CapitAn Posted at 2015-4-23 09:12
Thanks for the tip. l'll buy one tomorrow so he has no excuse to be McGyvering with anything

Yes, or you might be calling him "McGlue" if he has to do a Frankenstein-Fix on it...

He'll be McDisowned if he breaks anything. Maybe l should have a real tech do it ...

gary.ok@hotmail Posted at 2015-4-21 21:54
For what its worth when I put in my FPVLR stage 2 I had very similar issues.  The install inside the ...

Took it out again today.  I got 3600' in a wide open, clear of all possible interference- then phantom connection broken.  I'm really beginning to wonder about the quality control?  Someone got 9000'!!  REALLY???  I don't necessarily NEED or want to fly that far out, but I'd like to have the option to get out to advertised (or even close to) of 8000.   Not really getting any assistance on troubleshooting on the "other forum" as all of the suggestions made are things I've already tried, checked etc.  HMMMM!!!  

CapitAn Posted at 2015-4-23 09:38
He'll be McDisowned if he breaks anything. Maybe l should have a real tech do it ...

Just don't tell him that before he does it, nerves and sharp objects never go well together..

FYI..I just made the "Mile Fly" or "McFly" Club...Woop...Woop!...and mine is McGyvered....not proud of the McGyvering but doo doo occurs sometimes,

the blinking little connector in the RC that you have to cut the goop away from is the one to be most wary of, just take your time and when you take the old u.fl off and put the new one on, make sure to put the RC back together (without screws) just to test to make sure it powers up correct and that you have all your connectors back in the right spot (there is not a lot of room in there to wiggle with so just be careful), then pull cover back off, make sure the u.fl is still seated nice and put a bit of hot glue or something on it (i used a big arse hot glue blob and just prayed after I took the actual base of the connector right off the circuit board)....so far so good and i am going to try another RC within the next week just to see if my distances improve...That said, remember that keeping the panel perpindicular to the Phantom is key when flying and i have a lot of high trees around me so a bit of a disadvantage for distance but the fact i was over a mile tognight i am absolutely pleased! and then some...

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-23 10:46
Took it out again today.  I got 3600' in a wide open, clear of all possible interference- then pha ...

Bhb,
something is not right for sure, you are pretty meticulous by the sounds of it...Work your way back, and double/triple check everything...
Is it possible that the u.fl in the RC is the weak link? as the other two in the wifi extender if i am not mistaken are really only for the video etc. and transmission to the phone/tablet....

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-21 21:41
North, I re opened the case and think one of the leads may have been touching the silver rectangle.  ...

If it were me BHB I would reopen the extender, and after ensuring the ufl. connectors are on firmly, and positioned correctly, I would then place a bit of hot glue onto each of those connectors. Also, make sure you have no bends in any of the the cables provided.  Now, button everything up, and then CAREFULLY! tighten down on all cable connectors, both on the antenna side as well as on the extender itself.
Tighten down slowly, using two wenches, one on the nut to prevent it from twisting the ufl cable within the extender, and the other on the antenna cable itself, until you feel it is tighten down sufficiently. Don't over do it, but the male and female ends need to make a firm connection to avoid diminished signal strength.
If you decide to do this, let us know the results. This may make the difference you are experiencing, again assuming the ufl connections within the extender have been installed properly and making good connection to the PCB. Best of luck!

North... I've opened the case 5 times thinking I MUST me missing something.  You are right about the wifi extender being only for video/telemetry... I've NEVER lost TX control getting the RTH so I know parts of things are working okay.   I've considered buying another wifi extender and using the current case (with the holes in it) instead of punching holes in two of them to see if that makes a difference.  BUT, I'd hate to drop $129 to find out it really is something in the panel.   Regarding the u.fl in the bird... I wouldn't mind trying to swap one out but they're soldered, not the convienent little plug as in the extender.  Your glob of glue would be NOTHING compared to my skills with a soldering iron--- I SUCK!   Glad you're getting great distances!  OH.. I'm processing a video of my flight today to show how literally WIDE OPEN the area is where I'm testing.

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-23 11:29
North... I've opened the case 5 times thinking I MUST me missing something.  You are right about the ...

o.k,, not the u.fl in the bird but the u.fl in the RC is what i am speaking of that you had to take the silicon off and connect the new u.fl to....i think if it is not the connection to the board, could it be the cable...if neither of those then the panel would be my suspect..
hope you get is sorted!

gotcha North.  The TX is working GREAT!  No RTH ever.   I'm wondering if its a cable in the extender now.  I'll order some an try that first.  Anyhooo...here's the vid of today's flight.  Nothing interesting unless you wanna see how wide open this space is and get a view (kinda far) of the Astrodome and Reliant (NRG) Stadium.  Once I get this worked out, I'll have better shots of them.

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-23 12:12
gotcha North.  The TX is working GREAT!  No RTH ever.   I'm wondering if its a cable in the extender ...

In the description below your video it says "advertised range 8000ft" ... itelite didn't advertise... that was just one guys video of the range he got, testing the antenna in a given area... it's just an antenna... it only makes the RF signal more sensitive and directional for better distance... there's no magic here that will guarantee anybody a specific number... and all these numbers will vary depending on user environment, hardware limitations, FPV resolution and FPS, and install technique.

Not trying to point fingers or place any blame but the evidence in multiple threads would suggest It's highly unlikely that the antenna is the problem. More testing can eliminate variables and narrow down the possible culprit.

DBS Posted at 2015-4-23 17:33
In the description below your video it says "advertised range 8000ft" ... itelite didn't advertise. ...

The reason I dont go into business for myself.. People blow things out of proportion... and expect exact numbers. Then you have to put a 2 page disclaimer to cover your butt.. Im very pleased with the purchase and Im happy i got over 6000 ft when before I was loosing it at 400+....

Ok.. there seems to be some misunderstanding going on.... I am simply trying to troubleshoot MY situation.  I'm not looking for exact numbers, I'm looking for a decent increase based on what my non-modified range was.  It is clear that a large number of people are getting gigantic increases and I'd like to be one of them.  If it turns out to be my DJI equipment, I have NO problem stating that.  The reason I'm posting details here is for assistance and possibly to help someone in the future who may have a similar issue.   I have changed the video description ... my intent was to give a reference compared to what I was getting.  My next TEST to troubleshoot is to replace the u.fl connections in the wifi extender as that is much cheaper than buying a new extender.  If that doesn't help, then I can cross that off and go to the next "TEST".- buying a new extender.

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-24 06:06
Ok.. there seems to be some misunderstanding going on.... I am simply trying to troubleshoot MY situ ...

BHB,
One thing for sure, to get the best range in any instance, make sure you wifi Extender is fully charged, I have noticed 1'000-1'500' reduction difference in distance with a half charged extender with the panel and noticed without the panel similar/proportional reductions in distance...and playing with its position to the Phantom is very important as it is literally directional...I think more so than the wifi extender as standard with the Phantom...

Wow...What a flight tonight...
Had to put my shorts in the laundry with a note...Triple Clean and use bleach on each wash!! My wife said "Burn Them, Their Toast and they ain't going near our washer!!"...Well, guess I should have asked "Please"...
Went to try to surpass my 5,299' mark last night as the weather cleared here tonight unexpectedly as it was supposed to be raining.
Anyhow, had a fully charged RC, Wifi Extender and a Fresh Battery...All set to go..
Started up, decided to follow my previous path where i made the miracle mile yesterday but i could not get past 3,900' and weather seemed perfect...oh well i thought..maybe try another direction...so i did what i thought! i tried another direction.
Next thing i know i am nearly 6,000' and about to take a screen shot...woo..woop!..then "Phantom Connection Failed"..oh well i missed it, then "Return to Home"..oh well again, a minute or two later, checked my phone, nothing updating, no distances, no nothing, still showing far, far away...hmmm...hmmm...wondering what the heck is going on..at this point, with no feedback at all i went S1 into failsafe...and still no response or update...hmmm...hmmm.. (crapping myself a second time now)...hmmm....hmmm....I literally put my RC down and started heading towards my car, then i stopped and was thinking, where the hell is it..no updates, no nothing, where am i going to start looking..so i picked up the RC and kept looking at it, still no updates except far far away and it was showing 6 minutes battery and that was from 4-5 minutes ago..darn..i was pretty sure BB was going to a plastic grave..oh well..then i thought, hmmm...hmmm..no updates, maybe i lost wifi somehow...so i closed the DJI app on the phone, went to my wifi and sure as shizola i had lost wifi to my Phantom...i re enabled it, went back to the DJI app and there it was, 1600' away, 398' in the air and 2 min. battery left...(now crapping myself for the third time!!)...anyway, managed to regain control by S1 down to ATTI and back, now bringing it back on my own and seeing the battery time down to "0" and my percentages dropping like a rock i figured best i could do as i had a good visual of it was bring it back over an empty field...all lights flashing "red"...screaming.."warning...danger will robinson danger".... i managed to get it overhead and bring it down with 8% battery...Whoa!...That was fun!!...NOT! but it was fun and i am still trying to figure out the loss of the wifi connection which had me have to reconnect...something to think about for the future i guess as i have never literally lost the wifi and had to go out of the app and have to reconnect like that...Whew!...
I should add, i fubarred the install in the RC with a botched u.fl connection and that may have had something to do with the total wifi loss though not sure but someting to be cognizant of in future flights...

Amazing you are getting those distances with a u.fl connector held on with hot glue!!! I would imagine once any oxydization starts getting between the contacts you will see more of these problems.

Cool story bro... I was on the edge of my seat

DBS Posted at 2015-4-24 22:12
Amazing you are getting those distances with a u.fl connector held on with hot glue!!! I would imagi ...

Thanks DBS, new RC arrived at the courier yesterday and I will be doing a retro in the coming weeks as I have no intent to continue destroying my shorts!

North.... HOLY CRAPOLA!!!  You realized my biggest fear since day one with my phantom.  Losing all connections, having no control and no visuals... waiting... just waiting to hear the sweet hum of 4 props getting louder in my direction.   Once I lose fpv I usually switch into HL and pull back that stick HARD until I get information or hear the sweet buzz!!  Congrats on saving your bird.  I hope I never have to write a story like this!   

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-25 08:50
North.... HOLY CRAPOLA!!!  You realized my biggest fear since day one with my phantom.  Losing all c ...

Bahamasboy,
Thanks, the worst part was i did exactly what you thought to do and figured all would be good (I had no clue i had lost wifi at this point and had never lost it before),
When i switched to HL and saw no updates, it took me a bit an a few back and forths to the car then i thought about why nothing was updating on the phone which was as it turns out the loss of the wifi which i found when i checked the settings and saw it was disconnected, you can do all the HL you want but if you have no wifi you have no control...
On a positive note and one which i am thankful for, the RTH works and has worked as advertised...despite my initial and futile attempts to regain control, it was coming back as it should have anyway...i simply could not see it until i re established wifi...Whew!!
Keep in mind, my boggled u.fl connector leaves a  lot to the imagination as to why it is even working and am thankful in any event though super-dee-duper confident in the RTH...It works when nothing else did!!

"When i switched to HL and saw no updates, it took me a bit an a few back and forths to the car then i thought about why nothing was updating on the phone which was as it turns out the loss of the wifi which i found when i checked the settings and saw it was disconnected, you can do all the HL you want but if you have no wifi you have no control..."

You should still have control even when losing wifi with the extender because the bird control is run by the TX.  Wifi is usually the FPV and telemetry.   HL position is stored in the phantom and your right stick pulled back should have still worked to bring it back to home position after you switch s2 to HL.   I often bring mine back this way when I lose FPV- either until it re-connects (which yours wouldn't have due to wifi loss) or until I have a visual and can fly it home.  I suspect that you were actually bringing it back, just didn't know it because you couldn't see the bird, and didn't have telemetry/FPV.  Either way....THAT'S A SCARY FEELING!!!.

Interesting,
I may have interrupted BB's flight back as I did a switch flip a thon trying to figure why I had no updates and did not see the updates on my phone until I reconnected the wifi, hence the long time for her to come home then, either way she came home and I truly appreciate the info, learning something new every day..Sweet!And double yes to the HL!..I love that feature!

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-4-24 12:57
Wow...What a flight tonight...
Had to put my shorts in the laundry with a note...Triple Clean and us ...

North,

Was this a GS flight or were you free flying?

Jerry

JtrJr-Droner Posted at 2015-4-25 12:25
North,

Was this a GS flight or were you free flying?

Free Flying!...never lost wifi like that before,,,very exhilarating to say the least but that friggin BB just keeps coming back!..I love my BB! and she loves me to!
That said, I know she will want to spawn some day and I am ready for it...

Yeah, that sounded like a hell of a flight! I've experienced the same feeling on GS flights. Not knowing whether it's coming back or not but I've never had it happen free flying without RTH initiating. Well I'm sure glad she got back home. Cool pics of the hawk on the other thread! Just got home this afternoon, trying to get a GS flight ready for upload to YouTube before heading to bed. Some great flying the last few days.

Jerry

JtrJr-Droner Posted at 2015-4-25 12:54
Yeah, that sounded like a hell of a flight! I've experienced the same feeling on GS flights. Not kno ...

Jerry,
Those Picts you posted are awesome!
Thanks for sharing,,,and have a great flight tomorrow!

Has anyone seen DBS's video of the panel and the inspire on the other forum?  Going 1200' at a 90 degree angle to the panel w/o losing connection?  It's amaze-balls.  My question/request is for any of you who are getting super-duper flight distances with the panel ...would you/could you you do this test for us using a phantom?   It appears to debunk the narrow beam reported with the panel.

Thanks

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-27 01:52
Has anyone seen DBS's video of the panel and the inspire on the other forum?  Going 1200' at a 90 de ...

Bahamasboy,
Sorry, 1,200'...?..That is not far or i do not understand and i could not find the thread you were referring to...

I posted earlier somewhere in this thread that the best angle was to have the panel perpendicular to the Phantom...and believe me, it is very important to assist with any significant distance....I have lost connection in very short distances with this by turning myself away to look at something due to distraction etc...so i make very sure i keep myself pointed towards the Phantom and the panel at as much a 90 degree angle to the Phantom as i can based on what i see the height of the Phantom at..

Height and angle are huge to any significant distances with this.....

North.. your experience is why I found the vid interesting. Check this out... Yes it's an inspire but directionality didn't appear to be as important as people have said.   Also, another phantom pilot did a test with his (I saw it while getting you the video link to the inspire test), he got 1300' to the right of his panel.  I get that they're not huge distances but they're at right angles to the panel with birds not too far out in front of them. So it appears that the signal is pretty wide according to these reports.  

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-27 02:49
North.. your experience is why I found the vid interesting. Check this out... Yes it's an inspire bu ...

Very cool and thanks for posting....
That Inspire is one very expensive antenna upgrade though....It is unfair for me to comment on the directionality until have fixed my u.fl connector, I can only hope it helps and would no doubt help with distances as well...still having hit 6k' I am happy with the mod....

I would be THRILLED at 6K.  My new wifi extender is arriving tomorrow.  Hoping I've just been flying with a weak extender!!!  Time will tell!!!

NEXT STEPS????   The new extender arrived. I tested w/o itelite (before mod) and got similar range to old extender  w/o itelite.   Did the mod on the new extender and took her out today... same range as previous extender w/ mod  right at 2600'.    What are my next steps to getting range?  Is there a way to test the Wifi module in the bird for signs that it may not be "up to snuff"?  At least I know I've got a back up extender if I ever need one!   Suggestions?????

Phil

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-30 10:07
NEXT STEPS????   The new extender arrived. I tested w/o itelite (before mod) and got similar range t ...

Phil,
i doubt there is a difference with the panel being one way or the other (upside down) but that is the last thing i can think of short of asking DBS to exchange it.., switching the two jacks around from the Wifi extender to the RC but that should not make a difference either as far as i understand...Sorry that this is not getting you out any further but maybe DBS can shed some light and offer some kind of exchange!
not familiar with anything in the Phantom that could be causing the short distances...
DBS..Any thoughts?

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-4-30 10:37
Phil,
i doubt there is a difference with the panel being one way or the other (upside down) but th ...

I'm afraid it's my on board module but have no way to check it that I know of.  Other forums have mentioned a wifi spectrum analyzer test to see if it's weak.   I'm hoping to find an app or something that can read the bird's wifi strength AND find out what it should be as far as output strength!  Anyone?  anyone??  Buhler????  

bahamasboy@aol. Posted at 2015-4-30 10:55
I'm afraid it's my on board module but have no way to check it that I know of.  Other forums have  ...

Bahama,

I don't have a clue. I will attempt to keep my eyes open though. I still haven't done my upgrade because of the issues you and North have had. Don't want to mess up a good thing.

Jerry

JTR... MANY people have had GREAT success with the new antenna.  The good thing is that all of the connections are simply plug-in's - so other than drilling two holes in the extender and 1 in the transmitter the whole process is reversible.   I'm seriously considering ordering the a new bird side module... if that is NOT the issue, then at least I'll have extra parts for when it does become an issue.  From what I've seen, people have seen module issues after a couple of hours in a car that unexpectedly just got too hot.   I have a truck so there's no trunk to pop my case in, and here in TX hot cars are mandatory during the summer.  Maybe I need to buy a cooler big enough for my case to put in my back seat and all passengers get to ride in the bed!     Mary Poppins has priority for the inside!     

JtrJr-Droner Posted at 2015-4-30 11:24
Bahama,

I don't have a clue. I will attempt to keep my eyes open though. I still haven't done my  ...

Jerry,
My only issue was whacking the u.fl off the PCB due to an improper tool! (My bad!!),,after a bit of glue it has given me 6k' and not in perfect surroundings so I am not unhappy at all with the distances I have had with it so far, that said, I bought the other RC to re do or as back up..not sure yet...finally got the other RC with range extender set up, just flew out a full battery and working like a charm so far...now decisions!..do I hack the new RC or try to fix the old one...I would hate to have two botched RC's and one good bird!..but temptation may have its way!

North,

Yeah, I understood that you got the range but botched the job. I just don't want to do the same! The weather has been too good for flying to take any chances. When the weather goes south I'll probably give it a go. I still need to replace my gimbal arm as well. Just having too much fun flying to mess with anything. Fortunately I'm retired, so I'm burning through 6-10 batteries a day when the weather is good. Just having a hoot I am!

Jerry

JtrJr-Droner Posted at 2015-4-30 11:53
North,

Yeah, I understood that you got the range but botched the job. I just don't want to do the s ...

Jerry,
I would be doing the same if I were you..
I am just getting ready for a two week road trip, work and a bit of personal time and debating to take the Phantom with me..lots of airports and such and just want to make sure everything is up to snuff...with both extenders working I may just take both!...now there's an idea!..may try to clean up the original though as it would be serious piece of mind for sure especially if I get to my brothers place just off the ocean..I want to see how far out I can get over the water. I want to go so far i can't see land!

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-4-30 12:03
Jerry,
I would be doing the same if I were you..
I am just getting ready for a two week road trip,  ...

North,

I hear you! It took me a bit just to go out over the lake. I flew over a few rivers and creeks without much issue but was a bit more apprehensive at the lake. I guess just the idea that if it goes down way out in the water, I ain't getting it back. The apprehension lasted about 5 minutes then I just had to do it anyway! Go 'till you can't go no more!

Jerry

JtrJr-Droner Posted at 2015-4-30 12:18
North,

I hear you! It took me a bit just to go out over the lake. I flew over a few rivers and cr ...

Amen Brother!