Hello everyone. I have completed extensive tests on various extended range modifications and I am here to give you the background, results, and experiences that I believe have been missing for some time. Beware that this is lengthy, but I want to share everything. I have developed explanations for my results- which is helpful because mod results are dependent on environment. Needless to say I know how to point antennas and I know the settings to promote range in DJI GO.
Here is my story:
I live in an urban area- not suburban. I am around loads of interference, and I am in the middle of a fairly large United States East Coast City, with a harbor. I do my flying in an urban environment. I originally had a P3Advanced, then a Professional. I was fortunate enough to have the ITElite remote from the start. I never flew either one of them stock. I was very satisfied with the ranges and penetrations I got. I was easily able to go 2-2.5 miles with no issues in this environment. When flying outside of town in other environments, the range was only limited by battery life. I always read about FPVLR, other modifications, etc, but I was happy with what I had.
Enter the P4:
I enthusiastically sold my entire P3 setup and snapped up a P4 as soon as it came out. I flew it, and was happy with its craftsmanship, etc- but on range, I was crushed. I couldn't go more than a couple thousand feet without weak and ultimately lost signal. I was disappointed, upset, and frankly pissed. Yes, DJI claimed the range was the same, but any evidence of decent range I could find were people flying over the ocean, lakes, or desert! What about a city-dweller like me? Surely not every person is going to drive an hour to fly their drone! So I immersed myself in the world of range mods, wanting to know every option, every explanation, every detail about what I could do to resurrect my P4 and resume my happiness that I had before. I am a physicist by profession, and I figured I would apply my sense of experimentation to meet the needs of MY environment. I watched videos of 9 mile flights. I spent hours reading explanations, arguments, claims, and animations. I studied RF behavior, signal strength implications, antenna design. I wanted something clean, yet effective. I decided to do what it would take. My journey was beginning. I started with Freddy:
FDR Drone Mods:
I began speaking with Freddy Del Rosario who runs FDR Drone Mods. I was intrigued by his promotional video for a product (not yet released) called the "Titan". We spent time discussing on the phone what he wanted in a setup. Something clean, not inconvenient, bulky. Something effective. What I so desperately sought. This guy knew my taste! Freddy was a very nice guy, and he took the time to talk. As time dragged on, I began to realize that he wasn't as developed in his plans for the "Titan" as was desired. Although it wasn't a pipe dream, it was still a ways off. But, Freddy offered a modification that he promoted well. It was the standard SMA modification through the original holes- well crafted, and using what he claimed was an incredibly shielded cable. With his 7 and 9dbi antennas, he claimed he could surpass itELITE range. He showed me many, many tests that he did. I wondered how any omni setup would surpass a very directional antenna, but somehow he did! And I believed him. In the back of my mind, I was aware that all his tests were in an environment far more flat, suburban, and with less interference. But nonetheless, I hurriedly shipped him my P4 remote.
As promised, he did his mod. The SMA connectors looked good, OEM. And I purchased some 7 and 9 dbi antennas that he recommended for long range. A week later I was able to fly:
Disappointment. It flew better than stock, but only a little. I was able to go maybe 3500-4000 ft, sometimes 5000ft before the weak signal and return to home. A small improvement, but nowhere near what I was hoping. I was really bummed. I don't dispute Freddy's results, but they just didn't work in my environment. Now I had to go all out----the other way. Screw it- I would buy the mod that people claimed got them miles and miles and miles of flight. The bulky time bomb, the Frankenstein itself- the amped FPVLR!
FPVLR/Tony:
I figured, "hey- who cares if it is ugly. If it blasts through everything with these amps, I will be one happy camper!" So I began talking with Tony. He explained his ideas of circular polarization versus linear polarization, his design, etc. (I will get into this in a bit) He spoke quite a bit. Tony is a nice guy and he seemed reasonable. Hell, people swore by his product!! So this was going to be my savior of the P4! I purchased the big kahuna itself- and my FPVLR arrived!
I excitedly installed it. I really tried to look past how cumbersome it was, the Velcro patches to add, the extra weight and all the cabling. The battery pack to charge, etc. I realized that it is VERY difficult to remove the cable from the RC USB port once it is set up. If there is a firmware update, it was going to be not very ergonomical, but if this was the sacrifice, so be it. Off to the races I went!
Uggghhhh!!!!!!!
Yes, there was improvement. Yes I noticed a larger improvement than prior. But I was still only getting 5500-6000 feet in this extremely congested environment. I cursed!!! Alas, my dreams were back to just that. Back to the drawing board. This time, simple and cheap:
Windsurfer:
Threw on this, got about 4000 ft. Similar to Freddy's setup. Blah. Needed more. Wanted more.
Argtek:
Then I purchased the "Blue Proton/Argtek" flat panel patch antennas. I was intrigued. I came across them on Amazon. They looked interesting. Could this be my salvation? If so, they would be easy, simple, what I wanted!! Around 4500ft. Great bang for the buck, but not that much of a bang.
Full Circle:
Sigh. At this point, I figured what the hell!!! Let's go back to what worked months ago! I came across Jake's site posted on PhantomPilots and ordered the ITelite (unboosted) from him. Prior to ordering, we spoke on the phone. I told him what I was doing, where I was, my experiences, etc. I was taken aback by him. He didn't promise ranges- he said they are environmentally dependent. His straightforward nature impressed me. He was honest, fair, very responsive. I went through his site many times. He clearly was talented and could create a good setup, good design. He stood out from the rest because he was matter of fact and just came across as honest. I can't quite describe it in words, but I am usually a pretty good judge of character, and here was a guy who simply wants to add to the enjoyment of the hobby and help others out. A mensch. I ordered the tried and true (in my case) itElite.
Boy did I put it through its paces. And boy did it deliver. In my environment, I was back exactly where I was with my P3. I was so excited that I got my bird back that I called Jake and told him how happy I was!!!! I was back to getting 12000ft and over the most dense and interference-congested areas, 7000-8000ft no problem. NONE of the other setups gave that to me. I couldn't believe it. And I had the added benefit of finding someone who is a great asset to this hobby. Jake will always be my go to person in the future, and subsequent to my tests I have noticed many, many others openly praising their dealings with him, which further validates my impression of him. I'll always give someone like that my business.
I actually sent the FPVLR to Jake and said- take this! I don't want it! It's yours. Experiment on it if you want.
Explanation/some more technical speak:
Here's the thing: the ItElite antenna basically has a 180 degree field. It is flat and directional. The high gain puts its signal straight forward, like a wall bulging out.
FPVLR is more"conical". A bit more directional.
This tells me that if I were in a totally empty environment, like where people post 9 mile FPVLR flights, sure, high range is possible. But in an urban environment where even boosted signal can bounce, be attenuated by structures, be redirected, etc, it's increased directionality and ability to be distorted supersedes the benefits of the reduced interference between the circularly polarized antennas. In THIS environment, a linearly polarized 180 degree flat panel works best.
Anything omnidirectional like Freddy's won't go as far because signal is being broadcast behind you- now a higher gain means signal might go farther, but the "donut" shape of the signal is narrowed- envision a washer. Outside of the washer, you're out of luck. And I actually WANT directionality. How many people actually fly while facing the opposite direction of their drone? I would rather have all my signal pumped forward as I am always facing in the general direction of where I am flying.
Now as I said, I am extremely happy with my setup. I went full circle. I will probably get Jake's amped setup in a few weeks, out of curiosity. I suspect it will boost the range even further, although I'm at a point where I don't really need it. But the evidence shows in an urban environment, this would probably give the most effective result. Remember that with boosted signal comes boosted noise, so it isn't a simple benefit of a proportional rise in strength=proportionate increase in distance, etc, but I suspect added benefit.
I had/have no "dog in the fight" other than that I wanted to get the ranges and capabilities that I had prior. I wanted to share all of this with you so you know my experiences, my environment, and what I did.
Last note of caution:
There is a company out there, "Drone World" that claims a "extended range modification" which they sell at $499. I have confirmed through multiple sources and independent verification that they are simply selling the ItElite modification at a more than 300% markup. It is not "their" modification. They just are taking advantage of newbies, which is unconscionable. It isn't any different a modification to the ItElite.
There you have it! I probably could have gone on in even more detail and even longer, but I want this out there so people can refer to this when they are deciding what to do, especially if you are in a real-world environment, as opposed to looking to score points by showing a long flight in the middle of nowhere.
All the Best,
David
