Hey people,

DJI say that (of course under the right conditions) the spark is capable of a 2km range. I'm wondering in what conditions this was achieved!!

My spark, at best will reach 200 meters before losing signal, or having some kind of panic and flying off on its own before returning home.

I have/use/do the following.
Spark / Controller / iphone x / go 4
I've played with the different wifi and radio settings
I've tried OTG - also poor performance
I wear magnetic bracelets - remove them before flyinging
Don't fly in woods / built up areas

It's driving me mental!! I've searched, and read the tips and tricks about achieving good distance with the spark but nothing seems to work.  I get a couple of hundred meters away and thats it - red disconnected, black screen, rth.

Who as experienced similar and been able to solve it??? (BTW, i'm in Germany)

cheers!
Ant

Hi Ant, you are in CE mode for Europe residents. have a read at the distance specification between CE and FCC. One example https://forum.dji.com/thread-151289-1-1.html

Cheers

2000m in the FCC/USA range (they're permitted to use a much more powerful broadcast signal)
500m is the CE/rest of the world range under perfect conditions

MKPSG12 Posted at 2018-7-6 00:56
2000m in the FCC/USA range (they're permitted to use a much more powerful broadcast signal)
500m is the CE/rest of the world range under perfect conditions

I've read though that that can be improved by changing the transmission frequency of the RC - but that hasn't really brought any improvement.

When not using the OTG cable, i only need wifi switched on? So, i could in theory switch off mobile data and bluetooth. I think this is the only thing i haven't regularly tested.

Thanks for the replies!

you can acheive better range by understand which frequencies on wifi are free from interference , manually selecting 2.4 or 5.8ghz then look at channel guide.

there is also information on this forum how to switch to FCC mode and also you can buy a cheap parabolic reflector to increase your range.

always OTG and drop your mobile device in to airplane mode.

You should always at least switch off any Bluetooth devices anywhere near you, preferably everything should be Airplane Mode

In Europe (CE)
Spark's ranges are 2.4GHz - 500m (max) and 5GHz - 300m (max). But I also have experienced weak signal issues anywhere from 60m and above depends on the location.

Welcome to our world.

Antpal Posted at 2018-7-6 00:58
I've read though that that can be improved by changing the transmission frequency of the RC - but that hasn't really brought any improvement.

When not using the OTG cable, i only need wifi switched on? So, i could in theory switch off mobile data and bluetooth. I think this is the only thing i haven't regularly tested.

I read that in FCC mode there isnt so much difference between 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz.

In CE mode there is a lot although the db Power Gap seems small its actually about x4 as much more in FCC.

DJI Spark range settings (taken from the DJI website):

2.412 – 2.462 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.3 mi (500 m)

5.745 – 5.825 GHz (unobstructed, free of interference)
FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.18 mi (300 m)

If you have 1-13 Channels you are EC, if you have 1-11 Channels you are FCC mode. These are the 2.4GHz.

I read also -

2.4GHz best for long distance as Wave is LONG WAVE (Long Distance Eg. Repeaters)
5.8GHz best for short distance as Wave is SHORT WAVE (Under 200m Range Eg. Indoor Wifi)

The other problem we have in EU is that 2.4GHz has a lot of traffic and the 5.8GHz is not supported a lot like in the US.

Also this may help you -

The transmitter power is the same for both. Antennas and encoding make the difference.

The specs say: Spark:

Transmitter Power (EIRP)        

2.4 GHz
FCC: ≤26 dBm; CE: ≤18 dBm; SRCC: ≤18 dBm; MIC: ≤18 dBm

5.8 GHz
FCC: ≤28 dBm; CE: ≤14 dBm; SRCC: ≤26 dBm; MIC: -

The dBm in CE is ridiculous !
The dBm between FCC and CE at 2.4GHz is 8dBm that makes a difference from EC - 500m to FCC - 2000m range.
The dBm between FCC and CE at 5.8GHz is 14dBm that makes a difference from EC - 300m to FCC -  2000m range.

DMX_MT Posted at 2018-7-7 00:02
I read that in FCC mode there isnt so much difference between 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz.

In CE mode there is a lot although the db Power Gap seems small its actually about x4 as much more in FCC.

That says it all