Range isn't even close to 8 km

[SpyderSkeets]

I already had the Air, so pretty much the only reason why I bought the 2 was the increased range. I must say that I am pretty disappointed. I was about 150ft up and 2800ft (0.85km) when I lost transmission. I wasnt expecting a full 8km range. I get that the stated range is "up to 8km" and that is in pristine conditions, but only getting a little more than 1/10 of that? Unacceptable.

 

[TacAir42]

If you aren’t LOS from transmitter to receiver then 8 or 80km will never happen. Where did you fly?

 

[SpyderSkeets]

I realize that, but I would think that the 8km LOS advertised range should equate to at least 1/4 of that even in the worst conditions, especially with it being Occusync 2.0.

 

[sar104]

I realize that, but I would think that the 8km LOS advertised range should equate to at least 1/4 of that even in the worst conditions, especially with it being Occusync 2.0.

No - at these frequencies you need reasonable line of sight. The signal go through some amount of vegetation, but it's still going to be attenuated. The arbitrary assumption that you will get 2 km in the worst conditions, whatever that means, is incorrect.

 

[gnirtS]

You need line of sight. Even tree branches in the way will cut that signal down to hundreds of metres at most. There's not a lot DJI can do about physics - water,organic matter and rock eat microwaves.

Also make sure the antennas are correctly positioned on the RC and you are correctly aligned towards the drone at all times. This is the mistake most people make.

 

[Cslucas34]

How you hold the controller matters as well. Also, with Ocusync 2.0, the frequency shift matters as well. Should be seamless to you, but if for some reason it stuck on the higher frequency, those signals do not travel as far. Also, 2.4 ghz band is very popular for all sorts of consumer electronics so if you were in an area that had other items using that band, it is possibly to get interference especially at an increased range / lower SNR

 

[Snowstorm]

I am not surprised. 2.4-5.8ghz signals are strightly LOS, and are noisy bands used by lots of other things.

My Mavic 1 pro gets about 2.5km with LOS in the suburbs flying near 400ft AGL. If I don’t have good LOS, I loose signal within 100m like on the other side of the street. I’ve gotten it to 4km away over the ocean in the Caribbean but there was no signal around and I have perfect LOS from the beach, signal still good but battery demands return after taking pictures out there.

 

[SpyderSkeets]

My antennas were oriented properly. In fact, I experimented with different orientations because the short range surprised me. I was flying from a bridge which was approximately half the height of the trees and then was flying above the trees, so the "only" (note the quotes) obstruction was the tops of the trees, so it wasnt a perfectly clean LOS, but I don't think it was "dense vegetation". I guess I was expecting better.

 

[gnirtS]

Tops of trees will do it. We're dealing with 2.4Ghz microwave here. They'll eat a signal. You need line of sight.

 

[aokusman]

All you have to do is find somewhere to fly with less structures blocking the signal.

 

[Jim Flannery K0UNX]

sar104 and gnirtS are absolutely correct. It doesn't take very much vegetation to attenuate a microwave signal. Get the altitude above that vegetation and try again. I've flown my original Phantom 4 out to 6 kM, but if I got even the top leaves of a tree in the way, I'd be losing signal. Just got the Mavic 2 Pro in, and haven't given it any distance tests yet. Very impressed with the clarity and color recording.

 

[gnirtS]

Also remember since they removed precision landing, if you do lose signal and are unable to get it back (trees or whatever) it'll likely return home then crash INTO those trees as it tries to land "somewhere within 20ft" of takeoff.

 

[AnchorageAk]

I on the other hand have been very impressed with the the range. I can go as far, and lower then with by P4P with amps. There are building a road where I fly. I flew up near the opposite end, dropped down to about 25 feet and flew the road all the way back to me at the other end. I couldn't see the road, or drone. Trees where in the way. The road was closed. I will try to post a video.

 

[doobry]

I work for a cellphone company, can attest to how much of a PITA trees are for any kind of RF signal. Especially when they are full of wet leaves!!

 

[7thstring]

Tryi getting a Lamborghini and complain it doesn't reach 350km/h in the city, even though it's advertised.
Yeah. All comments are fine. However, the point is that the distance is theoretical and 2km are anyway already an awful lot, unless you lived in the middle of nowhere and flying as distant as possible was your only reason for fun. Fact is, you should be almost keeping LOS at all times (okay, within reason). And if you needed autonomous long-distance flying for professional purposes (allowed by your regulation), then you should get a WWAN drone (4G/LTE) or at least a professional POI software (or litchi, ouch).
Even if you managed to fly 8km away you would need someone else with a 2nd remote at the other end or land the drone there, because there would be no way for the drone to come back unless trying your luck with sports mode both ways (certainly not with RTH).
With my MPP, which only has 1 minute less autonomy, the few times I managed to get beyond 4m (yes beacuse I was bored, on holiday, in the mountains, full LOS but beyond visibility of course) I always returned with a 20% battery left and an accelerated heartbeat in... sports mode (not that I cared about losing the drone, I cared mostly about the damages it coudl have caused if running out of battery).