Mini 2 Range Extender

[Ikebath75]

Hey guys, my Mini 2 arrived a couple of days ago, and Ive flown it multiple times. I live in a small city, and encouraged by the glowing reviews of Ocusync 2 I tried to fly a kilometre, only for the signal to drop out and the drone returning to home. I live near a 5G and 4G tower, would that be the reason?

Also Ive been checking out range extenders, but have no idea what to choose.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

TIA

 

[slup]

The 5/4G tower most probably have nothing to do with this ... instead, depending on what you say about where you live (& that might also be your flying location) ... I suspect keeping the Mini 2 in "Line of Sight" can be the reason for the disconnect.

I'm not speaking of you being able to see the drone, it's all about having an unobstructed line of sight between your controller to the drone.

Imagine that if you fly near your home or around your city you will always have something rather close in front of you ... a house or trees. Flying behind obstacles like that will break the controller-drone line of sight & that is devastating for the signal strength and you will fast lose the connection.

Have this example below I usually show to symbolize what we face when standing closer to taller objects & what that does to the maximum distance we can fly still keeping a legal height ... usually this sketch gets through & is easy to understand. All is calculated with ordinary trigonometry... and the pilot here is positioned where the red star is.

(Click on the picture to make it larger)

 

[Ikebath75]

Thanks for the quick reply
Ok thanks mate, I'll keep that in mind.
Should I consider a range extender or give it a miss? Would that just increase the line of sight and do nothing for obstacles in the way?

 

[slup]

...Should I consider a range extender or give it a miss? Would that just increase the line of sight and do nothing for obstacles in the way?

If anything it will only increase the LOS distance, not so much when it comes to penetration through obstacles.

Can also add in a bit more regarding radio transmission & what to think about, besides a straight unobstructed line between the controller & the drone. This below, can also be a real source to interference if flying (having the LOS) close in between obstacles.

Below describes the Fresnel zone ...


A wireless LOS is best defined with the concept of “Fresnel Zone”, not a straight line, where the LOS actually is a ellipsoid area that is required to be at least 60% clear of any obstruction to ensure the highest performance of wireless link. Typically, 20% Fresnel Zone blockage introduces little signal loss. Beyond 40% blockage, signal loss will become significant.

The formula for determining the radius of the widest point of the Fresnel zone is:


So flying at a distance of 1000m, the radius of the Fresnel zone is 5,6m at the widest point (half way) if using 2,4GHz... or 3,9m if using 5GHz.