Official Mavic Pro Range Leaderboard!

[Phxbird57]

I tried today.... just couldn’t get a clean path without weird interference

I was getting warning of class d dirt air field's. That was it.

 

[TheLightSpeed!]

I was getting warning of class d dirt air field's. That was it.

Yeah... was that you guys there? I wasn’t sure? Lol. I didn’t want to intrude

 

[cderoche]

@JakeMaxxUAV
OK made the board on my second attempt with a battery mod from MaxxUAV, and a 4000mah Multistar LiHV. Conditions weren't as optimal as I'd hoped with low clouds, but not bad distance for a stock antenna, considering I wasn't far from cell towers, and a big electrical substation. (which is probably what made me disconnect momentarily at distance. Returned home no sweat with 23% left. These fat external battery pack make those motors quite warm. (stock props)

One question, do we count the distance from the controller or the flight distance before RTH? I assume the first thing... if so put me down for 27,544ft (5.21 miles).

 

[Phxbird57]

@JakeMaxxUAV
OK made the board on my second attempt with a battery mod from MaxxUAV, and a 4000mah Multistar LiHV. Conditions weren't as optimal as I'd hoped with low clouds, but not bad distance for a stock antenna, considering I wasn't far from cell towers, and a big electrical substation. (which is probably what made me disconnect momentarily at distance. Returned home no sweat with 23% left. These fat external battery pack make those motors quite warm. (stock props)

One question, do we count the distance from the controller or the flight distance before RTH? I assume the first thing... if so put me down for 27,544ft (5.21 miles).

View attachment 23016 View attachment 23017

nice straighten it out and you would have been at 30k. Nice flight.

 

[cderoche]

nice straighten it out and you would have been at 30k. Nice flight.

Yeah, I've flown that route a few times before all stock, but being only the second flight with the external pack I wanted to stay near the highway on the way out in case there were any issues I could maybe land where I could get to it. Wasn't actually going for leader board this time, just testing the new pack and by the time I lost signal I noticed the distance. About to storm here now, next time I'll go for the straight route over the swampy woods.

 

[Japtastic]

Some really good runs here since last time I visited. I have been patiently waiting over 6 weeks now for the weather to comply before making another attempt but wind just won't go below 6-8mph at ground level on a good day.

 

[cderoche]

Some really good runs here since last time I visited. I have been patiently waiting over 6 weeks now for the weather to comply before making another attempt but wind just won't go below 6-8mph at ground level on a good day.

I know where I am sometimes very early in the morning or really late in the evening (when there are not storms) sometimes the winds are pretty calm.... might have to do an early morning attempt if it is similar there. I check this site for the wind speeds and directions each time I fly. I'm tempted one day to fly over one of the big lakes at low altitude. I need to prove reliability on this modded battery setup first, and get used to how far I can push it.

 

[Phxbird57]

Yeah, I've flown that route a few times before all stock, but being only the second flight with the external pack I wanted to stay near the highway on the way out in case there were any issues I could maybe land where I could get to it. Wasn't actually going for leader board this time, just testing the new pack and by the time I lost signal I noticed the distance. About to storm here now, next time I'll go for the straight route over the swampy woods.

Where I fly If I need to put it down ( which I have a few times) I can walk there, I try and park it on one of the dirt roads so I can drive more of the way.
Swampy woods, Not here dirt, sand, and dead weeds.
Here is a tree.

 

[cderoche]

Where I fly If I need to put it down ( which I have a few times) I can walk there, I try and park it on one of the dirt roads so I can drive more of the way.
Swampy woods, Not here dirt, sand, and dead weeds.
Here is a tree.
View attachment 23044

Nice flat ground perfect for distance runs. Plus I'm sure less RF interference. I used a WiFi analyzer app to locate a good spot to launch near home.

 

[lolo780]

Got up at 5am this morning to catch a tailwind both ways. 30km/h out and 5km/h back low down. Would have been an amazing flight, but DJI said no. I've been on .900 the whole time and never an issue, but today my usual spot became a NFZ.

While the winds changed for the worse, I was busy switching to .700 and patching 4.1.9. Determined to at least do some testing I went out in horrible conditions to test various speeds, and moving the RC downrange. Landed 8k short where the road conveniently intersects the flight path.

 

[beanbubba]

Hey @JakeMaxxUAV need to move me up the list from previous run.

Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones



I achieved a new personal best tonight (in the rain battling 18mph winds the entire flight). For those of you that have helped me on this journey, I say thank you!

After months of failed experiments and 3 crashed birds, I have finally settled into my final configuration mods.

MODIFICATIONS
Dual 4.0 LiHv's mounted topside.
Battery cable direct to motherboard.
Sunhams amplifier sidecar mounted.
Amplifier power cable direct to motherboard.
Birdside TX radio routed to amp input.
Birdside TX antenna routed to amp output.
Trackimo sidecar mounted.
Remote TX radio routed to Sunhams amp input.
Remote Sunhams amp output routed to 18dbi panel antenna.

I did this run with brand new Mavic and 4.0 batteries that had been charged twice.
My previous personal best required me to climb to 1500 feet before the bird side amp mod was installed. I can now do this run at 400 feet max altitude! I highly recommend this mod for those that are surrounded by a forest of trees, it really performs as advertised.







This mod configuration comes in at just under 1400 grams. On a cool night there is no evidence of overheating and the motors are reasonably warm after a flight. On a hot sunny day, this weight is pushing the far outer limit of what the Mavic can handle and doubt I could have achieved the same distance.

I am planning a "drone vacation" to somewhere in the US desert southwest where I can do a "real" range run without my home base wind and trees. Cybernate must fall!!!

--beanbubba

 

[CyberNate]

Hey @JakeMaxxUAV need to move me up the list from previous run.

Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones

View attachment 23054

I achieved a new personal best tonight (in the rain battling 18mph winds the entire flight). For those of you that have helped me on this journey, I say thank you!

After months of failed experiments and 3 crashed birds, I have finally settled into my final configuration mods.

MODIFICATIONS
Dual 4.0 LiHv's mounted topside.
Battery cable direct to motherboard.
Sunhams amplifier sidecar mounted.
Amplifier power cable direct to motherboard.
Birdside TX radio routed to amp input.
Birdside TX antenna routed to amp output.
Trackimo sidecar mounted.
Remote TX radio routed to Sunhams amp input.
Remote Sunhams amp output routed to 18dbi panel antenna.

I did this run with brand new Mavic and 4.0 batteries that had been charged twice.
My previous personal best required me to climb to 1500 feet before the bird side amp mod was installed. I can now do this run at 400 feet max altitude! I highly recommend this mod for those that are surrounded by a forest of trees, it really performs as advertised.

View attachment 23055
View attachment 23056
View attachment 23057
View attachment 23058
View attachment 23059

This mod configuration comes in at just under 1400 grams. On a cool night there is no evidence of overheating and the motors are reasonably warm after a flight. On a hot sunny day, this weight is pushing the far outer limit of what the Mavic can handle and doubt I could have achieved the same distance.

I am planning a "drone vacation" to somewhere in the US desert southwest where I can do a "real" range run without my home base wind and trees. Cybernate must fall!!!

--beanbubba

I like all the modding you've tested, but I think for the big range over 50k, you'll need to reduce some weight. In a good location, you won't need more signal. There's a guy that goes out 59K at 67ft altitude on stock radio. It's all about the location. Keep the weight as low as possible. No bird side amps, smaller gauge wire for externals and you'll be good to go. You can amp the controller side to help signal.

My record has been smashed repeatedly by @Unknown Caller. He's got it dialed in. Need to get him to post his flights over here. He flies 55K any time he feels like it and hits firmware limit of 58800 on good days.

 

[beanbubba]

I like all the modding you've tested, but I think for the big range over 50k, you'll need to reduce some weight. In a good location, you won't need more signal. There's a guy that goes out 59K at 67ft altitude on stock radio. It's all about the location. Keep the weight as low as possible. No bird side amps, smaller gauge wire for externals and you'll be good to go. You can amp the controller side to help signal.

My record has been smashed repeatedly by @Unknown Caller. He's got it dialed in. Need to get him to post his flights over here. He flies 55K any time he feels like it and hits firmware limit of 58800 on good days.

I would love to know his "secret" flight locations. I bought another mavic to do just what you described (the mavic I listed prior is strictly for my home base with surrounding forest of trees). I am seriously doing this for my next vacation and would love to know some of these test site locales.

 

[CyberNate]

I would love to know his "secret" flight locations. I bought another mavic to do just what you described (the mavic I listed prior is strictly for my home base with surrounding forest of trees). I am seriously doing this for my next vacation and would love to know some of these test site locales.

It's no secret. The Phantom 3 record holder (17 miles out) also flies there. It's lake Okeechobee in Florida. There's a raised path right next to the lake that they fly over and it is really the best place you could ever fly a drone. If they can't make it back, they simply land on the path and go out and get it.

 

[Japtastic]

Would love that kind of terrain in the UK. We are limited here.

 

[CyberNate]

Another run at the limit today. Had a perfect flight going until I tried to take a screenshot at the turn. Instead of screenshot I turned off my tablet and then it would not reconnect. I think it's because of the Boost hack I'm using which also changed my frequency to 2.57GHz. The radio got messed up as I also restarted Go app. Took me 5-10 minutes to get the connection working and then I lost too much ground to get back. I will get that record run yet! Almost zero wind today.

 

[MacIak]

Another run at the limit today. Had a perfect flight going until I tried to take a screenshot at the turn. Instead of screenshot I turned off my tablet and then it would not reconnect. I think it's because of the Boost hack I'm using which also changed my frequency to 2.57GHz. The radio got messed up as I also restarted Go app. Took me 5-10 minutes to get the connection working and then I lost too much ground to get back. I will get that record run yet! Almost zero wind today.

View attachment 23084

Were you using the 1.5w option? Which battery's are you running for these monster-runs?

 

[dirtybum]

i thought 58 was the max aloud?? how was cybernate and lolo able to go further??

 

[CyberNate]

i thought 58 was the max aloud?? how was cybernate and lolo able to go further??

No, that's the same limit. 58,800. RC radio service restarts at that point. Problem was I was not able to reconnect after. I think it's this 2.57GHz config file that caused the problem. The boost works great, but I also tweaked frequency. Had solid 3 bars on RC and HD feed until that firmware limit hit.

 

[CyberNate]

Were you using the 1.5w option? Which battery's are you running for these monster-runs?

Same dual 4000s. Bought a new set of 8330 props (old syle). The new Platinum props (8331) don't work well with heavy load. Almost lost drone yesterday flying with new propellers and dual 4000s. My motors overheated and it started spinning over the bay. Spun around all the way home in RTH mode. Made it home somehow with 1% battery.