Constant connectivity issues

[ChrisK]

Hi all! I just got my first drone- Spark about a month ago. I live in a suburban area, do not launch with less than 10 gps sats locked on and use the remote and all of my batteries, remote and spark have the most updated firmware. I do go through a series of preflight considerations before I take off.

I have been plagued with disconnect issues. I can not fly more than 800 feet away before it happens most of the time. Last weekend at around 1300 feet away, the remote disconnected. I began walking towards the drone location and restablished connection - the drone stayed in place and did not move or rth. The other day, the drone randomly went into Atti mode after 11 sats were connect and began flying erratic. I was able to regain control and get it back to me. I purchased a signal extender and used it for the first time today. Tonight,it was cloudy but I had an adaquate gps lock. I flew it 1500 feet away and the aircraft disconnected this time and I could not reestablish connection. However it rth perfectly with no connection. I restarted the drone, etc and took off. 600 feet away the aircraft lost connection and the distance, height and mph went haywire. The spark ascended way above the limit of 400 feet and did not rth. I was able to reestablish connection in Atti but I was totally blind-the height, distance and speed reported spotty figures and it was a challenge to get it back. And my battery went critical. I accepted this was the last time I’d see the drone.

Any suggestions? I have ZERO confidence going more than 500 from me at this time which is unacceptable. I see videos on YouTube of sparks flying 2-2.5 miles away. I laugh because I’d never be able to do this. $500 is a nice bit of money for a drone that behaves like a $60 no frills drone from amazon. Thanks in advance!

Is 1500 feet away pushing the limits?

 

[NJSpark]

to start i would do this(anyone correct me if i am wrong):
-calibrate you compass (when doing this make sure you away from any metal or magnetic interference) phone, smart watch , concrete with re bar , etc .
-then in-doors with props removed calibrate you imu

-before you take off if on concrete or any surface i always check my sensor status for interference . you can even put your case on the ground and take off from there.

if this continues and i assume this is brand new i would either return it for another if you can or send it to dji.

as far as range i am in a suburban area in nj and the max i got so far is 1600ft away(using parabolic dishes). i too look at the videos of people going 1 mile plus away and wonder why i am not able to do the same (i will still try though) .Wifi interference in the area plays a big roll. You can also try switching from 5.8 to 2.5 ghz in the remote that has helped me (also make sure the channel you are on does not have a lot of interference this can be checked in the app there is even a youtube video on this ). I also use an OTG cable with my Iphone 7 which makes the video feed a lot better.(i go mine from amazon from the company/brand RCGEEKS) That otg was recommended on this forum and it has worked out very well for me.

I am still trying to break my 1600ft record in my area. Make sure you have the antennas pointing up and directed at the spark. Sometimes height plays a role you might get a better signal at 200 to 300 ft pointed at the spark vs 100ft up. If you dont already have them pick up the parabolic dishes from amazon or wherever they are around 8 bucks.

hope this helps

 

[NJSpark]

one last thing i just thought of
-put your phone in airplane mode (with just wifi on if you are not using and OTG cable) If you are using OTG then turn wifi,cell, and Bluetooth off
-the steps above helped me a lot.
-try you spark in an open area this no trees , houses and see if you range changes.

keep us posted

 

[ChrisK]

one last thing i just thought of
-put your phone in airplane mode (with just wifi on if you are not using and OTG cable) If you are using OTG then turn wifi,cell, and Bluetooth off
-the steps above helped me a lot.
-try you spark in an open area this no trees , houses and see if you range changes.

keep us posted

Thank you so much. You gave me a few new ideas that I’ll try out esp changing the bandwidth on the remote and airplane mode

 

[NJSpark]

No problem let Me know if it helps

 

[Toxie]

I see videos on YouTube of sparks flying 2-2.5 miles away.

=============

NO offense but as far as I know in the USA and now in Canada since June 1 - 2019.....

Drone flying as a 'non commercial ' operator is stricly VLOS.......(Visual Line Of Sight)....you best have eye sight of Superman to think of achieving 2 to 2.5 miles away under that rule and be prepare to prove it.

Hence you may want to reflect on the rules and think about your goals and expectations.

 

[Betones]

I greatly improved the drone's range without interference when I switched to 5.8 ghz. At 2.4 ghz the wave range is higher but it has a lot of interference because almost everything uses 2.4 ghz frequency, cordless phone, wifi network, bluetooth devices. The 5.8 ghz frequency will give a smaller range only with the advantage of having almost no interference. What also helps is to be in FCC mode, which increases the range. I use the OTG cable on an iphone X. In FCC mode, at 5.8 ghz with channels above 159 I achieved a range of 3,200 ft in an urban area. I hope I have helped and good flights.

 

[NJSpark]

I think you are right today I flew even further on 5.8 with parabolic dishes. My area just has a lot of interference. 2000ft which is pretty good but I know I can do more

 

[nilanjan118]

I think you are right today I flew even further on 5.8 with parabolic dishes. My area just has a lot of interference. 2000ft which is pretty good but I know I can do more

Are you in a non-FCC country? I am in forced FCC mode with a fake location app called floater and I have never felt the need to use parabolic dishes. I keep the channel selection in Auto mode and it stays at 5.8Ghz always. Yesterday I checked how far I could go and reached 1.4kms. I was limited by the remaining battery power as I started the test at only 56% battery.

 

[NJSpark]

I’m in the US so in fcc mode using 5.8ghz with parabolic dishes. I can try without but I do think I will have the same outcome

 

[NJSpark]

So to update you at work today in an open field I was able to get 3200 ft away with parabolic dishes and I still could have gone further with ease and plenty of battery too boot. Not sure if I needed the dishes but I had them on there just in case. I was also on 5.8ghz and I let the spark auto select. I was happy with the results.

 

[Betones]

For me the dishes is useless, try without it.

 

[NJSpark]

Will do next time I fly at work and at home

 

[ChrisK]

For me the dishes is useless, try without it.

I returned them they actually made it worse in my opinion.

 

[ChrisK]

Switching to 2.4 MHz did not show any improvement.

 

[NJSpark]

so no improvement at all? 5.8 for me lately has been better and the dishes from day 1 and still now made/make a big difference. did you make sure you had the antennas pointed correctly with the dishes? They become very directional i use the attitude meter to make sure i am always pointed at the spark.
did you try a wide open field with and without the dishes?

 

[lmel2005]

Maybe stupid question, but did you try to change location, and fly in a. Interference-free area?

 

[ChrisK]

I am up in cape cod now. I can get 1500 feet out of I am lucky. Starting to think the Mavic was the way to go. The mavics distance is around 4 miles.

 

[ChrisK]

I’ve had my spark enter Atti mode a few times and start flying away. Fun drone but not reliable at all

 

[Vader01]

I've had my Spark since November of last year and the only time I have issues with connection is when I get just over 4400 feet. I fly mainly over open water off a causeway and I fly at 5.8ghz and I do use the antenna signal reflectors. The Spark is rated for about a mile, if others are flying almost two miles they must have done some type of modification to get that kind of range over a wifi signal.