The other day I ran my dji phantom 3 and forgot to put antennas on the Controller. It wasn't until I had flown it for around 60 seconds or more that the DJI Go App reported Signal Loss. I then realised I had forgotten to put the Antennas on. It has Range extenders on the Controller 2 x Paddles and 1 Centre Radius Antenna.

I quickly screwed the antennas on without landing the phantom and continued flying.


My MAIN concern: Would this have "Damaged" the controller? OR Could it damage the Controller.

I have since this happened been receiving "Loss of Signal"  on occasion. Although this is a field in an Industrial area, so I am unsure if its interference from machinery or the corntroller.

I don’t think you would damage the controller. I think if you kept flying it would eventually lose signal all together and then perform a RTH.

Thanks Hurley !  I do have another Controller that I think I will put the Range Extenders on and see if I still get Signal Loss, just to compare. But I thought I may have Damaged the Controller by flying without antennas!!!

As you can see, I'm a Newbie  and I couldn't find any info from a google search. Am I the ONLY Dunce that has done this????

Some industrial area use WIFI from and to machinery to make backups and new setups there. Their fields can interfere the signal of your bird massively as in 2.4 as in 5.8 GHz. The RC is the router of your bird´s system. A RC without antennas will send the signals in short range only,but it will not be damaged.

Crashtest007 Posted at 2018-5-9 21:43
As you can see, I'm a Newbie  and I couldn't find any info from a google search. Am I the ONLY Dunce that has done this????

Aloha CT 007,

     Yes, you can burn out your antennae system by using your RC without the antennae screwed in.  Goggles and remote controllers that ship without the antennae screwed in will usually have a warning that you can burn out your system if you do not attach your antennae.  Look though your packaging to see if you can find your warning.

     Before some of the new goggle users get worried about their HDMI goggles, the fast (as in almost no lag time) analog antennae system is not used when the digital HDMI cable is used.  For example, with Fat Shark goggles, if you use the HDMI cable setup, the antennae do not have to be installed and sometimes the circuitboard needs to be purchased separately.   This happened to me and it had the warning.

     When I bought my P2 v3 I tried to extend the range and I think I burned out my transmission system due to an accidental disconnection.  Oh well it happens when you are learning.

     Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

When you don't have an antenna attached, the lead cable becomes the antenna.  But it won't be properly sized, so the excess RF will go back into the transmitter and begin to heat it up.  Another complication is using a shielded cable which can exasperate the problem.  Leaving the antenna off for too long can cause the transmitter to burn up.  But for a short time, it probably won't harm it.  

If the ufl cable pops off the transmitter and there is no lead cable. the transmitter will heat up much quicker and burn up much faster.   That's why it's a good idea to hot glue it on there.  

Good luck

Thanks for all your help guys !

I NOW  make it a priority to "double" check everything before I fly. Luckily I have 2 transmitters, so I have transferred the ARGtech LR antenna's to the other Controller and I am using that one. Won't happen again!