Signal loss with Air 2

[RParker762]

Recently took my Air 2 on a trip to Iowa and had a family member ask me to fly around his old farm. Around the farm went great with no issues. Decided to fly over and check out a couple of their friends farms. Had spotters along the way but when I got to about 2.5 miles away, I decided to turn around and come back as my battery was at 50%. As soon as I turned the drone to face me, I lost video signal. I was 170' up. I tried gaining altitude before the RC disconnected and that didn't work. Let it start returning to home and it did not regain video or RC signal until it got to about 2 miles out. I did have some trees between me and the drone but signal was perfect all the way out. Has anyone experienced signal loss when the drone is facing you?

 

[StantonZ]

This is very normal behavior: RF propagation doesn't always make sense.

 

[Capt KO]

Next time, turn it back around and fly backwards. Antenna location on the drone may be the cause. If anything else (trees) are in the way, it will be worse.

 

[Macinfo]

The distances that DJI notes that their drones can fly are under very optimal conditions, which I don't think are very clearly defined.

Altitude can make a difference, the higher you are, the less chances of an obstacle of some sort interfering with the signal.. There is of course, even if you're seemingly in the country, there could be something generating interference.

 

[tlswift58]

Signals come and go with the wind. Since we don't know exactly your flight pattern and how high you flew out at over the trees, coming back at about 150 ft with trees in between can create signal loss. Hopefully you have RTH set up to ascend to a decent height (above tree top level) to make it safely home if you lose signal for longer than it takes for the drone to initiate RTH on it's own (some have mentioned about 10 or so seconds of loss).

I do hope you are aware that having spotters placed outside your immediate area do not qualify for VLOS. If you had done the TRUST test, you'd know that. A spotter next to you is acceptable to the FAA. Would have been smarter to change your location versus trying to fly the drone 2.5 miles out and risk loss of the drone.

Highly suggest taking the TRUST test and learning many of the basic rules (FAA) for flying - as they don't change simply because you are out in middle of nowhere versus in a town / city. Being a responsible pilot is something all of us have to keep in mind or as many have seen who have been flying for years know the FAA and governments (local and state) will take matters into their own hands and restrict us further.

 

[RParker762]

Signals come and go with the wind. Since we don't know exactly your flight pattern and how high you flew out at over the trees, coming back at about 150 ft with trees in between can create signal loss. Hopefully you have RTH set up to ascend to a decent height (above tree top level) to make it safely home if you lose signal for longer than it takes for the drone to initiate RTH on it's own (some have mentioned about 10 or so seconds of loss).

I do hope you are aware that having spotters placed outside your immediate area do not qualify for VLOS. If you had done the TRUST test, you'd know that. A spotter next to you is acceptable to the FAA. Would have been smarter to change your location versus trying to fly the drone 2.5 miles out and risk loss of the drone.

Highly suggest taking the TRUST test and learning many of the basic rules (FAA) for flying - as they don't change simply because you are out in middle of nowhere versus in a town / city. Being a responsible pilot is something all of us have to keep in mind or as many have seen who have been flying for years know the FAA and governments (local and state) will take matters into their own hands and restrict us further.

Had 3 spotters all in constant contact via radio, and one in a truck with about 6 kids in the back following it. Which seems more responsible than having one guy next to me, and a lot more responsible than 90% of the people who do distance tests on Youtube. Only crossed 2 country roads when clear and worse case scenario, I would have dumped it into a corn field. I know how to fly responsibly. I appreciate the concern. Just didn't want to clutter up my post when I just wanted to get some opinions.

I would have assumed that since the antenna are in the front legs, turning around and facing, more or less, the controller should have kept a good signal. I figured there'd be a glitch when facing 90 degrees to the controller but the signal dropped completely.

 

[tlswift58]

Had 3 spotters all in constant contact via radio, and one in a truck with about 6 kids in the back following it. Which seems more responsible than having one guy next to me, and a lot more responsible than 90% of the people who do distance tests on Youtube. Only crossed 2 country roads when clear and worse case scenario, I would have dumped it into a corn field. I know how to fly responsibly. I appreciate the concern. Just didn't want to clutter up my post when I just wanted to get some opinions.

I would have assumed that since the antenna are in the front legs, turning around and facing, more or less, the controller should have kept a good signal. I figured there'd be a glitch when facing 90 degrees to the controller but the signal dropped completely.

I'm not here to argue what the FAA says. If you have a beef with spotters then you have to take that up the FAA. As with other rules about VLOS / etc. None of us "like" the rules with VLOS and more; yet the FAA dictates those policies and we are supposed to abide by them or else face the consequences if caught. As for YouTube - you fully see that many people DO NOT follow the rules and many may not even live in the USA; so their rules in that country may not be as extreme. That is WHY the FAA and local / state governments are restricting us even more, which is unfair in so many respects. Yet, they are also loosening some rules, yet it requires knowing what you can and cannot do in those scenarios. While flying over a cornfield would be less likely to hurt someone or cause damage - try translating that into a city where people do try the same thing.

As for the antennae - should be facing the general direction of the drone and pointed more up in the air versus down towards the ground which is a typical angle most of us have trying to run the controller and watch the screen as well.

Expecting to fly 2.5 miles in one direction is a stretch for the best drones, even if the maker says it can - under optimal conditions.