Hi all. I have had these for a while and always use them. Been a success. I always fly with OTG. I have noticed that the WiFi signal gets quite poor (one bar) even if I am out at as little as 900ft. This makes me not want to push the craft much further out. Is this normal and will I lose contact if I have no WiFi bars up. I fly with an IPad 6 and have Airplane mode set. Thoughts most gratefully received.
WiFi signal strength with range extenders
- Thread starter twickers14
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If you are referring to the parabolic over the antenna things, you have to be very careful to be aiming directly at the drone at all times. I cant remember where you are, FCC or CE?
Ugh. I am so non-tech what are FCC and CE? I should know I know. I do take great care to point the parabolas at the Spark. That should be perfect as the Instructions say, without the range extenders on, that the antennas should be faced up to the craft rather than pointing the ends at it-if that makes sense.
This is the DJI Spec... and I believe in Europe there's no 5.8Ghz option, so 500meters is all you get. You say around 900 feet... thats about 300m
| Max Transmission Distance | 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); MIC: 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); MIC: - |
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I B Spectre
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I believe Twicers is in England, so probably CE. I believe one of the reasons our European friends are running the Go 4 Mod is to trick their controller into using FCC mode for longer range.
Doh! Of course. If you’d said FAA or CAA I’d have got it but I guess FCC and CE are related to WiFi frequencies. I certainly get 5.8 here in the UK as well as 2.4 and I usually am on 5.8. Have never looked to change it but you think that should give me more distance anyway.
Yep you’re right UK it is. I’m not after the amazing distances some pilots get just a decent flight and besides with my aged eyes and even with my driving glasses on I would struggle to keep Spark in view as the Regs require.
I B Spectre
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Government abbreviations and acronyms can be confusing. In the U.S., the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) governs the airspace while the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) governs the electromagnetic spectrum. I wasn't sure what CE stood for, but Wiki says it's certification that says it's in compliance with established European standards. I guess due to the various member countries being in close proximity to one another, they worked out an agreement that addressed each nation's concerns. Seems the shorter ranges allowed under CE erred on the side of shorter range to satisfy various government entities. On this side of the pond we can go from one state to another and still be under the same FCC rules whereas you're crossing national borders.
Tried to do a range check for the Mavic Mini yesterday, same location.
According to the log, upper level winds stopped me from reaching even 10,000ft
I would post a video but some DA forgot to push record
According to the log, upper level winds stopped me from reaching even 10,000ft
I would post a video but some DA forgot to push record
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With respect to all the great help given above should I worry about only getting out to say 900ft before the WiFi fan icon at the top of the flying screen goes down to one bar? I presume I can change the ghz to 2.4 but as Robin says above 5 is best and I’m on 5.8 already. You guys are getting 10,000ft-that’s stupendous.
Hi. Did you have wifi signal throughout? Presume you were on5.8ghz? Amazing flight.
No loss of WiFi all the way through.
The Spark was new to me so I have no idea about manual signal settings at that time.
So no idea what I was on.
Bear in mind I use FCC mode but something I've noticed about having a low signal indication, there are times when you can push 100s of meters at that level and then times when it will lose signal soon after. The signal interference in the area, not just from other wifi and cell towers but also buildings, trees, landscape etc and even the air/weather plays a big part in range and how quickly the signal degrades with distance. Also when you get out there near the end of your range the act of turning around to face home can cause the craft to lose signal as the internal antennae change their angle to the RC. One tip to help prevent that from happening is to pitch the AC backwards towards you for a distance until you have at least a couple of bars showing before turning around to come home.
Losing signal is generally something we all try to prevent and avoid as pilots but if you do have this happen it helps to know there's a very high chance the bird is going to come home provided your home point and RTH altitude are set correctly, one of the beauties of having GPS. I started out with non gps drones and if you lost signal there was a high chance you lost the bird.
Even more impressive. Gives me hope that I can try to get out further than 900ft!! Thanks for your help.
I B Spectre
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Just wondering, twickers, if you're using OTG between your phone/tablet and your RC. If not, perhaps WiFi interference is at the root of the problem.
My first post up top says I do so that’s not the issue. Perhaps I am expecting there to be too many WiFi bars up all the time. We (near me here in the UK) don’t have the massive wide open spaces that would allow me to try flying the distance some on the Forum display. It’s a mystery.
Looks like you lost signal at 10122' from start (1.9 miles). Impressive! Did you try it without the parabolic extenders? And what did you use to give the on screen stats?
Never lost signal. I reached battery failsafe RTH.
Without I can only reach about 8,000ft before loss of signal.
The program that does the overlay is called Dashware.
DashWare - Telemetry Data Overlay on Your Videos
DashWare makes your videos great! Overlay any telemetry data right onto your videos. Great for GoPro, GoProHD, Contour, ContourHD, ContourGPS, cycling / mountain biking / MTB, mortorcycling, auto racing, autocross, skiing, snowboarding, RC / UAV / drone vehicles, ... the possibilities are endless.
www.dashware.net
Main thing to remember is the software needs to think there is an audio track or it will not render.
So a file fresh off a DJI device will not work.
You will need to run it through an editor to add a sound track.
You do not have to add sound, it just needs the track added as DJI files are video track only.
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