Mini-2 transmission and distance

[Normp]

I fly my mini-2 off a cliff on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. It's spectacular.

I read that the range should be 10km yet at less than 2km I get warnings - Poor connection: adjust antennae (how do you do that??). Or worse, communication lost or similar.

The camera freezes on my phone screen, but after a few scary seconds it comes back into reception and the video feed returns. It doesn't ever automatically return to home or offer to.

Of course, there are mountains, but I thought because I'm connected to 22 satellites, I should have good connection all the time. I obviously don't understand the meaning of "being connected to satellites" and "being connected to your drone".

I use dual-band frequency and auto channel mode for transmission.

What can I do? It would be impossible to keep the drone in direct sight for long.

Thank you!

 

[66427cobra]

I fly my mini-2 off a cliff on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. It's spectacular.

I read that the range should be 10km yet at less than 2km I get warnings - Poor connection: adjust antennae (how do you do that??). Or worse, communication lost or similar.

The camera freezes on my phone screen, but after a few scary seconds it comes back into reception and the video feed returns. It doesn't ever automatically return to home or offer to.

Of course, there are mountains, but I thought because I'm connected to 22 satellites, I should have good connection all the time. I obviously don't understand the meaning of "being connected to satellites" and "being connected to your drone".

I use dual-band frequency and auto channel mode for transmission.

What can I do? It would be impossible to keep the drone in direct sight for long.

Thank you!

The number of satellites is related to GPS. The connection between controller and drone is not via satellite. It uses 2.4 and 5.8 GHz radio frequencies.

So you can be connected to your drone with a strong signal but have no satellites. And you can have a lots of satellites and no connection with your drone.

Range will be affected by any obstacles between the controller and drone. Atmospheric conditions can also affect range. High humidity might be one. Other radio signals can also have an impact. Try minimizing any obstacles and fly on different days to see if weather is a factor.

The antenna for the mini 2 is the phone holder. Not adjustable but keeping them pointed at the drone is advisable.

 

[vindibona1]

We should always look at "paper specs" with a great deal of skepticism. 10k, or 6 miles or 32,000 feet is just unrealistic for most situations. 2k, 6500 ft, or over a mile is pretty significant, especially because unless you're over water at night with strobes, you can't see your drone that far. And unless you are over open water there will be obstructions that will limit your signal.

Just today I was flying my Mini 2 over the Chicago river that twisted and turned and had lush tall trees on either side of the river banks. I was practicing flying, trying to follow the twists of the river and I think I lost signal completely much shorter range than I'm used to.

Are there any obstacles that would interfere with your controller's signal reaching your drone?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I think the app is badly worded when it comes to the likes of the Mini 2 controller, I'd bet they don't write new warning messages for the differing types of controller.
With controllers that have movable antennae you can change their angle etc. as shown in the manual of the Mavic Mini but with the likes of the Mini 2 controller all you can due is to ensure that the outer face of the phone holder points at the drone.

The number of satellite connections has nothing to do with the strength of the radio signal between the drone and the controller.

I have also never established to my own satisfaction whether or not loss of just the video signal will actually trigger an RTH, I recollect the manuals I have read often mention something about it but I have seen my drones fly 'through' a loss of video signal and back into live video without RTHing.

Incidentally there is a definite delay period before a complete loss of connection between the controller and the drone will trigger an RTH but your post makes me think that you should check whether or not the loss of signal or failsafe response is set to the default of RTH. Over water you definitely do not want it set to "land" and "hover" would leave it hovering until the low battery RTH kicked in.
I would also suggest that you be wary of repeatedly pressing the RTH button if you are unsure of whether or not the drone is in fact presently RTHing. It is possible to cancel an RTH and that might leave you in limbo thinking the drone was RTHing when in fact it is hovering.

 

[Normp]

I think the app is badly worded when it comes to the likes of the Mini 2 controller, I'd bet they don't write new warning messages for the differing types of controller.
With controllers that have movable antennae you can change their angle etc. as shown in the manual of the Mavic Mini, with the likes of the Mini 2 controller all you can due is to ensure that the outer face of the phone holder points at the drone.

The number of satellite connections has nothing to do with the strength of the radio signal between the drone and the controller.

I have also never established to my own satisfaction whether or loss of just the video signal will actually trigger an RTH, I recollect the manuals I have read often mention something about it but I have seen my drones fly 'through' a loss of video signal and back into live video without RTHing.

Incidentally there is a definite delay period before a complete loss of connection between the controller and the drone will trigger an RTH but your post makes me think that you should check whether or not the loss of signal or failsafe response is set to the default of RTH. Over water you definitely do not want it set to "land" and "hover" would leave it hovering until the low battery RTH kicked in.
I would also suggest that you be wary of repeatedly pressing the RTH button if you are unsure of whether or not the drone is in fact presently RTHing. It is possible to cancel an RTH and that might leave you in limbo thinking the drone was RTHing when in fact it is hovering.

Great responses. Thank you all!