Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first drone for a single specific purpose.  I need it to take off and fly 1400 feet, send back some live video, and return to home base.  I am on a limited budget, so I am looking at a used P3 Standard.

The problem is that there are a bunch of tall trees in between the two locations, so there is no line of sight.

Is the signal range of the P3 Standard model likely good enough to get through the trees, or do I need to get the Advanced model?

Thanks,

Ken
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I think that if you fly with Litchi you can plan a waypoint mission and fly take photos and videos also if you don'è have connection with the drone.
Ask for someone with use the Ph3a with Litchi....

P3S should make 1400ft.

If you need live video it wont work with Litchi. If you don't have signal you don't have live video.
The same is with Advanced. If you just need video or pictures that you can look at later, then Litchi and waypoints   will work with P3S .
If P3 Advanced will work in these trees is something I don't know. It would bee best to post a picture of your fly path.

Andrewrok Posted at 2017-9-16 09:25
I think that if you fly with Litchi you can plan a waypoint mission and fly take photos and videos also if you don'è have connection with the drone.
Ask for someone with use the Ph3a with Litchi....

I need to get live video.

Any drone can not do the job for you since you're surrounded by tall trees. All will lose signal as the trees in between, then they RTH.

The solution is to plan a mission. Litchi app can do it with any Phantom drone or the mavic pro.

Sounds like there may be a potential privacy violation here.  More details would be helpful.  

Potential-Free, Lithchi app works only with DJI drones. Litchi mission mode works only with Phantoms and Mavics only.

Ahmed Hussain Posted at 2017-9-16 10:17
Any drone can not do the job for you since you're surrounded by tall trees. All will lose signal as the trees in between, then they RTH.

The solution is to plan a mission. Litchi app can do it with any Phantom drone or the mavic pro.

Not any Phantom3....the SE model is not supported (and i bought Litchi and SE too....useless team)

Andrewrok Posted at 2017-9-16 13:23
Not any Phantom3....the SE model is not supported (and i bought Litchi and SE too....useless team)

In this case I advise (Ken) to buy Ph. 3 advanced.

Ahmed Hussain Posted at 2017-9-16 14:42
In this case I advise (Ken) to buy Ph. 3 advanced.

being on a budget the P3S would be the better option, but I agree if you can save some extra cash to get the advanced or even the Pro that's a better option over all I have both the P3S and P3 4K but I'm in the market for the P3 Pro at that point Ill sell the standard and use the 4k for back up. I don't use litchi because I've read a lot of issues with it and still haven't decided if I want to just try for myself or not. there is a lot to consider when planning a mission so for the OP your best bet is to read a lot about mission planning set up the mission and before you fly it post it here for some of the gurus to look over. simple mistakes like terrain elevation and tree height between waypoints can get you into trouble fast.

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-9-16 10:33
Sounds like there may be a potential privacy violation here.  More details would be helpful.

I agree, what is beyond the tall trees?

Lucas775 Posted at 2017-9-16 17:40
I agree, what is beyond the tall trees?

KAOS headquarters

I dont know just how much help I can be but I have hit 1600 ft with no prob. I do a lot of rooftop equipment surveys to get tags off eqt without any issues. Just hard to get used to the fact that you are not as close as you think unless you are going in reverse which I learned quickly to turn around and check out what is behind you before thinking about reverse or side to side. The literature says half mile or 2600 feet but I dont buy that and have never tried risking it. I have seem a lot of signal enhancers and good and bad reviews but after looking into them, I am undecided on whether or not to risk the money. I supppose one day I will go out and play around like when I first got the quad. I pretty much just use it for work.

If you want live video, then you really should be using a Phantom equipped with Lightbridge technology. And the Standard does not have it. a P3 Advanced would be a far better option, and far more reliable in terms of the connection. To get live video, you would also have to buy the HDMI output module option to fit to the RC unit.

The p3s. Should be ok but you need to fly and do a lot of practice to get what you want

I have a P3 Standard, and a P3 Pro.  I can not rely on the Standard to go out farther than about 1,500 feet.  I know others do much more.  But I have never been able to do much more than that where there are obstacles or trees around.  I once got to 2,500 feet on open desert land, but never farther.   I've had the same Standard for well over a year now.  My P3 Pro on the other hand doesn't seem to be bothered by anything when it comes to range.  I was recently flying down the fairways of our local golf course without problems or signal loss.  I was at about 100 feet and above the many trees.  I was able to go out to 2,600 feet with no  problems at all.  I've had my P3 Pro out to more than  11,500 feet at 300 feet of altitude without signal or video loss.  I've never been much interested in the Litchi program.  Too much work!

There was a guy on this forum a few weeks ago who was selling his complete Pro outfit for $600.00 USD.  I don't know if he ever sold it, But it was a great deal in my opinion.

His problem is trees blocking where he wants to shoot his video, doesn't matter if your on Lightbridge or not it isn't  punching a live signal through a bunch of trees.

The max transmission distance for P3S is FCC: 1000 m CE: 500 m (outdoors and unobstructed, aircraft's altitude at 400 feet (120 m)). So you are theoretically able to fly over 1400 feet. But the fly distance sometimes relates to the flight environment, so the ambient environment is also one of the great factors for you to reach that far. I personally think P3SE is also a good consideration when the budget limited according to the specific aspect. But you can also refer to other users opinions. But please kindly note that Phantom 3 series don't equip with obstacle avoidance system, so we recommend flying the drone in a wide place.