Hey guys,

This isn't an actual issue I'm bothered about, it's more of a curiosity of why this is happening. Basically, I noticed I have very limited range with the Mini when flying high (over 70m) directly (or within 20-30m) above me. I tried orienting the antennas in the correct position towards the drone (basically lifting my arms up and over my head) but that didn't seem to make a difference. I'm not really too bothered about this as it only happens when it's returning home and it first comes right above me before descending, but I'm curious if anyone knows the technical reason for this. I had no problem maintaining connection way beyond a kilometer when it was away from me but then having such poor connection at 70-80m vertical distance.

That would be expected and if my (old) memory serves correctly, there's actually a mention of reduced range when the drone is directly overhead in the manual. You can probably find the tech description with a couple of quick Google searches.

If you lay your antennas flat when craft is over head you will have correct signal

Right, generally speaking antennas emit, broadly speaking, in a ina direction perpendicular to the antenna iself. Hence, in the direction of the antenna's tip, the emission is the lowest: not surprising that if you have the antennas pointing towards your MM (as is your case) you have the lowest range.

Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. For the said issue. Please try to fly the drone in a different location with less interference to isolate the issue. In addition. I will post an official DJI Tutorial for the best practices when flying the drone. Please keep us posted for further assistance. Thank you.

Hi there, as per the MM manual, try this.

that's exactly what I was trying to do Raising the remote above my head so the antennas would basically be flat compared to the ground. Didn't seem to do much difference. Anyway, as I said, not a big issue, I was just curious why this happens.

Ice_2k Posted at 11-29 15:58
that's exactly what I was trying to do  Raising the remote above my head so the antennas would basically be flat compared to the ground. Didn't seem to do much difference. Anyway, as I said, not a big issue, I was just curious why this happens.

This old but still pertinent video describes dipole antenna directivity. Hope this helps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md7GjQQ2YA0

I think that's to be expected. Just like the controller's signal is strongest in the perpendicular direction, the aircraft's will be too. So when the aircraft is directly above the signals from the controller are going to reach the aircraft's antennae in the direction it sends and receives them most weakly.

PandaPoo2 Posted at 12-15 12:55
I think that's to be expected. Just like the controller's signal is strongest in the perpendicular direction, the aircraft's will be too. So when the aircraft is directly above the signals from the controller are going to reach the aircraft's antennae in the direction it sends and receives them most weakly.

Basically antenna theory (for the layman..) says that:

- if the 2 antennas (RC and aircraft) are parallel and facing along its long side, the communication is the best

if the 2 antennas are perpendicular (eg RC with horizontal antennas and drone over the head), the comunication is poor

if the 2 antennas are parallel and pointing tip towards tip (eg RC with vertical antennas and drone over the head), the communication is bad

Makes sense RE when its above you due to the drones own recievers.  I wonder is it wise to have 1 antenna up and 1 flat for good coverage or does that halve your coverage in each direction