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Spark range with and with out OTG CABLE and parabolic antenna

Kyletxh22

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Jun 3, 2019
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I am currently flying without a OTG cable and am only getting 1,000 ft of range, does the otg and parabolic antenna add a lot more range?? Thanks in advanced for the info
 
I run 100% stock in 2.4 with cable and can get about 11 000 on a good day . 7500 is normal
 
It essentially depends on where you live/fly. The range is much greater if you live/fly in a place where the FCC standard applies to radio signals power. The transmission power under the CE standard is considerably lower. Parabolic antennas help to transmit the signal in a more targeted way, therefore it can make a difference.
 
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I am currently flying without a OTG cable and am only getting 1,000 ft of range, does the otg and parabolic antenna add a lot more range?? Thanks in advanced for the info
The short answer is "no" but these upgrades are so cheap that you should try them for yourself ;-)
 
OTG is not about distance, its about keeping your video signal clearer longer. Some swear by it, others swear the other way is fine. The parabolics have been shown to improve range, but you have to really be good with your aim to be most effective.

Your environment, weather, other people's wifi, are all going to be determining factors in your distance.
 
IMHO the OTG cable is the way to go. Gives you way more confidence with range and image transmission. I haven't flown on wifi only for quite some time.
 
It's also nice to be able to fly without having to worry about plugging a cable. Haven't seen any difference in range/quality of the feed TBH.

The only real advantage I can see is that you can connect the RC to the Spark over 2.4Ghz whch is not possible in Europe as phones can only connect to the RC over 2.4Ghz (so the RC has to connect to the Spark in 5.8) due to DJI's choice of frequencies.
 
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I use OTG for better video and my iPad running DJI Go 4 is WiFi connected to my iPhone so I have cellular internet connection. I’ve flown over 4,000 feet in distance no issues. I lost signal once near a light house. I think it was interference from the light house. As others have written “it depends “ on the area and what is in the area, metal , electronics, etc.
 
The biggest thing you need to remember is to keep it within visual/line of sight to the drone at all times. Because invariably eventually you are going to experience some kind of interference/malfunction, and when that happens if you can't see the spark you have a very low chance of recovering your craft, especially since the spark unlike other DJI drones has no backup/redundant sensors. Once you can no longer see it, you take a much larger chance of it not returning, no matter if it is 500' away or 2000. Plus the spark is on wifi, if you can't see the drone it's gonna have a hard time keeping connection.
 
Also OTG cable did help me with signal stability/hanging up when turning, especially in sports mode. Also I used to have choppy/poor video signal when I would turn around at say 3-400' away, no longer the case with the OTG cable. Using Iphone 8+.
 
Don't know about range but OTG give me a better feed, no more momentary freezing.
And I "feel safer" avoiding possible WiFi interference
from the iPad, 10 cm over the RC antennas.
As for the parabolic booster, it help me to keep video
signal on long shot but you got to aim right...
 
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The short answer is "no" but these upgrades are so cheap that you should try them for yourself ;-)

I respectfully disagree. Not sure how much the OTG helps, but the parabolic rang extender (PRE for short) if used properly, close to doubles my range. Everything stock and using both OTG and PRE I've gone over 15K ft out before losing signal - have screen recording on Youtube of another trip going 14,588 ft out before losing signal. Lucky if I can go over 7K ft without using PRE. I do agree they are cheap roughly $8 on Amazon (no brainer - definitely get them). You need to peel clear plastic off the reflective side when you get them and install on your antennas with reflectors directed toward where the drone is flying at all times.
 
the paraboliques only work in 5.8 in 2.4 they bring nothing, the interest of the otg is that there is more reemission wifi to the smartphone
 
the paraboliques only work in 5.8 in 2.4 they bring nothing, the interest of the otg is that there is more reemission wifi to the smartphone

Interesting - I haven't heard that before - the purpose of the parabolic dish is to reflect all the signal in the direction the reflective dish is pointing (more focused resulting in a stronger directional signal). What is it about 2.4 frequency that is immune to being focused and directionally intensified? Interesting, but first time I`ve heard it, if in fact it's factual. I'm in the U.S. and as I said 90% of the time the auto setting chooses 5.8 for the majority of my flight so it does effectively double my range.
 
I did the test with a spectrum analyzer it seems that the parabolic are granted for the 5.8, that's why some say that the parabolics do not bring anything because they test them in 2.4.
an antenna is always tuned for a certain frequency band it's almost impossible to cover a band that goes from 2.4 to 5.8 so you have to make a choice
 
I did the test with a spectrum analyzer it seems that the parabolic are granted for the 5.8, that's why some say that the parabolics do not bring anything because they test them in 2.4.
an antenna is always tuned for a certain frequency band it's almost impossible to cover a band that goes from 2.4 to 5.8 so you have to make a choice

Would like to see a video put out around that test using the spectrum analyser - ever consider putting one out there on this specific topic? Still struggle to believe it has no affect on 2.4. I've flown nearly 3 miles away and when drone lost signal it auto initiated RTH then immediately went to 2.4 and my video signal returned (very weak at first) and then 30 seconds to 1 minute later auto switched back to 5.8. For 2.4 to work nearly 3 miles out I would think the parabolic dish had something to do with it (maybe not to the degree it helps 5.8, but still something). Nevertheless, very interesting.
 
Would like to see a video put out around that test using the spectrum analyser - ever consider putting one out there on this specific topic? Still struggle to believe it has no affect on 2.4.

Here's a video by YouTuber Peter Homer that does a review on the PRE.

At the 2 minute mark, he starts a test to see if they work and conducts the test in the 2.4 Ghz band and assumes similar results for the 5.8.

They work. :)
 
Would like to see a video put out around that test using the spectrum analyser -

I did not make a video I just made a comparative measurement to 2m in 2.4 and in 5.8 the only thing I can say is that there is no gain in 2.4 (with and without the parabolics ) and about 4db in 5.8, these are just comparative measures I have not tried to make an absolute measure that is difficult to achieve

free to believe me or not, I just say what I found
 
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How did you measure the 4dB ?
I clearly get more range in 2.4 with the PRE than without ;-)
 

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