Can anyone tell me why I'd only be able to rise to 450 feet before losing transmitter signal? My understanding is that I should be able to get up to about 1,600 feet, and I'm not even getting close. I'm flying straight up from my home point to test this. Is there something I'm missing orm ay be doing wrong? Beginner mode is off.

lt seems to have connection issues flying directly above the transmitter. Some people have had success moving the antennae parallel to the ground but l prefer to move the transmitter so that l'm looking forward and up to see the ipad. Hard on the neck but the right side of the antennae are facing the bird and l haven't lost signal, so far so good.
Maybe try heading out 100 yards or so before raising up to altitude.

CapitAn Posted at 2015-6-2 21:23
lt seems to have connection issues flying directly above the transmitter. Some people have had succe ...

I'll give it a shot. Thank you! I wanna test this other issue a little more, but have you been able to send it out the rated 1.2 miles? I tried to send it straight out while sitting on my roof in a residential neighborhood with basically nothing in between us and only got about 1,500 feet before the transmitter started losing signal. That's not even close to the 1.2 miles (6,300 feet) it's rated for. There are a few trees, but I had the P3 higher than them.

First, FAA guidelines for UAV operators are to not fly higher than 400 feet.

For strongest video/control transmission signal between the RC and the P3, the two antennae should be parallel to one another with the wide, flat sides (not the tips) pointed directly toward the P3.  Signal strength is weakest at the tips of the antennae.  That means you should avoid orienting the antennae with the tips pointed at the P3 (like aiming a gun). Thus, for best signal strength, if the P3 is way out in front of you, the RC antennae should be pointing straight up perpendicular to the ground.  If the P3 is directly overhead, the two antennae should be pointed straight out parallel to the ground with wide flat side pointed up.  

Please note, however, that the antennae on the P3 are oriented vertically in the four legs.  For best reception the antennae on the RC and in the P3 should be parallel to one another.  That is not possible with the P3 directly overhead.  Thus, you will always have a stronger, more reliable signal connection between the RC and the P3 if it is at some distance out in front of you instead of directly overhead.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-6-2 21:41
First, FAA guidelines for UAV operators are to not fly higher than 400 feet.

For strongest video/co ...

Well, there's one thing I was doing wrong. lol Thanks a ton, David. I'm gonna give this another shot with the antennas in the correct positioning. I don't intend on maxing out the range regularly, but I would like to test and ensure everything does function correctly. Thanks so much! Hey, I posted another thread for the following question, but do you happen to know the answer to this... In the Pilot app, under "MC Settings",do you know what the option for "Maximum distance" means exactly?

playab0yyy Posted at 2015-6-2 21:39
I'll give it a shot. Thank you! I wanna test this other issue a little more, but have you been abl ...

playab0yyy, that's the exact issue I had last night.   I went up about 375 feet and started getting the "weak signal" warning around 1900 feet out.    That's much shorter than the 1.2 miles advertised.   There were a few trees nearby, but my P3P should have been well above them and had a clear line of sight.

fisk33 Posted at 2015-6-2 23:03
playab0yyy, that's the exact issue I had last night.   I went up about 375 feet and started gettin ...

Yup. Sounds just like my problem. However, I do admit I had the antennas pointed directly out at the P3. I'm gonna try again while having them parallel to the P3 (which will essentially have the antennas pointed straight up instead of straight at the P3).

fisk33 Posted at 2015-6-2 23:03
playab0yyy, that's the exact issue I had last night.   I went up about 375 feet and started gettin ...

Update: I didn't test the 1.2 miles straight out, but I did take another shot at the 1,600 feet altitude and had better success. First, I flew the P3 about 200-300 yards away from me. Then, I took it up. I made sure my antennas were parallel to the P3 (basically, the antennas on the transmitter were pointing straight up).  Success, well, kinda. I had my max altitude set to about 1,200 feet. So, that's as high as I got, but that's my fault. I'll adjust the max altitude to 1,600 feet and try again, but I'm assuming it's gonna work based on how smoothly this most recent test went. I still need to test the 1.2 miles straight out with the antennas pointing straight up. Crossing my fingers!

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-6-2 21:41
First, FAA guidelines for UAV operators are to not fly higher than 400 feet.

For strongest video/co ...

David, again, thank you for the info and it's definitely helped. I've successfully tested the max distances in both, altitude and straight out from the home position. One more thing I'm curious about. It seems the Image Transmission Setting (under the HD button in the app) is default to Custom. Do you agree, Auto may lead to a better and more reliable connection between the transmitter and P3? I've used both, an iPhone 6 and iPad mini 2 and the mini 2's connection sometimes gets flaky, and the only way to get it completely clear again is to power off the iPad and restart everything. Obviously, the processing power on the mini 2 isn't as strong as the iPhone 6, but I'm wondering if maybe switching to Auto in the aforementioned setting might help.

playab0yyy Posted at 2015-6-2 21:55
Well, there's one thing I was doing wrong. lol Thanks a ton, David. I'm gonna give this another sh ...

Maximum distance is an "electric fence" - if you have that set to 800m, then you should be able to get it about half a mile away from you - assuming, of course, you still have a decent signal between the controller and the Phantom.

playab0yyy Posted at 2015-6-7 04:39
David, again, thank you for the info and it's definitely helped. I've successfully tested the max d ...

I typically use Automatic, but if the channel selection screen shows certain channels are getting a lot of interference and others are not, put it in manual cannel selection mode and pick one of the unused channels.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-6-7 07:56
I typically use Automatic, but if the channel selection screen shows certain channels are getting  ...

Thanks. I haven't looked closely at this yet. Hopefully it's user friendly as far as being able to tell which channels are clear and which are experiencing interference?

Unless you either get paid to test......or don't care about keeping your drone...it's highly suggested to use the Phantom in the manner it was designed for and that the FAA and other approve of.

If, however, you don't care about keeping your machine then disregard this message.

Your car can probably do 120+ MPH but I've rarely seem people buy cars and then check it. Too dangerous to others and against the laws (and common sense).

Not trying to tell anyone what to do....just a small warning in case your money is hard earned. UAV's in the USA are approved only for LOS (line of sight) operation, meaning you can see and control it. At 1,000 feet away you probably can't.

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-6-7 08:44
Unless you either get paid to test......or don't care about keeping your drone...it's highly suggest ...

Completely understand. However, the car thing isn't the best comparison. Huge difference between a car going 120+ MPH (unless it's on a race track, which can be legal) and a drone flying outside of LOS in the middle of nowhere. While, technically, both may be illegal, one's extremely dangerous, the other... not even close. Also, it's possible to see it 1,000 feet away in open areas, especially at night with the lights on it. Not only that, but you have to take into consideration a person's vision. Personally, I have 20/15 vision and can see very clearly. There are a number of factors to consider when speaking of LOS that will vary from person to person.

playab0yyy Posted at 2015-6-7 10:56
Completely understand. However, the car thing isn't the best comparison. Huge difference between a ...

Your actions are reckless, and attempting to justify your disregard of FAA rules is futile.  Don't go over 400 ft in altitude and keep LOS to the aircraft, period!  Be responsible, your actions reflect poorly on those of us who do operate within the FAA rules.

DaGunn Posted at 2015-6-9 04:07
Your actions are reckless, and attempting to justify your disregard of FAA rules is futile.  Don't ...

Oh please. Not even close. Nice try, though!

Technically there is no height restriction on models, 400 ft is a recommendation and even at its max altitude of 1600 feet the p3 is no where near the air traffic in the world..  747s and what not fly higher than 10,000 feet. So if your 25 miles away from a air port then most planes will be at their cruising altitude..  I rarely ever go higher than 120 meters myself, but some people live by mountains that are 5000 feet or so high and wanna film them and that's safe because any plane flying lower than the mountain will crash and burn

Mark97564 Posted at 2015-6-9 08:00
Technically there is no height restriction on models, 400 ft is a recommendation and even at its max ...

Thanks Mark. Yeah, there are just so many variables involved and every persons situation is different.

Regardless of how you "interpret" the regulations or laws, you and everyone else flying in this manner are being the ones that are going to make this hard for everyone.  Do you realize most stories on the news are bad.  "Some kid was spying on me" or "it will fall out of the air and hurt someone".  Don't forget some states have passed laws that do limit you to 400ft as well as other regulations.  

Gotta love the negative Nancy's!