SWAT Fail

[Flugster]

Yesterday at SWAT training we had a barracaided subject in an old house. Breaches blew the front door and I was up to send in a drone. It was a very old house, so I felt the Spark was my best choice. The rooms are smaller than normal, doors are smaller as well.
From behind the armoured vehicle I launched and it was going well for all of 5 seconds. I quickly lost signal though the drone was flying normal. My screen said too much interference, it also said something like “to much Bluetooth interference” and “excessive interference”. One of the teams we trained with has a mobile control center (bus) that is decked out and even has a radio repeater.
I tried to get Sparky in the house, finally (since it was training) stepped out from cover so I would have direct line of sight and tried to follow the drone closely. Still I had “too much interference”.
I launched the Mavic Air, cleared the house and found the subject in a closet in less than 1 min. The Air worked flawlessly.
I have logged many hours with the Spark, I feel proficient with it. This was the first time I had “too much Bluetooth interference” or was unable to fly it in the field. In very large houses, I can lose signal but even in industrial buildings it does quite well.
I would appreciate advice and thoughts!
Thanks.

 

[Spark 317]

Bluetooth frequencies interfere with operation of the Spark.

Things like fit bits, smart watches, phone in a pocket, wireless headphones, etc. should be turned off. That includes the people around you.

You might try an OTG cable that may help if eliminating Bluetooth is not acceptable.

The stuff coming from the radio van probably has something to do with it as well.

 

[SirThomas]

One thought comes to mind. With the command center, and probably most of the team having devices on them, this was probably a radio rich environment to start with. My thought was that since the Mavic is a higher-quality device, they may have better interference rejection built into it than the lower-priced Spark.

 

[Simk1n]

Have the Spark and Air myself, but the Air just blows the Spark out of the water in terms of smoothness and connection stability, even they are both WiFi drones (enhanced WiFi on the Air)

I flew the Spark at my brothers house, only house around with WiFi, but i lost connection with my Spark for maybe 10-15 sec even the Spark was right in front of me, the connection has also dropped out with grey screen for a few seconds on other locations even the Spark is very close. The video lag is also bad on the Spark. However, i like the drone for what it is. (i use OTG on it)

The Air on the other hand has smooth video transfer (much closer to my Mavic 2 than my Spark) and the few times i have tried it, connection is stable.

Both Air and Spark is on FCC.

 

[graywoulf]

SWAT officer eh? Way cool of you and I am sure that your community/city appreciates your service. Stay safe. ??