Range Boosting (More Mavic Like)

[jakgal04]

So I'm sure most of you by now are aware, the OcuSync tech on the Mavic is absolutely mind blowing. I'm able to go miles without so much as a hiccup, but can barely make it 1500 feet on my Inspire before I get video cutout or the weird green signal loss issue. What are your recommendations for improving the quality of the transmission? A simple parabolic add-on? Or swap the antennas on the remote? What do you guys use that you like?

 

[Alastair]

The laws where I live don't allow for flight BLOS so it's not an issue for me.

 

[rmp5s]

I'm interested in improving range as well. Range extension does not necessarily mean BLOS. I am interested in this just to improve video reception quality and controller transmission signal reliability.

I'd really like to get one of the epic power-booster kits, and will eventually, but I saw the little antenna attachment things (similar to this) in a store recently and was intrigued. Wondered how well they worked. They seem pretty well reviewed on Amazon...anyone have any experience with them?

 

[jakgal04]

I'm interested in improving range as well. Range extension does not necessarily mean BLOS. I am interested in this just to improve video reception quality and controller transmission signal reliability.

I'd really like to get one of the epic power-booster kits, and will eventually, but I saw the little antenna attachment things (similar to this) in a store recently and was intrigued. Wondered how well they worked. They seem pretty well reviewed on Amazon...anyone have any experience with them?

This exactly. Especially when in a residential area, the channel quality is trash. I'm so much more confident flying the Mavic because I can fly the entire length of a park without dropping signal or losing the feed entirely.

 

[rmp5s]

This exactly. Especially when in a residential area, the channel quality is trash. I'm so much more confident flying the Mavic because I can fly the entire length of a park without dropping signal or losing the feed entirely.

Yea, I only get ~1200 ft-ish (WELL within LoS...) before things start getting unnerving where I live. It's never caused a problem, and it doesn't worry me too much as the bird just comes back if it loses signal, but it'd be nice to have piece of mind and a bit more leeway.

I'll pick up those little parabolic antenna attachment things off Amazon and put together a little YouTube review on them. After reading a bunch of reviews, they supposedly work pretty well. We'll see!

 

[Kauaigene]

The laws where I live don't allow for flight BLOS so it's not an issue for me.

BLOS is not an answer. The fact that improved reception means safer flying is what matters in this question. If that was your only answer, why bother.

 

[jakgal04]

Yea, I only get ~1200 ft-ish (WELL within LoS...) before things start getting unnerving where I live. It's never caused a problem, and it doesn't worry me too much as the bird just comes back if it loses signal, but it'd be nice to have piece of mind and a bit more leeway.

I'll pick up those little parabolic antenna attachment things off Amazon and put together a little YouTube review on them. After reading a bunch of reviews, they supposedly work pretty well. We'll see!

Awesome! I'd love to hear how they work for you. They actually degrade performance on the Mavic, but I hear positive outcomes on the Phantom and Inspire lineup.

 

[Oesau]

Awesome! I'd love to hear how they work for you. They actually degrade performance on the Mavic, but I hear positive outcomes on the Phantom and Inspire lineup.

Use a similar setup for my P3P and Inspire 1 remotes - work very well for boosting the transmission range (working where I am there is a lot of interference so often get weak video tx warnings, but never a disconnect of the link to the RPA).

I always fly VLOS - for me it's about improving the video transmission range which they do a great job of.

 

[pixl45]

So I'm sure most of you by now are aware, the OcuSync tech on the Mavic is absolutely mind blowing. I'm able to go miles without so much as a hiccup, but can barely make it 1500 feet on my Inspire before I get video cutout or the weird green signal loss issue. What are your recommendations for improving the quality of the transmission? A simple parabolic add-on? Or swap the antennas on the remote? What do you guys use that you like?

I can attest that I've had very good results from a system I bought from FPVLR, but there are others out there that are cleaner looking and offer similar results (most of the good ones that I know of will cost you around $300 installed*). I have no idea if any of those cheap ones work at all. I didn't buy mine to do any BLOS flying, but rather to give me better signal quality around vegetation (especially when flying low) and also to combat cross-signal interference in built up areas. There are systems that go further than what I purchased that include amplifiers that are for the people that are doing regular multi-mile flights. Overkill for me and most people, and quite illegal in most places I know of. I did dare to do a single BLOS flight (over the uninhabited swamp areas on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain at dawn) and chickened out after a little over three miles. I wouldn't do it again... I'm very law-abiding generally, and very carefully scoped out the flight route before hand. It was just that curiosity got the best of me. Once you get over the fear of flying over water, you'll find that signal integrity, even with the stock set-up is quite good.

One thing to note, is that these systems have a wider "spread", but you practically have to turn your controller vertically to get a good signal when flying directly overhead. It's a small compromise, and ultimately it will improve your 45º take off and landing skills.

I believe that the use of these things voids the DJI warranty, but I'm not positive. I've never known anyone that had one to have had a crash due to signal loss, so perhaps it's a moot point.

M

* I highly recommend you talk to Ralph at FlyHighUSA about what you're looking for. He's a great help even if you're only just tire kicking.

@FlyHighUSA

 

[MrTVR]

Please remember that, in the UK at least, modifying transmission power, modifying antennae or flight beyond unaided visual line of sight is illegal.

Stay safe, stay legal guys.



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[Donnie Frank]

The best bang for the buck were these cheap things (see photo).

I paid like 5 bucks for them on eBay and they're freakin' awesome. My total range extended by 25%.

My tests:

I live in a suburban neighborhood in Albuquerque, N.M. I have a massive WiFi system that I extend out to my neighbors. So from the driveway of my house, I would fly out @ 400' AGL to see how far I could get. With the OEM omni antennas perpendicular to my Inspire 1, v2.0, and holding the remote @ head level, I could get about 3500-4000 feet before signal would degrade (depending on orientation of the bird). I would lose signal completely @ 4500' and she would RTH.

With the booster, under the same conditions, I could go out past 5,000' with no signal loss, and finally lose signal completely just past 6000'. This is with the antenna extenders pointing right at the bird and the remote @ head level (an admittedly uncomfortable position).

Real-world test...

I was flying with my partner on a job. I was camera op. We were shooting a video and flying out about 2,000' and no more than 150' AGL. Though my buddy was getting good reception on his remote, video signal to my remote was so bad that it was useless. It would catch a frame every 2 seconds or so...horrible...useless. I went into my car and grabbed my cheapo $5.00 booster and installed it. What a night-n-day difference. Everything went to 100% with no video signal drop whatsoever. My business partner immediately ordered a pair to keep with his bird.

My neighbor has an Inspire 1, v2.0 just like I do. Except he's got one of those expensive planar antenna rigs - like $100, I believe. Plus you have to take apart your remote to install it. He claims a range of several miles, but we haven't tested that yet. Honestly, with all the work I do, I haven't needed more than 3,000'. So signal on all jobs in all locations has been rock solid with these boosters. At 5 bucks each, it's definitely worth trying.

I hope this helps.

D

In

 

[steve Reed]

The laws where I live don't allow for flight BLOS so it's not an issue for me.

Mine happens on the ground, next to me. Horrible reception. Not all the time but enough to be annoying. It has nothing to do with beyond VLOS.

 

[rmp5s]

The best bang for the buck were these cheap things (see photo).

I paid like 5 bucks for them on eBay and they're freakin' awesome. My total range extended by 25%.

My tests:

I live in a suburban neighborhood in Albuquerque, N.M. I have a massive WiFi system that I extend out to my neighbors. So from the driveway of my house, I would fly out @ 400' AGL to see how far I could get. With the OEM omni antennas perpendicular to my Inspire 1, v2.0, and holding the remote @ head level, I could get about 3500-4000 feet before signal would degrade (depending on orientation of the bird). I would lose signal completely @ 4500' and she would RTH.

With the booster, under the same conditions, I could go out past 5,000' with no signal loss, and finally lose signal completely just past 6000'. This is with the antenna extenders pointing right at the bird and the remote @ head level (an admittedly uncomfortable position).

Real-world test...

I was flying with my partner on a job. I was camera op. We were shooting a video and flying out about 2,000' and no more than 150' AGL. Though my buddy was getting good reception on his remote, video signal to my remote was so bad that it was useless. It would catch a frame every 2 seconds or so...horrible...useless. I went into my car and grabbed my cheapo $5.00 booster and installed it. What a night-n-day difference. Everything went to 100% with no video signal drop whatsoever. My business partner immediately ordered a pair to keep with his bird.

My neighbor has an Inspire 1, v2.0 just like I do. Except he's got one of those expensive planar antenna rigs - like $100, I believe. Plus you have to take apart your remote to install it. He claims a range of several miles, but we haven't tested that yet. Honestly, with all the work I do, I haven't needed more than 3,000'. So signal on all jobs in all locations has been rock solid with these boosters. At 5 bucks each, it's definitely worth trying.

I hope this helps.

D

InView attachment 12409

Didn't have time to get a set last week, but I just ordered these! We'll see how they work!

 

[EDDSkitz]

The Argtek ones work great on the I2

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using InspirePilots mobile app

 

[rmp5s]

The Argtek ones work great on the I2

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using InspirePilots mobile app

Would love to install a setup similar to this, complete with powered boosters and directional antennas eventually.

 

[rmp5s]

Oh, and...the ones I ordered are going to take a LONG time to arrive. Should have looked at that first. :-(

Thinking about getting a set of something similar locally and doing a comparison between the two when these arrive.

 

[EDDSkitz]

I'm looking into 3D printing something to add boosted antennas to the 5 and 2.4 with powered amps.

Really wish they would use a dedicated UHF channel for the higher end stuff, or offer the option for those of us with licensed channels.

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[Donnie Frank]

Didn't have time to get a set last week, but I just ordered these! We'll see how they work!

Best 6 bucks you'll ever spend. Just make sure they're pointing at the bird (not down toward the ground or away from the bird), and you'll get good range and good solid reception. Best 6 bucks you'll ever spend.