DJI FPV Drone Distance

[FPV Flier]

Hello, fpv fliers. I just ordered a DJI fpv drone coming from a Mavic pro I've had since 2016 . I Have a question....... After reading many reviews and viewing many video's of reviews, I'm wondering what is the actual distance pilots are getting on their fpv drone right out of the box with no after market antenna's for extra range? I know there are many different factors that come into play when it comes to drone distance. Just the average distance so I'll know what to expect. I would like to hear from some of you that have done a range test on a stock out of the box fpv drone. (On my Mavic I've gone out about 3 miles with a spotter of course.) I would greatly appreciate your information....... On another note, those pilots who Have installed after market range extenders, did it really increase your range enough to tell a difference? In advance, thank you all so very much for your time and information on this subject. Happy and Safe flying.

Best Regards
FPV Flier

 

[Kilrah]

Depends in which region of the world you are, but somewhat similar as a Mavic, although if you fly the FPV in a sporty way the requirements for calling the transmission adequate change, so like anything related to transmission range there's no simple answer.

 

[FPV Flier]

Depends in which region of the world you are

US..........thanks Kilrah!

 

[afreakofnature]

It would probably fly farther than your Mavic. However there’s not enough battery so if you do a straight line distance you’re going to be turning around sooner to get back. I’ve never reached a distance yet where I’ve lost signal before turning back, on wide open flats. Most the time I lose signal because I’m going up and down around hills or a down into a gulch.

 

[FPV Flier]

It would probably fly farther than your Mavic. However there’s not enough battery so if you do a straight line distance you’re going to be turning around sooner to get back. I’ve never reached a distance yet where I’ve lost signal before turning back, on wide open flats. Most the time I lose signal because I’m going up and down around hills or a down into a gulch.

Thanks for that information. I kinda figured that battery power would run out before loosing signal on a range test. So far are you happy with your dji fpv drone? Mine is suppose to arrive tomorrow. Happy and safe flying!

 

[afreakofnature]

Absolutely love flying it. Like you I had a Mavic and “upgraded” To this. You have to understand though that they are two different types of drones. I love the FPV drone because it’s like the flying experience I craved. Mavic is more for exploratory purposes and mapping for me which is why I will never get rid of it as well.

 

[FPV Flier]

Absolutely love flying it. Like you I had a Mavic and “upgraded” To this. You have to understand though that they are two different types of drones. I love the FPV drone because it’s like the flying experience I craved. Mavic is more for exploratory purposes and mapping for me which is why I will never get rid of it as well.

That's me too. I will like the excitement flying the fpv drone and I use my Mavic for cinematography work that I do. The Mavic is a great drone for that.

 

[A.O.]

I am in a heavily wooded area of South Carolina, best distance I have gotten I think is about 3200 feet in the winter (less leaves) and right now maybe 2000 to 2400 feet.

 

[FPV Flier]

I'm in a wooded area to...when I'm up and flying it will be interesting to see how much distance I get also. Were you using the motion controller or the remote? I've read where some pilots don't get as much distance with the MC?

 

[A.O.]

I'm in a wooded area to...when I'm up and flying it will be interesting to see how much distance I get also. Were you using the motion controller or the remote? I've read where some pilots don't get as much distance with the MC?

Using the RC, I returned the MC..

 

[careless]

I was disappointed in the flight distance like A.O. said maybe 2000ft. then lost signal and return home kicked in, if I knew this before I would have kept my Mavic 2 Pro but I still have my Mavic mini that will do over a mile.

 

[A.O.]

I wasn't disappointed just had to figure out my limitations, and again I have a very thick tree cover here. I'm sure if I were flying in a more open area I'd get more range, but with this range I can reach all ends of my property from my house which is really all I'm looking for anyway. And I'm not normally flying real high either, with more altitude I do get more range.
What kind of terrain are you flying in?

 

[thetechnobear]

for me, same as @afreakofnature , If I can get clean line of sight... on 2.4ghz, it goes a long way (3k+) with spotters , and I turn back because of battery - usually its still at 5 bars.

but yeah, all depends on how much (and what it is) is in between you and the drone. go behind a hill, and it'll cut out immediately

I also find you have to watch the RC link as well, there are situations, where I see the RC link fail before the video.

there are some new dual band patch antennas that may be worth a try...

ORT Digieyes V2 Dual Patch Antenna For DJI

Get the ORT Digieyes V2 Dual Patch Antenna For DJI - the only high gain dual-band directional antenna 2.4/5.8GHz on the market! Order today from RDQ.

www.racedayquads.com

Ive not tested them yet, but I know patch antennas for my air unit drone work really well... so Im definitely going to give these a go.
(in my case, Im hoping I can then use on both dji fpv and air unit, so dont have to swap antennas around)

 

[A.O.]

for me, same as @afreakofnature , If I can get clean line of sight... on 2.4ghz, it goes a long way (3k+) with spotters , and I turn back because of battery - usually its still at 5 bars.

but yeah, all depends on how much (and what it is) is in between you and the drone. go behind a hill, and it'll cut out immediately

I also find you have to watch the RC link as well, there are situations, where I see the RC link fail before the video.

there are some new dual band patch antennas that may be worth a try...

ORT Digieyes V2 Dual Patch Antenna For DJI

Get the ORT Digieyes V2 Dual Patch Antenna For DJI - the only high gain dual-band directional antenna 2.4/5.8GHz on the market! Order today from RDQ.

www.racedayquads.com

Ive not tested them yet, but I know patch antennas for my air unit drone work really well... so Im definitely going to give these a go.
(in my case, Im hoping I can then use on both dji fpv and air unit, so dont have to swap antennas around)

But will they overcome ground clutter/trees or whatever?

And yes I am ALWAYS watching the RC link!! Sometimes just giving myself more altitude re-establishes the RC link so I just have to climb...

 

[thetechnobear]

they should improve signal yes...

the issue basically is the trees scatter the signal, so you cannot stop this, but better antennas can make better use of the whats available.

my experience so far is... better antennas get you a better signal, but don't expect 'miracles'.
I found patch antennas (so you face direction of quad, roughly) make the biggest difference.


checkout RCSchim channel... he is an expert at testing antennas...

https://www.youtube.com/user/YTschim

he did a test of the ORT Digieyes v2 very recently (they are a pretty new release I think)

his test was more a range test, rather than penetration, but if you look on youtube, you will see people comparing patch antennas vs omnis, where they test in woods and things, and they do help there too.



latest news:
Ive just ordered some ORT Digieyes V2... as above, Ive been considering them for a while, so this 'reminder' pushed me over the edge
I'll try to do some updated tests when they arrive

 

[afreakofnature]

I also find you have to watch the RC link as well, there are situations, where I see the RC link fail before the video.

that was one thing with this that I found interesting/scary. With my Mavic you would lose video before remote so you could pause what you were doing and try to get your aircraft higher or turned around to get your video signal back. But with this you lose your RC signal before your video and you’re sitting there watching and hoping that the automatic features kick in so that you can get your RC back. All the while watching what’s going on and hoping for the best LOL.

 

[FPV Flier]

I've read quite a bit about the Stubby antenna's RCShim mentioned in the video and all was positive.

 

[thetechnobear]

Ive just ordered some ORT Digieyes V2... as above, Ive been considering them for a while, so this 'reminder' pushed me over the edge
I'll try to do some updated tests when they arrive

ok, they arrived... and done some test flights....
will take me a few days to sort out the video though.

also, Im think I might do the test flight again with the stock antenna, now (since firmware update) that the goggles with the dji fpv drone report bitrate/latency (a proxy for signal strength)

my initial thoughts, but i need to verify...
- air unit, as expected (as they are linear antennas) perform better than stock antennas and ifight stubbies, but a little poorer than the iFlight Crystal HD

- dji fpv, they seem a little better than the stock antenna, and definitely a lot better than the iFlight Crystal HD.
but , I really need to see some numbers to compare the stock antenna.


as I say, Im being a bit 'guarded' on if they are better than the stock antenna on the dji fpv drone, since in my last video I just 'called out' signal strength, so its a bit 'vague' - so Id really like to see some numbers.

overall, they seem to do as I hope....
they provide a much better experience than stock when used with the air unit, to the point they are very acceptable.
they provide at least as good, perhaps better (to be verified) than the stock with the dji fpv, and can be used in both 2.4 and 5.8ghz
this means they are very good if you are switching between air unit and dji fpv drones.

Id like to do some general flying and see if it 'opens up' areas that were weak spots before.

------

on a separate note, I also ordered some ORT Pagado Extreme for the air unit.
wowzers, they really are much better than the air unit antennas... to the point, I really wondered if my air unit antenna were damaged!



----


now I have to convince myself not to get a separate set of v2 gogges for the air unit...
so I can have digieyes v2 on one set (for dji drone), and iflight on the other (for air unit)
would also mean I dont have to keep rebinding...

(in fairness, this has been crossing my mind, so I can have a set for audience mode for friends/family)

perhaps one day, I can find a used set of v2s for a reasonable price

 

[thetechnobear]

redid the dji fpv stock ant test flights for both 2.4 and 5.8ghz , so I can compare directly with the the digieyes v2.

looking at this footage and the bitrate, I think the Digieyes are definitely better both in range and penetration.
its more noticable on the 5.8ghz tests flights, as the stock antennas feel really 'on the edge'.
and whilst the 2.4ghz, is ok at 1km on stock, you can still see an improvement on the digieyes

of course, this is deliberately tested at 25mW (CE), so we can see the issues... at 1400mW (FCC) , we'll see the same, but just much further out.
similarly, the range part of my test flight - I try to keep at around 25m altitude, there is no doubt, if you get a bit of height you'll pick up a bit more signal.


as for @A.O. issues with trees, would it help? I suspect it would, as Im seeing improvements in penetration - but its hard to say for sure, as each situation is different - that said, they are not that expensive, so might be worth a try - if you find range is an issue.

anyway... just now need to pull all the video together and edit it, then you'll be able to see the footage and numbers yourself.

 

[FPV Flier]

just now need to pull all the video together and edit it, then you'll be able to see the footage and numbers yourself.

Looking forward to seeing the final results in your range tests. Thanks