Hi everyone, I think I'm having an issue with the distance my spark is reaching or not reaching. I have my phone connected to my rc through an otg cable and I have the wifi turned off on my iPhone, yet my Spark will only fly up to 800ft before losing signal. I noticed that when I first tried the rc it would say RC Connected and now it only shows a wifi symbol. I also don't get a ghz option. Could anyone help me out with this?
Spark distance Issue
- Thread starter Super_Saiyan_Spark
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Lancelot
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Range and Connection issue: What to check
And 800 ft height is pretty high already, isnt legally it is only 400 in the US?
And have you maybe set the max altitude?
And 800 ft height is pretty high already, isnt legally it is only 400 in the US?
And have you maybe set the max altitude?
I'm sorry, I explained the issue wrong. I am flying at the height of 100ft and it will only go the distance of 800ft away at that height. There are a lot of trees around the area I am in, so I'm not sure if that will make a difference.
You do not say what country you are in but around 200m (just over) is about standard for 5.8ghz in Europe (CE) mode/power
So I just saw a video that might explain my issue.
I may not be getting that much distance in my flight due to the height I am flying at. In the video, he gets more than double the distance by flying at 393ft compared to 150ft (not the exact numbers but in that range) height. I will try to test this over the weekend and post my results.
Sorry about that, I'm from the U.S.
DesertWindAero
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Trees will block LOS and affect range. At 800 ft distance, your altitude should be much greater than 100 ft. But, not more than 400' if you are in the USA operating under Part 107.
Generally, the greater the distance, the greater the altitude needed to maintain signal.
Yep, trees.
Seen a video once and the drone pilot explained that trees have a lot of moisture content and can affect radio signals more than iron structures.
Seen a video once and the drone pilot explained that trees have a lot of moisture content and can affect radio signals more than iron structures.
DesertWindAero
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I wouldn't put too much faith in that explanation...even if true, it's a moot point...signal blockage is signal blockage, period.
Sufficient height and mainly line of sight are the critical parameters you can easily control to get higher range.
Avoiding interference at the frequency band used for link Spark - RC is also very important. OTG cable can avoid to get the wifi link RC-phone disturbed by interference, but it is less important.
In theory, in an interference free area, using 2.4G band will give more range.
The modding like Windurfer reflector on antennas can help to get extra range and reject some interference.
CaptainDrone
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I read the comments on this forum (in this post and others) as well as the comments on the DJI Forum regarding the SPARK and distance issues.
DJI has a legal disclaimer in their add-on manual that says pretty much anything electrical may cause interference so pilot beware. That is their way of saying "I know we said it could fly over a mile, but only in optimal conditions".
It is true that the SPARK will fly (out of the box) up to a mile, and perhaps farther, if all conditions are good (i.e., interference is at a minimum).... BUT.... what is not written in the literature is that distance is based on flying pretty much in a straight line. If you decide to change course once you're past half a mile, you may lose video or telemetry.
I had not flown my SPARK much past 300 meters, so decided to try and see if it could fly up to 1600 meters (1 mile) in distance. I selected a spot over farmers fields where there would be few electrical signals (power lines, WiFi, Cell Towers, etc) to cause interference. For interest, I did leave the Blue Tooth enabled on my phone and left it connected to my FitBit. DJI says even a FitBit can cause interference because it is sending a BlueTooth signal.
In the end, I did pretty much make it to a 1 mile distance and the video signal was not bad, although it was becoming less fluid near the one mile point, and then suddenly the signal became lost & RTH self initiated. To the SPARKs credit, it flew back and landed within a couple of inches of where it took off (most impressive). Also since I flew out in Sports Mode, it appeared to return to me in Sports Mode (something I didn't expect).
One last thing... I did not use an OTG cable. As I understand it, the OTG cable is more for when you are in an area causing interference between the controller and phone, and not the controller and drone. Perhaps I'll try it in future as a MYTH or FACT distance video.
Here is the video of the event.
DJI has a legal disclaimer in their add-on manual that says pretty much anything electrical may cause interference so pilot beware. That is their way of saying "I know we said it could fly over a mile, but only in optimal conditions".
It is true that the SPARK will fly (out of the box) up to a mile, and perhaps farther, if all conditions are good (i.e., interference is at a minimum).... BUT.... what is not written in the literature is that distance is based on flying pretty much in a straight line. If you decide to change course once you're past half a mile, you may lose video or telemetry.
I had not flown my SPARK much past 300 meters, so decided to try and see if it could fly up to 1600 meters (1 mile) in distance. I selected a spot over farmers fields where there would be few electrical signals (power lines, WiFi, Cell Towers, etc) to cause interference. For interest, I did leave the Blue Tooth enabled on my phone and left it connected to my FitBit. DJI says even a FitBit can cause interference because it is sending a BlueTooth signal.
In the end, I did pretty much make it to a 1 mile distance and the video signal was not bad, although it was becoming less fluid near the one mile point, and then suddenly the signal became lost & RTH self initiated. To the SPARKs credit, it flew back and landed within a couple of inches of where it took off (most impressive). Also since I flew out in Sports Mode, it appeared to return to me in Sports Mode (something I didn't expect).
One last thing... I did not use an OTG cable. As I understand it, the OTG cable is more for when you are in an area causing interference between the controller and phone, and not the controller and drone. Perhaps I'll try it in future as a MYTH or FACT distance video.
Here is the video of the event.
It is clear that using a radio link like wifi results in something shared by many device, vary a lot in time and location and so is not the most reliable way to connect to a drone over a long distance. But it is cheap technology to build and certify. What is written in the DJI disclaimer document is a mix of engineers and pilots advises but a polishing layer by lawyers. Wifi is so, today 1500m range, next day at same place it can be half.
Regarding Bluetooth, you will have issue with Bluetooth if the link to the Spark is at 2.4G. As Spark can probably sense Bluetooth, there is great chance it will switch to 5.8G and only the link RC to phone will be at 2.4G but as it is short distance, it is less impacted. It will probably result in some lag when Bluetooth broadcast some data.
Finally the OTG cable is not exactly a myth, but not a wonder solution. It removes for sure one wifi connection and any delay that could be added by the phone. It don't really increase the range but it can remove some of interference. On the other side, some functions are limited and it is not supported by DJI as it designed for their Goggles. The day there is a conflict between OTG and their Goggles, you know the answer already.
Personally I prefer to use windsurfer antenna reflectors, disable Bluetooth and wifi nearby. I had flown regularly up to 1000-1500m in out of city area, at 2.4G or 5.8G. But in some urban area, whatever you can try, the distance will remain a fraction of that. It is just what wifi is and why Mavic / Phantom (and many others) using improved radio communication will continue to have success even if more expensive.
My 5c
Regarding Bluetooth, you will have issue with Bluetooth if the link to the Spark is at 2.4G. As Spark can probably sense Bluetooth, there is great chance it will switch to 5.8G and only the link RC to phone will be at 2.4G but as it is short distance, it is less impacted. It will probably result in some lag when Bluetooth broadcast some data.
Finally the OTG cable is not exactly a myth, but not a wonder solution. It removes for sure one wifi connection and any delay that could be added by the phone. It don't really increase the range but it can remove some of interference. On the other side, some functions are limited and it is not supported by DJI as it designed for their Goggles. The day there is a conflict between OTG and their Goggles, you know the answer already.
Personally I prefer to use windsurfer antenna reflectors, disable Bluetooth and wifi nearby. I had flown regularly up to 1000-1500m in out of city area, at 2.4G or 5.8G. But in some urban area, whatever you can try, the distance will remain a fraction of that. It is just what wifi is and why Mavic / Phantom (and many others) using improved radio communication will continue to have success even if more expensive.
My 5c
CaptainDrone
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I agree with your 5 cents. I rarely have any need to fly the Spark beyond 200 meters. It's just nice to know that the connection would be solid should one need to fly at a long distance.... and the answer for the SPARK is... "it depends".
Perhaps the SPARK PRO will get OccuSync or Lightbridge or some hybrid new version. We'll know in 2018.
Perhaps the SPARK PRO will get OccuSync or Lightbridge or some hybrid new version. We'll know in 2018.
If you are from US then there is sth wrong... where do you fly? Make a IMU calibrarion... imagine that i am from Greece and i had to bring my Spark to a FCC state like in US to achieve long range flights.... check my record
Can you please stop double posting everywhere - it is not allowed on the forum!
It Is an answer... i believe you can read?... but i will respect if the administrator thinks i double posted. He has a problem with his Spark if he cannot fly more than what he is describing in US.
Buddy411
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Total BS. Everyone knows trees block signals because they want you to lose control of your AC so they can eat it.
One day I'm gonna go all Paul Bunyan on them.
I wonder if you would have gotten a little more distance by pointing the antennas toward the general direction of the Spark. You have them pointing straight up? Does anyone know if that makes a difference?
Pointing the antennas to the Spark will just reduce your range, they have to be perpendicular, not pointing to Spark. If you don't think so, just try.
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