bxq Posted at 1-6 08:01
"your imaginary truth isn't the reality" and you mate have lost your plot a bit there  Is there maybe a separate thread where you are whining about flight time on one battery??  It's just physics buddy.

No, there is NOT another thread where I am supposedly "whining" about flying on one battery so please check your facts before you speak.

No idea what physics you are talking about and what thread you imagine but I am not there. If you have proof, please make a screenshot and post it for me. If it's another person. then you better hold your peace forever. LOL

Bashy Posted at 1-5 17:52
Thats very weird because i and others have found that once the signal hits the red and then turn it 180º so that it is facing the homepoint, the signal improves. Also, the same applies when you stop the drone right on the edge of signal loss, it will improve, you can then crawl right (4kph) until full signal loss, for me over urban, both instances I gain about 300m more.

not weird at all.  This is exactly why the Mini 3 added leg stands for antennas to mitigate this issue.

Element115 Posted at 1-6 09:02
not weird at all.  This is exactly why the Mini 3 added leg stands for antennas to mitigate this issue.

And how do you know this?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-6 09:26
And how do you know this?

It's obvious.  What other reason can you think of for them to reposition the antennas by adding leglets?  It certainly wasn't for functionality or looks.

Element115 Posted at 1-6 10:06
It's obvious.  What other reason can you think of for them to reposition the antennas by adding leglets?  It certainly wasn't for functionality or looks.

It's not exact. The two drones use two different transmission systems. The mini 3 uses ocusync 2 like the mini 2 and needs 4 antennas, while the mini 3 pro uses the ocusync 3 system which only needs 2 antennas.

Element115 Posted at 1-6 10:06
It's obvious.  What other reason can you think of for them to reposition the antennas by adding leglets?  It certainly wasn't for functionality or looks.

I thought it might be for stability on the ground, I didn't and don't like the idea of the mine 3 pro's very narrow under carriage. The point is the only people that know are DJI and those they have told, every one else is guessing.

fans324e907e Posted at 1-6 10:38
It's not exact. The two drones use two different transmission systems. The mini 3 uses ocusync 2 like the mini 2 and needs 4 antennas, while the mini 3 pro uses the ocusync 3 system which only needs 2 antennas.

This is true.  However, the antennas being below the arms and away from the main body prevents signals being blocked by the drone body.  It will certainly improve tx and rx.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-6 10:52
I thought it might be for stability on the ground, I didn't and don't like the idea of the mine 3 pro's very narrow under carriage. The point is the only people that know are DJI and those they have told, every one else is guessing.

I haven't had any stability issues on the ground with M3Pro so I doubt it.  It's a fact the antennas are now placed on these leglets away from the main body which will provide a better line of sight transmission to the pilot.

Element115 Posted at 1-6 09:02
not weird at all.  This is exactly why the Mini 3 added leg stands for antennas to mitigate this issue.

The Mini 3 is only O2 for a start and other than that, where is your proof that that is the reason the antennas have been moved?

Having said that, do we even know that the antennas have actually moved from the arms to the legs, i ask because I've not seen any Mini 3 teardowns yet?

Hello, Element115 & Dirty Bird. It seemed something has went to a controllable situation.  I never expect a discussion will turn into a threatening, offensive battle and is even about to invade privacy.
I deleted threads that started from the quarrels and give each of you a warning. Stop pestering each other in PM and calm down first.

AntonioTech Posted at 2022-12-31 09:41
I know enough about radio waves and obstacles and that the declared range can't be reached in real-time scenarios but to have 450 m over 12 km is way off.

Maybe you haven't read my whole post and start condemning what I posted - I tried 3 different areas and in all of them the range was pathetic. All 3 areas were in different locations. In one case, I was on the top of the hill and flew the drone downwards, basically giving advantage to the signal. The max range I could get was 455 m.

Posted range are only for the very ideal conditions. not only for the mini but mavic 3 or 2 series are same could only achieve the posted flight distance if the ideal condition provided many issues disturb the range tall trees, WIFI signals emitted from the residents where you are flying, antenna towers, power lines, metal objects, topographical hills or pits where you fly.  
Rather than that I would suggest turning off the WIFI or other mobile signal (fly when your mobile is on Flight mode) Do not use Bluetooth connected smart watches etc. when flying.

akozc Posted at 1-18 00:28
Posted range are only for the very ideal conditions. not only for the mini but mavic 3 or 2 series are same could only achieve the posted flight distance if the ideal condition provided many issues disturb the range tall trees, WIFI signals emitted from the residents where you are flying, antenna towers, power lines, metal objects, topographical hills or pits where you fly.  
Rather than that I would suggest turning off the WIFI or other mobile signal (fly when your mobile is on Flight mode) Do not use Bluetooth connected smart watches etc. when flying.

Thanks for the input! I think I will start leaving my BT smartwatch at home before flying

Drone Buddy Posted at 1-18 01:10
Thanks for the input! I think I will start leaving my BT smartwatch at home before flying

I use my galaxy smart watch whilst flying, not noticed any issues, i also connect to my phone so the maps are live too

That's a big problem. I've just bought the mini 3 (nonpro) and it does not have a range issue because of the longer antenna, so I think the mini 3 pro has an internal problem that can't be fixed with hacks or updates. Either downgrade a little bit to the regular mini 3 and save $200 or upgrade to the Mavic 3 classic.

Bashy Posted at 2022-12-31 19:53
I think you will find any exchanges you make will result in the same.

Just showing screenshots means absolutely nothing except to show that the top image is urban, that distance is quite acceptable in an urban environment, the other image is showing you over trees and this is a known killer of the signal especially when low.

he should still be able to go past 500m even if the controller was being held incorrectly.

PixelPro Posted at 1-23 11:20
That's a big problem. I've just bought the mini 3 (nonpro) and it does not have a range issue because of the longer antenna, so I think the mini 3 pro has an internal problem that can't be fixed with hacks or updates. Either downgrade a little bit to the regular mini 3 and save $200 or upgrade to the Mavic 3 classic.

Yeah, I will most likely get the Mavic 3 Classic.

Drone Buddy Posted at 1-23 13:26
Yeah, I will most likely get the Mavic 3 Classic.

Sorry about that. hope the next one doesn't give you any hassle.

PixelPro Posted at 1-23 11:26
he should still be able to go past 500m even if the controller was being held incorrectly.

Maybe with some drones but with this Mini 3 Pro, it is more sensitive to alignment, play it by the book at it will provide excellent results, wander just a fraction of a gnats pube and it will kick it will give you the bird and come home...

PixelPro Posted at 1-23 14:10
Sorry about that. hope the next one doesn't give you any hassle.

Thanks! Once I get it, I will update you all

Bashy Posted at 1-23 18:47
Maybe with some drones but with this Mini 3 Pro, it is more sensitive to alignment, play it by the book at it will provide excellent results, wander just a fraction of a gnats pube and it will kick it will give you the bird and come home...

Well, it's more than an "alignment" problem as the alignment itself doesn't help much. And, yep, I played it by the book but still M3P remains possibly the DJI drone with the worst range. Is it the FCC and CE frequencies to blame for it... Could be but I agree that one needs to know their surroundings because in one o fmy tests I manage to fly 4.3 km but I was on the highest hill

Drone Buddy Posted at 1-24 02:09
Well, it's more than an "alignment" problem as the alignment itself doesn't help much. And, yep, I played it by the book but still M3P remains possibly the DJI drone with the worst range. Is it the FCC and CE frequencies to blame for it... Could be but I agree that one needs to know their surroundings because in one o fmy tests I manage to fly 4.3 km but I was on the highest hill

You've proved it to yourself by hitting 4.3km, that by using the best conditions gives you the best range, this includes alignment, location, atmospherics, to achieve the best, they all must come together but the most important is the alignment, if thats off then youre gonna lose the signal.

Bashy Posted at 1-24 04:05
You've proved it to yourself by hitting 4.3km, that by using the best conditions gives you the best range, this includes alignment, location, atmospherics, to achieve the best, they all must come together but the most important is the alignment, if thats off then youre gonna lose the signal.

Yeah, I literally tested everything that came to mind, even moving slowly the RC in all directions and even that helps a lot sometimes.

I have the M3P , it worked fairly well initially ito of signal .
I did a software update in November and it never flew again.
The signal range in 2.4 is a couple meters.
In 5.8 it seems to work but I can’t really trust it.
Dji’s support makes me think I am talking to a bot, it’s been useless.  I am travelling so getting this thing back to them is a huge mission as they don’t support their warranty world wide.
It’s annoying as all their advertising is travel and adventure.
I am incredibly annoyed that this was done by their software
Update.  They are frustrating as months have passed and we haven’t been able to even ascertain a basic concept of failure, like is it the remote or is it the drone?  What’s has failed , which device should go back?   If it’s both then the remote can’t be used to fly other dji products rendering everything grounded for the duration of repair and shipping of the m3p.
Basic order to dealing with customer support would be a reassuring start.

djiuser_X2v23fwlaqwE Posted at 1-31 10:28
I have the M3P , it worked fairly well initially ito of signal .
I did a software update in November and it never flew again.
The signal range in 2.4 is a couple meters.

Wow! Sorry to hear about your troubles. I suppose you have updated the drone, the RC and the batteries to their latest firmware? Also, if you have, try this: download the "DJI Assistant 2 (Consumer Drones Series)" and reapply the latest firmware on each device. I've read that sometimes it helps. If nothing helps, there is obviously something wrong with either the drone or the RC.

Are the products still under warranty? DJI should deal with this.

djiuser_X2v23fwlaqwE Posted at 1-31 10:28
I have the M3P , it worked fairly well initially ito of signal .
I did a software update in November and it never flew again.
The signal range in 2.4 is a couple meters.

Hi, there. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused.
We will forward your feedback to the relevant team and ask them to check this problem.
Please pay attention to your email as well.
If there is anything that we can help with, please just let us know here.
Thanks for your understanding.

Anything in the line of sight (or near it) will reduce your RF range. Eg. Trees and houses.  The advertised 12km is based on the assumption that you have to be in visual range of your drone.  Clearly, if it's behind a house or tree you can't see it, neither can the 2.4GHz radio on your controller or aircraft.

AntonioTech Posted at 1-1 16:15
I am still in the 14 day period and I may take the current drone to have it replaced with the retailer, not DJI, and then I can see what is happening with the range. Look, as I said, most of us don't have time to deal with some unintentional production faults and I understand the DJI is silently replacing them but certainly hope that DJI will soon offer a firmware update that will somewhat fix the range issue. I understand the 8 km may not reachable but I'd like to have at least 2-3 km.

FAA rules: The Remote Pilot in Command needs to be able to see the aircraft with his/her own eyes.  I can't see my my Mini 3 Pro more than about 300 meters away, much less 2-3 km.

https://jrupprechtlaw.com/sectio ... aircraft-operation/

fans324e907e Posted at 1-6 10:38
It's not exact. The two drones use two different transmission systems. The mini 3 uses ocusync 2 like the mini 2 and needs 4 antennas, while the mini 3 pro uses the ocusync 3 system which only needs 2 antennas.

You have them reversed ,ocusync 2 has 2 in drone,ocusync 3 has four in drone.

Pastime Posted at 2-5 17:23
You have them reversed ,ocusync 2 has 2 in drone,ocusync 3 has four in drone.

Mini 3 and air2 as an example both have oc.2 and two antennas in the drone.

New user of Dji 3 Mini Pro.  I fly mostly from my home; houses everywhere.  Every house likely has its own WiFi setup,  cell phones everywhere.  I go up 200 - 400' and go down range.  In the daylight; no way can I see the 3 past 1200'.  At night, with a strobe, I can see it as far as possible until obstructions get in the way, about 2500'.  Since visual line of site is required; the idea of 12Km (7 miles) is kind of irrelevant to me and likely, most other users like me.  I have never lost signal.  I bought my drone about a month ago; have about 20 hours flight time and it works great.  I'll continue to follow local rules and fly within line of site.  Maybe being such a new purchase, the issues are fixed?  I'll never fly that far out of range so I'm pretty happy with what Dji has done with my first drone.  I respect the issues others may be having but my 3 seems to work just fine.

Marty57# Posted at 2-5 20:12
New user of Dji 3 Mini Pro.  I fly mostly from my home; houses everywhere.  Every house likely has its own WiFi setup,  cell phones everywhere.  I go up 200 - 400' and go down range.  In the daylight; no way can I see the 3 past 1200'.  At night, with a strobe, I can see it as far as possible until obstructions get in the way, about 2500'.  Since visual line of site is required; the idea of 12Km (7 miles) is kind of irrelevant to me and likely, most other users like me.  I have never lost signal.  I bought my drone about a month ago; have about 20 hours flight time and it works great.  I'll continue to follow local rules and fly within line of site.  Maybe being such a new purchase, the issues are fixed?  I'll never fly that far out of range so I'm pretty happy with what Dji has done with my first drone.  I respect the issues others may be having but my 3 seems to work just fine.

Hi Marty,

Yes, once you are in a densely populated area, i.e. urban area with many wi-fis and who knows how many other types of frequencies, the range is really low, about 300 meters. However, when I moved away from these surroundings and went to the fields, I managed to achieve 4300 m range.

WA4OSH Posted at 2-5 16:51
FAA rules: The Remote Pilot in Command needs to be able to see the aircraft with his/her own eyes.  I can't see my my Mini 3 Pro more than about 300 meters away, much less 2-3 km.

https://jrupprechtlaw.com/section-107-31-visual-line-sight-aircraft-operation/

Maybe some have eagle vision

Marty57# Posted at 2-5 20:12
New user of Dji 3 Mini Pro.  I fly mostly from my home; houses everywhere.  Every house likely has its own WiFi setup,  cell phones everywhere.  I go up 200 - 400' and go down range.  In the daylight; no way can I see the 3 past 1200'.  At night, with a strobe, I can see it as far as possible until obstructions get in the way, about 2500'.  Since visual line of site is required; the idea of 12Km (7 miles) is kind of irrelevant to me and likely, most other users like me.  I have never lost signal.  I bought my drone about a month ago; have about 20 hours flight time and it works great.  I'll continue to follow local rules and fly within line of site.  Maybe being such a new purchase, the issues are fixed?  I'll never fly that far out of range so I'm pretty happy with what Dji has done with my first drone.  I respect the issues others may be having but my 3 seems to work just fine.

Try doing a mapping of an apartment building sometime.  I have seen two-page long SSID listings.

20 hours of flight time on a single battery on your batteries or the strobes.  Either way, that's really impressive.  I carry four batteries in my setup.  I get a bit more than 30 minutes on them.  I have not tested the strobes.

I bought a set of three strobes from Amazon.  I put the large one on top and flash it white so that float planes that come in for a landing on the lake near Marymoor RC club where I fly can see me and a little  one flashing red on my battery pack so that I can see it, day or night.

Lake Sammamish near Redmond WA


My DJI Mini 3 pro in its carrying case.

Drone Buddy Posted at 2-6 02:46
Maybe some have eagle vision

I think a few FPV pilots claim they have x-ray vision to see right through those goggles.  Technically, they should have a Visual Observer.   

Here's an article by the Pilot Institute, where I studied to get my Part 107 remote pilot certificate that's a good recap on the line of sight rules and the visual observer rules.   I passed with flying colors.  https://pilotinstitute.com/drone-visual-observer/

If you are flying recreationally, the Pilot Institute also has a very nice portal where you can get your TRUST certificate for FREE.   It's not a sales gimmic to sell you lanyards or lamination services for your cert.   https://trust.pilotinstitute.com/

Drone Buddy Posted at 1-5 14:57
Every environmental setting is unique and no two can be replicated.

And btw, before I bought the drone I took my pilot license and informed myself via many YT videos and on this forum. And, yes, I went through all DJI manuals for the drone and I did see the declared stats for the range in different settings  I also did see posts that users have issues with the range but I guess I liked the drone so much that I didn't think that this specific drone still has some issue with the range.

Yes, theory (Maxwell and Friis Equations) only work in free space.  Even radio waves at 2.4 GHz don't travel in straight lines.  Objects that protude into the Fresnel Zone of the RF line of sight can either enhance or detract from radio signals.  For example, Radio waves can be bent by a mountain top to propagate signals that are normally line of sight by Knife Edge Diffraction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_zone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction

-===-

I would recommend for folks to prepare for their Part 107 exam with a reputable course that offers lifetime updates and is presented by a certified FAA instructor.  Often YouTubes may represent the facts or rules or become outdated due to a rule change.

Drone Buddy Posted at 2-6 02:45
Hi Marty,

Yes, once you are in a densely populated area, i.e. urban area with many wi-fis and who knows how many other types of frequencies, the range is really low, about 300 meters. However, when I moved away from these surroundings and went to the fields, I managed to achieve 4300 m range.

Drone Buddy,
You said you only get 300m (about 1000') in a densely populated area.  My flights are in an area with lots of homes; some on 1 acre, some 4 homes and more to an acre .  I guess I'm pretty lucky having flown  to my limit of VLOS in day and night without ever losing signal.  2000' has been my max distance at 400' over neighborhood homes and never any signal issue.  I've flown this with and without landing gear attached, and with a strobe mounted to the landing gear; just behind the  feet where the two antennas are located.  It would be good to hear from others who, like me, have had no issues with signal loss to understand if this is widespread or a limited issue.  
Marty
  

Marty57# Posted at 2-6 09:53
Drone Buddy,
You said you only get 300m (about 1000') in a densely populated area.  My flights are in an area with lots of homes; some on 1 acre, some 4 homes and more to an acre .  I guess I'm pretty lucky having flown  to my limit of VLOS in day and night without ever losing signal.  2000' has been my max distance at 400' over neighborhood homes and never any signal issue.  I've flown this with and without landing gear attached, and with a strobe mounted to the landing gear; just behind the  feet where the two antennas are located.  It would be good to hear from others who, like me, have had no issues with signal loss to understand if this is widespread or a limited issue.  
Marty

Hi Marty,

This is the debate actually - whether the issue is widely spread and specific to the DJi mini 3 Pro or it's a matter of curroundings - frequencies, obstacles, etc. I think it might be both but if you checked this post from the beginning, you will see some links I and other posted about the range issue. I personally believe it's most likely the 2.4 GHz frequency. However, it's not quite clear what is happening, although DJI points in the M3P manual what the real range might be and that it depends on the surrounding factors.

WA4OSH Posted at 2-6 07:55
I think a few FPV pilots claim they have x-ray vision to see right through those goggles.  Technically, they should have a Visual Observer.   

Here's an article by the Pilot Institute, where I studied to get my Part 107 remote pilot certificate that's a good recap on the line of sight rules and the visual observer rules.   I passed with flying colors.  https://pilotinstitute.com/drone-visual-observer/

Oh, I definitely agree with having a spotter not only for the FPVs but for any drone as they may warn you about so many obstacles.

I purchaseed mini 3 pro on December 2022, if i fly from my home, the max range I can get is about 500meter, if I fly in a big forest next to Epsom UK, max it can get is about 600meter, and then i refund my drone, and buy another mini 3 pro, the range increased about 30% in all same area, so i can comfirmed there is  hardware issue for mini 3 pro!

Mr_Pumpkin Posted at 2-8 15:54
I purchaseed mini 3 pro on December 2022, if i fly from my home, the max range I can get is about 500meter, if I fly in a big forest next to Epsom UK, max it can get is about 600meter, and then i refund my drone, and buy another mini 3 pro, the range increased about 30% in all same area, so i can comfirmed there is  hardware issue for mini 3 pro!

Thats not confirmation of anything im afraid, the problem with your test is different days, thats easily enough for outside influences to change enough to either reduce the range or in your case, show an improvement.

Also you're in CE so that means your range is handicapped from the get-go
I too am in the UK so also in CE, and for the sake of these tests below, they were in CE

I flew using the RC Pro (testing the RC) and hit 3.8km , this was in very thick fog at only 25m high.
The very next day with zero fog, it would only do 2km at 30m high, nothing else changed at all but again, this was the RC Pro, suffice to say, that went back to Amazon.

A previous flight using the DJI RC (screened RC) in July last year, it hit my PB for CE of 5.5km at 31m high
I then tested it again end of November i think it was, last year and it only managed 3.3km at 30m high
I then managed to get back out there and it did much better and hit 5.1km at 30m high.

When i range test, i fly the exact same place and flight path give or take a few feet, i also only fly at 30m during the test, give or take a few a meter depending, if its really foggy i will keep it under 30m. The ground is 100% flat farmland with no trees or buildings on the actual flight path.

As a side note, i have hit 7km in FCC not max signal though, thats due for a max range test using the Plus battery soon, I just need to time it where the temp is above freezing and the humidity is below 94%

Anyway, as you can see from my results, even 1 day can be enough to make a decent difference, therefore i highly doubt that there was any difference in your drones hardware, one other point to make, your flights were around trees, these are a pain when it comes to radio signals, its the moisture in and or on them that doesn't help not to mention that they can block the LOS to the drone.

I could be wrong but you look relatively new to DJI drones, so the way you hold the RC can also be a deciding factor on how much range you can achieve. You need to try to imagine that there is a red dot laser coming out of the top of the RC, be it the DJI RC (screened) or the N1 (no screen), you need to keep that imaginary red dot on the drone at all times, using the Flight Attitude Radar can help in horizontal alignment as the RC indicator on there will change from blue to green when there is a good horizontal alignment.