Does humidity affect range?

[MasterBlaster]

Looking at my local weather forecast today it seems summer is upon us.
With summer comes high temperatures and high humidity in many places.
As I have been experimenting with range and my antenna mods, I wondered if humidity affects my range at all? (high humidity vs low humidity)
And if so, by how much?
I'd love to hear the experiences and thoughts of others on this topic.
Thanks for your insight and Happy 4th!
MB


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[RedHotPoker]

With an electric drone, humidity? Ah, probably not too much... ;-)
factors affecting the performance of aircraft
In a rain forest, it might be different though. Haha

RedHotPoker

 

[Imabiggles]

With an electric drone, humidity? Ah, probably not too much... ;-)
factors affecting the performance of aircraft
In a rain forest, it might be different though. Haha

RedHotPoker

up until the point of:

likely humidity doesnt matter significantly unless you are going for a 5mile range record or something.

 

[Meta4]

I wondered if humidity affects my range at all? (high humidity vs low humidity)
And if so, by how much?

Yes .. water eats radio waves.
Google humidity affects radio and you'll find plenty of information.
Here's one to start you off: Atmospheric Attenuation due to Humidity | InTechOpen

 

[WetDog]

Yep, it does - not to any major degree but I fly in clouds a lot and notice perhaps a 30% decrease in performance at times. Unfortunately 2.4 GHz is right where water molecules start to resonate - ala microwave oven.

 

[RedHotPoker]

This is likely more helpful than guessing...
5 Ways Weather Affects Your Drone’s Performance
There’s yet another weather metric that can get your drone wet: humidity. Humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor present in air and is expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature. If humidity is close to 1, it means your drone might be coming back wet even if it’s clear and not raining.

While humidity doesn’t pose nearly as much of a problem as precipitation or fog, it’s still something that you should monitor in the long-run. Long-term use in humid environments will have an effect on your equipment even if you don’t notice it from flight to flight.

RedHotPoker

 

[Wibble]

Looking at my local weather forecast today it seems summer is upon us.
With summer comes high temperatures and high humidity in many places.
As I have been experimenting with range and my antenna mods, I wondered if humidity affects my range at all? (high humidity vs low humidity)
And if so, by how much?
I'd love to hear the experiences and thoughts of others on this topic.
Thanks for your insight and Happy 4th!
MB


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

People often think higher temps = higher humidity. That isn't always the case. In the UK we often get 95% humidity with temps of only 10 or 15C.
In theory it will reduce range but I can fly 14,000' in almost all conditions so not really an issue.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Thanks for all the input.
I am ready for winter already, lol.
Cooler temps, less humidity (here in Ga), less leaves, and more distance!
Again, where I am anyway
I know others that have to deal with snow don't feel the same.
Ok, just a little cooler....


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[WetDog]

This is likely more helpful than guessing...
5 Ways Weather Affects Your Drone’s Performance
There’s yet another weather metric that can get your drone wet: humidity. Humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor present in air and is expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature. If humidity is close to 1, it means your drone might be coming back wet even if it’s clear and not raining.

While humidity doesn’t pose nearly as much of a problem as precipitation or fog, it’s still something that you should monitor in the long-run. Long-term use in humid environments will have an effect on your equipment even if you don’t notice it from flight to flight.

RedHotPoker

I'm sort of the poster child for this. I live in what is euphemistically called a 'precipitating marine environment' (SE Alaska). I like to fly in mist and clouds - which is good because otherwise I'd be grounded most of the time. My P3s are not quite a year old but they've done well so far. I have most of the vents closed with duct tape (of course). The limiting factor is rain / condensation on the lens. Once that happens, photography sort of goes downhill.

I have a little X4 that I fly in regular rain storms. Still kicking after almost exactly a year.

I wipe everything down with fresh water and dry them carefully. No rust. No magic smoke.

 

[RedHotPoker]

Your experience with this subject, is probably more hands on, than many here. Blocking the vents may indeed help in preventing unwanted moisture, from entering the shell at those points, but does that vent blockage cause the drone to run hotter, internally? Do you check your battery temps regularly in the app?

RedHotPoker

 

[Imabiggles]

People often think higher temps = higher humidity. That isn't always the case. In the UK we often get 95% humidity with temps of only 10 or 15C.
In theory it will reduce range but I can fly 14,000' in almost all conditions so not really an issue.

higher temps do equal higher humidity, as in absolute about of water vapor in the air. 10C air can not hold that much water. 0C air even less. 0C about .5% water vapor, 10C about 1% and 20C about 2% and 25C over 3%. So it isnt about the relative humidity, its about absolute amount of water.

Regardless, I dont think it will matter much unless, as I said above, you are going for distance records.

 

[Wibble]

I'm sort of the poster child for this. I live in what is euphemistically called a 'precipitating marine environment' (SE Alaska). I like to fly in mist and clouds - which is good because otherwise I'd be grounded most of the time. My P3s are not quite a year old but they've done well so far. I have most of the vents closed with duct tape (of course). The limiting factor is rain / condensation on the lens. Once that happens, photography sort of goes downhill.

I have a little X4 that I fly in regular rain storms. Still kicking after almost exactly a year.

I wipe everything down with fresh water and dry them carefully. No rust. No magic smoke.

Sounds just like us - everything wet and damp all the time ugh. The ONLY way our firewood ever dries here is indoors. I will have to try taping up the vents. With our temps it isn't likely to cause overheating.

 

[Wibble]

higher temps do equal higher humidity, as in absolute about of water vapor in the air. 10C air can not hold that much water. 0C air even less. 0C about .5% water vapor, 10C about 1% and 20C about 2% and 25C over 3%. So it isnt about the relative humidity, its about absolute amount of water.

Regardless, I dont think it will matter much unless, as I said above, you are going for distance records.

I agree warmer air can become more saturated but we still get 95% humidity even on the very very rare days we get temps in the high 20s or even 30s. About 3 years ago we had almost 40C and 93% humidity! Give me cold weather any day!

 

[RedHotPoker]

But you folks drink warm beer? Hahaha
Do you ever have any of the clear frozen stuff, called ice? ;-)
You gotta love a cold drink on a hot summers day...

Usually, a couple of them. Chuckles

RedHotPoker

 

[Wibble]

But you folks drink warm beer? Hahaha
Do you ever have any of the clear frozen stuff, called ice? ;-)
You gotta love a cold drink on a hot summers day...
View attachment 58966
Usually, a couple of them. Chuckles

RedHotPoker

A common misconception!
Of course we have ice - we scrape it off the roads and walls!!!

 

[RedHotPoker]

Yeah for sure. I mean, where else could you get iceberg lettuce?
Not to mention an frosty mug of ice cold root beer.. Yum Yum

RedHotPoker

 

[mikesmiley]

With an electric drone, humidity? Ah, probably not too much... ;-)
factors affecting the performance of aircraft
In a rain forest, it might be different though. Haha

RedHotPoker

I'm sorry, but that website just makes me angry. Dude's trying (badly) to capitalize on information that's given away for free here and other places.

 

[flyNfrank]

Your experience with this subject, is probably more hands on, than many here. Blocking the vents may indeed help in preventing unwanted moisture, from entering the shell at those points, but does that vent blockage cause the drone to run hotter, internally? Do you check your battery temps regularly in the app?

RedHotPoker

When the vents are open and clear, there is not much cooling that takes place for the battery while in flight. And that is due to a poor design. The only component in the body that gets a somewhat decent cooling is the VPS. Unfortunately the battery has 2 exact same size vents, with 1 being on each side of the aircraft. The problem there is, these are 2 intake vents with NO release vents. Because of this setup, it is very likely that NO air will enter during flight. For the intake vents to work for cooling purposes per the battery, there needs to be a greater open area for exit air. Now there is a mini fan mounted in the floor of the battery bay set between the battery and VPS. However, that fan can be misleading for most. That fan, only comes on to relieve heat stress to the VPS. If you have the VPS disabled, the fan won't come on. Even if it did come on, it still wouldn't be any real benefit. It's better that it doesn't come on in flight due to needing energy to function.

 

[RedHotPoker]

I'm sorry, but that website just makes me angry. Dude's trying (badly) to capitalize on information that's given away for free here and other places.

From my test, it's all free, from every link I tapped. Where is he asking for any recumbence?
Anyway, it's not a drone-specific website. Certainly there are far better.

When the vents are open and clear, there is not much cooling that takes place for the battery while in flight. And that is due to a poor design. The only component in the body that gets a somewhat decent cooling is the VPS. Unfortunately the battery has 2 exact same size vents, with 1 being on each side of the aircraft. The problem there is, these are 2 intake vents with NO release vents. Because of this setup, it is very likely that NO air will enter during flight. For the intake vents to work for cooling purposes per the battery, there needs to be a greater open area for exit air. Now there is a mini fan mounted in the floor of the battery bay set between the battery and VPS. However, that fan can be misleading for most. That fan, only comes on to relieve heat stress to the VPS. If you have the VPS disabled, the fan won't come on. Even if it did come on, it still wouldn't be any real benefit. It's better that it doesn't come on in flight due to needing energy to function.

I have often questioned the effectiveness of the way our Phantom vents are presently situated, even on the newer Phantom 4. Seems like they could have wind tunnel tested and figured out something far more efficient. Perhaps in the future. ;-)

RedHotPoker

 

[Pete Leare]

From my pilot ground school days, the 3 things that adversely effect lift are the '3 H's' .. High, Hot, Humid. That's why runways are longer at higher elevations.