifi signals are there whether someone is looking at email on it or the whole family is downloading 4K movies.

I seriously doubt more people being home and using WiFi has any impact at all. UNLESS these people had no WiFi in their home before but now decided to go get a router. Then that may have an impact.

 

[Silveira1974]

“Many hours later, as my Tello now lives in a tree, I remember that time a few days ago when my Mavic Air lost signal and I should have learned my lesson then” - Gabriel García Márquez (paraphrased)

So I think most who know me consider me reasonably intelligent and possessed of common sense. But maybe not. So I wanted to share that if you are flying a drone with a WiFi connection (Air, Mini, Tello) and live in a fairly Dense area you might want to avoid flying right now.

I flew my air the other day and 200 feet up, directly overhead, I started getting transmission and reception failures no video but I was able to control it, in and out. I was able to get her safely down but it kept happening all the way down. Never had this issue, at least not until much farther away.

My assumption is that with everyone home and using the internet (and therefore WiFi) more, the frequencies are very congested.

I should have learned my lesson but today my kid really wanted me to fly the Tello. I figured we’d just fly around the yard. Well, same transmission problems as the other day (which, as with the Air, had never happened before). And about 40 feet up, lost connection entirely. Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten “stuck” receiving a descend signal (I was descending at the time I lost signal). And a few seconds later it found its way into the top of a tree, where it will remain.

Anyway, my advice is check the frequencies (which I did on the Air, and it didn’t look too congested) and maybe consider staying on the ground for now.

At least yours is on the top of a tree. My made a forced landing and ended up getting hit by a vehicle. Mavic mini

 

[Mutli]

Whoops yeah, forgot about the Air too, though you might be right there, BIL has one and has great range, even around mildly urban.
I think flying in areas of really large wifi interference, that pilot is most probably flying somewhere getting much too urban for safe flight anyway.

I use a few WiFi network app tools to check WiFi in the area when I go out to fly. It lets me see roughly how many WiFi points and what frequencies before I start. That way i can get an indication of the better choices. As I am new I always set the RTH and then do not fly outside visual range and as soon as I get interference I will return closer or change directions

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I use a few WiFi network app tools to check WiFi in the area when I go out to fly. It lets me see roughly how many WiFi points and what frequencies before I start. That way i can get an indication of the better choices. As I am new I always set the RTH and then do not fly outside visual range and as soon as I get interference I will return closer or change directions

Checking network app tools, so you mean opening wifi and seeing how many show up ?
Not a bad idea for people flying in suspect locations.

Good way to start Multi, using VLOS.
It's tempting to go further and fly FPV on the screen, it's not hard to do once you know telemetry and use of other Go4 info like map, home line, etc.
Still, risking possible manned aircraft encounters then, as minor as the chance may be.

Happy flying, when we can get back out.

 

[ThorDar]

You may find this video helpful. It's from 2015 but everything in it is applicable to the Mini. All the same principles still apply, including the aircraft antennas being installed vertically in the front landing gear.

 

[Maviac]

You may find this video helpful. It's from 2015 but everything in it is applicable to the Mini. All the same principles still apply, including the aircraft antennas being installed vertically in the front landing gear.

Good video. I’m well aware of all of that but many folks here might not be.