Phantom 4 Range Tests - Dirty Bird

Bocephus-73 · Mar 20, 2016

Davphys said:
No. You are wrong. Those are features that should be in the more expensive drones that are actually used for commercial purposes like an Inspire 2/3.
The phantom series is more for enthusiast and recreational use and should not have these more expensive features on it, allowing the price to be capped lower.

Well by your logic --- increased range and flight times are also unnecessary since a P4 is just a "recreational use" machine, right? If it's purely an enthusiast level UAV then we should be happy with any flight time over 10 min. and range over 500 yards.

Bottom line is --- if Lightbridge can be tweaked to provide 1080p for minimal cost then I say it's worth a small reduction in flight time because of increased battery drain. Better yet --- design it so that the GO app allows you to set the FPV bitrate on a sliding scale --- that way you can adjust it up or down depending on what type of flight you plan on having.

Davphys · Mar 20, 2016

If you think that it is "minimal cost" to "tweak" LB for 1080P live processing than you have little knowledge of how it works.

And there is a big difference between having a 30 min battery life and the ability to have clear signal for a couple miles for recreational use and having "10-20x zoom" which is highly impractical and crazy to expect stability at that level and if you knew anything about optics the lens would add crazy weight.

The Phantom series is not used really for "professional" uses. It is the hobbyist model. If you want true optical professional uses then get the Inspire x5 or even spreading wings.

Bocephus-73 said:
Well by your logic --- increased range and flight times are also unnecessary since a P4 is just a "recreational use" machine, right? If it's purely an enthusiast level UAV then we should be happy with any flight time over 10 min. and range over 500 yards.

Bottom line is --- if Lightbridge can be tweaked to provide 1080p for minimal cost then I say it's worth a small reduction in flight time because of increased battery drain. Better yet --- deisgn it so that the GO app allows you to set the FPV bitrate on a sliding scale --- that way you can adjust it up or down depending on what type of flight you plan on having.

Myetkt · Mar 20, 2016

Bocephus-73 said:
There is a lot of commercial need for 1080p FPV --- esp. search and rescue teams and pretty much anyone doing surveillance work. For example, I was hired by a few hunters in August 2015 to scout a few square miles of fields in Ohio for turkey and deer seasons. I can tell you from experience that wild animals are spooked by a loud buzzing P3P and I needed to stay above 150 ft. to have any chance of flying above them without having them scatter into the woods. Unfortunately at that altitude I was unable to see fine detail like antlers and discerning gobblers from hens in the turkey flocks. 1080p would make a huge difference in this type of application, as well as a 10X or 20X zoom on the camera. These are the kind of vital features we need to see in a P4 Pro or P5.

Good Grief, again with the 1080P FVP and the zoom lens? I thought this was all worked out in other threads. I know, I know you are a pro and I'm nothing but a noob. But you have made it clear you don't own or have any intention of getting a P4. Some of use are happy with our purchase and want people like Dirty Bird to help make this the best we can. I value his thought and opinion. Again if I wanted the zoom and 1080p to make money off hunting I would pony up the money to pay for a high end drone and not even bother commenting on a P4.

Davphys · Mar 20, 2016

Bravo! And the Phantom series is not a "commercial" drone.

Myetkt said:
Good Grief, again with the 1080P FVP and the zoom lens? I thought this was all worked out in other threads. I know, I know you are a pro and I'm nothing but a noob. But you have made it clear you don't own or have any intention of getting a P4. Some of use are happy with our purchase and want people like Dirty Bird to help make this the best we can. I value his thought and opinion. Again if I wanted the zoom and 1080p to make money off hunting I would pony up the money to pay for a high end drone and not even bother commenting on a P4.

Myetkt · Mar 20, 2016

3-4 mile range was a big selling point for the P3 !!

I won't be buying the P4 --- too much hype --- too little performance!

Again why are you even commenting on this thread? Above is the comments you made a few weeks ago. You have made it clear you need a much more advanced quad than a P4. Pro/Noob, Pro/Noob.. You're a pro everyone else is a noob.. You said it again and again. Go be the pro you think you are, and fork out the money to get what you need and let us learn more about what we have purchased. Not what you think it should have been.

With The Birds · Mar 20, 2016

We cant expect 1080 video downlink while maintaining or increasing range in the absence of a significant price hike. Even if the developement and embedded manufacturing cost werent significant if its above what competitors are offering it will be priced accordingly.

Davphys · Mar 20, 2016

BRAVO. Someone who actually knows what they are talking about. Finally.

With The Birds said:
We cant expect 1080 video downlink while maintaining or increasing range in the absence of a significant price hike. Even if the developement and embedded manufacturing cost werent significant if its above what competitors are offering it will be priced accordingly.

Myetkt · Mar 20, 2016

This is Dirty Birds thread and I won't hijack it any longer, plus I don't want to see it get shut down. All I'll say is that if I'm entering a road race I won't bring a Kia and expect it to drive like a Ferrari at the same price, and I won't bring a instamatic to a photo shoot, I'll bring my Canon and know it's able to handle the job I paid for it to do.

Davphys · Mar 20, 2016

Also I wouldn't claim a Honda Civic Si coupe is a performance car in the same class as a Porsche just because both are classified by some as "sports" cars. The Phantom series is not a true "professional" series. It is for hobbyists and enthusiasts. DJI says as much.
Sorry Dirty Bird. Your thread.

I just had to point that out.

Myetkt said:
This is Dirty Birds thread and I won't hijack it any longer, plus I don't want to see it get shut down. All I'll say is that if I'm entering a road race I won't bring a Kia and expect it to drive like a Ferrari at the same price, and I won't bring a instamatic to a photo shoot, I'll bring my Canon and know it's able to handle the job I paid for it to do.

Myetkt · Mar 20, 2016

Davphys said:
Also I wouldn't claim a Honda Civic Si coupe is a performance car in the same class as a Porsche just because both are classified by some as "sports" cars. The Phantom series is not a true "professional" series. It is for hobbyists and enthusiasts. DJI says as much.
Sorry Dirty Bird. Your thread.

I just had to point that out.

Thanks bud.. You worded it better than I did and gave a better example.

ianwood · Mar 21, 2016

So, two of you are now banned from this thread and your bickering deleted. No surprise it's the same ones who've already been warned before. If you cannot stay on topic and maintain a civil discussion, do not post.

Dirty Bird, you can have your thread back.

johnbowen · Mar 21, 2016

Davphys said:
If you think that it is "minimal cost" to "tweak" LB for 1080P live processing than you have little knowledge of how it works.

And there is a big difference between having a 30 min battery life and the ability to have clear signal for a couple miles for recreational use and having "10-20x zoom" which is highly impractical and crazy to expect stability at that level and if you knew anything about optics the lens would add crazy weight.

The Phantom series is not used really for "professional" uses. It is the hobbyist model. If you want true optical professional uses then get the Inspire x5 or even spreading wings.

You are a bit condescending in your tone, mate. Might check your haughtiness at the door.

GadgetGuy · Mar 21, 2016

flyNfrank said:
Don't forget the P4 weighs 100 grams more which is a lot when flying at a distance.

But didn't dji claim the range was to be similar to the P3?

They should have put that extra 100 grams into a bigger battery!

neven · Mar 21, 2016

I have P3P. I'm considering P4. Before I spend almost 2k$ I need to know P4 is better then P3P in every aspect. On paper it is, but looks like maybe that is not totally true. I trust tests from contributing members from this forum more then DJI. So, if you are in position to test both birds in same scenario I would appreciate it. Something like same Waypoint or Orbit mission set on loop for both. I don't mind executing it on different cursing speed for P4 and P3P if you thing they have different sweetspot for miles-per-battery.

GadgetGuy · Mar 21, 2016

neven said:
I have P3P. I'm considering P4. Before I spend almost 2k$ I need to know P4 is better then P3P in every aspect. On paper it is, but looks like maybe that is not totally true. I trust tests from contributing members from this forum more then DJI. So, if you are in position to test both birds in same scenario I would appreciate it. Something like same Waypoint or Orbit mission set on loop for both. I don't mind executing it on different cursing speed for P4 and P3P if you thing they have different sweetspot for miles-per-battery.

All the information you seek is already here. Just read the posts!

DougS · Mar 21, 2016

Dirty Bird said:
Quick report on Phantom 4 range tests -

Ft. Armistead - 41°, 12-16 mph winds, occasional sleet. Three flights directly into stout Easterly wind @ 250' altitude.

10,500' - 13,000'- Great signal & video, video burped here & there but never lost feed, telemetry, or control. Only turned around because of flight computer battery warning. Cancelled battery alert on flights 2 & 3. Got back with lots of battery left..could have gone further just not sure how far to push things. Still 5000'+ short of my P3 but I think the P4 might be able to match it with better weather conditions or abetter feel for the battery on my part. Still on site. More later...

DB..Great info. Was this flight in P mode? Also what was flight time and how much battery was remaining? I would be curious if anyone could make two identical flights one in p mode and one in sport mode and report the difference in time flown and battery consumption. Thank you.

neven · Mar 21, 2016

GadgetGuy said:
All the information you seek is already here. Just read the posts!

I did. Even the useless ones

So far I'm closer to think that current P4 has lower MPB (miles-per-battery) and shorter maximum distance. Have I read the posts right?

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Tonyon1wheel · Mar 21, 2016

I picked up a P4 and for the most part I am very pleased, but......I am getting the worst video. I keep getting a "green blob" on my screen and distorted picture. I have only gone a few blocks away because I have never flown FPV in a city before but the inner harbor here in Baltimore was calling my name... but I am unhappy with the distortion. I have 4 other quads and none of them have this issue