How far should the SE be able to go.

[cheddar-man]

Was a bit disappointed with my first Mini SE flights as regards distance.
Most of the specs I've read quote miles/Kms control ranges whereas I got out to just 2130 feet, just 0.6Km and I got a weak signal warning, disconnected and RTH activated.
I was line of sight across fields at 400 feet altitude. RC aerials (antennae) vertical, pointing in direction of drone.

So what should I be able to get?
View attachment 142630

View attachment 142631

 

[Deleted member 103366]

It's very much location and environment dependant. With a Mavic Mini (same controller as your SE) over open sea I have seen 2km+. I do not range test over land, if something goes wrong over the sea then no one is at risk and yes I would ditch it.
In areas where there would likely have been interference 600m, add a little mist 400m. Put trees around me and perhaps partially obscuring the signal path 300m or less.
Send it straight up so that the drone's antennae are presenting the minimum area to the signal, at heights of 200-400ft.
You may also find it depends on the pitch of the drone, I am reasonably certain I have seen warnings etc. when I have been 'going for it' in sports mode.

The above said, 600m is about my VLOS limit so, as far as I am concerned, it flies out as far as I will normally go.

 

[Tomk_]

I have no experience with the SE, but I have a nephew with an original mini. 1500 ft across an open field unobstructed... no trees, buildings, etc. is about what he gets. Just a few trees brings that quickly back to 1200-1300 ft. My mini2 is a whole different story. 5,000 ft+ is no big deal, even if there are a few trees or buildings involved. (metal buildings are a different animal. A metal silo will knock a couple thousand feet off of range.)

 

[slup]

Was a bit disappointed with my first Mini SE flights as regards distance.

So what should I be able to get?

You have 3 main factors to consider when it comes to connectivity ... besides pointing your RC antennas up towards your drone.

1. The Mini SE uses enhanced WiFi & not Occusync ... both is WiFi but "Enhanced" is more prone to interference along the line of sight, around the RC or around where your Mini SE is flying.

2. Chosen frequency ... this is what separate 2,4 & 5,8GHz if you can chose with a Mini SE.

2.4GHz for better penetration & longer distance ... but more prone to interference & gives slower data transfer
5.8GHz for less interference & higher data rate transfers (better live view) ... but worse penetration & distance.

So if you fly where you have other interfering WiFi networks ... 5,8GHZ might get you farther out than with 2,4GHz in reality.

3. Unobstructed line of sight ... it's easy to think that flying up on 120m will guarantee a LOS free of obstacles ... but if you look at the picture below & calculate things a bit with your distances to trees & houses & their heights.

I have an example from my own condition flying out from my backyard ...

I have a tree line 210m away, that's the tallest object I see ... it's pine trees approx 35m in height. Replacing that distance to the house in the pic. with 210m & the height of the house with 35m ... that gives an angle from where I'm standing to the pine tree tops of 9,5 degrees. If I fly up on 120m (max allowed in Sweden) & fly out my drone it will theoretically start to be covered by the pine trees when it's reached out from where I am at approx. 717m.

This theoretical calculation is pretty much what I see when flying for real also, the live view starts to be choppy at that approx. 717m distance & will cut out completely just below 800m.



I have a Mavic Air 1 ... which also have enhanced WiFi. Going to a completely flat field without any trees or other obstacles & far away from all that could interfere with the WiFi connection I have reached out 4km once when I tested ... had to turn around due to the battery noting else. So Enhanced WiFi can perform if there's no interference at all & a totally unobstructed LOS.

So consider how it looked in the pic. you attached I would say that 600m out doesn't sound unreasonable & shouldn't be limiting weighing in the VLOS regulations.

 

[Yogi053]

Wish I could see a drone that size at 600 metres!

 

[RoarRoar]

You have 3 main factors to consider when it comes to connectivity ... besides pointing your RC antennas up towards your drone.

1. The Mini SE uses enhanced WiFi & not Occusync ... both is WiFi but "Enhanced" is more prone to interference along the line of sight, around the RC or around where your Mini SE is flying.

2. Chosen frequency ... this is what separate 2,4 & 5,8GHz if you can chose with a Mini SE.

2.4GHz for better penetration & longer distance ... but more prone to interference & gives slower data transfer
5.8GHz for less interference & higher data rate transfers (better live view) ... but worse penetration & distance.

So if you fly where you have other interfering WiFi networks ... 5,8GHZ might get you farther out than with 2,4GHz in reality.

3. Unobstructed line of sight ... it's easy to think that flying up on 120m will guarantee a LOS free of obstacles ... but if you look at the picture below & calculate things a bit with your distances to trees & houses & their heights.

I have an example from my own condition flying out from my backyard ...

I have a tree line 210m away, that's the tallest object I see ... it's pine trees approx 35m in height. Replacing that distance to the house in the pic. with 210m & the height of the house with 35m ... that gives an angle from where I'm standing to the pine tree tops of 9,5 degrees. If I fly up on 120m (max allowed in Sweden) & fly out my drone it will theoretically start to be covered by the pine trees when it's reached out from where I am at approx. 717m.

This theoretical calculation is pretty much what I see when flying for real also, the live view starts to be choppy at that approx. 717m distance & will cut out completely just below 800m.

View attachment 142633

I have a Mavic Air 1 ... which also have enhanced WiFi. Going to a completely flat field without any trees or other obstacles & far away from all that could interfere with the WiFi connection I have reached out 4km once when I tested ... had to turn around due to the battery noting else. So Enhanced WiFi can perform if there's no interference at all & a totally unobstructed LOS.

So consider how it looked in the pic. you attached I would say that 600m out doesn't sound unreasonable & shouldn't be limiting weighing in the VLOS regulations.

changing the frequency and channel is key. I have a spark that I still love since it’s so compact and still use on occasion and regularly fly out around 3000 feet out and still feel comfortable with the transmission.

 

[Chaosrider]

2. Chosen frequency ... this is what separate 2,4 & 5,8GHz if you can chose with a Mini SE.

Can you select between the two on the Mini SE? IIRC, the Mini-2 switches between them automatically to get the optimum signal for the conditions.

This reminds me of the time I had to integrate first responder radio systems in Nevada. There was a large installed base of 150 mhz band, 450, and 800. Lower frequency, better range. Higher frequency, better penetration. In our case, better penetration meant being able to communicate in the concrete canyons of Las Vegas. The rural Sheriffs all wanted the 150s because of the range.

And yet, they all needed to be able to talk to each other, After a year of discussion and analysis with all stake holders, we settled on 800 mhz as the new target frequency. Many years later, the Feds set aside spectrum in the 700 mhz band for public safety applications.

Fun times!



TCS

 

[slup]

Can you select between the two on the Mini SE?

It was a bit general ... what affects. If a Mini SE can I don't know.

the Mini-2 switches between them automatically to get the optimum signal for the conditions.

Yeah ... & in reality that only sounds better than it actually is, according to my experience at least. Have seen my drones chose the most crowded channels several times & have never seen anything else that 2,4GHz used if left on auto. I always treat this with frequency & channel equal serious as all other aspects of flying ... & chose myself

 

[marcos de mavic]

This gentleman got 3 km, someone eslse claimed 6,54 km in the comments on this youtube video

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[zaldy]

I own Mini SE - CE version.. as the CE version had lower transmission power than FCC..

I used passive parabolic signal booster attached to remote controller antennas..

Usually in urban areas, i got range about 100-200m without booster.. with booster it can get around 300m or so before lost signal..

But in rural areas, mountain, open field, my longest record was 1025m with signal booster...

Oh, and i always used 5.8 Ghz frequencies..