Mavic Zoom and Pro distance limiting

[Jolly Dodger]

G'day everyone
I am looking into buying a Mavic zoom but I have heard the distance is restricted in Australia to 5kms.
Does anyone know if this is right?
Thanks

 

[bushie]

CASA limit the distance to VLOS by law.

 

[Jolly Dodger]

Sorry Bushy I don’t know what the abbreviation VLOS means .
Are the drones sent to Australia like this ?

 

[bushie]

Sorry Bushy I don’t know what the abbreviation VLOS means .
Are the drones sent to Australia like this ?

VLOS is Visual Line of Sight. It means you must be able to see your drone with the unaided eye.
No way you can see a drone 5 miles away.
I sugest that if you are considering buying a drone you download the "Can i fly there" app. It contains a summery of the laws that apply in Australia. Make sure you understand them. They differ in certain respect to those in the USA which are discussed a lot on this forum. Thankfully they are less onerous in many respects than in the US.

 

[Kilrah]

There is no built-in "distance restriction", it's just around how far the RC/video transmission is able to go.

 

[CarlStarke]

The signal strength is restricted in CE restricted countries as opposed to FCC in the US.

 

[Jolly Dodger]

Thanks fellas
I had a time saving idea of using the drone to take a shortcut to check on stock about 5kms away saving me a 20km trip by vehicle by road to cross the river .
Looks like that idea is dead now but I appreciate you all clearing up this before I wasted my money.

 

[DanMan32]

It might work for you, especially if you have range extenders. Extenders don't increase power but rather concentrates it in a unidirection.
Besides using it for 'work', you may also just enjoy flying it which wouldn't be a waste of money.

 

[Jolly Dodger]

Yes your probably right Dan and I will look into what you have suggested.

 

[Jack Daw]

K stands for kilometers, not miles.

Also, in my experience anyway, your battery will likely run down and initiate an RTH before you reach the 5km mark, so it's really not that much of an issue.

 

[Jolly Dodger]

K stands for kilometers, not miles.

Also, in my experience anyway, your battery will likely run down and initiate an RTH before you reach the 5km mark, so it's really not that much of an issue.

Thanks Jack something I was not aware of. Can you please explain to my how the Americans get so far? I watched one fella on YouTube get 6 miles (9.5kms) out of his before he got worried and then bought it back. All quite visible on the readout of the screen . A few others I have watched made similar distances. I have read, and watched countless reviews everywhere I can and value all opinions as I have never owned a drone.
Love your user name by the way. I got it.

 

[DanMan32]

FCC allows a stronger radio power than some other countries.

 

[Jolly Dodger]

Dan does that mean the they have more output on their transmit of the drone and controller ?
Therefore ours is lesser output ?

 

[Jolly Dodger]

By the way if you buy these drones from China you get over the horizon range !
Yeh sure !
Have a look at the max distance listed in the specs.
eBay
This is why I need other opinions and I emailed the seller and he confirmed that the range is correct .

 

[Kilrah]

The devices are all the same, but they decide on what power to use depending on the location they're flown in to abide by that location's rules for RF transmissions.

 

[RayOZ]

The Mavic can fly >5km in Australia. If you are flying out in the bush, away from populated areas and over your own property, it's not really an big issue. I've flown over 5km in the outback with my MP1. But it's about as far I was willing to go, so it gets back with enough battery.
With MP2, I guess you can get that far, spend a couple of minutes checking your stock and fly back. I don't think a range extender is required. Bear in mind wind direction and speed.

 

[Jack Daw]

If you're outside of the US, you can trick the MA into thinking you're here, which will up your distance considerably. Just do a search for "FCC hack".

 

[Jack Daw]

Dan does that mean the they have more output on their transmit of the drone and controller ?
Therefore ours is lesser output ?

Yes. But see my post above.

 

[Jack Daw]

Thanks fellas
I had a time saving idea of using the drone to take a shortcut to check on stock about 5kms away saving me a 20km trip by vehicle by road to cross the river .
Looks like that idea is dead now but I appreciate you all clearing up this before I wasted my money.

You can do this...if you don't mind landing the drone there, leaving it there, and picking it up next time you go by. You might want to look at a program called Litchi, too, which will allow you to draw a line on a map for the MA to follow.

 

[Jolly Dodger]

Got it now ! Thanks very much for all your help I know now how everything works.
Big thanks to you too Jack for pointing me in the right direction of some important bits.