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Long distance antenna and parabolic range extender meaning?

NewbieNewbie

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Hi to all the members here

As a total newbie I saw 2 ads (pre owned) on gumtree, one was selling a Mavic Platinum with a rc with long distance antenna, plus with parabolic range extenders. The other person was selling a mavic air with a yaggi antenna. I contacted both persons to ask them what their range is (I am in a CE region)

They were both unsure. One of them said 4km. I suspect they never tested the maximum range or are the second owners.

I am on a massive farm.

May I ask does anyone know what difference in terms of range in a CE country the long distance antenna makes?

What difference the parabolic range extender makes?

What difference the Yaggi antenna makes to the range please?

I know nothing, so I thought if I buy it pre owned with it all already set up, then it will help me, but I am not sure if it really increases the range significantly?

Thank you to everyone for your advice and help.

Merry Christmas and best wishes
 
Typically, when one refers to a "long distance antenna" they are referring to one that replaces the stock antennae (see photo below). A few members have touted them.

Yagis and Parabolic "extenders" essentially capture the signal beam from the the antennae that shoot backwards, redirecting them forward and focusing them for more signal strength. The Yagis have a very focused and narrow beam while the parabolics have a wider beam. They are *very* inexpensive and can be used together. I think the total cost of both were under $20 USD. Drone Valley did an excellent presentation on them. I'll edit this reply with the link if I can find it later.

I suspect that any of the systems would be more useful with CE versions. Being in the US I have the FAA version and it is rare that I'll lose signal strength before I lose line of sight (LOS). And that was with my Mini 1 with wifi signal, not Ocusync.


May I ask, why you're looking an older used drone as opposed to one of the newer models? Here are the specs for the Mavic Pro Platinum. Is this the same model that you're looking at?



1608916140780.png
 
Yagi antenna extenders snap over the factory antennas and use a series of parallel antenna elements to make the antenna more directional. Same output but the output is extended along the length of the antenna and weaker on the sides.

Parabolic reflectors reflect the signal in one direction and have a similar effect to the yagi antennas.

With my yagi antenna extender I run out of battery before I run out of signal and have flown 3.5 miles away before getting a return to home warning because of the battery. You'll have to convert to km.
 

vindibona1 and​

maintenanceguy


Thank you sincerely to both of you.

The situation is that I am on a vast farm (therefore private property). Over here farms get invaded by intruders who are dangerous.

I need the drone to fly at least a minimum of 8 km (4.9 miles) away and return back to home which is another 8km (4.9 miles) at least in a CE country and to have the ability to zoom (not for photos, but to spot intruders).

The Mavic 2 zoom, and Air 2 has a CE range of only 6 km (therefore I asked the question by how many extra metres or yards will the range increase with a long distance antenna combined with a parabolic or yagga). But their total distance I believe is 18 km (11.1 miles). Apparently they cant be hacked to FCC mode.

So another bright member suggested I get the Pro 1 because it can be hacked for free to FCC mode up to 2.5 Watts and 10km. Then get a battery extender they advised, And take a pic whilst in flight and then zoom the pic because the video is only a 2 x zoom (in order to have the zoom capability to spot intruders).

But then a bright member here said that in fact the Air 2 can indeed be hacked to FCC via iphone and mod flyapp (not that I know what any of this means LOL). Another bright member said there is a 4x zoom on the Mavic Air, albeit digital.

Now it seems the Mavic Air 2 is the best option because it will have more range than the Mavic 2 zoom in a CE country plus will have 4 x zoom plus costs less than the Mavic 2 zoom.

May I ask what you think please? Is this hack to FCC via iphone and mod Flyapp complex for a newbie?

Many thanks again to you Vindabona1 and maintenanceguy, and everyone else.

Best wishes
 
What difference the parabolic range extender makes?
What difference the Yaggi antenna makes to the range please?
I tried a yagi and parabolic reflector on my MM1.
The parabolic made some difference but not a lot. The yagi made a lot more difference to the distance and video stream.
The battery did not allow me to try to go further before the RTH kicked in.
 
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