For me 2.5mi is usually adequate due to battery limitations, however others go farther. It's really about reliability, if I can go 2 or 3 miles in ideal conditions I won't have any problem with 1 mile LOS in most scenarios. My P4 struggles with that in stock form. My P3P does this with no problem.
Just bought a Phanton 4. Observations and a few questions.
- Thread starter etr102
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It's not a matter of how far I _need_ to go. It's a matter of me getting the optimal performance out of my Phantom. I have 0 complaints about my Phantom 4, I just know that most people on this board seem to get much better range than I do and I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
On another note, I did have a scare with my Phanton 4 today. I was flying around in a very rural area and I had full line of site almost all around me, with the exception of the trees that were behind me and providing me shade on this 95+ degree day. Anyway I was flying around and flew behind me (I was well above said trees so I figured I was safe). My Phantom lost it's GPS signal and switched to ATTI mode. Luckily I knew roughly where it was so I tried to fly back towards me. I got my GPS signal back and everything smoothly afterwards.
As I was leaving the area I realised that there was a Wind Turbine farm not far beyond those trees. I'm guessing that was the cause for my temporary positioning trouble? Has anybody else flown near (not through) a Wind Turbine farm wither intentional or unintentional? Has anybody else ever had unexplained GPS/compass failures while in the air?
Compass errors happen occasionally, I had one this week. Fortunately it was only momentarily, maybe 15 seconds, and the rest of the flight went fine.
I chuckled louder, not merely because you thought it was crow, but how you almost sounded like you thought I was wrong! Should you wish to give us the exact resonant frequency of a tree or the water it contains you can
And because water absorbs rather that reflects, microwaves can heat food. Same water whatever it's in will block 2.4ghz. since we talking about trees. Oh, and of course I meant a cow
Excellent concise explanation, as one of the three you've seen, though it's unlikely to happen, when the parameters are right/wrong, it certainly can happen. I was very lucky to get mine down safely. Beginners mode nearly took my p4 away, only afterwards was I aware what has happened. Be sure you know what the icons on map mean too. Mine now is set to unlimited distance and I use my eyes and my head to gauge how far it is away and to stay within my own limits.
I fly the P2, P3, & Inspire. I know how to set these up and everything to program these quads. I purchased a P4 a couple of weeks ago. It dropped signal at around 3/4 of a mile and returned to home. Then I flew my P3 in the same place same route. P3 dropped signal at almost 1.5 miles. I asked DJI about this & they said to return it. I went through 4 Phantom 4,s before I just got my money back. I have wonderful flying areas with no obstacles. If DJI advertises that it will go 3.1 then dammit it should go the distance. DJI knows there is a serious problem with these P4's and they are trying everything they can to unload them. Hell, look it up, you can buy these things at Walmart. Enough said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's not just distance, it's signal strength. With me at ground level, and using a stock Phantom 4 pootling along at about 30 metres above the ground, I can get about 800 metres away before I have signal problems. If I am flying around our local extinct volcano, as I was this past Friday lunchtime, when the drone gets around the other side, although only 300 metres away and 50 metres above Home, I start to get signal dropouts, and the risk of an RTH. Having a boosted signal [either through an ITELite or Windsurfers] gives me that extra confidence in flying round the back of an obstacle.
Michael McBain
Melbourne, Australia
Michael McBain
Melbourne, Australia
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The best thing to do is read the manual and understand how everything works.
You'll see a lot of things here which indicate people haven't done that.
The only thing about SPORT mode is that things happen a lot more quickly so you need to be thinking ahead, with bigger safety margins. No reason not to use it if you're aware of that, and have plenty of room to move. Collision detection is disabled only because there isn't enough time for for the P4 to stop within the detection distance when it's going fast. If you're careful you're not likely to crash.
The P4 uses Lightbridge, which is a superior radio connection than that used by the P3 standard, hence the extra range and transmission capability. Some people strive for range, but given good conditions you should be happy with the native range, which is several kilometres given clear view.
You'll certainly get more range with the directional antenna reflectors, but you do need to concentrate on keeping the thing pointed right at the phantom. There's a few things about RTH. You need to make sure the RTH height is set high enough to clear any obstacles, you need to make sure there isn't a head wind on the way back which might make it fall short, you need to make sure battery warnings are acknowledged and so on.
Remember that a P4 is a sophisticated bit of kit, and that you're a PILOT, not just a dumbo with a controller in his hand.
There are very few cases of P4 failure. Usually, when all the facts are available, there's a human error involved in most disasters.
Geoff
Melbourne, Australia
You'll see a lot of things here which indicate people haven't done that.
The only thing about SPORT mode is that things happen a lot more quickly so you need to be thinking ahead, with bigger safety margins. No reason not to use it if you're aware of that, and have plenty of room to move. Collision detection is disabled only because there isn't enough time for for the P4 to stop within the detection distance when it's going fast. If you're careful you're not likely to crash.
The P4 uses Lightbridge, which is a superior radio connection than that used by the P3 standard, hence the extra range and transmission capability. Some people strive for range, but given good conditions you should be happy with the native range, which is several kilometres given clear view.
You'll certainly get more range with the directional antenna reflectors, but you do need to concentrate on keeping the thing pointed right at the phantom. There's a few things about RTH. You need to make sure the RTH height is set high enough to clear any obstacles, you need to make sure there isn't a head wind on the way back which might make it fall short, you need to make sure battery warnings are acknowledged and so on.
Remember that a P4 is a sophisticated bit of kit, and that you're a PILOT, not just a dumbo with a controller in his hand.
There are very few cases of P4 failure. Usually, when all the facts are available, there's a human error involved in most disasters.
Geoff
Melbourne, Australia
I just changed my Facebook status to "Never stand under a tree if there is a cow perched in it."
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