Signal on mini 3 seems awful. I am getting worried.

[Chaosrider]

with a drone the size of the Mini 3 ,this preoccupation with being able to fly it for many Kilometers is really ,for me a mute point
1k is 3,280 ft
2k is 6,561 ft
2.5k is 8,202ft
i can with reasonable certainty ,state that even at 500m there are not many people who would,even with 20-20 vision be able to see a Mini 3 or any Mini drone , at a couple of hundred feet up ,and know which way it was going ,by just seeing a dot in the sky
the most important thing for me ,is having a stable signal between the RC and drone at all times ,when i fly within the guidelines

Putting an Arc V strobe on all the other Minis makes a fairly enormous difference in how far you can see it. I'm sure it will in the case of the Mini-3 as well.

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

Ill be conducting testing, yes legally, but im really thinking that ill not bother posting results here and will prob look for somewhere else to share information

I really wish you would let us know what you find. I’m from your part of the world and I’m an RePL with extra endorsements. I do work for companies that have EVLOS included in their remote operator certificate documentation already and I’m working on my IREX now to allow BVLOS.

This forum is somewhat U.S. centric I know but surely people can accept that there are members here that come from jurisdictions that have different legislation and where distant operation is allowed in the right circumstances with the right safeguards.

That’s not to say it is easy or common place even here but the framework is in place and some of us have the certifications to employ that framework. I’d like to know if the RC N1 gives better performance at distance and it is legitimate information to share and I’m sure interesting even for those who will never fly that distance themselves.

Regards
Ari

 

[mroek]

That’s not to say it is easy or common place even here but the framework is in place and some of us have the certifications to employ that framework. I’d like to know if the RC N1 gives better performance at distance and it is legitimate information to share and I’m sure interesting even for those who will never fly that distance themselves.

Regards
Ari

A Danish youtuber did a test between the DJI RC and the RC-N1, and he didn't find any difference in range between them. Video is here:

TLDW: He reached just shy of 3 km with both, but he could possibly have pushed it a little bit more.

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

A Danish youtuber did a test between the DJI RC and the RC-N1, and he didn't find any difference in range between them. Video is here:

TLDW: He reached just shy of 3 km with both, but he could possibly have pushed it a little bit more.

Thank you for that.

 

[Dave P]

1. Most of the people who have received their drone are in the CE region. FCC regions will have better range.

2. Anything beyond 1KM is past VLOS for virtually everyone so you shouldn’t be flying it that far anyways.

I don't mean to be rude however, I wish people would stop telling others what they should and should not be doing. If you can't be helpful then dont say anything at all.

 

[old man mavic]

Putting an Arc V strobe on all the other Minis makes a fairly enormous difference in how far you can see it. I'm sure it will in the case of the Mini-3 as well.

yes the strobe does help the drone to be seen especially against a dark background i us them on my MPP
but when it comes to flying the Mini range of drones ,here in the UK ,then adding a strobe takes it out of the under 250g MTOM category, and all the advantages that this gives us,in where we can fly them ,we are not even getting the more powerful Mini 3 pro battery for that very reason
and just to add, before someone chirps in with the comment, how would anyone know that it was over 250g ,i know for sure that if that drone was the subject of an investigation, because it was found to be contravening the 250g weight rule ,then the owner of the drone and the person flying it at the time ,could be subject to a fine and even have their equipment confiscated ,
and i for one have no intention of being in that situation

 

[mavicn00b]

yes the strobe does help the drone to be seen especially against a dark background i us them on my MPP
but when it comes to flying the Mini range of drones ,here in the UK ,then adding a strobe takes it out of the under 250g MTOM category, and all the advantages that this gives us,in where we can fly them ,we are not even getting the more powerful Mini 3 pro battery for that very reason
and just to add, before someone chirps in with the comment, how would anyone know that it was over 250g ,i know for sure that if that drone was the subject of an investigation, because it was found to be contravening the 250g weight rule ,then the owner of the drone and the person flying it at the time ,could be subject to a fine and even have their equipment confiscated ,
and i for one have no intention of being in that situation

That's assuming they find the battery. Often with these drones when they crash the first thing that comes flying off is the battery..

 

[old man mavic]

@mavicn00b ,and thats assuming that it crashed ,and the battery could not be identified
a whole book of what ifs ,dont change anything

 

[Chrislaf]

Signal stability is important so I hope there is no issue with the new DJI RC controller. With regard to the Mini drones (sub 250g), in most countries you don't need a licence to fly them and because of that many people are buying them and getting into the drone hobby which is a good thing. But the real issue is that many of those people do not take the time or care to learn the rules. Sure there are people who are qualified to fly BVLOS and have the necessary documentation to do so but there are also many who do not, but do so anyway because they don't know any better and there are others who couldn't care less.

A month or so ago, I saw a guy flying a Mini 2 at our local beach. He told me he just got it. He was flying it way out of sight and bringing it back and flying it low over other people on the beach. He told me he bought the Mini 2 because he couldn't buy the Mavic 3 because he needed a licence to fly it (He was a foreign student and couldn't get a licence to fly a larger drone in Canada). Although the area he was flying in was legal to fly his drone within VLOS, it was not legal BVLOS especially because there is a hospital close by that has daily takeoff/landings of medivac helicopters. I had a friendly conversation with him about drone flying and let him know about the Transport Canada Drone Portal where he could find information on the rules for flying drones in Canada.

Some people keep complaining about being called out for range tests and flying BVLOS but on the flip side of the coin, I am getting sick and tired of all of the rules that are being gradually implemented due to all these irresponsible flights - and yes I have been flying long enough to have seen the rules become much more stringent. One last point - if you are doing a legal range test then it might help if you specify that in your post to avoid any confusion.

Chris

 

[Jorgeo65]

Does anyone know if u can use a spotter along the way to do a range test in Australia. for instance, a friend in a boat with radio contact, its no big deal to me, I only do video within 500m, but curious to see if there's a problem with connection on new drone.

 

[SpinItUp]

I'm also getting terrible signal even right above me the sticks can become unresponsive and below 500m the signal is glitchy at best
Mini3P with RM330 controller.
Shockingly poor performance
My mini2 with RM500 had no real issues and was much better, at this point I'm thinking of returning the mini3P and keeping the mini2

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

Does anyone know if u can use a spotter along the way to do a range test in Australia. for instance, a friend in a boat with radio contact, its no big deal to me, I only do video within 500m, but curious to see if there's a problem with connection on new drone.

The short answer for the vast majority of operators is “no”.

The longer answer is that under the instrument there has been two categories of EVLOS (Extended Visual Line of sight) operations defined and then BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Site).

To engage in any of these you must hold an RePL (Remote Pilots Licence) and be operating under the auspices of a ReOC (remote operators certificate) held by either an individual or organisation who’s operations manuals contain procedures including threat and error management and risk mitigation along with procedures to actually conduct these flights that have been reviewed and approved by C.A.S.A.

Even assuming that all the above is in place for one of the categories of EVLOS and for BVLOS the RePL in question must have hold an IREX instrument rating exactly the same as that needed by a manned aerial pilot.

There is some talk of this system being streamlined over the next few years but don’t hold your breath.

So, all of that taken into account … while it is possible with great planning, all you ducks in a row and all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed to conduct EVLOS and BVLOS operations in Australia the expense, time and difficulty required in setting these operations up make the likelihood of it being done for a simple range test remote in the extreme.

For perspective, I contract as an RePL for a number of companies some of who’s manuals include procedures for these flights, have conducted sanctioned EVLOS flights and am in the process of obtaining my IREX so as to be able to conduct BVLOS if required.

Hope this helps answer your questions.

Regards

Ari

 

[Cymru]

@mavicn00b ,and thats assuming that it crashed ,and the battery could not be identified
a whole book of what ifs ,dont change anything

In addition to that there are incidents of people flying in built up areas legally but the police waiting with the operator until the drone landed to check it is actually legal for that device in that category.
Which they're perfectly entitled to do.

 

[SpinItUp]

Found the reason...because I couldn't set up wifi on the controller my mobile phone's Hotspot was using power save and cutting the power...after turning that option to Never the signal is strong and stable between the RC and mini3P

 

[DTBA]

Hi, I am pretty new here.

I am looking to get myself mini 3 pro but all the range stuff is scaring me.

I have a farm thats about 12km one way and 3.5 the other and I have a massive hill in the middle where I live.

I would really love to use it cause when I am in the middle its about 5km to all the fences and water holes.

yes the rules here is relaxed, I have nothing to hit expect my own trees or myself.

Just gonna keep my eyes on the thread

 

[Deleted member 154384]

Before going into the range tests, let's study what are the constructive choices of the DJI in the radio sector of this drone so we will know what to expect.

from the channel of
Raffaello KWOS Italy

 

[archoptical]

Just sent mine up over the back garden to take some pictures of the clouds at sunset. It lost signal twice (RC interference) and tried to return to home. Directly overhead, 120m. With the new RC. Never experienced anything like that with the mini 2. Didn't even have my phone in my pocket.

 

[Bussty]

Just sent mine up over the back garden to take some pictures of the clouds at sunset. It lost signal twice (RC interference) and tried to return to home. Directly overhead, 120m. With the new RC. Never experienced anything like that with the mini 2. Didn't even have my phone in my pocket.

I was about to post your comment on the DJI forum but thought I would check as I'm bound to be quizzed but were you angling the controller directly at the drone? While all drones can suffer interference it seems the Mini 3 Pro suffers way more than previous models which is definitely not what you would have expected...

 

[Deleted member 154384]

 

[archoptical]

I was about to post your comment on the DJI forum but thought I would check as I'm bound to be quizzed but were you angling the controller directly the drone? While all drones can suffer interference it seems the Mini 3 Pro suffers way more than previous models which is definitely not what you would have expected...

Pretty much. I was looking at the screen in front of me while stood in the garden, so the antenna were naturally facing up anyway. The drone was right above me and visible. When I got the warnings, I tried to point it directly at the drone, but it didn't seem to improve the signal and then it started to return. Cancelled return to home and it seemed to pick up again for a while. The first drop out happened when I tried to lift it from about 59m upwards. When it reached 77m it said 'RC signal interference', at 84m 'weak signal. adjust antenna' and then started to drop. Never lost connection at this point, although it dropped height without any stick input. I must have cancelled RTH when it stopped dropping at about 53m (no messages about this on the flight recording). Then got it up to 120m, took some images, did a panorama, brought it down to 111m, then got another 'RC signal Interference' warning. 10 seconds later, 'Weak signal. Adjust antenna' followed by 'RC signal lost'. It then told me I was in an Altitude Zone (150m here), presumably as it reconnected, with 'RC signal interference'. Cancelled RTH at 104m and then brought it back down.

It had 21 satellites at the first event, rising to 26 for the second.