Concerned about range . . .

[mkaiserco]

I took my Vision out this morning for its first flight. I've had a Phantom 1 for only about four months so far, but I've been very impressed with its range . . . the Phantom 1, that is.

As suggested, I did adjust the Vision's controller potentiometer before flying, and confirmed the change "took"--by hearing the two beeps when powering on the controller.

I was surprised when my Vision lost connectivity and said it was "Going Home". So surprised that I forgot to check to see how far away it was. When it went into Failsafe mode, it actually had to go up to reach 20 meters, so it was lower than that when it lost signal. And it was only about 10 meters away from me horizontally. No problem, I was able to regain control as it descended.

But 30 meters isn't anywhere close to 300 meters. I'll try again tomorrow, but I'm a little gun-shy now. I'm not feeling very good about the range on this thing.

If anyone has suggestions about how I can conduct a decent test, one with a little more science involved, I'm open to hearing them. Meanwhile, I'd like to hear what others have experienced.

Mike

 

[Low On Cash]

Im hearing about range problems everywhere on the web, whats going on did they just release this thing knowing there was a problem. I have one coming and its going right back I will not deal with this 50 ft range ripoff deal.

 

[MikeON]

Has anyone that received their Vision found the range anywhere near the 300m advertised?

 

[mkaiserco]

Here's a followup to my post yesterday . . .

Today I tried again and had no loss of signal. Nothing was different other than I started further away from my house than yesterday. Maybe yesterday the iPhone briefly hopped onto my home Wi-Fi network and left the Vision.

Today the Vision was slightly over 400 feet away from the controller. Tomorrow, I'll push it some more and see what happens.

Mike

 

[Multicopterbat]

DJI shipped one presample for testing and I did fly at least 300 meters with it. I didnt measure this but as Ive been flying at the same place with different multcopters for dozens of times and know the place very well, I can with 100% certainty confirm that the range was at least 300 meters.

The only issue I had was with video range. I flew around that mentioned 300 m and then turned behind trees and immediately it lost video connection. Used to deal with bad FPV signals this wasnt a big problem, but it certainly makes the flying a lot interesting. However, videolinks tend to have strange symptoms. Its not that obvious that the more transmitting power you have the more range it gives. Its all about antennas and how you point them, what frequency channel you use and what weather you have. Ive flown 1.2km with 200mw transmitter one day and next week had problems with same setup already after few hundred meters.

Range extender certainly plays a huge role here. In case its not working correctly, I can imagine it will mean trouble. I also managed to connect to camera directly, without understanding initially that you need to connect to Phantom 1xxxxx wifi network instead. This naturally has nothing to do with radio range, but the 10+ times Ive flown with Vision, no problem with radio range, some problems with FPV signal yes.

 

[vbluguitar]

Same for me. Crappy vid signal but no problems with main radio. Not a big issue for me yet as I am using it as a cam and not for FPV. Gonna try some open places tomorrow.

 

[Bwells]

Here's a followup to my post yesterday . . .

Today I tried again and had no loss of signal. Nothing was different other than I started further away from my house than yesterday. Maybe yesterday the iPhone briefly hopped onto my home Wi-Fi network and left the Vision.

Today the Vision was slightly over 400 feet away from the controller. Tomorrow, I'll push it some more and see what happens.

Mike

I was having some issues connecting the camera when I was around my home network. I could take pictures, video, but there was no first person view, only the results in the camera roll. If you are flying close to a network that your device automatically connects to, I would suggest changing the settings to forget the nearby networks. I did this and everything was operating fine after.

 

[Firestat]

My other hobby is ham radio, and it is all about the propagation and antenna polarization. Some radio bands are better during the morning, afternoon, and evening. Bands are also affected by the weather. Sometimes I can talk to Europe on a single watt but can't talked to a neighboring state on 1500 watts. Antenna polarization can be a problem with the Phantom as it is usually moving and changing the polarization, causing a possible disconnect. Could also be interference from surronding buildings, trees, etc. A lot of factors play into the range.

In short, it is probably best to fly in an open area, like at a model aircraft field or a large park.

Just my 2 cents

 

[uncle fester]

I am pretty disappointed with the wifi range.as soon as it goes behind a tree or building the wifi cuts out.pretty much if I don't have the copter in a line of sight with my controller it shits it self.i also got it on the lowest immage setting so it's really blurry a swell ahhh! I'm thinking bout buying a really powerfull wifi booster? Just not sure if it will work with the vision?

 

[MikeON]

My Vision arrived yesterday evening and I took it to treetop level in the dark. This morning I took it to a long narrow field and got 990 feet out of the wifi with intermittent loss starting about 800 feet. This was clear line of sight. It seems to make a big difference having the range extender pointed just right. I then took it about 600' straight above me with no loss of signal. I didn't go higher because I couldn't see the red/green LEDs at that height.

 

[Firestat]

I was just wondering if you mounted the range extender on a 10 foot pole, if that might help extend the range. It would have to be able to commuicate with the Ipod, but since most of us pretty much stay in one place while we are flying, it just might work.

I just don't know how far the Ipod can be away from the range extender. I just might try it if the weather gets better around here.

Cheers

 

[Jax Quad]

I've had very good luck with my range. I fly out over 900 feet regularly. Last night my buddy and I tried to set a record so we flew straight up to over 1250 feet before we lost our video signal. That is a lot higher than I would normally go. It was a perfectly clear, quiet night.

 

[vbluguitar]

Hmm, maybe I got a dud. I lose wifi anywhere over 150 feet, and I lose the main radio over 160 feet line of sight. I have tried several different locations and 200 feet would never even happen. I am very concerned that there is something wrong with my vision.

 

[Pull_Up]

It might be your unit. I've had mine out to over 1000ft horizontal whilst 120ft high with a good wifi signal the whole time. This was over open farmland with clear line of sight and no trees, bushes or other obstacles between me and the aircraft, though.

 

[vbluguitar]

1000 feet? Man, I was over open farmland today and I couldn't get 100 feet away without the controller glitching and going into RTM mode, sometimes less than 50 feet away. Ironically the WiFi was working just fine. I was 15 miles from the nearest town so I am just flabbergasted.

 

[SCADAMON]

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... 29&page=21

 

[vbluguitar]

Issue seems to be resolved.

I updated my controller (had to remove all 4 screws and carefully remove the antennae) which wasn't mentioned in any of the documentation (rolls eyes). Thank fully someone posted photos on how to do this. I went flying today. Was able to get over 900 feet away at a height of 270 feet before it started losing signal. WiFi range was about the same as the controller and I didn't lose signal, though it got choppy right before I lost control signal.

Don't forget that many things affect range - Weather, sun spots, local towers and so forth. This location worked really well and I think the update may have fixed something. Also, even though I had my controller set to fcc using the bottom control pot on the back of the radio, the software said it was ce, so I changed it in the software too. That may have been the issue all along.

If you are having short range issues with the controller (not WiFi) be sure to update the firmware and check the software for ce vs fcc. Hope that helps.

As stated before, be sure the wifi box is pointed straight at the quad and you should be able to go pretty far away, but if you lose line of site at distance, you will probably lose signal.

 

[mmkbos]

Can you tell me where you found the instructions for updating the controller?

 

[ajrider007]

Well, I just muddled through the upgrade but have yet to test it out. Tonight was the first time I had to rely on the unit to find it's way back. . .

Well as stated, I removed the 4 screws in the back of the remote, then you have to separate the halves at the base of the remote and slide the top section out of the antenna collar being careful not to pull on the wires connecting the batteries to the unit. Once apart a micro USB port can be found on the main component board.

Using the USB cable and the DJI Phantom RC Assistant software, check for updates which it will download and then it will ask you if you want to install them.

I got a little worried because mine apparently had a problem on the first go around and told me to cycle the power which I did, but the unit seemed dead, no light, no beep, "Oh big pile of fecal matter..."

Well with the power switch in the on position, I tried it again and this time it was successful and was instructed to cycle power again and wahla, it's alive and presumably updated.

Hope this helps

 

[yali]

Has anyone that received their Vision found the range anywhere near the 300m advertised?

I got my vision 2 last friday, and tried today. The range is too short, it is about 150 meters or 450 feet, only have of what they claimed. I lost control several times, but video never lost. wondering what I can do to increase range