Expected range under these conditions?

[vindibona1]

I wanted to get some B roll footage for a project. The idea was to fly the Mini toward the city as far as I could from the most reasonable launch point, given ordinances, etc. I really didn't know what to expect, but I don't think I expected to only go out only about 1550 ft before losing signal. I just want to check with you guys to see if I understand why I could only achieve such a short distance. I had the Mini about 150 feet in the air. I'm not sure if higher would have been better, but I estimate the wind at 12mph and I was just a short distance from lake Michigan. I could tell that the Mini in the P mode was struggling a bit, but was stable. I did not want to get into a high wind situation in this circumstance by going higher, and you'll see why in the photo below.

Am I correct in assuming that the dense foliage blocked the signal and was the reason why I couldn't take the Mini farther? FWIW I was also testing a new Yagi range extender, but in this instance I don't believe it would have made much difference either way.

What do you think? 1550 ft out @ 150 ft AGL is reasonable under these conditions?

 

[iaincaradoc]

Higher frequencies are attenuated more by foliage. I'm not surprised by this.

 

[vindibona1]

Higher frequencies are attenuated more by foliage. I'm not surprised by this.

I wouldn't say I'm surprised either. I would have thought that I'd get out to 2000 ft but it is what it is. Geometrically, once it is out more than 300 feet the signal has to travel through more and more tree branches to reach the Mini. I just wanted to better visualize this so mocked up this chart. What I can better visualize is that as it flies further the signal has to pass through more and more trees as the signal vector angle gets lower and lower. Obviously the trees will not have the density that a building would, but collectively it appears that at distance creates the limitation. I would have to believe that the range extender had little if any effect either way in this instance.

 

[iaincaradoc]

Well, it's going to depend on the tree. And the water content. And the leaf size. Pine needles in particular attenuate 2.4GHz rather well.

 

[rehkram]

Yep, agreed. My property has a lot of trees and also terrain and so I've become used to flying set paths, climb out- & approach angles for least attenuation. It's become one of the more interesting aspects of flying the MM here and helps to keep me focused.

In the spirit of "if life gives you lemons make lemonade" sometimes I will lower the drone behind some trees until I lose signal just to test where it occurs, let it start RTH and resume control. That way I have a better idea next time how low it can go at that location. Obviously you might not want to try that over unknown- or busy, populated areas.

I'm lucky to have quite a lot of land, and up to now have never flown anywhere else. I don't get out much, the farm and business keeps me here.

 

[vindibona1]

This Mavic Mini has been a great experiment. I'm hooked and I can see myself in a MA2 sooner rather than later. I'd love to go out and fly today but the winds are too strong for the Mini. I'm also seeing the advantage of 4k, but particularly the 60fps. I had some clips I wanted to slow down, but seemed too stuttered to put in slo-mo based on 30fps. But that Occusync 2.0 is really something. I'll stick with the Mini for awhile as I learn and getting smoother on the controls all the time, but still get finger fumbled with it turned toward me... but improving. Still only what I'd call an advanced beginner. I'm having so much fun... but that darn wind keeps me out of the air too much .

 

[rehkram]

This Mavic Mini has been a great experiment.

Exactly, all your comments have been my experience also. The mini is a really good trainer aircraft both from a photographic and piloting perspective. I'll wait until they (DJI) get the wrinkles out of the Air 2 s/w before upgrading. But I'll still fly the mini for sentimental reasons.

 

[shaneb50]

I also like the Mavic mini. I have been impressed and happy so far.it fly’s very good and the video quality is great.
It’s a great drone for anyone who wants a great drone to learn how to fly and have fun [emoji3][emoji106]

 

[Fort Pierce Pilot]

I have both a mini and MPP. In some areas I fly over I am restricted to 100 AGL. No-one notices the mini but the MPP is noisy enough to attract attention.

 

[vindibona1]

Update... I think the issue I had largely was interference and signal blocking. I've been able to get out to 2600 feet with no issues a couple of times now, but with clear view. The thing is that over 150 ft up I get wind warnings which scare me, so I immediately bring it down so as not to walk into an out of control situation. I haven't gotten up the courage to go further yet where I would also want to be higher, but signal strength was still strong and I'm sure I could have gone past 3000 feet easily. I think I'll feel more confident once I step up to a more powerful bird so I'm not so concerned about a gut taking my Mini out to sea (Lake Michigan) or into an irretrievable area, which is pretty much everywhere around here.