Phantom 4 Pro v2.0 Range is awful

[GadgetGuy]

Actually, it's a pretty good idea, from an operator health standpoint, to use the reflectors. With the number of cancer cases on the rise with cell phone use, one really should try to minimize the amount of RF being pumped into one's body. Use of reflectors reduces the amount of energy your body absorbs, in addition to the known benefits of more reliable transmission.

Signal transmission with a windsurfer is only more reliable if the aircraft is in front of you, and you are pointing the RC directly at the aircraft. If the aircraft is behind you, or directly above you, or offline in front of you, at great distance, the windsurfer will seriously reduce stability of the signal. Same signal output. Stock is omnidirectional, and with a windsurfer, it is simply more directionally focused. Given that flying behind oneself is very disorienting anyway, and a violation of maintaining VLOS, might as well use the windsurfer, and reflect the signal away, which can improve range out to 5 miles with clear LOS on the P4P in Auto 5.8 Ghz.

 

[Basspig]

Signal transmission with a windsurfer is only more reliable if the aircraft is in front of you, and you are pointing the RC directly at the aircraft. If the aircraft is behind you, or directly above you, or offline in front of you, at great distance, the windsurfer will seriously reduce stability of the signal. Same signal output. Stock is omnidirectional, and with a windsurfer, it is simply more directionally focused. Given that flying behind oneself is very disorienting anyway, and a violation of maintaining VLOS, might as well use the windsurfer, and reflect the signal away, which can improve range out to 5 miles with clear LOS on the P4P in Auto 5.8 Ghz.

I assumed that anyone using the reflectors already knew how they worked and that they have to be aimed at the RC at all times. The best way to do that is to keep the aircraft symbol lined up with the white triangle at the top of the radar screen.
The lesser known advantage is that you reduce the amount of radiation that penetrates your body. For cancer patients like me, that is a big concern.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I assumed that anyone using the reflectors already knew how they worked and that they have to be aimed at the RC at all times. The best way to do that is to keep the aircraft symbol lined up with the white triangle at the top of the radar screen.
The lesser known advantage is that you reduce the amount of radiation that penetrates your body. For cancer patients like me, that is a big concern.

I unlock the map in the lower right hand corner, and rotate myself to keep the yellow line between me and the aircraft vertical at all times. Same result. Different method. Good point about the reduced radiation. We assume everyone else knows everything we do. Unfortunately, with new fliers joining the Forum every day, the gotchas and traps for the unwary often need repeating or clarification. Redundancy is better than ignorance. Might save a few aircraft, too!

 

[Basspig]

I keep the map locked because the Crystal Sky seems to struggle with updating the constantly rotating map when it's not locked.

Back in my broadcast engineering years, we had training on RFR (Radio Frequency Radiation) and the federal guidelines for safety. They used to say that as long as it's not ionizing radiation, it's 'safe', however, we live within 1450' of a 50kW FM tower, and nearly everyone in the neighborhood has, or has already died from Leukemia and other cancers. I took the time and money to Faraday shield my place because I run sensitive audio and video recording equipment which can't be interfered with by radio broadcasts. The RF in my yard is so strong it will lock up a digital camera.

I'm somewhat concerned about the Wi-Fi in my house, as I have two fairly powerful APs running near my desk downstairs. Using a RC with the drone is just one more source of fairly powerful, short wavelength energy that penetrates the skull. Anything above 700MHz will penetrate the skull. And the inverse square law tells us that the intensity of the field in the first couple of feet from the RC is quite a bit stronger than the cell tower down the road. So keeping that energy directed away from the body is a good idea.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I keep the map locked because the Crystal Sky seems to struggle with updating the constantly rotating map when it's not locked.

Back in my broadcast engineering years, we had training on RFR (Radio Frequency Radiation) and the federal guidelines for safety. They used to say that as long as it's not ionizing radiation, it's 'safe', however, we live within 1450' of a 50kW FM tower, and nearly everyone in the neighborhood has, or has already died from Leukemia and other cancers. I took the time and money to Faraday shield my place because I run sensitive audio and video recording equipment which can't be interfered with by radio broadcasts. The RF in my yard is so strong it will lock up a digital camera.

I'm somewhat concerned about the Wi-Fi in my house, as I have two fairly powerful APs running near my desk downstairs. Using a RC with the drone is just one more source of fairly powerful, short wavelength energy that penetrates the skull. Anything above 700MHz will penetrate the skull. And the inverse square law tells us that the intensity of the field in the first couple of feet from the RC is quite a bit stronger than the cell tower down the road. So keeping that energy directed away from the body is a good idea.

Wow! You might consider a custom made windsurfer, as all the available versions only extend up as high as the last 1/2" of the antennas, leaving plenty of room for radiation spillover over the top of the windsurfer, and back to your head, which is above the antenna during normal use.

 

[Basspig]

In long distance use, I find myself holding the RC at eye level because the Crystal Sky's mounting angle tends to push against the reflectors, causing the antennas to aim downward at about 15° angle. So to compensate for that and aim up at the horizon, I hold the RC up and tilted a bit.
It sounds like some more improvements on the Windsurfer could be possible if there is signal spilling to the back of the reflectors. I would have to pull out my trusty HP 8560A with a small probe and measure the aperture of the antennas with the reflectors in place to be sure.

 

[EricE555]

Aren't you overstating the unidirectional a bit?
Surely the parabolic is not so perfect that you get a tight beam. Simple air dispersion would happen anyway, right?

So I am saying it is not like
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more like
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I am asking, not stating.

 

[John Locke]

Wow! You might consider a custom made windsurfer, as all the available versions only extend up as high as the last 1/2" of the antennas, leaving plenty of room for radiation spillover over the top of the windsurfer, and back to your head, which is above the antenna during normal use.

Hmm, hopefully my iPad Air2 behind my windsurfer is enough to deflect any residual signal away from being harmful. However, I think my cellphone likely radiates 2.4Ghz just as much or more than my Phantom 4P RC, and I hold my celllphone to my head!

Even high tension power lines (450,000 volts) have been linked to health problems. I'd never live within a block of high tension lines. My Phantom can't pickup GPS under them also, truly a health problem for drone operation.

 

[GadgetGuy]

In long distance use, I find myself holding the RC at eye level because the Crystal Sky's mounting angle tends to push against the reflectors, causing the antennas to aim downward at about 15° angle. So to compensate for that and aim up at the horizon, I hold the RC up and tilted a bit.
It sounds like some more improvements on the Windsurfer could be possible if there is signal spilling to the back of the reflectors. I would have to pull out my trusty HP 8560A with a small probe and measure the aperture of the antennas with the reflectors in place to be sure.

Forgot that you are using the CS. Considering that the power output is unamplified, unlike with range modded setups, you should be fine. We could also debate the benefits and harms of the 5.8Ghz v. the 2.4Ghz band, since you have a choice of frequency on the P4P, and presumably on the V2. I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to the harm from such minor sources of radiation, which have already been certified by the FCC for safety. Your neighborhood is another matter altogether! No harm in measuring, though!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Hmm, hopefully my iPad Air2 behind my windsurfer is enough to deflect any residual signal away from being harmful. However, I think my cellphone likely radiates 2.4Ghz just as much or more than my Phantom 4P RC, and I hold my celllphone to my head!

Even high tension power lines (450,000 volts) have been linked to health problems. I'd never live within a block of high tension lines. My Phantom can't pickup GPS under them also, truly a health problem for drone operation.

Good point! Even without a windsurfer, the signal should be fully blocked behind by the 9.7" iPad. Linked to health problems and causation are night and day apart, but anything that affects GPS reception is, indeed, a problem for drone flying. The noise of the high tension wires would annoy me as well as the VLOS obstruction, and potential hazard of flying into the wires at night, and even during the day, as they often can't be seen on FPV, and OA won't detect them!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Aren't you overstating the unidirectional a bit?
Surely the parabolic is not so perfect that you get a tight beam. Simple air dispersion would happen anyway, right?

So I am saying it is not like
-----------------------------
-----------------------------

more like
--------
---------------
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
---------------
--------
I am asking, not stating.

Depends upon the design, but the better the design, the more unidirectional the signal. Even with a cheap windsurfer, anything within 20° on either side will sufficiently maintain signal to not enter RTH with clear LOS, even several miles away. However, maximum signal strength and stability always occurs at 0° of deviation from straight.

 

[Basspig]

I find that with my reflectors, I have about a 20° wide beam at the most, in the horizontal plane. They certainly are effective, rendering about 40% more distance. Manufacturer claims 16dBi. I think it's more like 8-10dB improvement over the monopoles built into the controller, but darned cheap way to get more range.

As for radiation and our area, one of the hazards of living on a mountain is towers. But I moved up here after the Flood of '55 wiped out most everything in my cellar in Stamford. Decided never to live in a low lying area from then forth. But the radiation is enormous here. Neighbor up the road died of cancer recently. A member of my immediate family got Leukemia from "environmental causes" according to the doc and died. My wife has Thyroid cancer and I have prostate cancer. But I've been in this location for 52 years. Never could use an FM radio here, as we'd hear the local station across the entire dial. First time I bought a digital camera and tried to take a picture out in the garden the darned thing locked up tighter than a drum. Found it worked in the house, but as soon as I walked out the door, bam. Locked solid. It's a wonder the Phantom works around here. I guess it's testimony to the RF shielding of the Phantom's avionics. I've flown my Phantom within 80' of that tower without a glitch. Go figure!

 

[John Locke]

My personal gripe with Lightbridge isn't even necessarily with the range at which the video feed starts to drop out due to interference, but rather the manner in which it just cuts in and out abruptly, where Ocusync begins to drop out gradually, and gives you more time to respond and correct. With Lightbridge I can be flying along with 5 bars of HD signal, which will then abruptly drop to zero, and then back up to 5. I don't expect to get better range with the P4P V 2.0, but I absolutely expect to get better performance out of the video feed.

I agree, Ocu-Sync should be superior video communications (based on my Mavic experience), when DJI hopefully gets it tuned and optimized in 4 to 5 months.

I've mitigated the Light-bridge distance issues by always using a windsurfer and flying on 5.8Ghz AUTO. This combination has over a 4mi range when I have a clear LOS connection, even in town. If you're flying 2.4Ghz, try 5.8 AUTO with a windsurfer and report back.

 

[Deleted member 113105]

You also need to remember that your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections are within the 2.4 GHz range. This can cause significant issues with datalink loss. I’ve had this happened numerous times flying my RC planes. I was trying to figure out what the problem was and finally came to the conclusion that it was the cell phone causing the problem. I no longer keep the cell phone on my person while flying and I have not had one issue since. The cellular connection is this can cause significant issues with datalink loss. I’ve had this happened numerous times flying my RC planes. I was trying to figure out what the problem was and finally came to the conclusion that it was this cell phone causing the problem. I no longer keep the cell phone on my person while flying and I have not had one issue since. The cellular connection is not Probably not going to interfere but the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signal will

 

[MTBryan]

Not sure if this has been mentioned. But my p4pv2 range was awful out of the box. I relinked it to the controller and it completely solved the problem.
It then happened again about 20 flights later. Wouldn't even go 600 feet. Same simple solution: relink the controller. It only takes a moment.
Mine also didn't hover very steady out of the box. I recalibrated the IMU and that was solved too.
After the last firmware upgrade I've had zero issues.
Amazing machine but anything so complex will sometimes require a little tinkering and care. Hope that helps.

 

[Basspig]

It's interesting to note that some Phantoms need tinkering to make work and others are relatively trouble-free out of the box. Could be the factory didn't properly calibrate some of the units?

 

[MTBryan]

Yeah, good point. I didn't believe a controller re link would help me. Seems to me that it's either linked or not. But it sure made a difference for my range.

 

[John Locke]

You also need to remember that your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections are within the 2.4 GHz range. This can cause significant issues with datalink loss.

This this correct, and often overlooked. If you have your iPad (or android) WiFi turned on and not connected to an access point, it will ping all WiFi channels, looking for a connection. It will do this endlessly and this will interfere with your video downlink from the craft because the iPad is 2" away from your RC video receive antenna, overpowering the craft that's hundreds of feet away. This is a big problem when flying on 2.4ghz, not so much on 5.8ghz. Just make sure all WiFi devices are turned off, or connected to an access point. I haven't experienced any affect from Bluetooth interference.

 

[Basspig]

Just put the phone on 'airplane mode' and you're all set.

 

[herkam]

I had a distance of 2 km to the the P4 Pro V2 with googles connected when I started losing connection, height was 120 m and wifi was disabled on the android tablet, only 4G enabled.
Wifi seems to create a lot of problems for the googles?
I attached the external antenna to the googles (not sure if it is used when it is connected to the V2).

/hakan