Hi Mini 3 owners,
Specifically CE owners, with the crippled European Transmit power.
I've yet to buy the Mini 3,  after watching numerous videos that compare the range of the Mini 3 with the Mini 2, and swapping the controllers for the RC with the one that comes with the Mini 2 etc...   It seems to appear that the range issue is being cause by the drone itself..  Possibly a flaw in the antenna design?  -  Has this been confirmed?
Getting to the point, have the latest firmware updates 'fixed' the range issues, or is the Mini 3 doomed to be fundamentally floored range-wise due to a limiting antenna design within the drone itself?
Looking for a difinitive answer before i part with the guts of £900 quid!
I Look forward to your replies.

There is nothing Crippled about the CE power. It has been as it is for years and works fine. These sort of RC jets have been flown on it for years

Bigplumbs Posted at 7-21 11:15
There is nothing Crippled about the CE power. It has been as it is for years and works fine. These sort of RC jets have been flown on it for years

Uggh!-  You Don't actually answer my question, so why are you even bothering to replying!?
FCC is 26 dBm transmit power.
CE is 14 dBm transmit power
The point is , the Mini 2 with the SAME CE power levels seems from most reports, to perform BETTER, than the Mini 3's range / signal preservation etc . And it seems to be the Drone that is the issue...
Has it been fixed?, is my question?
Posting links to RC 747's DOESN'T answer my question..
Next!

My friends living in France have the same result as me (I live in Japan) our Mini2 has a better range (2x better) than the mini 3.The last firmware didn't change the result of range

But people in the UK have the right range. I guess the material is not exactly the same for all mini3 (there are probably several suppliers of electronic parts so the quality to be different).

PhasedSpaces Posted at 7-21 11:38
Uggh!-  You Don't actually answer my question, so why are you even bothering to replying!?
FCC is 26 dBm transmit power.
CE is 14 dBm transmit power

I think you mean those having problems with range and testing against Mini 2 have found it to have better range, you will probably find 2/3 of those tests reported on this forum. But you should consider just how many don’t have range problems in weighing up your thoughts and decisions.

Has it been fixed, well most 99% have said it has , a few still having problems, if you’re coming to a forum asking for 100% no problems its not going to happen.

Personally I use many drones and “now” mini 3 signal matches up to all of them.

hallmark007 Posted at 7-21 16:01
I think you mean those having problems with range and testing against Mini 2 have found it to have better range, you will probably find 2/3 of those tests reported on this forum. But you should consider just how many don’t have range problems in weighing up your thoughts and decisions.

Has it been fixed, well most 99% have said it has , a few still having problems, if you’re coming to a forum asking for 100% no problems its not going to happen.

Many thanks for your reply.
I assume you have a CE version?
I do want to take the plunge, as the feature set is excellent for such a small drone..
I just hope the range compared to the mini 2 isn't truly crippled...

x

x

PhasedSpaces Posted at 7-21 16:13
Many thanks for your reply.
I assume you have a CE version?
I do want to take the plunge, as the feature set is excellent for such a small drone..

Its not, mini drones are just fine, I don’t need to fly mine that far but signal is important and after updates its fairly solid.

PhasedSpaces Posted at 7-21 11:38
Uggh!-  You Don't actually answer my question, so why are you even bothering to replying!?
FCC is 26 dBm transmit power.
CE is 14 dBm transmit power

I can attest to it chap...

With the Mini 3 Pro, i can go further than i ever could with the
Mini 2 @ 0.9 urban  and rural 3.8 (i think it was 3.8, maybe 4.0)
Mini 3 pro @ 4.864 rural and 1.0  urban  (so far, only one test in each setting)

Choose your own units ;)
EDIT, what i will say is this, i have said it from day one too, the alignment has to be spot on all the way else it will give up and start RTH, whereas the Mini 2 was a little more forgiving in that area

4.8 feet? That is really impressive! Definitely BVLOS (Beyond Very Long Out-Stretched Arm).

What happens if you put a hand over the top of the controller? Does it kill the signal?

CineDude Posted at 7-21 18:56
4.8 feet? That is really impressive! Definitely BVLOS (Beyond Very Long Out-Stretched Arm).

What happens if you put a hand over the top of the controller? Does it kill the signal?

ha ha, yeah and does an RTH...

Im getting slightly better range from the Mini3 than my Mini2 can achieve,   with the DJI RC remote.    Compared to the specification its not 8km sadly.

I'm a UK flyer, thus operate with CE power levels.

The Mini 3 remains a disappointment compare to the Mini 2 when it comes to signal integrity/reliability.  Clearly DJI are aware (but won't admit) and messing with things like prioritising video feed over telemetry.  But there isn't a busting lot of options within firmware, given the poor antenna layout.  As dad used to say, you can't put a shine on a turd.

Whether or not it will actually impact you depends on local conditions and how you use it:

Rural, you are unlikely to have an issue, but the aircraft does seem to be quite directional, even when using the older RC-N1.   Standard Battery will probably be the limit (about 6km each way), assuming you aren't doing a 1 way flight.  But, then, in EU countries there are probably better options for rural drones, from DJI and others.

Urban is more tricky.  I still get lots of video stutter at around 300-400m here, with frequent disconnections, which ruins any footage.  I never get that with the Mini 2 in the same area, even if I'm not that careful with which way the transmitter is pointing.  But every urban location is different.  Certainly you need to obey CAA laws to the limit, as flying behind a tree or behind a house *WILL* cause a dropout if you are further than 150-200m...  ...and the rules do say you have to always maintain VLOS.

Last couple of days flying over a village and over open water and on both a disappointing range of about 400 / 500 meters . Sold my mini 2 so can't compare but had to forced use auto return to home to many times for my likings. Will be contacting DJI with screen recordings, hope they can confirm this isn't normal.

MarcoDJIMini2 Posted at 7-24 10:07
Last couple of days flying over a village and over open water and on both a disappointing range of about 400 / 500 meters . Sold my mini 2 so can't compare but had to forced use auto return to home to many times for my likings. Will be contacting DJI with screen recordings, hope they can confirm this isn't normal.

how long have you get with mini2?

DJI need to remove the radio frequency geo block. It is trivial to set pretty much any WiFi AP to use FCC powers/channels, and I've never heard of anyone being busted over it.

Let me put it another way: I can create more interference using a WiFi AP running CE mode.

My 2 cents - I had a Mini 2 - was utterly disappointed by the range. Now I have Mini 3 (CE ;) ) it's better BUT with the twist Mini 3 is good in direct line with no obstacles whatsoever but is Very sensitive to trees and all foliage which is not the case with other drones (I own Mavic 3 at the moment to compare to) non of which ever showed such immense sensitivity  

PhasedSpaces Posted at 7-21 11:38
Uggh!-  You Don't actually answer my question, so why are you even bothering to replying!?
FCC is 26 dBm transmit power.
CE is 14 dBm transmit power

No it doesn’t they perform the same

CineDude Posted at 7-25 05:13
DJI need to remove the radio frequency geo block. It is trivial to set pretty much any WiFi AP to use FCC powers/channels, and I've never heard of anyone being busted over it.

Let me put it another way: I can create more interference using a WiFi AP running CE mode.

The power setting is for very good reasons. I am afraid you are very naive