Connection Lost at 430 feet?

[Frubzy]

Hi all.... new user here, i have the v2.I did alot of research on the forums before purchasing and flying. On my 2nd flight i lost connection at around 430 feet, (connection lost appeared on the display) i remember reading somewhere that even though i lost video feed i should still have control of the bird. Unfortunately I didnt, the inputs didnt work and i assume RTH was activated. After descending a few feet the feed came back so i flipped the switch to regain control and flew normally for a few more mins before landing.... not going more than 400 feet in any direction.
My question is, is this normal behavior?
btw i flew straight up which i know might have somethig to do with the loss of connection,but 400 feet isnt that far.
It was more or less in the country side, a few houses on the street, no major interference that i can think of.

 

[rotorwash]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

Sounds like the FPV was lost but you still had control of the craft. The need for pointing the wifi booster at the craft is very important.

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

This is normal, and the distance will increase a little more each of the next 10-12 flights. The wrote the software like this so that newbies that don't read the manuals before being familiar with the quad.

 

[480sparky]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

This is normal, and the distance will increase a little more each of the next 10-12 flights. The wrote the software like this so that newbies that don't read the manuals before being familiar with the quad.

If 'they wrote the software' that way, they also certainly wrote the manual so one cannot find it there. 'Cuz I sure can't find anything in my manual that states that.

Perhaps you can tell us where it is.

 

[JJM]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

In for future comments.

 

[rotorwash]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

This is normal, and the distance will increase a little more each of the next 10-12 flights. The wrote the software like this so that newbies that don't read the manuals before being familiar with the quad.

I would like to know if this is true. I already did the stage 2 because of my distance issues

 

[Fplvert]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?


There are a few things that will limit your distance.
Antenna position is one. If the bird is directly above you, the tip of the transmitter antenna is the weakest signal. Try flying aways out in front or angle the antenna a few degrees.
Any obstruction, even trees can block your signal. If you use a tablet/pad, that can block your signal, especially directly overhead.
You should always charge your wifi extender before flying.
It's normal to lose wifi before control signal.

 

[csauer52]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

Check out the Wiki:

Powering on the Range Extender
1.Flick the power switch to the ON position.
2.Wait for approximately 30 seconds. The Wi-Fi signal indicator will blink green indicating the Range Extender is communicating properly.
3.Keep the Range Extender facing the aircraft during flight for the best communication link.

http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phanto ... e_Extender

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsNVzDvTaME[/youtube]

 

[Frubzy]

thanx alot for the reply guyz... i wasn't paying too much attention to the position of the range extender,i will definitely remember this next time...

i was most concerned because i lost control as well, not just the video feed.... the aircraft wasnt responding to my inputs, instead it started RTH......, i thought the transmitter range would be more solid... unless it started RTH as soon as it lost video?

 

[HopHopper]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

"btw i flew straight up which i know might have somethig to do with the loss of connection,but 400 feet isnt that far. "

Is there not a height restriction of 400ft coded onto the Bird?

 

[JJM]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

"btw i flew straight up which i know might have somethig to do with the loss of connection,but 400 feet isnt that far. "

Is there not a height restriction of 400ft coded onto the Bird?

That's the default limit. You can change it.

 

[HopHopper]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

Therefore it begs the question if the limit was changed.

If not

`could that not be the issue??

 

[Frubzy]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

Therefore it begs the question if the limit was changed.

If not

`could that not be the issue??

wow.... great input hop......
no this default limit was never changed.., and it happened just after i crossed 400ft, i also regained signal after descending below 400....could this be the cause?

 

[JJM]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

Therefore it begs the question if the limit was changed.

If not

`could that not be the issue??

Well I changed my limit and got the same warning because I hadn't oriented the TX antenna properly.

 

[480sparky]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

The height/distance limit does not affect the wifi repeater.

I'm still waiting for verification of this so-called 'way the software is written that you lose wifi on your first 10-12 flights', and allegedly the distance magically increases with the number of flights.

 

[Morgon]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

I'm still waiting for verification of this so-called 'way the software is written that you lose wifi on your first 10-12 flights', and allegedly the distance magically increases with the number of flights.

I wouldn't hold your breath, you still have flying to do.

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

This is normal, and the distance will increase a little more each of the next 10-12 flights. The wrote the software like this so that newbies that don't read the manuals before being familiar with the quad.

If 'they wrote the software' that way, they also certainly wrote the manual so one cannot find it there. 'Cuz I sure can't find anything in my manual that states that.

Perhaps you can tell us where it is.

I know about it from experience. I bought 3 quads last year, and I noticed starting with the 2nd quad that right out of the box my quad would get to 400ft or around that range and the Lost Connection would pop up on the monitor. I even purposely had my wife watch it take place on the last one I bought. Now she normally wouldn't get involved, but I just happen to bet that if went above 500ft I would take out to her favorite restaurant. So she watched and shook her head cause it 420ft on that one. At around 7 flights I made it to the 800-900ft zone, 10 flights was 1350ft range. and 12 seem to disable the feature cause I was at 1800-2000ft with no booster app and stock antennas. And finally adding the V+UP app allowed me to make with still stock antennas to reach 4300ft range.
As a side note: all the mentioned distances were straight up altitude numbers. I have since stopped going to those altitudes because in doing so you are right on the edge of being super easy to loose your quad, and I have spent numerous days being unsuccessful in finding my last quad that I actually watched go into a cornfield 1/8th away.

 

[rbhamilton]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

I'm sure you checked this already but there are two power levels for the transmitter. One is CE - the default - limited to 300 feet. The other is FCC which gets you about 1600 feet. That doesn't explain the loss of video feed at 430 feet but it could explain the loss of control around that mark.

Scroll down to "Compliance Version Configuration"

http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phanto ... Controller

 

[CaptainZero711]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

Also check your vertical and horizontal limits in the DJI software.

 

[480sparky]

Re: Connection Lost at 430 feet?

I know about it from experience........

If this were true, then 95% of noobs would be flooding the forum with the same question. Sorry. But a 'study of one' isn't exactly empirical proof.