As we all know the drone seems to get lower as it gets further away.  Even to maintain contact the further away you fly the higher you must fly.   In a relatively flat open area, how high must one be to maintain contact at 4 kilometers away.  Does anyone know the formula for distance to height?

In the city I can get around 6500 feet distance @ 170 ft up. Try 400 ft alt. Open farmland without wifi around shouldn't be a problem.

DJI advise max flight altitude (120m) when maximising the range

Logically I would think, all else equal, you should get less ground interference and more distance at 400ft altitude.

MrArcher Posted at 2018-9-5 11:53
Logically I would think, all else equal, you should get less ground interference and more distance at 400ft altitude.

200 ft altitude flying above a street with normal buildings I recieved "weak remote signal" at 3000 ft  as I flew higher it cleared.  It was repeated at 300 ft and 5,000ft distance..    I believe it is related to the line of site angle...  I may be crazy. but it seems that one would need to be well over 400' agl to be 4 kilometers from the controller and have line of sight...

Hi, Thanks for your inquiry. The maximum distance would depend on your country and also the environment. There's should a strong GPS signal and no interferences to reach further distances when flying your drone. Please refer to the antenna for best practices as well to gain distance.

DJI Tony Posted at 2018-9-6 11:38
Hi, Thanks for your inquiry. The maximum distance would depend on your country and also the environment. There's should a strong GPS signal and no interferences to reach further distances when flying your drone. Please refer to the antenna for best practices as well to gain distance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7M9JtfVwQE

thank you.

sincerely
Steve

It all depends on many things. If you start from a flat level environment without any buildings or trees ie no obstructions you will certainly get further than say in a city or bush land.
If you can elevate your take of point say from a hill top then you can fly much further without having to gain altitude.
Ive flown out from a hill top at an altitude agl 35 meters for just over 5 klms still had strong signal.
I dont think there is a formula as every different location has its own set of variables that would need to be introduced that can effect your signal.

Dronin Posted at 2018-9-6 12:54
thank you.

sincerely

You're welcome. Please don't hesitate to reach us in any case you need our assistance. Thank you for the support.

Dronin Posted at 2018-9-5 13:46
200 ft altitude flying above a street with normal buildings I recieved "weak remote signal" at 3000 ft  as I flew higher it cleared.  It was repeated at 300 ft and 5,000ft distance..    I believe it is related to the line of site angle...  I may be crazy. but it seems that one would need to be well over 400' agl to be 4 kilometers from the controller and have line of sight...

It's weird but once I shielded all the rear motor wiring inside the mavic.. I believe my distances went up, not to mention it's practically immune from emi now. Here's a video I flew summer 2017- I know says published this year because I made it public on youtube then unlisted it back.

Hellsgate Posted at 2018-9-6 13:53
It all depends on many things. If you start from a flat level environment without any buildings or trees ie no obstructions you will certainly get further than say in a city or bush land.
If you can elevate your take of point say from a hill top then you can fly much further without having to gain altitude.
Ive flown out from a hill top at an altitude agl 35 meters for just over 5 klms still had strong signal.

Thanks,   as I thought about it more I realized I had had a brain fart.   It is clear now.