Range problem

endless_shutters · Sep 27, 2018

clarxion said:
That's strange.. my mz with FCC mode can travel 3km more without single glitch on very dense urban area.

Using stock antenna + windsurfer

Are you using dual or 2.4 or 5.8?

I've tried both without much change. This test was in auto (dual)

clarxion · Sep 28, 2018

Can you show us screenshot for signal quality graph?

Elton Hammonds · Sep 28, 2018

noosaguy said:
Well I don't know where you are but I imagine you're breaking the law. But as a matter of interest, how did you have your antennas positioned?

Nope. No laws broken here. I don't have an amp mounted to it.

eukaryote · Sep 28, 2018

endless_shutters said:
Certainly a possibility. I still expected longer range tho, especially after hearing reports of 15k+ flights and seeing videos suggesting same. One video showed a guy that far out in a dense city environment.

Have you made sure you've enabled dual channel switching automatically?

Have a look at the signal map, a feature available in the remote tab of the Go app. Maybe see how much interference there is at the outer limits of range?

endless_shutters · Sep 28, 2018

eukaryote said:
Have you made sure you've enabled dual channel switching automatically?

Have a look at the signal map, a feature available in the remote tab of the Go app. Maybe see how much interference there is at the outer limits of range?

Good idea. Will try this

endless_shutters · Sep 28, 2018

clarxion said:
Can you show us screenshot for signal quality graph?

Is there a way to see a log of this in the flight data?

jwt873 · Sep 28, 2018

To rule out local interference, hop in the car and go out to a rural setting. See what the range is with no (or few) houses and buildings around. If you have problems there, then it's a good chance you have a transmitter/receiver problem.

I'm still in shakedown mode right now so I'm taking it easy. I want to let everything 'break in' before I do any real distance trials.

Yesterday I was up 200 feet and out 6300 feet (just over a mile). I had solid picture with full bars on the receive indicator. I do live in the country so interference isn't a factor for me.

endless_shutters · Sep 28, 2018

jwt873 said:
To rule out local interference, hop in the car and go out to a rural setting. See what the range is with no (or few) houses and buildings around. If you have problems there, then it's a good chance you have a transmitter/receiver problem.

I'm still in shakedown mode right now so I'm taking it easy. I want to let everything 'break in' before I do any real distance trials.

Yesterday I was up 200 feet and out 6300 feet (just over a mile). I had solid picture with full bars on the receive indicator. I do live in the country so interference isn't a factor for me.

I will try that, but something doesn't seem right... I consistently lose signal around 3000 ft out and it initiated a return to home response.

endless_shutters · Sep 28, 2018

Lost signal right at this point. Around 4000 ft out, 395 ft up.

endless_shutters · Sep 28, 2018

Opened a chat dialog with DJI. They told me to try to factory reset and refresh firmware with DJI Assistant 2. If it doesn't fix it it may need "manual repair".

No option to factory reset the drone, but I did the refresh.

Factory reset failed on the RC, will refresh and try again.

Will do some more tests and see. If no improvement I may have to send it in. I'll keep this updated

Noleafclover1337 · Sep 29, 2018

endless_shutters said:
Thanks... I won't be doing that again. I am genuinely concerned with the signal range. I've lost signal a few times at under 2000ft away under the 400ft ceiling.

Asking if this is normal or if I should be contacting DJI...

It’s not normal, this is a known issue. Send it in to DJI.

Tzonny · Sep 29, 2018

clarxion said:
Are you in FCC or CE country?

Im in uk and i got 2.8 miles in open unobstructed area,in ce mode[emoji106]

MavicPro1966 · Sep 29, 2018

Check your settings maybe you have geo fence on? And try flying out in a open area.

endless_shutters · Sep 29, 2018

Geo locking is off.

I did the firmware refresh as suggested by DJI. No improvements...

Here are the screenshots. Lost signal again

LV2FLY · Sep 29, 2018

I’ve seen numerous reports of ranges in excess of 15,000 feet posted without a problem. That being said, what I’ve seen in your post appears to be a nominal flying environment. The signal to noise ratio in your last posted does not appear to be a factor. I assume you’re facing the direction the Mavic is flying with both antennas in an unobstructed and vertical position.

The most obvious question would be is your view of the Mavic a completely unobstructed view? No, trees, branches, bush’s, buildings etc. Do you have any cell towers, radio stations or other sources of RF interference near you or within proximity of the flight path? Finally, if you move to a location greater than 5 miles away to test, does the problem follow. Is the problem location based or equipment based?

If all of those responses are negative, then I would consider either the controller or the Mavic to have a problem. Do you know anyone with a Mavic that you could test with another controller? (Isolate the problem to a controller or Mavic issue.) This also could be nothing more than a shielding issue internal to one of both devices. Internal noise generated from the CPU’s may be causing interference to the RF deck of the receiver(s). It could be something as simple as a “cold” or “cracked” solder joint on a RF cable or RF internal board. There could be numerous problems all manifesting themselves in a shorter than normal operating range.

At the of the day if the problem is not externally based, I’d send it back to DJI for warranty repair. The Mavic has so much data stored internally it will be obvious to DJI there is something wrong. Good Luck!

endless_shutters · Sep 29, 2018

LV2FLY said:
I’ve seen numerous reports of ranges in excess of 15,000 feet posted without a problem. That being said, what I’ve seen in your post appears to be a nominal flying environment. The signal to noise ratio in your last posted does not appear to be a factor. I assume you’re facing the direction the Mavic is flying with both antennas in an unobstructed and vertical position.

The most obvious question would be is your view of the Mavic a completely unobstructed view? No, trees, branches, bush’s, buildings etc. Do you have any cell towers, radio stations or other sources of RF interference near you or within proximity of the flight path? Finally, if you move to a location greater than 5 miles away to test, does the problem follow. Is the problem location based or equipment based?

If all of those responses are negative, then I would consider either the controller or the Mavic to have a problem. Do you know anyone with a Mavic that you could test with another controller? (Isolate the problem to a controller or Mavic issue.) This also could be nothing more than a shielding issue internal to one of both devices. Internal noise generated from the CPU’s may be causing interference to the RF deck of the receiver(s). It could be something as simple as a “cold” or “cracked” solder joint on a RF cable or RF internal board. There could be numerous problems all manifesting themselves in a shorter than normal operating range.

At the of the day if the problem is not externally based, I’d send it back to DJI for warranty repair. The Mavic has so much data stored internally it will be obvious to DJI there is something wrong. Good Luck!

Thank you very much for the well though out response. The drone was launched from a position with no visible obstructions in line of sight. As far as I know, there aren't any cell or radio towers close by.

Unfortunately I don't know any drone owner s that could assist with a test swap so if there is a problem, DJI will have to determine the root cause.

I've tested from a beach an hour away from me with signal loss at the same distance. I'll be traveling about 70 miles north tonight and will try there if I have an opportunity to launch the drone for a few minutes.

I am hesitant to send it back because th camera seems to be a good copy with consistent focus and edge sharpness. Range is equally if not more important to me, so if it is defective I'll have to take my chances with DJI warranty support.

To be continued...

endless_shutters · Sep 30, 2018

Took off again today. This time from a beach on the coast. I was able to fly over 16,000 ft away and still had a steady stream and 3 bars on the RC. I probably could've kept going but the return flight was against the wind and I wasn't going to risk it.

I guess I can rule out hardware problems. There must have been some interference present in the previous take off locations. Will try to test again on a less windy day but I feel pretty confident now that my copy can travel far in perfect conditions.