Dear folk

As more fly more combo shipped, the real problem become more noticeable that is the remote range.  Since DJI claims 2KM with the remote contoller, but the reality is not anywhere close.  I don't expect Spark can really fly 2km, if it got 1km or even 500m I am more than happy.  Unfortunately there are reported range less than 200m in sub-urban area included myself for range as little as 90meters!  Yes 90meters range with the remote controller claim max 2km...... that's not even 5% from its claimed range.  This is not something should happen to DJI, as I purchase many products from them for the pass 3 years, it never happens to be one so far off.  Please note I already try all those USB OTG or on and off bluetooth / airplane mode etc, bascally nothing can increase the range, not even 1meter more.

Don't get me wrong, Spark in many way is a great recreation drone.  Truely fun to play it!  But just this RC let me down all the way.  Please vote with your comment whether you satisfy or upset from Spark RC performance.

in my country its illigal to fly higher than 90 meters and further than 500 meters away from you. plus i dont need any more distance with what im using it for.

I have been out to 4,700 feet in an are away from wifi signals and flew over a large tree line. I get right around 1,500 feet in a urban area with lots of wifi noise and power lines.

I've been out 1,200+ feet and 225 feet high.  I'm still not trusting this thing yet.  Once a new FW update is release I'll take it out further.

I get about 900 feet and the cut out is very quick, not much warning. The range is about the same as the phantom 1

Thor1 Posted at 2017-6-23 04:39
in my country its illigal to fly higher than 90 meters and further than 500 meters away from you. plus i dont need any more distance with what im using it for.

It is? Being from Canada I would like to know.

Joker Eh Posted at 2017-6-23 09:21
It is? Being from Canada I would like to know.

sorry in my province! im in NL and they recently passed a new law for drones, i have no idea about the rest of the country. i gave the wrong info! sorry!

Thor1 Posted at 2017-6-23 04:39
in my country its illigal to fly higher than 90 meters and further than 500 meters away from you. plus i dont need any more distance with what im using it for.

Well I found this. Flying for fun

The text is odd, it says they are rules and not the law. But how can you can be fined if it is not law?

And here Interim Order Respecting the Use of Model Aircraft

Model Aircraft Operating and Flight Provisions
Prohibitions

(5) (1) A person must not operate a model aircraft

(a) at an altitude greater than 300 feet AGL;
(b) at a lateral distance of less than 250 feet (75m) from buildings, structures, vehicles, vessels, animals and the public including spectators, bystanders or any person not associated with the operation of the aircraft;
(c) within 9 km of the centre of an aerodrome;
(d) within controlled airspace;
(e) within restricted airspace;
(f) over or within a forest fire area, or any area that is located within 9 km of a forest fire area;
(g) over or within the security perimeter of a police or first responder emergency operation site;
(h) over or within an open-air assembly of persons;
(i) at night; or
(j) in cloud.
(2)  A person must not operate more than one model aircraft at a time.

To me that is law not the rules.

Never mind I mis read it. Bummer.

Joker Eh Posted at 2017-6-23 09:30
Well I found this. Flying for fun

The text is odd, it says they are rules and not the law. But how can you can be fined if it is not law?

well they say that there could be fines for up to $3000 so rules or fines or whatever i'm going to follow them. plus i have no need to fly any higher than that anyway. 90 meters high? that's like 25 stories!

and they say this

"Its now the law! if you fly a drone over 250g follow these new rules"

Hmm I will have to find a way to shed 50g then

Has anyone tried these range extenders on the Spark, being that the Spark uses pure wIfi im thinking they would help, let me know, I want to know if they make a difference before i buy them. http://amzn.to/2t4EUrb

Thor1 Posted at 2017-6-23 04:39
in my country its illigal to fly higher than 90 meters and further than 500 meters away from you. plus i dont need any more distance with what im using it for.

Great then!  You have no problem with Spark, because it can’t even go over 300meters far and 100meters high.

Bradders Posted at 2017-6-23 14:04
Has anyone tried these range extenders on the Spark, being that the Spark uses pure wIfi im thinking they would help, let me know, I want to know if they make a difference before i buy them. http://amzn.to/2t4EUrb

I got this and will try it today.  But doubt will make any different.

MAVICDLNM Posted at 2017-6-23 18:23
I got this and will try it today.  But doubt will make any different.

Hey MAVICDLNM,

It seems that you are just too salty with your Spark. I suggest just sell it because it just doesn't work out for you. The rest of us are pretty satisfied with it, so it seems that you are that 1% that always complains and is the loudest about it. Do I suggest to just drop the topic and get back to your mavic or phantom.

Best,
sz

@heightoffield I have almost everything from DJI, but Spark's communication is a huge disappointment for me. Flying up to 100m distance is a challenge (with RC, of course) and video feed lags a lot, especially when I click photo or video button. Plain horrible, but it seems we're DJI's beta testers who are paying to test, obviously; I had same thing with my P4 which was (again) from the very first batch of shipments. Just awful, but hey - it's Chinese stuff, after all. I think what confuses us is the premium price for the "Chinese quality" mark?

I've had it 470meters, could have gone further 500meters max in Europe if you only get 90 meters there is something wrong with your unit or area your flying in.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-6-24 00:30
I've had it 470meters, could have gone further 500meters max in Europe if you only get 90 meters there is something wrong with your unit or area your flying in.

My range is from 90 to 220 meters depends on the location so far.  But the more serious issue is the unstable connection between Spark and RC.  After a week of trial no matter ISO and Android with or without USB OTG direct connection.  The RC connection  will become unstable during the mid of second battery and even worse in the third one.  The connection LED in RC will turn to red in the mid flight even with distance 10-20 meters away.

Very satisfied. Went out 4180 feet today

I've been very nervous due to the screen cutting out off and on in some spots. But today I flew it 5200 feet without any issues. The key is turning off Bluetooth!

heightoffield Posted at 2017-6-24 00:01
Hey MAVICDLNM,

It seems that you are just too salty with your Spark. I suggest just sell it because it just doesn't work out for you. The rest of us are pretty satisfied with it, so it seems that you are that 1% that always complains and is the loudest about it. Do I suggest to just drop the topic and get back to your mavic or phantom.

Not sure what you mean by "the rest of us”?  The vote result is not even 50/50!  There is a big group in Hong Kong all have similar flight range.  I put this up is to draw attention of the RC problem we facing.  I am glad you don’t have it, but sure many of US do have, it might be the location or some other problem.  I hope DJI will take care the problem of us and improve it further.
Whether I should sell my spark or not is definitely not your business, and totally nothing has to do with the purpose of the voting post.  If you don’t like to the way I put it, stay out of it!

MAVICDLNM Posted at 2017-6-25 18:01
My range is from 90 to 220 meters depends on the location so far.  But the more serious issue is the unstable connection between Spark and RC.  After a week of trial no matter ISO and Android with or without USB OTG direct connection.  The RC connection  will become unstable during the mid of second battery and even worse in the third one.  The connection LED in RC will turn to red in the mid flight even with distance 10-20 meters away.

Well you seem to have tried all options, maybe this will get an update in future firmware, shouldn't be happening, but that's dji, first customers end up being beta testers.

Bradders Posted at 2017-6-23 14:04
Has anyone tried these range extenders on the Spark, being that the Spark uses pure wIfi im thinking they would help, let me know, I want to know if they make a difference before i buy them. http://amzn.to/2t4EUrb

I have heard mixed stories about this range extenders.... We need some 'scientific' answer in combination with some real field testing ;)

I will get my rc for Spark tomorrow and will let you know if I satisfy with it or not. My experience with P3P and Mavic tell that radio interference esp mobile tower and buildings shorten the range significantly. Try flying somewhere else and compare the result.

I flew my Spark first time yesterday. I got more than 300 feet and could go no more because I ran out of room. I found that if I flew it toward the houses at one end of the city park the video will go wonky on me, but if I flew it away from the houses and toward the woodland I can go a whole lot further. Also, I have noticed how quiet the Spark is as compare to my Zerotech Dobby and twice as quiet as my Phantoms and Mavic. Great if I want to be discrete.

fansdc200754 Posted at 2017-6-25 18:42
Very satisfied. Went out 4180 feet today

great distance. What was the altitude?
Saturday I flow @ 58m (190ft) and suddenly my Video feed and conection was gone and RTH was activated.
Relative distance was not so much more as it was nearly above my head.

PS: my battery was low (below 30%) so it could be the reason...

Here is record of my flight. 5288 feet in a urban city but at the park!

Wrong shot! Here you go 5129

I got my Spark to about 122m (distance) before it lost signal with the RC and then returned to home. This was in an open field with line of sight also using the USB OTG adapter with my phone on airplane mode. I was expecting a bit more distance with the RC!

me wrong, I love the Spark and its a great little drone but slightly disappointed with the RC and the specks DJI have stated.

The problem is with the BlueTooth signal on your phone or tablet. Turn off BlueTooth and the range comes back. Hopefully this will be fixed in a firmware update.

I'm cool with it, although kinda "eh" on the video transmission.

I flew my Spark for the first time yesterday. At 300ft (90m) high I was able to travel 1600 feet (487m) before the video transmission started getting spotty. This was in an urban neighborhood at a park area and eventually over the neighborhood houses. I was pretty impressed actually. I'll try disabling Bluetooth next time I go out to see if that makes any difference. I would suggest for those with limited range to try flying in a rural area with no interference, if you're still having range issues, consider trying a different mobile device and/or opening support with DJI. Seems most here are not having as hard a time as the OP. I don't know what regulations are in other countries, but in the US, the FAA says you're supposed to maintain sight of your drone at all times. In that regard I cant say I'm at all disappointed in the Spark as it will far exceed my ability to maintain sight of it.

Bradders Posted at 2017-6-23 14:04
Has anyone tried these range extenders on the Spark, being that the Spark uses pure wIfi im thinking they would help, let me know, I want to know if they make a difference before i buy them. http://amzn.to/2t4EUrb

i previously had a parrot bebop 2 they had loads of issues with range as well. A lot of people bought wifi repeaters and used their more powerful wifi to boost. With patch antennas they reached over 2.6km if that helps. not sure the spark would work but worth thinking

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-6-26 04:19
Well you seem to have tried all options, maybe this will get an update in future firmware, shouldn't be happening, but that's dji, first customers end up being beta testers.

Yes I did tried everything, and now range is a small issue but the RC disconnected with Spark after 10-15 connection sound really scary.  I had many flights now and everything get to second battery the RC connection will broke off in the middle of flight even in very close by area.  I suspect this has to do with either RC or Spark over heat or CPU overloaded.  Because I saw a warning of CPU overload pop up today.

I get my rc today. Very happy. Put my iPhone 6plus + Lightning to HDMI cable and Avegant Clyph video head set. Flying around my neighbourhood with no problem. I did not go too far more than 300 m. radius at 45 m. high.

MAVICDLNM Posted at 2017-6-23 18:22
Great then!  You have no problem with Spark, because it can’t even go over 300meters far and 100meters high.

i had mine out to just over 400 meters, it could have gone further but i wanted to take it back as im not an experienced pilot

2700 meters in flat rural land with no modifications.

I have never had bluetooth on, and have difficulties after 50 m with the RC. Video cuts out, controller, disconnects repeatedly, and the controller even locked up frozen at one point (see my thread on that). Very dissatisfied.

I have never had bluetooth on, and have difficulties after 50 m with the RC. Video cuts out, controller, disconnects repeatedly, and the controller even locked up frozen at one point (see my thread on that). Very dissatisfied.