Mini 3 Pro range? What's your experience been like?

[moldorf]

Ok but even by that argument, the drone loses signal within VLOS, as demonstrated in both my videos, in farmland and in suburban land

I'm not disputing that....I don't have the Mini 3. Been considering it but discussions like this dampen my enthusiasm. Doesn't help you, but if I do get a Mini 3 it might be 6-12 months from now when all the bugs have been worked out. Of course, by then DJI will probably come out with a Mini 4 or Air 3S

 

[shadow3467]

I'm not disputing that....I don't have the Mini 3. Been considering it but discussions like this dampen my enthusiasm. Doesn't help you, but if I do get a Mini 3 it might be 6-12 months from now when all the bugs have been worked out. Of course, by then DJI will probably come out with a Mini 4 or Air 3S

Yeah it's quite disappointing because everything else on the drone is so good, but struggling to take pictures 350m away is not a good time

 

[Cymru]

If that's the case then almost half the mini 3 pros DJI has pushed out are lemons because theres plenty of people with similar experiences

I really don't think click-bait, monetised youtuber videos are exactly a fair representative sample of anything at all.

They are a tiny minority of people who by their very nature have a vested interest in sensationalising things and direct traffic to their videos.

Cant see the problems being anywhere near "half".

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

This is an excellent point.

People reporting low range problems should specify whether they took it all the way to low signal RTH, or whether they stopped of their own volition as a result of seeing a Signal Strength indication that they didn't like.

When I first started flying Minis, I'd turn around if the Signal Strength indication dropped to 3 bars. But I gradually realized there was a fair amount of controllable range beyond that point.

With the Mini-1 and -SE it's been a little different. I've seen them pop into low signal RTH when I had 4 or 5 bars showing on the Signal Strength indicator.

Thx!

Here is some good news I guess
I did ignore the low connect and it kept going fine
Other birds same exact flight cut out signal and or video after last firmware update

 

[johnmont250]

On earlier models you would see bars drop when the channels change and then back to full so I wonder if people are seeing this and freaking out instead of pushing on.

 

[Cymru]

A lot of people i see claiming range have the controller angled away from the drone (clear on the indicator) and/or have it at a really horizontal angle as well.

I can go from full signal to complete drop out by turning away from it.

 

[Chrislaf]

I mean in the above video I was under 500m away when it started losing signal. If you only fly drones so that they are FULLY visible to you at all times, then why even buy a drone? Because that's like 100m at most

If you are not happy with the Mini 3 Pro then return it and get any of the other drones that are similarly priced like the Air 2 or Air 2S which are both excellent drones. I suspect you would not want one of these drones because then you would have to take the Basic Pilot's Licence and register your drone and would be subject to more stringent rules and regulations.

I would also say that most members of this forum buy their drones for the camera and follow the rules and regulations in their particular country or region.

Chris

 

[QUICKNICK]

I contacted DJI today about signal issues Ive been experiencing with my mini 3 pro and they said they have no reports of signal loss or bad signal, I found that hard to believe

I'm in Canada and the most I can get is 1000m range and that's in a mostly rural area with no tall buildings or not much housing in the way

This is my first drone ever but from what I understand that's pretty bad

what have your experiences been like?

Hi, I'mLondon On. I have done some long range and never dropped a bar. Super impressed. Mine was just ut of the city.

 

[JOHNVOSS]

Surely even that is further than you're legally allowed to fly? I doubt you can see a mini 3 at 1km.

 

[ufgatorvet]

Been following this thread with interest so tried to see if mine is afflicted with this signal issue. One signal bar drop during long flight - longer than I would ever need for my real world needs.

If some are affected and others aren’t isn’t it either lemons or something unique about the specific location? What else could it be?

I got a lemon RC Pro (returned) that was consistently dropping the A2S, and I even sold a car back to the dealer under the lemon law in my state so things happen!

I would return and get a new one there is clearly something wrong.

 

[Clintoops]

I agree, but I'm a relative newbie. I understand the attraction of wanting to test the limits but I don't have a youtube channel and I don't want to lose my drone. I have a Mini 2 and was in a very remote area of Eastern Oregon...miles from anybody else so I flew it out 2 miles but it was a clear LOS all the way. other than that time I don't think I've pushed the drone out further than 3000 feet and have been able to get ll the shots and video I want.

I also don't like to return home with 10% battery

Running your battery that low shortens it's life quite a bit if every time you fly you run it too low

 

[dirkclod]

Running your battery that low shortens it's life quite a bit if every time you fly you run it too low

Everytime maybe but have always made a point of running mine
down as low as they could go at least once a month and fly a lot.
Have for over 6 years with my Phantoms and Mavic’s.
Have had only 1 battery go bad which they sent me a new one, had a bad cell.
So there we will have to agree to disagree on that.

 

[abruzzopat]

I'm in the US and got my Mini 3 Pro a few days ago. Mostly short flights, but today I flew 1000 meters from an elevated position with clear line of sight and the drone never showed less than full bars of signal.

That said, I have had the screen suddenly jump back to the main screen where you need to tap "go fly" to get back to the feed. This has happened with the drone near and far and almost every flight at least once. After tapping "go fly" it immediately returns to the live feed, with no interruption in recording, etc.

I feel like this is a bug unrelated to range since it's happened 30 feet away.

 

[ufgatorvet]

That happened to me once also.

 

[Ifti]

Is the signal issue something that can be fixed with software though, or is it a physical hardware antenna issue?

 

[Cymru]

Is the signal issue something that can be fixed with software though, or is it a physical hardware antenna issue?

Its not clear there IS a signal issue.

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

I guess it all boils down to what you personally define as “an issue”

If you are hung up on the fact that your Mini 3 Pro and controller doesn’t keep connection over the same sort of ranges that some other DJI drones such as a M2P or P4P can manage then I suppose it’s an issue but really that’s not comparing apples with apples is it?

It’s a bit rough complaining that your Fiat Bambino can’t mange a sub 14 second standing 1/4 mile when your Dodge Charger can. Is the issue with the equipment you bought or your choice of equipment to buy?

I’d argue that looking at the design of the controller with the internal antenna and the restrictions and interactions that entails that the people who are getting 2km +/- in real world every day conditions are getting about what I”d expect.

Yes I know that DJI quote considerably greater possible ranges but these are hypothetical ranges under ideal conditions. Has no one ever heard the term “numbers marketing”? Going back to the standing 1/4 mile analogy, when Suzuki quote the time achieved by their latest and greatest release they don’t tend to mention that was achieved with a 110lb retired GP racer down a mine shaft with a tail wind. I have seen a couple of range tests where the Mini 3 Pro has managed distances close to the quoted maximum, not many but obviously under the right circumstances it can be done.

On the other hand … lol

There are enough people reporting issues at very modest distances i.e. sub 500m that I am reasonably satisfied that there is something going on. What we don’t really know at this stage it why. Is this operator specific down to how the controller is being held or oriented? Is it down to absorption and impedance related issues caused by hand proximity to the antenna aggravated in C.E. devices with lower output? (My personal favourite theory at this time) Is it poor quality control and with some units just being better than others? Only time will tell.

This is very reminiscent of the furore over the pixel binning / line skipping in the M2P camera when it was released to me. It was obvious something was going on just through the volume of reports but it took years and proof positive for some to accept it.

Regards
Ari

 

[Raffaello_IZ0QWM]

If you want I can talk about my experience but it is still under study because there are situations to be understood yet.
In any case, I'd like to understand what kind of polarization they used on the antennas of the drone's arms.
It appears to me that the polarization is only horizontal and this can create problems in some contexts particularly full of radiofrequency.
To be sure, I should see how the antennas are made inside the drone's arms.
Maybe someone who has already broken them due to a crash can open them and show me inside.

This would explain why the DJI MINI 3's signal impressions are so different from person to person.

Another problem that I have not mentioned in the video is that for some reason, the amplifier stage of the drone (IE1000?), could fail not only in the presence of wifi signals but also of disturbances of any other type ... and this would explain the problems in some rural areas.
Each case should be analyzed to be sure.
My drone was not able to send it into crisis, so I could not make direct measurements.

I have prepared a video in which I explain this problem, it is in Italian but you can use English subtitles.
You can also see in the video that I tried to directly measure the power of the DJI RC and RC-N1.
Although the power meter cannot evaluate it well, due to the very fast FHSS signal, it is noted that the RC-N1 is more powerful than the DJI RC.

 

[shadow3467]

I really don't think click-bait, monetised youtuber videos are exactly a fair representative sample of anything at all.

They are a tiny minority of people who by their very nature have a vested interest in sensationalising things and direct traffic to their videos.

Cant see the problems being anywhere near "half".

Not sensationalized, check this video (it's mine)

This my flying the drone no further than 500m away and constantly dropping signal and even having a disconnect. I even fly to where I'm standing to show how far it is (it's not far at all)

The point is, thje signal is just not reliable unless you're standing right under it, and at that point you're better off just taking pictures with a DSLR or something or maybe even just have a cheaper drone with 90% of the quality, aka the mini 2

 

[Cymru]

Certainly isnt what all people are saying. Some yes but not others.

(and i stand by the claim most youtube channels are just over sensationalised click-bait).
There maybe an issue with the drone, maybe an issue with the RC or maybe none. Or both.
Really isn't enough data yet to show either.