Mavic Mini Range Extender worries

[Clarky]

Ive got the Mavic mini and i seen a video of a guy using one of those range extenders. Long story short his drone completely lost signal and RTH did not work.

Ive got a range extender, one of those slip on ones that direct the beam forward but im a little concerned to even use it.

This guy was way far out though, a distance i wouldnt go.

How did RTH not work though?

Im assuming maybe the wind pushed it away out of range completely?

Whats the best tips and perhaps ways i can save my drone if im in a similar situation?

 

[Deleted member 3792]

Th

Ive got the Mavic mini and i seen a video of a guy using one of those range extenders. Long story short his drone completely lost signal and RTH did not work.

Ive got a range extender, one of those slip on ones that direct the beam forward but im a little concerned to even use it.

This guy was way far out though, a distance i wouldnt go.

How did RTH not work though?

Im assuming maybe the wind pushed it away out of range completely?

Whats the best tips and perhaps ways i can save my drone if im in a similar situation?

The best is to fly LOS (line of sight) because it’s illegal not to.

 

[old man mavic]

Ive got the Mavic mini and i seen a video of a guy using one of those range extenders. Long story short his drone completely lost signal and RTH did not work.

Ive got a range extender, one of those slip on ones that direct the beam forward but im a little concerned to even use it.

This guy was way far out though, a distance i wouldnt go.

How did RTH not work though?

Im assuming maybe the wind pushed it away out of range completely?

Whats the best tips and perhaps ways i can save my drone if im in a similar situation?

the MM is not meant to be flown beyond VLOS which depending on your eyesight ,would probably be no more than 800 to a thousand feet,and because of this there is no need for range extenders ,the only advantage they give you is they concentrate the signal ,but you have to be sure that you always have them pointing at the drone at all times because of the size of the MM it is more suited for flying at fairly close range say up to 500 ft and in low wind conditions

 

[Starz]

Best tip? Use the little bugger as it was intended.
Perfectly safe.

 

[lannes]

How did RTH not work though?

Im assuming maybe the wind pushed it away out of range completely?

Whats the best tips and perhaps ways i can save my drone if im in a similar situation?

He probably had his RTH altitude set to high and the MM could not fight the winds coming back in P-mode.
I'd try to set the lowest RTH altitude possible based on the topography, but it's a catch-22 as the MM doesn't have obstacle avoidance.

Maybe the guidance is not to fly out of range and return to a safe distance away when you get any sort of signal degradation.
If you then trigger a RTH at least you'll have the manual control in Sport mode to take over and get it home if the wind is too strong.

If your struggling in the wind always lower the AC to lowest altitude to get under it.
Over water don't get too low as this could cause a VPS issue, putting the AC down.

 

[Clarky]

He probably had his RTH altitude set to high and the MM could not fight the winds coming back in P-mode.
I'd try to set the lowest RTH altitude possible based on the topography, but it's a catch-22 as the MM doesn't have obstacle avoidance.

Maybe the guidance is not to fly out of range and return to a safe distance away when you get any sort of signal degradation.
If you then trigger a RTH at least you'll have the manual control to take over and get it home if the wind is too strong.

If your struggling in the wind always lower the AC to lowest altitude to get under it.
Over water don't get too low as this could cause a VPS issue, putting the AC down.

Thank you.
How low we talking regarding VPS issue?

 

[lannes]

Thank you.
How low we talking regarding VPS issue?

Difficult to say but maybe 3m is a safe height over water.

DJI Guides - DJI Store (United States)

Online shopping for a great selection of at the official DJI Online Store.

store.dji.com

 

[Lastrexking]

Difficult to say but maybe 3m is a safe height over water.

DJI Guides - DJI Store (United States)

Online shopping for a great selection of at the official DJI Online Store.

store.dji.com

I've never seen that guide before - thank you for sharing it!

 

[BossBob]

Difficult to say but maybe 3m is a safe height over water.

DJI Guides - DJI Store (United States)

Online shopping for a great selection of at the official DJI Online Store.

store.dji.com

DJI recommend 2 m in the guide. I’ve seen my drone follow waves up and down the beach at this height.

 

[lannes]

DJI recommend 2 m in the guide. I’ve seen my drone follow waves up and down the beach at this height.

You need a margin of error, when it starts to fall at 2m/s you don't have much time and before you know it you've plowed in

 

[netsonic]

That guide was made for drones where you can disable VPS from the Go App. For mini the same tips for flying do apply, however you need to cover the sensors with duct tape to disable them this way.

Why? Because the video camera used in VPS is used for lateral stabilization and waves or ripples do confuse it as it cannot lock on a pattern. If you do not cover the VPS, it can drift without control as it tries desperately to compensate for the water movement. 3m Height is decent, however if you need to be prepared to climb as soon as something seems wrong.