Phamtom 2 FS mode kicks in around 2KM distance

[sxmdrones]

Have been flying the Phantom 2 now for about 3 months and the farthest distance I could achieve is 2000 meters with my original stock remote controller before Fail Safe mode automatically kicks in and activated the auto go home feature. I have tried to switch back and forth between GPS and ATTI mode in my attempt to regain control and fly further but couldn't succeed. I don't know how was it possible for other P2 owners with original stock DJI controller to fly to 5KM without any FS.

Although the DJI remote controller has lost connection with the Phantom by 2KM, I was still having steady FPV video connection feed through my video receiver connected with the 5.8Ghz helical antenna. I have the firmware version 1.08 and was flying anywhere between 10 to 22 m/s in GPS mode. Flight was done over water without much interference from other wireless signals. Any ideas how to improve the distance with the original DJI stock controller without upgrading to the Futaba or others?

See the video below:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8pigSONnOE[/youtube]

 

[ianwood]

You're not exactly gentle with the controls. You may want to ease in and out of full stick motions. It is safer for the Phantom to have nice linear transitions. You're Phantom was practically sideways a few times. Must have been some harsh headwinds. I've never seen one tilted that far forward. Also, you have some really bad vibration probably related to the gimbal. That's putting a lot of wear and tear on everything and you should fix it before flying again.

Finally, as to your question. 2km is not shabby. I would guess you couldn't go further because of local interference. There are a number of buildings many or all having Wi-Fi operating in the same frequency range. After the Phantom gets far away enough, the signal space will clog up with signals stronger than yours.

Fix that vibration!

 

[sxmdrones]

You're not exactly gentle with the controls. You may want to ease in and out of full stick motions. It is safer for the Phantom to have nice linear transitions. You're Phantom was practically sideways a few times. Must have been some harsh headwinds. I've never seen one tilted that far forward. Also, you have some really bad vibration probably related to the gimbal. That's putting a lot of wear and tear on everything and you should fix it before flying again.

Finally, as to your question. 2km is not shabby. I would guess you couldn't go further because of local interference. There are a number of buildings many or all having Wi-Fi operating in the same frequency range. After the Phantom gets far away enough, the signal space will clog up with signals stronger than yours.

Fix that vibration!

Hi Ian, I noticed the phantom was vibrating heavily when i took that flight. It was after I installed a new set of generic plastic props got from eBay. I had the original props replaced due to an earlier crash in a buildup area which was really unpleasant. Those four props have either chipped or parts broken off. After that crash, I have recalibrated the Tarot gimbal that I am using and also recalibrated the phantom through the assistant software but it seems like its still not stable.

What is your advice? Thanks alot in advance.

 

[sxmdrones]

This is the flight i had of the same path before that crash but with flight data and a shorter distance of 1400 meters.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg3tKuwIs1A[/youtube]

 

[ianwood]

The props may be part of the issue especially if they're not balanced. The consensus is that DJI props are the only ones that work really well. There have been issues with the knock off ones and all of the CF ones I've heard of are marginal at best and dangerous at worst. Get some stock props and see if that helps. That vibration is not good for your P2 and could end in a bad way.

 

[wkf94025]

Haven't watched your vid and don't have much to offer on props and gimbal beyond Ian's input. I agree that easy on the sticks is important. When I fly heavy-handed, I am more likely to get RTH sooner than later. I have seen my various P2's go RTH anywhere from 1km to 4km. My best bird has an IRC 250mW VTx, and my newer bird with IRC 600mW VTx seems to go RTH much sooner, which has me wondering about possible noise from on-board VTx being one factor in Tx/Rx range. My 4km flights were with stock receiver, and I suspect the Futaba radio is more about smooth controls than absolute range relative to stock transmitter. So maybe play around with placement of possible noise sources on board, and if possible, try running with no power to gimbal and see if you get consistently further distance w/o gimbal powered.

Kelly