does weather affect distance?

[p.mitchell]

still trying to get the bottom of my very poor range on my p3s.

can the weather conditions play a part of distance?

couple weeks ago in the evening i flew away from houses etc across feilds but being new to drones at 320m i clicked RTH after i lost sight of the drone after looking at the app to check distance. that evening the weather was good. sunny with not very many clouds in the sky and had been dry for a few days.

fast forward a week and i flew in the exact same spot, headed off in the exact same distance at 150m i lost all signal and the drone came back. i added my windsurfer and headed back off in the same direction but at 250m i lost all signal again. i spent most of my flying time in RTH mode.

 

[WetDog]

While weather certainly can affect distance (high humidity, winds) it's doubtful that your experience reflects this. It is more likely that either you are getting local interference from WiFi stations or other interference in the 2.4 GHz band or you have a problem with the antennas or parts of the communication chain.

 

[Prairie Pyro]

Read up on wifi and what affects it. There was a local tv station that did a piece on it and heat is a killer for wifi

 

[Erised]

I get good distance if I fly out over the bush but if I go close to cell towers I lose communication and RTH kicks in. I have purposly tried this twice with the same results. After checking my exact location I realised I was between 2 cell towers that are about 5 miles apart. Just being close did not cause any problems for me, only when I was between them.

 

[p.mitchell]

cheers. i flew near a phone mast a week ago, didnt realise it was behind the trees over the hill until the drone cleared the trees and i could see it on the screen.

the particular spot im flying here is away from any phone or power lines aswell as any buildings. not as far away as i would like to be but far enough that wifi signals defiantly are not getting to me. i was only flying over open fields in a straight line.

i go away next weekend and taking the drone with me. going to find somewhere no where near anything and see what difference it makes.

 

[WetDog]

Read up on wifi and what affects it. There was a local tv station that did a piece on it and heat is a killer for wifi

Microwave propagation isn't really affected by heat AFAIA, can you point to a link about that? Cheap WiFi equipment on the other hand could certainly mess things up. However, in general, it is very, very complex:

The microwave propagation is subject to extremely complex physical laws. Even to deal with these in an approximate way would be exceed the scope of this website, especially as all phenomena and conditions are not only closely dependent on the frequency and transmission distance used but also on the modulation scheme and transmission capacity. Furthermore all of the relevant factors have mutual effects upon each other. Therefore an attempt has been made in the following to touch upon only the most important problems.

Unimpeded lines-of-sight are absolutely necessary between two microwave nodes. In addition the first Fresnel zone must be free from all obstructions. Panes of glass or plastic blinds cause additional attenuation and affect the beam directionality of the antenna. Special laws apply in the antenna near field. Furthermore, for longer distances, the curvature of the earth and the refraction of the "microwave beam" in the atmosphere along with the latter's deviations throughout the day and the year must be taken into consideration. In practice two-dimensional path profiles are created that enable an experienced microwave link planner to evaluate the transmission path.

A decisive influence on the microwave propagation is exerted by meteorological phenomena in close interaction with the topographical conditions in the transmission field. In long-haul microwave technology, refraction, reflection and various types of fading have a marked temporary effect on the quality of the microwave link. In contrast to this, in short-haul microwave links, the propagation is impaired above all by heavy rain. The transition between these two causes of impaired quality is however fluid and extremely complex. For this reason the achievable quality of a microwave link can only be comprehensively analysed by an experienced specialist on the spot and be calculated in advance by him.

 

[p.mitchell]

ok so yesterday the weather wasn't brillaint and rain was forecast but i was away for the weekend and the drone came with me of course lol

in the middle of absolute no where, 3 cottages in the middle of alot of fields on a hill. tall trees behind me and just open fields in front of me. Flying into a strong head wind which made going very slow.

so this time the weather conditions are the same as before but the location is different. p3s using a diy windsurfer and i got to 510m before i clicked RTH. Was going to go further but with the weather closing in i didnt want to risk me being nice and dry but i had just flown the drone into the storm. luckily it came back dry