Newbie Trying to understand Errors

[Frenimy]

So I am new to drones and have had my MA for 3 weeks now. I notice that when I fly it far away sometimes I will get "Poor Video Signal". Does this mean that I am losing connection with my Drone? I also notice that the video on my Ipad gets choppy and hard to interpret. I have watched many videos of people going 5000 meters away but most of the time I am afraid to take mine past 300m because of the video issues The most I have done is 750m. What should I look for to get better video sync on my ipad or what can I do to extend range without adding a booster?

 

[DDS]

Are you Flying next to any metal poles or benches, Also do you have a clear line of site or buildings & trees may also block the signal after 300m which is common.

 

[Frenimy]

I generally can not see my drone and there are sometimes trees in the way. Does the loss of video signal mean that the remote has lost signal with the drone?

 

[DDS]

Sounds rite.. as far as the video loss doesn't mean the remote lost the drone signal. The video requires much stronger bandwidth signal than that of the remote to the drone. So if you loose video does not mean you lost control of the drone but it would be wise to bring it back especially w/o a line of sight as you dont want to hit a wire pole or anything else on your way back.

 

[PhantomFandom]

I generally can not see my drone and there are sometimes trees in the way. Does the loss of video signal mean that the remote has lost signal with the drone?

Hi,

First, I would strongly suggest that you download and read the full manuals for the Mavic Air and DJI Go4. There is a lot of good information in there, which can possibly prevent you from losing your drone or possibly hurting someone. The questions you asked are all in the manual.

No, losing the video signal does not necessarily mean that you have lost contact with your drone. The video from the drone to the remote is sent on one frequency while the control signals from the controller to the drone are sent on a different frequency. Generally you will lose video signal before you lose control. You should pay attention to the signal strength indicators for both in DJI Go4.

The MA uses WiFi to communicate between the controller and the drone. As such it does have fairly limited range and is susceptible to interference from other signals and definitely from solid objects in the line of sight.

 

[Frenimy]

Thank you for the info. The reason I got the drone is to take some video while in Maui. I just wanted to make sure that I would not have the same range issues while on the beach or over the water that I am having now. Is it fair to assume that if I maintain direct line of sight and ensure the flat part of my antennas face the drone that my range and video should be pretty good?

 

[DDS]

your golden @ the beach!

Just a recommendation most of our repairs result from pilots flying w/o line of site. I would refrain from doing that as you playing w/ a $1000 toy and it would really suck to have it crash. Both DJI and the FAA require maintaining line of sight unless your a certified typ 107 pilot.
Also the cheap range extenders on ebay and amazon work

 

[Frenimy]

Do the range extenders increase signal strength at range for better video or just extend the range to fly further?

 

[PhantomFandom]

your golden @ the beach!

Just a recommendation most of our repairs result from pilots flying w/o line of site. I would refrain from doing that as you playing w/ a $1000 toy and it would really suck to have it crash. Both DJI and the FAA require maintaining line of sight unless your a certified typ 107 pilot.
Also the cheap range extenders on ebay and amazon work

Part 107 pilots are also restricted to flying VLOS (Visual Line of Sight).

 

[aokusman]

Do the range extenders increase signal strength at range for better video or just extend the range to fly further?

Yes they do.

 

[DDS]

Part 107 pilots are also restricted to flying VLOS (Visual Line of Sight).

Not if you were granted a waiver. For some industrial applications its impossible to maintain a VLOS

https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/part_107_waivers/media/waiver_application_instructions.pdf

 

[PhantomFandom]

Not if you were granted a waiver. For some industrial applications its impossible to maintain a VLOS

https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/part_107_waivers/media/waiver_application_instructions.pdf

True, but that is not what your original post said. You simply said...

Both DJI and the FAA require maintaining line of sight unless your a certified typ 107 pilot.

Beyond that, waivers can take an incredibly long time to be granted. Furthermore the BVLOS waiver is one of the most incredibly difficult to obtain. There probably have not been more than 30 granted TOTAL.

 

[DDS]

True, but that is not what your original post said. You simply said...

Beyond that, waivers can take an incredibly long time to be granted. Furthermore the BVLOS waiver is one of the most incredibly difficult to obtain. There probably have not been more than 30 granted TOTAL.

Correct it is not at all easy to obtain. We work w/ 2 pilots directly that have the exemption, I have no clue how many of these exemptions the FAA has issued though.

 

[kadras]

Correct it is not at all easy to obtain. We work w/ 2 pilots directly that have the exemption, I have no clue how many of these exemptions the FAA has issued though.

The FAA has issued 38 waivers for § 107.31—Visual line of sight aircraft operation, out of 2,674 waivers. All waivers are listed here Part 107 Waivers Issued

 

[skyrex]

The reason I got the drone is to take some video while in Maui.

Would that be interpreted as you're holidaying/not yet in Maui?
Which could then be interpreted as you're based somewhere else in the world, namely in a "CE" regulated country?
That would be why you're generally only getting ~300m range before getting signal loss.

When you get to the US of A the Go app will prompt you to change Wi-Fi settings to FCC regulation and significantly boost transmission power between the AC and RC.

Also understand that 2.4GHz freq will give you potentially longer range, where 5.8GHz will give you more "bandwidth" for video, over shorter distances.

Best way forward would be to force FCC mode if needed (Google is your friend), and choose a custom Wi-Fi channel dependent on other potential interference at a given location.

 

[Frenimy]

I am currently in the USA. I will be traveling to Maui in July for vacation. I want to make sure I test and learn so that I can make the most out of my time there to obtain great video. I will be going to a beach on the central coast of California this weekend to test and play