have a quick question regarding range, I can only really get 700 metres from. My mini before the signal starts to go, today it lost signal. All together started flying back and landed in a field fail safe return didn't kick in at all, is there anythi g I should be doing to improve range as some videos on YouTube have the drone flying 3 or 4 miles from the user?
Good morning Steven,
The range of the CE model is about 2 km. You can get more or you can get less based on several factors like:
a) Where you fly it (Rural or urban areas). Rural translates to minimal or zero interference from other WiFi signals and Urban translates to noisy environment with lots on interference from others.
b) The frequency band. On 2.4 Ghz you have 2 km range and on 5.8 Ghz you get about 500m range.
c) Antenna positioning. If the antenna is positioned according to the
manual on page 29, the signal propagation is optimal. The flat surface of the antenna needs to be 90C (perpendicular) to the Drone.
As for what you see on YouTube:
1. Those who achieved these numbers with 2 Km in CE and 4 KM in FCC or even a couple of hundred meters more are flying stock, and they fly where there is zero interference (rural) and have the antennas oriented in the optimal way.
2. Those who fly more are using mods like directional panel antennas and amplifiers. With these you can achieve a lot more. You can see several threads in this forum like this example
Mavic Mini LR with 2.4/5.8G booster
As for the other point of RTH failing, please read the manual on Page 12 and 13. Depending on of the given situation of what you saw, you might find an explanation, otherwise, please share your log and some Log expert will take a look. The procedure of finding and uploading is can be found here:
Flight log retrieval and analysis guide
I'm just curious how 3 or 4 miles the drone could be seen. I guess in flat terrain like desert miles would be safe enough to avoid signal interference.
Well, on a sunny or clouded day, you just can't. Or at least not without a strobe and very good eyesight. Several users have posted about this, I myself included as I am not wearing glasses, consider to have a good eyesight according to the annual tests and still fail to see it in the sky on a sunny day at 300m distance as it blends in perfectly.
Examples:
Is it worth putting strobes on your drone for day light flying?
mavicpilots.com
Hi, Any recommend strobes for the MM. Thanks
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Hello friends, Last week I flew my Mini in the park on a sunny day with clear skies. Everything was fabulous until I lost VLOS with the drone, even if it was not far or too high. The Mini with its gray color does blend in very nice with the sky and you can just lose it. Long story short, at...
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Using a Flytron Strobon strobe, I super-glued one of those micro usb tips that comes with the quick attach cables for android phones etc. It does not seem to affect compass. Can calibrate as normal. The bonus is its lightweight and can be removed without leaving anything on the drone like...
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