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Australia flyer poor range with multiple mods to improve
1915 25 2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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Australia
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Ok,

So I got the p3s a few months back,,  firstly as I only wanted a few hundred meters range, and didn't need 4K.

So first flight I could only get about 80m out at about 30m high before RTH kicked in,

So I did a some research, tried multiple devices, ( iPad mini, iPad, xiaomi note 4, iPhone 6, iPhone 8, Motorola G4, aspera r8) really any friends phone I could test on I tried, and all with similar range results (yes beginner mode is off, logged in and out multiple times, re uploaded firmware and installed Dji go multiple times, and range is set to 300m each)

So I did the magikmod, wich made small gains,  then added an windsurfer and I finally got almost 300m out and 110m high before it would lose rc signal and the RTH kicks in,

I've sent it back to Dji under warranty as it was just hopeless to fly within eye sight with out RTH kicking in (especially if the wind surfer fell off),  they sent it back, and it was exactly the same,  

So I went to hell with it, Argteck here I come,  hoping it would at least get me 2/300m range as Dji support was hopeless,  and kept taking me in circles via emails and there repairs,

But this mod gave me no increase what so ever,  I even unscrewed the 3x antennae and flew it with out them, it honestly almost got the same distance with just the wires connected up.

Also flew using lithciApp and had Similar range,   


So I'm assuming there is an issue in the Quad itself, or the actual RC inside somewhere,   I would be willing to get it repaired locally and pay someone to test it for themselves (in Australia). If anyone knows a place that they recommend


Anyway any help would be great,,

Dean
2017-12-28
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Cetacean
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Flight distance : 2528264 ft
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United States
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Aloha Dean,

     While you wait for some Ozzies to respond, is the remote controller set to FCC or CE?  Also, flying the Phantom without an external antennae of some sort screwed in can burn out the transmitter / receiver module.  I learned that the hard way, way back when.

     Good luck!  Hopefully someone with more experience in this area will be able to help you shortly.

Aloha and Drone On!
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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Flight distance : 75443 ft
Australia
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Aloha,  

Yeah it's a CE, so my range should be 500m,  

I've wondered weather that could be an issue,  the fcc models seem to be without this issue.  And no I can't flick that switch on the back of the RC,  my model doesn't have it
2017-12-28
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WD9EON
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droneLIVEaction Posted at 2017-12-28 16:20
Aloha,  

Yeah it's a CE, so my range should be 500m,  

I would try to locate someone with another controller to see if the problem is in the controller ( I believe it is).  How about installing a wifi analyzer app to check the signal level?
2017-12-28
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Kuya Kano
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Dean,  Are you really an Australian?  Usually Americans are the ones who start their paragraphs with the word "so".  I have the same issue in the Philippines.  But I noticed when I travel from place to place the conditions change, so it isn't necessarily the device itself.
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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Yeah I've tried different areas, rural, urban, over the ocean, same results,  maybe slightly further in rural areas,  but not significant to conclude that area is the issue.
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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I would try to relink my quad with a friend I know to see if that is the issue, I'm just paranoid that something will go wrong and I'll stuff up her controller (no faith in Dji products anymore
2017-12-28
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Hellsgate
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Flight distance : 1991555 ft
Australia
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Were abouts in aus are you ?
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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Hellsgate Posted at 2017-12-28 18:45
Were abouts in aus are you ?

Sydney,  herd there is somewhere in Melbourne
2017-12-28
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Hellsgate
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Australia
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Yes there is a repairer in melbourne
2017-12-28
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Hellsgate
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Australia
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Be prepared for a long wait to get it back if you send it snail mail.
Took me nearlly 6 weeks for mine to come back repairer only had the drone for 5 days in total
2017-12-28
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stuka75
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When you say logged in, are you referring to the app, or DJI? YOu have to log out of and then into DJI when in the app, rather than just closing the app and restarting it. Many posters think closing the app is same as logging in. If you have logged out and into DJI itself, then you do have issues with ac or tx. Good luck.
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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Hellsgate Posted at 2017-12-28 19:14
Be prepared for a long wait to get it back if you send it snail mail.
Took me nearlly 6 weeks for mine to come back repairer only had the drone for 5 days in total

That's abit much,  I had a 4 week wait when I sent it to Dji Hong Kong,  don't know why Dji told me to send it there,   And nothing was fixed.    Wouldn't mind trying some where local that knew there stuff, the juice is surely worth the squeeze
2017-12-28
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Peterx
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If you are not sign in to DJI then the RC beeps twice and the app says max height or max distance reached,but you don´t loose the signal at all. Mostly the relief of the area or weather condition and interferences of other WIFI can shorten the range of the bird.
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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stuka75 Posted at 2017-12-28 20:50
When you say logged in, are you referring to the app, or DJI? YOu have to log out of and then into DJI when in the app, rather than just closing the app and restarting it. Many posters think closing the app is same as logging in. If you have logged out and into DJI itself, then you do have issues with ac or tx. Good luck.

Yeah that's what I was doing at first,  then herd that you needed to log out, then back in when you updated the firmware
2017-12-28
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droneLIVEaction
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Peterx Posted at 2017-12-28 23:38
If you are not sign in to DJI then the RC beeps twice and the app says max height or max distance reached,but you don´t loose the signal at all. Mostly the relief of the area or weather condition and interferences of other WIFI can shorten the range of the bird.

Yeah I don't get that, I get weak RC signal, the a second after RC signal loss, then it RTH,  at about 45m high, and 80/100m out
2017-12-28
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS
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Flight distance : 725961 ft
Australia
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I have the same issue
2017-12-29
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS
lvl.4
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Australia
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Sounds like the receiver in the drone or the transmitter in the remote on the p3s may be burning out from all the posts I have read. Most likely a poor quality component chosen to cut costs that is degrading overtime.
2017-12-31
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS
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Australia
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Or maybe even the wire in the remote from folding the arial when not in use
2017-12-31
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS
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I have looked high and low on the internet and there is soo many people with the same issue. They work great straight out of the box then over a period of time the signal quality seems to degrade affcting distance and how much interface the remote is receiving.
2017-12-31
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS
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I sent dji an email and they said check all the things i have told them i checked in the email I sent them anf if i still dont have success send them another email and they will lodge a repair ticket. My biggest concern is i risk loosing my drone in the mail or it may get damaged then on top of that it means no drone for 6 weeks plys it probably wont be fixed correclty by the sounds of things. Maybe they should just recall and replace the ones that are messing up and consumer affairs and dept of fair trades woyld say the product does not meet a fair standard
2017-12-31
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS
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No doubt they know why the tranceivers are playing up but the question is if its not back to how it wqs when i bought it are they willing to replace the remote and or the drone after i get it back and it still doesnt perform like new? Not trying to have a go at dji but im very concerned after reading everyone's posts about tranceivers playing up and they are not being fixed.
2017-12-31
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droneLIVEaction
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djiuser_Qv6SgFS Posted at 2017-12-31 19:54
No doubt they know why the tranceivers are playing up but the question is if its not back to how it wqs when i bought it are they willing to replace the remote and or the drone after i get it back and it still doesnt perform like new? Not trying to have a go at dji but im very concerned after reading everyone's posts about tranceivers playing up and they are not being fixed.

I sent mine to Dji, yeah they sent it back, (I took photos of serial no#) was hoping they would send a new,

But mine has been poor range since day 1,  tried everything,  ( like you have )I found a place in nth Sydney (camzilla) that can look at it for $50 bucks an let me know what needs doing.  Probably work out cheaper than sending back to Dji to not even be able to tell me what they looked at.
I pretty sure they just look at it to make sure it hasn't been damaged,  

Sucks as I only wanted a few hundred meter range, hence why I got this drone,  apparently Australia they get a lot of range issues with the phantom 3 standard,  if know earlier i would of spent a few hundred more to get the lightbridge controller with the Se/pro model
2018-1-2
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droneLIVEaction
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Hey guys,  just updating what's been happening.

So the drone repair place have informed me that the controller was faulty from the beginning, so no matter what I did it was just a waste of time and money,  

So new controller is on the way and I can wait to finally be able to fly over 100m with lost RC signal


2018-1-12
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stuka75
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Be sure when you fly that any other device that has ever had the Go app and connected to your ac within wifi rangewhen you fly, is turned off. Particularly your cell phone on your hip or pocket. Multiple devices can latch onto your tx wifi signal and degrade the signal to the ac. I was getting erratic telemetry and range when I heard voice prompts coming from my cellphone instead of the tablet flying the ac. I looked and both were using the phantom wifi. Since you used so many different devices trying to fix your problem,just make sure there not around and powered when you fly.
2018-1-12
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swansmadman
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droneLIVEaction Posted at 2017-12-28 19:07
Sydney,  herd there is somewhere in Melbourne

I'm living in the Latrobe Valley 150kms from Melbourne
2018-1-30
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