Short RC range ?

[yaniv]

Hi All,
I'm new with Spark (2 weeks).
I got the Spark combo and conducted few flights.
I'm using RC (with my smartphone for display) when flying.

I noted that while flying, when the aircraft is more than 200 meters away from my RC , the signal is lost (according to the Go4 application on my phone).
My smartphone is connected to the RC wifi -not to the aircraft wifi - so the control and transmission is between
the RC and the aircraft.

According to the manual and specs - Spark with RC should have a range of 2 KM.

What am i missing ?
Tnx

 

[nicholas hickman]

EU or USA

 

[yaniv]

EU

 

[yaniv]

I'm from Israel, not sure what is the regulations here about range, but i do understand now that:
Radio range limits depending on where you are
2.412 - 2.462 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.3 mi (500 m); SRRC: 0.3 mi (500 m)
5.745 - 5.825 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.18 mi (300 m); SRRC: 0.7 mi (1.2 km)

Sadly DJI don't highlight this information on their marketing website/store..

Does anyone have experience with Spark range extenders ?

 

[The Editor]

Hi All,
I'm new with Spark (2 weeks).
I got the Spark combo and conducted few flights.
I'm using RC (with my smartphone for display) when flying.

I noted that while flying, when the aircraft is more than 200 meters away from my RC , the signal is lost (according to the Go4 application on my phone).
My smartphone is connected to the RC wifi -not to the aircraft wifi - so the control and transmission is between
the RC and the aircraft.

According to the manual and specs - Spark with RC should have a range of 2 KM.

What am i missing ?
Tnx

Have you tried searching on the forum before posting this up to see what other threads there are already? (there are many).
Limited range in Europe (CE).
Range and Connection issue: What to check
Spark distance Issue

There are many others.......

 

[Dronason]

I'm from Israel, not sure what is the regulations here about range, but i do understand now that:
Radio range limits depending on where you are
2.412 - 2.462 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.3 mi (500 m); SRRC: 0.3 mi (500 m)
5.745 - 5.825 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.18 mi (300 m); SRRC: 0.7 mi (1.2 km)

Sadly DJI don't highlight this information on their marketing website/store..

Does anyone have experience with Spark range extenders ?

Search for windsurfers antennas reflectors, it helps.
If you want to know in which region you are, check when setting wifi in 2.4G mode. If you have 13 channels, it is CE mode. With 11 channels it is FCC.
Too much active wifi or bluetooth around you, antennas wrongly deployed, not LOS (line of sight), ... can affect range.

 

[Blue Baron]

Perfect Spark Antenna mod RP-SMA

 

[The Editor]

I'm from Israel, not sure what is the regulations here about range, but i do understand now that:
Radio range limits depending on where you are
2.412 - 2.462 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.3 mi (500 m); SRRC: 0.3 mi (500 m)
5.745 - 5.825 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.18 mi (300 m); SRRC: 0.7 mi (1.2 km)

Sadly DJI don't highlight this information on their marketing website/store..

Does anyone have experience with Spark range extenders ?

Yes they do.
Very clearly shown on the Sparks webpage under specification section.

 

[Blue Baron]

Yes they do.
Very clearly shown on the Sparks webpage under specification section.

No, they do not.
On the Spark page, under flight performance, they say "2 km" with footnote [3] (Unobstructed, free of interference, with remote controller when FCC compliant.)

FCC-compliant is DJI slang for USA. Normally, electronic devices are all FCC compliant. And then, it is a footnote. Nowhere do they say "0.3 km" which is the default reach in Europe, a much larger market than the US.

Yes, it is in the fine print of the spec sheet. But that wouldn't suffice to satisfy consumer rights in most countries.

I am sure almost everybody found out about the 300 m by either previous DJI/drone experience, a friend, flying the Spark, watching Youtube or reading in a blog/forum about it. Not via the DJI product page.

 

[The Editor]

No, they do not.
On the Spark page, under flight performance, they say "2 km" with footnote [3] (Unobstructed, free of interference, with remote controller when FCC compliant.)

FCC-compliant is DJI slang for USA. Normally, electronic devices are all FCC compliant. And then, it is a footnote. Nowhere do they say "0.3 km" which is the default reach in Europe, a much larger market than the US.

Yes, it is in the fine print of the spec sheet. But that wouldn't suffice to satisfy consumer rights in most countries.

I am sure almost everybody found out about the 300 m by either previous DJI/drone experience, a friend, flying the Spark, watching Youtube or reading in a blog/forum about it. Not via the DJI product page.

Going into Pantomime mode.... 'Ohhhh Yes they do'
You have just acknowledged they do when you say it is listed on the specifications page.
I don't know about you but before I make an electronics purchase I scan down the specifications very precisely to check it accommodates my needs and expectations before I stump up my hard earned cash.
On the DJI webpage, under specifications, it is clearly stated along with separate listing of EIRP output powers and expected distances under ideal conditions.
This information is further repeated under their FAQ under 'What is Sparks effective transmission range'

How anyone can say DJI didn't state what distance you can expect from the Spark platform bewilders me.
Clearly people do not read before they buy.......

 

[Blue Baron]

before I make an electronics purchase I scan down the specifications very precisely to check it accommodates my needs and expectations before I stump up my hard earned cash.

I don't believe you. E.g., if you buy a 65" TV, you don't scan the fine print if the entire screen is actually used by the content displayed. It is just to be expected. You won't find a footnote "unscaled if CE compliant". And even if, you'll still need to read blogs what it means.

Without some pre-awareness, buyers of Spark will NOT know its reach is 300 m in the EU. Esp. as it says CE, not EU or France or UK ...

For non drone affine buyers, it is unintuitive and not to be expected that the Spark will dynamically reduce its reach in Europe from 2 km down to 0.3 km.

 

[The Editor]

I don't believe you. E.g., if you buy a 65" TV, you don't scan the fine print if the entire screen is actually used by the content displayed. It is just to be expected. You won't find a footnote "unscaled if CE compliant". And even if, you'll still need to read blogs what it means.

Without some pre-awareness, buyers of Spark will NOT know its reach is 300 m in the EU. Esp. as it says CE, not EU or France or UK ...

For non drone affine buyers, it is unintuitive and not to be expected that the Spark will dynamically reduce its reach in Europe from 2 km down to 0.3 km.

Well we will agree to disagree then.
I DO read the entire specifications of everything I buy and if something is not clear or ambiguous I ask before I make my purchase. Whether that be a UAV, a dishwasher, TV or car!

DJI have clearly stated all compliant RF limitation together with expected ranges, EIRP in dBm and even put a footnote in their FAQ's that the range is limited to 50/100m when connected directly to a mobile device.
I guess some people just want to be spoon fed all the time......

 

[yaniv]

Yes they do.
Very clearly shown on the Sparks webpage under specification section.

It's not highlighted enough and as a lawyer I can tell you that their marketing information is misleading.
I'm going to submit a lawsuit against dji dealer and dji

 

[The Editor]

It's not highlighted enough and as a lawyer I can tell you that their marketing information is misleading.
I'm going to submit a lawsuit against dji dealer and dji

Good for you and as a lawyer you would also know that they have fulfilled their obligations in noting the differences in range and power.
While you are at it, I suggest you also launch simultaneous actions against all the major car manufacturers for their stated mph figures. Oh, and don't forget, camera and camcorder manufactures for their stated run times on batteries.

 

[Lastrexking]

Wow, I can't believe anyone buying a Spark isn't aware of the flight distance variation in the eu.
It doesn't take much to look up.

 

[yaniv]

Good for you and as a lawyer you would also know that they have fulfilled their obligations in noting the differences in range and power.
While you at it, I suggest you also launch simultaneous actions against all the major car manufacturers for their stated mph figures. Oh, and don't forget, camera and camcorder manufactures for their stated run times on batteries.

Well, you are correct but in spark case the difference is not by few percents it's by 80% ....

I'll update this post on how the lawsuit develops .
Anyone who wants to join me (so we can make it an international issue) will be welcomed .

 

[Lastrexking]

I don't think you have a case. As mentioned above his is clearly written in the Spark product page on the DJI Web Site:

'Unobstructed, free of interference, with remote controller when FCC compliant.'

If you weren't sure what that meant, it's your job to check before buying.

 

[Craigsdal]

Wonder why lawyers get a bad rap...

 

[The Editor]

Well, you are correct but in spark case the difference is not by few percents it's by 80% ....

I'll update this post on how the lawsuit develops .
Anyone who wants to join me (so we can make it an international issue) will be welcomed .

So, let's see if I've got this correct.
You are annoyed that you didn't read the specification clearly stated on DJI's website?
It came as a total surprise to you that your range was limited under EU geographic area (because you didn't read properly - not really good for a lawyer not to read the small print!)
And you are now going to launch a lawsuit because you believe DJI are not allowing you to fly to illegal distances for your country. (Correct me if I am wrong but Israel's UAV laws prohibit flying higher than 50m and always VLOS?)
So basically you are launching a lawsuit declaring :
DJI (a Chinese company domiciled in China) wouldn't let me fly my toy to illegal distances?
Do keep us posted how well you do with that one............

 

[yaniv]

So, let's see if I've got this correct.
You are annoyed that you didn't read the specification clearly stated on DJI's website?
It came as a total surprise to you that your range was limited under EU geographic area (because you didn't read properly - not really good for a lawyer not to read the small print!)
And you are now going to launch a lawsuit because you believe DJI are not allowing you to fly to illegal distances for your country. (Correct me if I am wrong but Israel's UAV laws prohibit flying higher than 50m and always VLOS?)
So basically you are launching a lawsuit declaring :
DJI (a Chinese company domiciled in China) wouldn't let me fly my toy to illegal distances?
Do keep us posted how well you do with that one............

1. My argue is that they didn't highlighted the EU restriction clearly enough - you need to look for this in the small paragraphs.
2. In my country (Israel) there is a law for that - as these cases are considered as misleading customers - and you may be surprised but our largest cellphone company had to pay a fine of many millions due to this exact behavior.
3. I am not looking for glory or refund - i'm looking for DJI to do fair and highlight in bold and clear at their marketing stuff, the EU and FCC restrictions.