I bought the Argtek range extender, but not sure it is needed. I am getting out to 1.2 miles now without it. I installed the extender, and my range really sucked. Everything was connected properly and glued on. Are you supposed to upgrade the firmware to make this thing work? I have read horror stories about upgrading the firmware, so I have never done it. I guess I should just leave well enough alone? Any thoughts?

could you let us know what you have now, eg which phantom 3a,p/4, aircraft fw version/controller fw version/Dji go app version,also IOS or Android.

With this info may be able to help you further.

Thanks

There are many range extenders out there and many only decrease range.
And updating firmware on your aircraft has nothing to do with making them work.
DJI does not support any modification like that.

Tech,I have the standard, not sure what firmware, maybe the one before the latest upgrade? I am using the latest Do I go app on a android.

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-22 23:13
Tech,I have the standard, not sure what firmware, maybe the one before the latest upgrade? I am usin ...

As i have the p3 pro myself i'm purely guessing but few things i can say:

if your getting 1.2 miles without any mods that's a lot that more than most are getting, excellent for the standard as its only wifi and not lightbridge like the p3 a/p/p4

If you have installed the argtek range extender you have voided your warranty by doing this,also as DJI-Ken has stated DJi do not support any mods to the AC/RC. Also the firmware does not make it work/nor does it increase range.

The range is mainly based on your flying site, in your case as the standard is wifi based its best to fly in a wide open space as big as possible. I myself fly over miles and miles of open farmland/countryside.

With wifi there are many other devices operating on the same frequency/channels such as home wifi/business wifi etc so flying in and around a built up town/city where the wifi interference is high your range would be minimal to say the least

TechReviews Posted at 2016-9-23 06:38
As i have the p3 pro myself i'm purely guessing but few things i can say:

if your getting 1.2 mil ...

Yeah, I took the Argtek off and put the other back on. Don't really care much about the warranty, these things are pretty cheap, and I keep reading about the shitty customer service, and people not being able to get their drones back.

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-23 06:13
Tech,I have the standard, not sure what firmware, maybe the one before the latest upgrade? I am usin ...

If you want to see what firmware you are on, power everything up and go to the About page in General Settings.

Just a heads up, as this is a corp. (DJI) site it's best suited for all things stock. When you want to discuss mods it's better on the Phantom Pilots forum site. Also the DBS mod is much better than the Argtek. Do you have a Advance or Standard.

wmcvey Posted at 2016-9-24 02:06
Just a heads up, as this is a corp. (DJI) site it's best suited for all things stock. When you want  ...

You are free to discuss antenna mods here, but I agree for much more information the other site may offer more user experiences of antenna mods.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-23 14:11
You are free to discuss antenna mods here, but I agree for much more information the other site ma ...

There are quite a few other threads about this. I also bought the Argtek ones, and actually did some testing on several other types too. But, I have a P3A, not the standard. It sounds like others have also said that if you can get over 1-miles with your stock setup with your standard, you are doing good! I can say that the Argtek doubled my range to 2 1/2 to over 3 miles anytime I want to go that far. I have installed them on 2-other P3A of friends of mine with duplicate results. I think for sure the Lightbridge is what is allowing us with either the advanced or pro to go those distances.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-23 14:11
You are free to discuss antenna mods here, but I agree for much more information the other site ma ...

There are quite a few other threads about this. I also bought the Argtek ones, and actually did some testing on several other types too. But, I have a P3A, not the standard. It sounds like others have also said that if you can get over 1-miles with your stock setup with your standard, you are doing good! I can say that the Argtek doubled my range to 2 1/2 to over 3 miles anytime I want to go that far. I have installed them on 2-other P3A of friends of mine with duplicate results. I think for sure the Lightbridge is what is allowing us with either the advanced or pro to go those distances.

wmcvey Posted at 2016-9-24 02:06
Just a heads up, as this is a corp. (DJI) site it's best suited for all things stock. When you want  ...

I have the standard.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-24 01:19
If you want to see what firmware you are on, power everything up and go to the About page in Gener ...

The app is 2.9.1 and the aircraft is 1.2.40+

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-23 14:27
I have the standard.

Wow, 1.2 miles on WIFI - That's a record!

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-9-24 02:33
Wow, 1.2 miles on WIFI - That's a record!

Yeah, I live out in the country, and was in a large field. I was up about 250' I probably could have gone out a little farther, because if I moved around a little, the signal came back. But I did not want to risk it.

If you have the Standard,  you have to have the antenna mod kit specifically made for the standard.  The reason is the frequency for the Standard and the controller that transmits the control signal is 5.8ghz. The others all use Lightbridge on 2.4 ghz for both control and fpv display, except the P3 4k,  which,  like the Standard,  also uses 5.8ghz for control signal.  If you use an antenna made for 2.4ghz on a transmitter that uses 5.8ghz,  sending to a receiver that is also 5.8ghz,  you will suffer range reduction and possibly damage the final output power transistor in the controller.
Also,  these antenna mods,  most all of them,  are highly directional.  It is necessary to have them properly oriented pointing at the aircraft for them to work.  If the aren't,  you will lose signal at very short range.  All these modification kits are a variation of the same theme,  they rely on a specifically shaped reflector behind the antenna to focus and reflect the radio signal in more or less the same direction, much like the reflector on a flashlight directs the flashlight beam.  The only exception to this is using a brute force power amplifier to increase the actual power of the transmitted signal.  These setups are normally omnidirectional,  so you can point them wherever you want and still have a much stronger signal.
That being said,  if you have a Standard that is giving you over 1 mile in usable range,  first,  go to any casino you want right now and get busy.  You are on a massive win roll.  Dji claims only .6 miles for the Standard under optimum conditions. Six tenths of a mile or 1 kilometer.  Most users report significantly less.
Here is a little more information you did not ask for,  but I will post it anyway.  The stock antenna for all of these aircraft, Dji or otherwise,  is basically just an antenna wire with a connector on one end that plugs into the r/c inside on the motherboard.  On the working end,  it is just that same wire with the insulation and inner braided shield stripped back to a specific length,  depending  on frequency.  This is what is inside the plastic antenna on the controller.  The end of a piece of wire.  The plastic part does nothing but hold the wire in place.  It is in no way directional,  except that it obeys the normal antenna rule of not working well straight over head.  The modification kits like dbs and Argtech merely make that piece of wire extend out of the controller far enough to be routed in front of the reflector which is really the heart of the kit.  That is all there is to it.  The ones that use a copper reflector are really just an added cost gimmick,  as  any metallic material  that reflects rf will work more or less as well as any other.  This includes aluminized mylar plastic,  as used in  the emergency survival blankets.     You could sandwich a piece of that between two pieces of plastic and bend that into a domed shape curved the proper amount for the frequency you are using and get the same or better results than any of the mod kits.  Personally,  I don't bother with the parabolic reflector antenna mods,  because I am lazy and don't want to be bothered pointing the r/c at the aircraft all the time.   So I use a bi directional signal  amplifier that is made for the 5.8ghz control signal on my Standard.  It gets range that is much farther than my battery will last if I were to not be careful.
Hope this helps.

Kneepuck Posted at 2016-9-24 02:41
If you have the Standard,  you have to have the antenna mod kit specifically made for the standard.  ...

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I was just hoping to add some range to run some really cool waypoints on the Litchi app. The kit I got says that it was compatible with the standard. I guess I will just return it and get my money back. Maybe get another battery instead..

wmcvey Posted at 2016-9-23 14:06
Just a heads up, as this is a corp. (DJI) site it's best suited for all things stock. When you want  ...

I am curious, did you test/evaluate both of them?  What were your results?

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-23 14:46
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I was just hoping to add some range to run some really cool waypoint ...

Ah.  Well,  here is another tip.  When you fly a waypoint mission with Litchi,  range does not matter.   It is more dependant on battery life.  Once you begin the waypoint mission,  you can turn the controller off if you like.  The Phantom will continue the waypoint mission and at the end it will execute whatever behavior you have programmed.  Automatic rth will not be working during the waypoint mission.  This is useful,  because it enables you to program a mission that exceeds transmitter range.  It is vitally important that you program waypoints and flight paths to avoid any obstacles though.  You also must have good solid gps data to the Phantom.  If you don't,  waypoints cant work.
This is true only when using litchi.  If using the Go app,  you have to first manually fly the waypoint route and set waypoints,  which is far safer but not as convenient.  With Litch,  you chart the course in advance of flight on the device screen and set the behavior for each waypoint.   But if you are not very careful,  disaster awaits.  I know this for a fact,  because it cost me a new camera/.gimbal on my Advanced because I forgot about a low hanging telephone line.  I saw it coming on the fpv goggles,  but I was on the roof of the house and ,  like the moron I am,  I had left the controller on the ground.  No time for rescue.  Other than that,  it was a good flight.

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-24 02:33
The app is 2.9.1 and the aircraft is 1.2.40+

Ok, here's the release notes on firmwares.
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... ote_en_20160509.pdf

RicardoGray Posted at 2016-9-24 02:21
There are quite a few other threads about this. I also bought the Argtek ones, and actually did so ...

I've never used any 3rd party extenders so I don't know.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-24 03:32
Ok, here's the release notes on firmwares.
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_3_standard/en/P ...

Ken, I am just scared to upgrade the firmware. I keep reading on this forum not to do it. Nothing but problems. My drone fly's great right now with no problems at all, why mess with it?

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-24 04:26
Ken, I am just scared to upgrade the firmware. I keep reading on this forum not to do it. Nothing  ...

If you are perfectly happy then you are free to do as you choose.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-23 22:33
If you are perfectly happy then you are free to do as you choose.

DJI Ken
I looked at the release notes of the firmware, which is 1.2.40+ for release?
Is this the "basic firmware" that comes from the factory?

JpNL Posted at 2016-9-24 04:44
DJI Ken
I looked at the release notes of the firmware, which is 1.2.40+ for release?
Is this the " ...

I can tell you that it's very very old.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-23 22:49
I can tell you that it's very very old.

The reason I ask this, I have my P3S back after a repair with this firmware. (1 month ago approximately)
I had sent my drone with firmware 1.5.7. (Repair cracks)
I have three batteries, one battery indicates that the firmware is 1.6.8.
with the other two batteries the firmware is 1.2.40+.
bit confusing.

what is your opinion?

JpNL Posted at 2016-9-24 05:00
The reason I ask this, I have my P3S back after a repair with this firmware. (1 month ago approxima ...

Perhaps they exchanged it for a new one.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-9-24 04:33
If you are perfectly happy then you are free to do as you choose.

Hey, maybe that is why I am getting really good range??

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-24 05:55
Hey, maybe that is why I am getting really good range??

As I said, if you have no issues and are happy with it then you are free to stay there.
There were battery updates that made some battery management tweaks.

makokiller Posted at 2016-9-23 23:55
Hey, maybe that is why I am getting really good range??

My PS3, maximum range and altitude, no signal dissolves, or video.
Range about 800M and 120M height. (CE)
All special features are working properly.
See no reason to update my PS3.
1.2.40+

MD_Icarus Posted at 2016-9-23 15:00
I am curious, did you test/evaluate both of them?  What were your results?

Only have the DBS on my P3S, and it works great. But to answer your question. After reading many threads and posts I've taken an unscientific survey. That the Argtek has a mixed bag of comments that I would say are 50/50 on it improving or not improving the range/signal loss issues. And the DBS was like 90% positive comments, with almost no one saying it was the same as stock, unlike with the Argtek. Also have read a few threads that stated they had bought the Argtek first and weren't too happy with it, then installed the DBS next and it was much better. While not scientific, I could easily see a common theme. The DBS was a better mod and the only con was it cost more.

wmcvey Posted at 2016-9-23 19:07
Only have the DBS on my P3S, and it works great. But to answer your question. After reading many th ...

What range do you get for video and Control?  Is your video the first to go?

MD_Icarus Posted at 2016-9-23 20:12
What range do you get for video and Control?  Is your video the first to go?

Range is about 1400 to 1700 meters so far on 1.6.8 P3S, but I'm still learning how to point it correctly. As for which one goes out first, there close to the same. I'll push it till the control is lost and RTH kicks in, and video is just starting to blink out around the same time.

wmcvey Posted at 2016-9-24 15:49
Range is about 1400 to 1700 meters so far on 1.6.8 P3S, but I'm still learning how to point it corr ...

For the P3S that is a great distance.  And I think your set up is the best for the P3S , which also needs wifi.

But so far, my straight out range tests on the P4 show very close results using both set ups, which I am evaluating.

Just added a Skyreat range booster to my antenna, and went from 6300' to over 10,000' with no signal loss. See pic.