Should i get a FCC Mavic Mini or a CE?

[asantaga]

Hey all,

I know this FCC vs CE discussion has been had before, but I have one question.
I regularly go to the US and I could purchase a Mavic Mini out there. This was my original plan as I thought the devices were the same but changes tx pwr based on where they were in the world.

Alas as we now know the us variant is different to the CE one in that it only supports 5.8Ghz, so if I have it back in the UK my gut feeling is that with the lower power, the 5.8Ghz wont give as much range as the CE MM since it can use 2.4Ghz.

Is this correct? or is it still a good idea to get a US one so that when Im abroad in the US at least I have the full power?

My gut feeling is telling me (unless I hack it to use FCC power in EU which isnt legal) I would actually be better off with the CE version for range/signal stability etc. There is also the the LOS thing..

What are we all thinking now the MM has been out a while and people have had a good play?

thanks all

 

[lannes]

The FCC version only uses 5.8ghz , so to use it in the UK will mean that it will be reduced to CE power levels using 5.8 ghz , from what I've read this will give you a maximum of 500m

The CE version on the other hand uses either 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz which means that if there is no interference it can theoretically reach 2km using the 2.4ghz frequency.

So unless you hack the FCC, I think the CE model is a safer bet in the CE countries

 

[asantaga]

My gut feeling was the same.. I know you can "hack" the MM today (bit of a faf though) but I wouldn't be surprised if DJI find a way to stop it from working..

I think they made the FCC version without 2.4Ghz on purpose. I think they reckoned that with FCC power 5.8Ghz is good enough and by not putting 2.4Ghz in the device they would either a) save money and b) stop people in non fcc countries purchasing it..

The only thing I did see from a video on quadricottero (Italian drone utube), was that the FCC device in CE had higher power in 5.8Ghz vs the CE version with 5.8Ghz (all legal)...However the MM CE can be made to use a higher (not FCC higher) mode by using fake GPS

But setting the MM into FCC mode is a bit of a faff, considering I'll be mostly in CE countries I'll probably go with the CE MM, after all there is this old Line of sight thing and the MM is tiny!

 

[OldGuy]

Hey all,

I know this FCC vs CE discussion has been had before, but I have one question.
I regularly go to the US and I could purchase a Mavic Mini out there. This was my original plan as I thought the devices were the same but changes tx pwr based on where they were in the world.

Alas as we now know the us variant is different to the CE one in that it only supports 5.8Ghz, so if I have it back in the UK my gut feeling is that with the lower power, the 5.8Ghz wont give as much range as the CE MM since it can use 2.4Ghz.

Is this correct? or is it still a good idea to get a US one so that when Im abroad in the US at least I have the full power?

My gut feeling is telling me (unless I hack it to use FCC power in EU which isnt legal) I would actually be better off with the CE version for range/signal stability etc. There is also the the LOS thing..

What are we all thinking now the MM has been out a while and people have had a good play?

thanks all

I did exactly what you are thinking about and got hold of an FCC Mavic Mini just before Christmas.


I took it out and flew it from my favourite hill. The first flights petered out at around or just over 500 m as expected. I then did the fake GPS thing and flew twice again each time exceeding 1 km with no loss of signal. I would have carried out more tests but it grew very cold and a strong wind was threatening.
So far I have not been able to do any further flying but with fake GPS the FCC version looks like it will have an increased range over the CE version.

 

[RichardGunawan]

Is there any suggestions for iPhone user to spoof the location so CE mode can turn to FCC mode? I tried iTools 4 on Mac to fake iPhone location and it worked perfectly, sadly the app is only a 1-day trial.

 

[WithTheBirds]

If your phone is jailbroken there are a few options. With some you can even specify which apps use your fake GPS position.

 

[asantaga]

hey @OldGuy ,

So given the CE version does around 1000m ( and the MM is tiny) would you recommend getting the US version or stick with the CE version?