I was quite excited to test the Plus battery today, it started as a mess, 1st i put it in to FCC, then whilst i was still faffing sorting out the RC pairing back to the DJI RC, i thought i would save the battery on the drone and turned it off, i then paired the DJI RC and realised that stupidly i turned off the drone and it reset it back to CE lol, so i had to go through that again. Then i had no right yaw so i had to waste more battery rebooting the DJI RC, thankfully i got yaw back, so i had to start with only 86% battery, off i went, i started at about 30m high and after a short while the signal started to drop, i think it was less then 1km when it 1st dropped, any hoo, it was fluctuating throughout the flight, I also had it in mind to turn back at 65%, i managed just a fraction over 6km signal was 3 bars and i was t about 106m high. It was a really poor signal in my eyes because I;d done this journey in both CE and FCC hitting 5.5km during the summer, i would have expected better things at this time of year. I was a tad premature on the 65% and head home as i got back with 35%. I wasn't sure on the best turn around % but at least i know I can go lower.

Anyhoo, it doesn't stop there, i then tried the standard battery in CE mode and I got the same signal issues, 3.3km was the max and again i had to do it at that at 105m high. As I've said before, its done 5.5km at between 16 and 31m under thick fog too, today it had no chance in doing that, bearing in mind that i am flying in the exact same spot and long the same flight path give or take a few degrees. All there was that was different is that there was about 4 tractors working. I am baffled, other than newer firmware, nothing else has changed, so whats going on DJI, I have lost over 2km range not to mention the close in range was poor too as it started fluctuating from about 300m out.

Could have been atmospherics causing the signal changes,   Ive noticed in open fields that on different days on the same flight path that the signal can wildly vary.  

DAFlys Posted at 12-1 01:48
Could have been atmospherics causing the signal changes,   Ive noticed in open fields that on different days on the same flight path that the signal can wildly vary.

Thats about all it can be other than i have done a couple of updates since flying there, i really hope DJI ain't messed sommat up, be interesting to see if anyone else has lost a lot meters at their usual spot

The Kp index yesterday was very high (5+).

KLRSKIR Posted at 12-1 07:20
The Kp index yesterday was very high (5+).

I would be surprised if a KP 5 would make much of a difference as this is only a minor storm, but then i suppose i don't know diddly about solar stuff lol

So is the new broadcast RID causing some of this?

Bashy Posted at 12-1 04:16
Thats about all it can be other than i have done a couple of updates since flying there, i really hope DJI ain't messed sommat up, be interesting to see if anyone else has lost a lot meters at their usual spot

My FW is up to date and no change in signal. So don’t think djis stifling your signal.

hallmark007 Posted at 12-1 09:14
My FW is up to date and no change in signal. So don’t think djis stifling your signal.

So you managed 5.5km?

Bashy Posted at 12-1 09:46
So you managed 5.5km?

I have an excellent signal whenever I fly the mini, Im not really into “mines bigger than yours” but do appreciate good signal.

hallmark007 Posted at 12-1 09:57
I have an excellent signal whenever I fly the mini, Im not really into “mines bigger than yours” but do appreciate good signal.

OK well, please, do come back to me when you have something tangible then, after all this topic is about loss of extended range as mentioned in the Op.

Bashy Posted at 12-1 10:01
OK well, please, do come back to me when you have something tangible then, after all this topic is about loss of extended range as mentioned in the Op.

Ok so you’re saying dji could have kept the signal strong but closed down the range ?

hallmark007 Posted at 12-1 10:54
Ok so you’re saying dji could have kept the signal strong but closed down the range ?

You make no sense whatsoever, my home wifi is strong right next to the router, any blooming signal will be strong when it's close, don't bring your argumentative nature into this thread, it ain't welcome.

Bashy Posted at 12-1 11:04
You make no sense whatsoever, my home wifi is strong right next to the router, any blooming signal will be strong when it's close, don't bring your argumentative nature into this thread, it ain't welcome.

Pot calling kettle black id say. But you obviously cannot answer anyones questions so no point in this discussion.

Dirty Bird Posted at 12-1 11:09
My range did not change with the latest firmware.  I had to exchange my Mini 3 under Care Refresh (oops!) & have not range-tested the replacement yet.  I have to say the Care Refresh is pretty awesome.  Shipped a replacement out the same day I filed the claim 2nd Day Air & I received a brand new factory-sealed "Drone Only".  Very cool.

Thanks DB, that's good to hear but sorry about ya Bird, can't fault care refresh

At least now I can put it down to atmospheric conditions.

hallmark007 Posted at 12-1 11:13
Pot calling kettle black id say. But you obviously cannot answer anyones questions so no point in this discussion.

Ah, something we agree on

KLRSKIR Posted at 12-1 07:20
The Kp index yesterday was very high (5+).

A Kp5 isn't high and would have had no measureable effect.
Local atmospheric and interference varies all the time and is the obvious explanation.

I am wondering if constantly messing with the FCC hack could be causing an issue

Bigplumbs Posted at 12-1 13:48
I am wondering if constantly messing with the FCC hack could be causing an issue

Not sure how as it resets back to CE as soon as its turned off

I wonder if the wireless mic played a part in this? I did remove it for a short while to see but it appeared to make no difference, although, it was about 10 seconds max.

I have delved into Google maps the nearest residential is around 900m, the nearest business is around 400m to my flightpath, then there is RAF Feltwell at over 4000m away, thats about it, the rest is pure farmland. Please see the 2 logs below, 1st is FCC with the Plus battery, 2nd is CE with the standard battery, just to give you an idea as to the ground environment and as I've said, this is the exact same route i took when i tested both FCC (5.5km) and CE (4.84km) during the summer. I should also mention that i got it wrong with regards to fog, its was the Mini 2 in FCC that was done in fairly decent fog (5.5km and 30m max height). I have also found the logfile for the Mini 3 Pro CE test i did in the summer and at a max height of only 31m, thats an important factor here...

FCC - Plus battery - 6km - 106m height - https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/4C4MC8SXBQD1BYCOWN1F/
Winter - CE - standard battery - 3.2km - 105m height - https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/6KXSK2XJIKJNIRIA4H61/
Summer - CE - standard battery - 5.48km -  30m max height - https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/6KNKJSQDIABHIHA437ZV/

The only minor difference is the take off point, you will see that during the summer it was just to the right of the tree, it was far too muddy there the other day oh, and the time of day, i was about 3hrs earlier in the summer.

Bashy Posted at 12-1 17:43
Not sure how as it resets back to CE as soon as its turned off

Well you are messing with somthing you should not be from a 3rd party vendor so who knows

Bashy Posted at 12-1 04:16
Thats about all it can be other than i have done a couple of updates since flying there, i really hope DJI ain't messed sommat up, be interesting to see if anyone else has lost a lot meters at their usual spot

n a Saturday morning Ive been recording the progress of a care home thats being built,   its right in the middle of housing and I dont get great range there due to the Wifi I suspect,  but that last update really improved that.   still not perfect but better.  

Bigplumbs Posted at 12-2 00:18
Well you are messing with somthing you should not be from a 3rd party vendor so who knows

It does noting except to fool the GPS into a different location, I think, and it works, as I got double the distance using it,

DAFlys Posted at 12-2 00:44
n a Saturday morning Ive been recording the progress of a care home thats being built,   its right in the middle of housing and I dont get great range there due to the Wifi I suspect,  but that last update really improved that.   still not perfect but better.

That's good to hear, there must have been something environmental. To be honest, I may not find out till summer next year so as to match the weather, pressure, humidity etc...

Bashy Posted at 12-2 01:50
That's good to hear, there must have been something environmental. To be honest, I may not find out till summer next year so as to match the weather, pressure, humidity etc...

Are you hanging up the drone for winter then?

DAFlys Posted at 12-2 03:05
Are you hanging up the drone for winter then?

Oh god no, i am on about testing next summer when i can recreate the same conditions and see what happens, i have my weather station software to see what it was like then so i have sommat to go on

DAFlys Posted at 12-1 01:48
Could have been atmospherics causing the signal changes,   Ive noticed in open fields that on different days on the same flight path that the signal can wildly vary.

"UAV forecast" app shows how the KP Index alters throughout the day. A KP of 4 and above will cause attenuation of RF transmissions and will also cause the drone to drop satellites. High KP: expect problems.

This problem is worse in northern latitudes and worse at night. Also any kind of solar event (sunspots: solar ejections) will play hell with TX/RX.

If you're interested in what this phenomenon is capable of doing: read the Wiki article concerning "The Carrington Event".
In urban environments you also have a double-whammy with 2.4ghz frequency wifi pollution - currently, the DJI drones I have are all showing problems with reliable connectivity in dual band (which since the Mavic 2 Zoom *.**.0770 firmware update maintains 2.4ghz transmission and does not automatically flip up to 5.8ghz when there's interference) the only workaround I've found to maintain a strong control signal whilst in-flight is to boot the drone and then go straight to the transmission tab to physically select 5.8ghz for the flight. Yes, I end up sacrificing extended range and signal penetration: but what I get in return is a strong and reliable control signal. Seeing as I never fly BVLOS, this isn't a problem to me.

My Mini 3 Pro has recently started showing some interesting quirks (signal attenuation/dropout/drift/flyaway) when in dual band... even when I'm showing a connection to 30 satellites. Checking the transmission tab: every time the default frequency is the 2.4ghz range. manually select 5.8ghz and the problems stop immediately.

Felix Le Chat Posted at 12-3 04:23
"UAV forecast" app shows how the KP Index alters throughout the day. A KP of 4 and above will cause attenuation of RF transmissions and will also cause the drone to drop satellites. High KP: expect problems.

This problem is worse in northern latitudes and worse at night. Also any kind of solar event (sunspots: solar ejections) will play hell with TX/RX.

Cheers I will look up  The Carrington Event"

Felix Le Chat Posted at 12-3 04:23
"UAV forecast" app shows how the KP Index alters throughout the day. A KP of 4 and above will cause attenuation of RF transmissions and will also cause the drone to drop satellites. High KP: expect problems.

This problem is worse in northern latitudes and worse at night. Also any kind of solar event (sunspots: solar ejections) will play hell with TX/RX.

Most people pay little to no attention to the Kp Index. Like you said, RF can be highly affected and it can catch pilots by surprise. I know that my Skydio 2+ acts quite differently when the Kp is 4+. At 5+ my fleet stays grounded. Better safe than sorry.

NOAA Link & GFZ Link.

Felix Le Chat Posted at 12-3 04:23
"UAV forecast" app shows how the KP Index alters throughout the day. A KP of 4 and above will cause attenuation of RF transmissions and will also cause the drone to drop satellites. High KP: expect problems.

This problem is worse in northern latitudes and worse at night. Also any kind of solar event (sunspots: solar ejections) will play hell with TX/RX.

Actually, Its KP 6 onwards where the radio signal may be interfered with

My flight shows a KP of only 2 2/3, so negligible and i was in 100% rural,

1st flight was in FCC and only 6km was achieved, it was in dual band, but in FCC both bands have the same power, or at least it used to, not sure with the Mini 3 Pro.

2nd flight was in CE and only 3.3km was achieved, that was at about 100m high, where previously on the exact same flight path (ish) i achieved 5.5km in CE. Also of important note, this 5.5km flight was only at 16m high till around half way then rose to 30m and that was the max height.

One other thing that is interesting is that the 5.5km flight max speed was only 24mph where as the 3.3km, hit top speed of 35mph, not sure why the difference, although it has no bearing on the signal mind lol just found it strange

5.5km CE


3.3km CE

Bashy Posted at 12-3 08:29
Actually, Its KP 6 onwards where the radio signal may be interfered with

My flight shows a KP of only 2 2/3, so negligible and i was in 100% rural,

Excellent Range.... Far more than anyone needs

Bigplumbs Posted at 12-3 08:32
Excellent Range.... Far more than anyone needs

None of us need it here in the UK, these are just tests, once happy, i will have no reason to do it again.
I probably wouldn't have even bothered with another CE test but when it only hit 6km in FCC with the Plus battery, i thought i would then retest CE with the standard battery and it was then that i noticed and nearly from the off by the way, that there was something wrong.Heck, i had to keep ascending to be able to keep connected, i stopped at about 100m so that 1, i had room to ascend fast for errant budgies or less to descend should i need to bring it down for whatever reason.

The fact that it did 5.5km at only 30m high in July (i think) but could only do 3.3km at 100m high in November, tells me that sommat was amiss.

In comparison, the Mini 2 managed 5.5 in FCC at only 30m too, yet the Mini 3 pro's max was 6km in FCC at 100m+ high.

After the great range in the summer, i was really looking forward to doing the FCC range with the Plus battery, i was quite disappointed for sure but I will keep trying over the winter, i think next Wednesday may have a window (wind-wise), hopefully, it was just atmospherics

This will make ya eyes open, 1st image was the summer 5.5km CE, 2nd image was the November 3.3km CE test, note, look at the browser bar on the right of the image, you can see that there were many, many more signal warnings as i could have copied the image about 3 or 4 more times to fit them all in, also note that the 1st signal warning was at only 67m, granted, i was at only 9m high but it was direct LOS, ya could have tied a string and it not be interrupted. The 2 flights were the exact same but when you look at the images below, sommat clearly wasn't right. I could clip the whole of the summer flight in one image  

Some people seem to spend all their time testing rather than using………. I bet several spreadsheets are involved

Not a single warning.

Bigplumbs Posted at 12-4 00:21
Some people seem to spend all their time testing rather than using………. I bet several spreadsheets are involved

Dont start with your cr@p again, its my drone, i paid for it, i will use it how i choose, i do not tell you how to use yours. If you cannot be civil then i'd rather you didn't participate at all in my threads.

Drone.Hunter Posted at 12-4 03:41
Not a single warning.
[view_image]

Different screens to what i have posted.... at the very least you should have the battery info shown

Bashy Posted at 12-4 05:09
Dont start with your cr@p again, its my drone, i paid for it, i will use it how i choose, i do not tell you how to use yours. If you cannot be civil then i'd rather you didn't participate at all in my threads.

I will comment in what ever thread I want. It was civil. It was a comment, You just seem unable to deal with comments that you don't agree with. You also seem to think that general comments are always directed at you.

Any way I thought you were leaving this forum..... You asked for your account to be deleted am I not correct.
Also this range testing and switching to FCC mode is also illegal. Not good. We have CE mode in the UK for a reason but I surpose you think that does not apply to you

Bigplumbs Posted at 12-4 05:58
I will comment in what ever thread I want. It was civil. It was a comment, You just seem unable to deal with comments that you don't agree with. You also seem to think that general comments are always directed at you.

Any way I thought you were leaving this forum..... You asked for your account to be deleted am I not correct.

I asked and it never happened, it looks like your warning has faded from memory. I will go back to ignoring you and reporting for trolling then, civil HA, snidey remarks are not being civilly,

BTW, Cut the holier than thou cr@p, you did over 1000m, talk about hypocrisy lol this will be my last reply to you, good day.

Bashy Posted at 12-4 06:07
I asked and it never happened, it looks like your warning has faded from memory. I will go back to ignoring you and reporting for trolling then, civil HA, snidey remarks are not being civilly,

BTW, Cut the holier than thou cr@p, you did over 1000m, talk about hypocrisy lol this will be my last reply to you, good day.

You are ridiculous. I simply made a comment.

Perhaps you need to understand that this is not your Forum and No thread is yours. It is open to all.

As I said what you are doing is illegal. That is a simple fact. If others also do it it don't make it right.

By the way I have never switched to FCC mode. You have a video of how to do it. Aiding and abetting I think that is. What do you think

Please feel free to ignore me. I can assure you I will be pleased.

Bashy Posted at 12-4 05:11
Different screens to what i have posted.... at the very least you should have the battery info shown

Battery temperature 17C