No not at all. My range far exceeds the battery with these on the car.
The Official "My P4 Range Is Too Short" Thread - Don't Start New Range Threads!
- Thread starter Ramphex
- Start date
No not at all. My range far exceeds the battery with these on the car.
Hmm, well if you're for real then I'm interested lol. I would love to fly from inside my car instead of standing outside and attracting attention while being cold lol. What's the setup? Any write up on this?
Yes I am for real. The antennas are L-con 8.5dbi 2.4ghz Omni directional with magnetic base. I also use 3w boosters mounted on back of the remote. You can get much smaller antennas but I have these on the roof of my house for a year now so I knew what can be done with them
Can you also say what distances you can get without the boosters? The FPVLR setup is way too bulky...
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any 2.4ghz 8 to 9dbi Omni wifi antenna will work. I use the outdoor ones.
I didn't find information about how windsurfer works with P4, so I spent half an hour to make a DIY version to test it. I know, it's ugly. No, it's fugly. But it works!! The range almost doubled, especially when there are obstacles on line of sight. This is not a joke. 
Perhaps I'll pay more attention to the aesthetic design when building the next version, or just order one from eBay.
But, as a conclusion, windsurfer helps increasing P4 range.
Perhaps I'll pay more attention to the aesthetic design when building the next version, or just order one from eBay.But, as a conclusion, windsurfer helps increasing P4 range.
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I think he is just using the amps from his FPVLR setup - he is just running a connector to new omnidirectionals that are magmounted. Nothing special, but a nice setup.
Mines a little better looking but I haven't got a chance to test. Glad to see you're getting good results once again proving the concept worksI didn't find information about how windsurfer works with P4, so I spent half an hour to make a DIY version to test it. I know, it's ugly. No, it's fugly. But it works!! The range almost doubled, especially when there are obstacles on line of sight. This is not a joke.
But, as a conclusion, windsurfer helps increasing P4 range.
well not really , a bunch of single level houses and 2 level townhouses , the bird was within sight , the antennas were perfectly setup parallel to the craft..., can anyone comment on the controller output power, there are speculations that P4 controller is weaker than P3 controller by 20% is that true ? no one from DJI will comment onto my questions...
If that is true where is the available data to support this statement, is there any spec sheet that one can look at and have a plain judgment...
I took P4 to a rural area in my province and flew it over 12000 ft each way, so this was quite impressive...
can anyone comment on the power output of the P4 controller...
Looks like DJI-Ken has been replying to some posts regarding range over at the DJI forums. I'm a potential buyer of a P4, anyone with a bit more experience with range issues want to sus out whether the issues are because the P4 is crippled or could be fixed by firmware?
DJI Forum|Awesome range on the P4 going 5km
DJI Forum|Awesome range on the P4 going 5km
It's hard to say if a firmware mod can fix it, I personally doubt it. Usually the RF wattage an RC and drone output in both directions are fixed with the particular components chosen to meet the transmit power output goals, but I hope I'm wrong. The sad thing is the P4 control link to the craft seems to be the same power as the video downlink. I'm getting spontaneous NO SIGNAL control disconnects just as often as I get video signal strength disconnects at moderate ranges of 3000-4000'. When using my P3P in the same areas it is solid as a rock. With my P3P I never lost control signal before video signal, and I always got a warning when the video signal was getting weak so I can stop and maintain the video feed. With P4 I get sudden NO SIGNAL scenarios at moderate distances which sometimes trigger RTH. Very disconcerting. I love the design otherwise, but the distance is why I buy DJI. If I didn't care about distance I'd likely buy something else. The P3P distance is what sets you free, the P4 no so much.
I find it funny that most newbie customers are attracted to P4's Tap Fly, Active track, and Obstacle Avoidance, but for me those are not very important. I rarely use them. I would use OA occasionally on shoots a mile away, but OA would not be a primary reason why I buy DJI. I buy DJI for the distance, having a solid signal connection. So with P4, the things that matter to me personally, I got stuff on the P4 I don't value and I lost what I valued the most, distance. I would have been perfectly happy with the SAME distance as P3, but that didn't happen, it's less. I feel I was snookered. I have two choices, I can wait for DJI to fix it (assuming it's possible), or go spend another hundred dollars on a DBS antenna setup in an attempt to get a more reliable connection that can easily go 2 miles.
Yea, I honestly don't know what to think either.
Here's my case though: I'm completely new to drones and anything long distance. I went into an open field today with farmland below, and at 414 feet up with clear LOS, my bird loses connection at 3300 feet. After about 1500 feet, it probably got a low signal warning about 10 times over the 4 minute flight. It finally returned home once it lost connection.
Is there any configuration I need to do or something I'm just missing? I expected at LEAST a mile. I can't imagine how this thing would perform if I had trees around or a building in the way...
Here's my case though: I'm completely new to drones and anything long distance. I went into an open field today with farmland below, and at 414 feet up with clear LOS, my bird loses connection at 3300 feet. After about 1500 feet, it probably got a low signal warning about 10 times over the 4 minute flight. It finally returned home once it lost connection.
Is there any configuration I need to do or something I'm just missing? I expected at LEAST a mile. I can't imagine how this thing would perform if I had trees around or a building in the way...
There is obviously some underlying reason behind the range issues, but what are DJI say their transmitter specs are stronger from the P3 to the P4.
The P4 transmitter specs
The P4 transmitter specs
- FCC: 23 dBm
- CE: 17 dBm
- FCC: 20 dBm
- CE: 16 dBm
Are you choosing a custom channel, such as #20, then set transmission quality till 4mbps?. Try that, it helps. Wind surfer helps too.
I always have it on Auto. Terrible idea? I haven't adjusted video setting but I think it's on the max, which shows 4 mbps (1.88) miles. Also terrible idea? Video feed cuts in and out every now and then, but how does the mbps video feed effect the RC signal? Sorry for my inexperience.
