howardK
Well-Known Member
I still fly an M1P and frankly i do enjoy it. Any thoughts on simple mods or different controllers I could use to increase range? I also fly out over open water or sometimes in the desert.
Thoughts on this range extended N1 controller?
- Thread starter wrybread
- Start date
For years I have used Alientech signal boosters on my DJI drones. At the moment my RC-N1 remote is fitted with an Alientech Pro 2.4G booster for my Mini 2 and newly acquired Mini 3. This is a quality product which works very well giving excellent range etc. The downside is that it is expensive and requires an electronics specialist to fit it to the remote ALIENTECH 2.4G/5.8G Antenna Signal booster long Range extender f DJII fly over open ocean with my Mini 3 Pro in FCC mode, and am trying to get a bit more range. And sometimes I fly from inside my car and would love to get the antenna outside the car when going long distances. I've been seeing pics of N1 controllers with antenna mods, and just found one on eBay. Any idea if this is likely to get significantly better range?
DJI Mavic Mini Remote Control - Black for sale online | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DJI Mavic Mini Remote Control - Black at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Any other mods or built out controllers to try?
That's what I'm hoping to be able to do (mount the antenna high up). if that were possible it would be worth the price of admission for me. What type of cabling did you use?
yeah...those are 'amazing' distances that are kind of hard to believe. Kind of like the MPG guys claim to get on their diesel pickups
there are youtube videos of guys using those same range extenders and they generally give about a 10% boost to distance
but that is so far beyond VLOS it's kind of crazy. The most I've ever done is about 3 miles, but that was in the high eastern Oregon desert and there was nobody at all for miles around...not even campers. I wouldn't do that again, especially not with remote ID
Since your new at the mod/extended antennas keep in mind that most are directional, and there are some that are omni directional. The two act differently. Be careful at range with the directional as the beam off the signal will be narrower. If you turn slightly and don't have the antennas pointed at the drone, you can lose your connection.
You are 1,000% correct. The main issue is the drone transmit power. I have tried everything on one of my modded controllers and have spent a considerable amount of time and money, even purchasing the alientec $500 amplified antenna. The issue becomes the drones transmission power. I am gonna install a 2.5w amp in my drone from NLD but haven't gotten around to it uet
Were you using this one?
ALIENTECH 2.4G&5.8G Dual Band antenna of omnidirectional with QMA quick release for Modified DJI drones controller
The antenna is 2.4G&5.8G dual-frequency band omnidirectional, 4dBi gain, with QMA quick release.
alienth.cn
I'm hoping if nothing else the freedom to get better antenna placement will be a big improvement. I get less reception when facing away from the drone, or if the drone is at my hips, or I'm in my car.
If external antennas help with that, fantastic. And if I can mount those antennas up on a pole, even better. I have to figure out which cabling to use though, and it probably won't be cheap.
As far as the amp, which drone are you putting that in? I wonder if it works in the mini 3 pro.
Last edited:
Apologies, i am not suggesting drone transmit power is the only thing that matters. What I meant to say is you can add external antennas as well as signal boosters and they will help. However, this mainly helps increasing the signal to the drone and will only go so far. Then the challenge becomes the drone signal to the controller. Amplified antennas will increase receive gain a bit but not enoughWere you using this one?
ALIENTECH 2.4G&5.8G Dual Band antenna of omnidirectional with QMA quick release for Modified DJI drones controller
The antenna is 2.4G&5.8G dual-frequency band omnidirectional, 4dBi gain, with QMA quick release.
If the only issue is drone transmit power, why does antenna placement matter when I'm flying? Why do I get less reception when facing away from the front than facing it? And less reception when the controller is at my hips than up high? And less when I'm inside my car?
If external antennas help with that, fantastic. And if I can mount those antennas up on a pole, even better.
As far as the amp, which drone are you putting that in? I wonder if it works in the mini 3 pro.
No, this one
alienth.cn
ALIENTECH DUO II Signal Booster Antenna of Dual band
ALIENTECH DUO 2 antenna is a 2.4G+5.8G signal booster with power amplifier, which applies to all DJI Drones, include UAV of Mavic Pro/zoom/Mini/Platinum/Enterprise, Phantom 3/4 A/Advanced/Pro, Inspire 1/2 Pro, Matrice, Smart Controller, Cendence. Parrot Anafi, Autel EVO/II/PRO, etc. Buy Now!
alienth.cn
ok...just from discussions here, and from what I've learned, and from common sense, and I may be wrong:No, this one
ALIENTECH DUO II Signal Booster Antenna of Dual band
ALIENTECH DUO 2 antenna is a 2.4G+5.8G signal booster with power amplifier, which applies to all DJI Drones, include UAV of Mavic Pro/zoom/Mini/Platinum/Enterprise, Phantom 3/4 A/Advanced/Pro, Inspire 1/2 Pro, Matrice, Smart Controller, Cendence. Parrot Anafi, Autel EVO/II/PRO, etc. Buy Now!
that extender, and just about all of them are one way boosters. They boost output signal from the controller, and may boost reception some..
but they do nothing for the drone. The drone's power of transmission and reception remains the same. That probably explains why the consensus seems to be you'll get a 15-20% boost in range (there are always extreme claims hard to find credible). And, many of the extender reviews I've seen are for drones with Ocuysinc 2.0, not 3.0
also....isn't Alientech a Chinese company? Make sure you don't by direct otherwise good luck enforcing any warranty
Almost all round trips. 16.3km x 2 with the Mavic 3 is the 32.6km flight.
View attachment 164620
Stock RC, stock aircraft and battery, all shown on video getting over 12km out.
You are exactly right. The drone needs to be boosted or you are pretty much wasting your time. Which is what I found out after trying everything and spending lots of money....unfortunately
As long as the band is clear at the RC it will pick up the drones signal. At long ranges, ground based interference won't be picked up by the RC, and an amplified RC signal can be received by the drone.
NightFlightAlright
Well-Known Member
1) the real limiting factor for range is the drone, not the controller.
2) regardless, signal always decreases by the square of the distance. There is no free lunch.
Ants and Antennas
An antenna, being a passive device, can not add power to a signal, but it can direct the available power in a more concentrated way. The trade-off there is less Omni and more directional, which is problematic for a handheld device, or for a device that moves a lot.
As it happens, drones move a lot.
So while a nifty cool looking antenna may increase relative strength by forming a “beam”, if that beam is not pointed at the target, the result is actually lower signal than would have been had without.
Amped up…
On the receive end of an antenna, even adding things like a signal amplifier are of dubious use. Receivers already have sensitive signal amplification. Add-on “signal boosters” mostly add-in more noise to the signal, which is rarely helpful.
So, amping up the transmit side is what we sort of want… but… keep in mind that in a two-way situation, higher transmit power increases unwanted noise on the receive side…
Multi pass!
Raw signal strength is not the only issue. We want high signal to noise ratio at each receiver. Paradoxically, high signal strength can result in some forms of increased noise — multipath for example, a phenomenon where a strong signal interferes with itself as it bounces off buildings, creating “echos” that interfere with the primary signal. And guess what? Increasing the primary power also increases these.
TL;DR
In short, there’s no free lunch and the limiting physics are not going to be effectively circumvented outside of some seriously considered, full-system modification.
——
In my case, the tall buildings of DTLA are the show stopper-going behind a 300’ tall monolith of concrete and steel isn’t going to be helped much by a fancy directional antenna IMO… though I am wondering if a highly directional rig could bounce signal off a nearby building… but I’m not going to risk losing my drone to find out…
2) regardless, signal always decreases by the square of the distance. There is no free lunch.
Ants and Antennas
An antenna, being a passive device, can not add power to a signal, but it can direct the available power in a more concentrated way. The trade-off there is less Omni and more directional, which is problematic for a handheld device, or for a device that moves a lot.
As it happens, drones move a lot.
So while a nifty cool looking antenna may increase relative strength by forming a “beam”, if that beam is not pointed at the target, the result is actually lower signal than would have been had without.
Amped up…
On the receive end of an antenna, even adding things like a signal amplifier are of dubious use. Receivers already have sensitive signal amplification. Add-on “signal boosters” mostly add-in more noise to the signal, which is rarely helpful.
So, amping up the transmit side is what we sort of want… but… keep in mind that in a two-way situation, higher transmit power increases unwanted noise on the receive side…
Multi pass!
Raw signal strength is not the only issue. We want high signal to noise ratio at each receiver. Paradoxically, high signal strength can result in some forms of increased noise — multipath for example, a phenomenon where a strong signal interferes with itself as it bounces off buildings, creating “echos” that interfere with the primary signal. And guess what? Increasing the primary power also increases these.
TL;DR
In short, there’s no free lunch and the limiting physics are not going to be effectively circumvented outside of some seriously considered, full-system modification.
——
In my case, the tall buildings of DTLA are the show stopper-going behind a 300’ tall monolith of concrete and steel isn’t going to be helped much by a fancy directional antenna IMO… though I am wondering if a highly directional rig could bounce signal off a nearby building… but I’m not going to risk losing my drone to find out…
lol...yeah right....I'm sure thousands of youtube viewers are flocking to this forum, this discussion, and this thread, to determine what video they click next over there...he's got 900 subscribers after all
Keep bumping this thread, you're helping the search engines.
Keywords Mavic 3 long range record
Mini 3 Pro long range record
And a shout out to Rubens for nice flight with the Mavic 3.
howardK
Well-Known Member
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