P4 vs. P3P range and image transmission issues

[DKG13CC]

Hello,

I just recently purchased a P4 after having a P3P for about 6 months. I kept the old bird and still fly it, which lead me to notice that when i put my P4 in the air, I have what seems like very little range. When flying the P3P, i usually had kept a VLOS, but even in a few circumstances when I didnt (7000+ feet away in a holding pattern around my apartment watching for Sancho ) I have had very few issues. The bird (p3p) disconnected once at 8000 feet away with no VLOS, and returned home, but prior, the image was clear as any and coming through perfect, reconnected about 500 feet closer and I regained control.

So, you can imagine my dismay when I took of with the p4 the first time only to have the image get choppy after 500 ft. In sport mode, I have **** near a black screen if I am whizzing around. In P mode, it does way better, but on the first flight, the bird disconnected with no VLOS (slightly past a tree line) at about 1600 feet away. Im just looking for any tips or feedback on the matter, because right now, my P3P is treating me better. Thanks!

 

[macoman]

That's why I want a phantom 3 pro or Advanced.

 

[John Locke]

You sound just like me a year ago when I upgraded, I thought, to P4.

Search the forum for "RF measurement" and you will find my testing data on this subject. The conclusion is the GL300c controller is weak.

Try linking your GL300A or B to you P4 craft. You'll be surprised the added range you get.

Don't forget to choose a custom channel with the least traffic (don't run auto), and then turn the "transmission quality" down to 4mbps.

 

[DKG13CC]

Thanks for that info, im going to try to link it up now. The other controller is a 300B, but will i have any wierd issues not having a "sport" mode switch?

 

[John Locke]

The mode switch of the B controller works identical with physical switch positions and modes of the C controller. The labeling of the switch is just not correct.

 

[DKG13CC]

Ah, very good. Seems to be working quite a better now. Slightly windy today so i didnt want to go too far, but in sport mode from the top of a good hill i went about 4000 feet in a line with no image transmission warnings or anything like that. Thanks for that info. Looks like i'll be flying both birds with the GL300B from now on.

 

[Duchunter]

That's weird cause I've had my p4 out 6500-6800 ft at about 300 ft altitude and I was just getting my first transmission issue and I'm behind a Forrest of huge oak trees and hickory trees. I went up a little and easily got it back but I came back anyway out of fear. I flew there in sport mode so RTH would have taken forever. I feel like I could have gone way farther. On YouTube "notyourordinaryguy" in Europe has flown his p4 out way far, like 6000meters. There can't be that much difference between CE and FCC.

 

[DKG13CC]

So, when I connected the GL300B to the P4, it updated the firmware. I re-linked it with the P3P and now have an image tansmission but the status says RC Lost. Flashing yellow lights on craft. Wondering if i updated to something the P3P doesnt talk to.

 

[John Locke]

So, when I connected the GL300B to the P4, it updated the firmware. I re-linked it with the P3P and now have an image tansmission but the status says RC Lost. Flashing yellow lights on craft. Wondering if i updated to something the P3P doesnt talk to.

You shouldn't have updated the firmware, it doesn't auto update. You have to enable the update process. You should have tried to fly the P4 as is, and see how that worked. However since you've updated the RC firmware, you likely don't have your P3P on the latest firmware to match the RC firmware. Check your version in the P3P and see if there's a newer version available. The Go app should tell you if there's a new version, but you can do that manually by checking the ABOUT section and comparing the latest release in the DJI website.

By the way, you can fly the P4 with Go4 app and keep the Go app on the same device to fly the P3P, since P3P cannot be flown with Go4

 

[Mimoid]

Hello,

I just recently purchased a P4 after having a P3P for about 6 months. I kept the old bird and still fly it, which lead me to notice that when i put my P4 in the air, I have what seems like very little range. When flying the P3P, i usually had kept a VLOS, but even in a few circumstances when I didnt (7000+ feet away in a holding pattern around my apartment watching for Sancho ) I have had very few issues. The bird (p3p) disconnected once at 8000 feet away with no VLOS, and returned home, but prior, the image was clear as any and coming through perfect, reconnected about 500 feet closer and I regained control.

So, you can imagine my dismay when I took of with the p4 the first time only to have the image get choppy after 500 ft. In sport mode, I have **** near a black screen if I am whizzing around. In P mode, it does way better, but on the first flight, the bird disconnected with no VLOS (slightly past a tree line) at about 1600 feet away. Im just looking for any tips or feedback on the matter, because right now, my P3P is treating me better. Thanks!

I believe the trick is to find a good channel and to lower the transmitted image quality. Previously I got a choppy image and finally an image disconnect after roughly one mile (1700 m), but today I experimented with lowering the transmission rate to 4MB and also looked for a channel with the least disturbances.

I climbed to 300 feet and then flew off in a direct straight line above fields and horse paddocks (carefully avoiding houses and roads). There is one particular area (a farm house) which previously always caused disconnects, so I took a slight detour around that area. Just as I expected, I got some weak image transmission warnings, but no disconnects, so I pushed through, and what do you know, the image returned to full strengh.

I flew as long as I dared and finally to 3200 meters (2 miles) where the image was again getting choppy and difficult to use. Maybe I could have pushed it a little longer, but the fields ended there and there were just residental areas ahead where I didn't want to fly. The aircraft was still fully controllable, but I pressed the RTH, and the bird flew home nicely without issues. I landed with 52% battery.

So the conclusion is that even with a regular out-of-the-box European Phantom 4 with the weak GL300C controller without range extenders, modifications or boosters, flying than 2 miles out is perfectly possible. I am quite happy with that. It is just a matter of avoiding WiFi congested areas and lowering the transmission rate.

 

[John Locke]

So the conclusion is that even with a regular out-of-the-box European Phantom 4 with the weak GL300C controller without range extenders, modifications or boosters, flying than 2 miles out is perfectly possible. I am quite happy with that. It is just a matter of avoiding WiFi congested areas and lowering the transmission rate.

Yes, lowering the "Transmission Quality" to 4mbps definitely helps, after you select a QUIET custom channel. The 32Ch hack helps find a quiet channel much easier on P3P and P4. Using a $13 Windsurfer parabolic dish will help increase the integrity of the signal also, but it's directional, so you'll need to keep track and point the dish at the craft. Wifi interference definitely hinders drone range, avoiding civilization helps a lot.

 

[DKG13CC]

What is this 32ch hack you speak of? Im sesrching this now