Strange Range Problem

MartyPilot · Apr 30, 2016

I'm experiencing strange behavior with my Phantom 3.
I'm currently located in a gated community in Ecuador and while I'm able to do 5km range with my Phantom 3 without any problem, I'm still unable to maintain a connection while flying over the site that is 1.5km long by 700 m wide.

At first I was blaming the 2.4 Ghz Internet transmission tower that is providing Wi-Fi Internet to all the houses on the project but an event puts that theory to trash last night.

We where experiencing a total power outage so no power, no client's wifi and no Wi-Fi distribution over the site. I then grab the occasion to test my theory and take my P3 out for a fly. I then reallized that the situation wasn't better at all.

I was unable to get a steady RC signal over the site but as as soon that I was crossing an imaginary line around the site, then the signal gets back to 100% and I was able to do the 5km range without any signal drop.

I'm out of solutions now and I must be able to fly this thing around because I got a contract with owners to map their site and do some promo shot of their installations but I'm still struggeling with this issue instead of beeing doing my job.

I've made a DIY windsurfer antenna mod and while that helps a little, I'm still unable to get what I'm supposed to get as signal stability.

Anyone ever had such issue ? Any idea ?

mdowney58 · Apr 30, 2016

Are you positive that the WiFi distribution tower doesn't have back up power?

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MartyPilot · Apr 30, 2016

Yes this is the first thing that pops though my mind and the next day I was talking to the network manager and he tell me that he didn't have any power backup on the antenna, he only have backup on the servers and they shut down automaticaly 5 min after power outages and that was anyway like 2 hours after it began so everything was dead, 100% sure

mdowney58 · Apr 30, 2016

Ok. What is the wifi distribution tower's source? Is it possible that this tower is a repeater, and receives an incoming signal that could have still been transmitting WiFi TO the tower from elsewhere?

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MartyPilot · Apr 30, 2016

The provider is sending us signal thru a Microwave link at 5.2-5.4 ghz. He was alive that night so this is the only signal that was comming toward our site.

mdowney58 · Apr 30, 2016

I wonder if that signal is shot like a cannon towards your tower. Do you know where the provider's sending tower is located, and could this flight problem area be in that path?

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MartyPilot · Apr 30, 2016

here is the map of the site, the provider and the beam of microwave ... but hence that seems to match ... I don't understand why a 5.4ghz beam may affect my 2.4 ghz RC ... or is there something I missunderstand there ?
[file]MicroWavePath|none[/file]

mdowney58 · Apr 30, 2016

MartyPilot said:
here is the map of the site, the provider and the beam of microwave ... but hence that seems to match ... I don't understand why a 5.4ghz beam may affect my 2.4 ghz RC ... or is there something I missunderstand there ?
[file]MicroWavePath|none[/file]

I don't see the map. Does your link work for you?

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MartyPilot · Apr 30, 2016

Yes I do.
It's the first time I post a photo ... I've use the wiki file ... I even see it in you reply

May I had done it wrong ... or how should I do it

mdowney58 · Apr 30, 2016

MartyPilot said:
Yes I do.
It's the first time I post a photo ... I've use the wiki file ... I even see it in you reply

May I had done it wrong ... or how should I do it

I see where you tried to insert a file, picture, or link. But what I'm saying is that it doesn't do anything. Something should happen when it is clicked. Does something happen when you click it?

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MartyPilot · Apr 30, 2016

yes, it open the "file browser", I press +New Attachement, upload the picture, and later on select it in the list ... [file]MicroWavePath|none|MicroWavePath[/file]

dirkclod · May 1, 2016

It's there I see it .

MartyPilot · May 1, 2016

dirkclod said:
It's there I see it .

Good, so I've done it the right way ... thank you

mdowney58 · May 1, 2016

Weird. It's not a hyperlink on my device.
I use Tapatalk, so maybe that's why.

EDIT:
I just opened this whole thread in a browser, and I see your map!
Odd that it doesn't work using Tapatalk.
On every other thread I read, I see pics, and can click links.

I think very strong radio signals can interfere, even on different frequencies.

Also, I thought that the Phantoms used both 2.4 & 5.8.
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