Newbie here - been sucked into this for just 2 weeks now and oh boy is the learning curve steep!
(So please cut me some slack when I sound stupid . . . )

BTW I've got the Vision Plus with the version 2 controller (no scroll wheel).

I know I need some andswers here - because I had a dream last night that was like something out of the Hunger Games. There were 10 assorted people in the jungle and they were given a smartphone each with the Vision app running on it. They had to use it to figure out where the drones were, and nobody could do it. This tells me that my brain needs to grasp some of the basic things about how all the different parts of the process talk to each other, and what data they are exchanging.

So there are 2 radio systems, right? One at 8.5Ghz which carries all the control info and the other one at 2.4Ghz which talks to the smartphone app and links to the drone also. What else does this frequeny handle? Do these 2 system run independently or sort of piggyback onto each other? Can anyone tell me what each frequency is for?

And I'm thinking from what I've read that both the drone and  the controller do this in both directions, send and receive?

Does the controller have 2 radio modules inside - one for 8.5Ghz and another one for 2.4Ghz? It must do . . . ?

How does the range extender fit into all this? Does it only work along with with GPRS and the smartphone? It's a wireless connection - so what is it actually connected to? (Obviously the drone at he other end . . . )

There are two internal antennae inside the controller (as well as  the external omni stick antenna). What are these 2 wire antennae for?

There are two wire antennae running down the drone's legs - what's  being received/sent(?) by these?

Is there a GPS receiver in the controller as well as the drone?

There we go! That should do for starters! All info gratefully received. (And yes, I have just spen a week on the internet, looking at YouTube and combing through the forums but I'm still confused!)

Ooops! Some accidental megahertzes in here instead of gigahertzes. But I'm sure you knew what I meant.

Hi again,

Have you read your manual?  There's a lot of good info in there.  Lots of your questions are answered in the manual, although there's a lot the manual doesn't cover.

Your P2V+ has 5.8 vertical polarity antennas running down the legs.  It has 2.4 ghz vertical polarity patch antennas inside the AC.  You can see them if you peek inside the battery compartment.  

The control signal is 5.8 ghz.  You wrote 8.5 ghz in your post which I thought was a typo but then you wrote it again.  You got it both right in the drawing and wrong in the drawing.  

Here's a post that might help you out some:  http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... =1&extra=#pid692031

Please read your manual and let us know what else you're confused about.

Hope this helps.

its 5.8 ghz. but the 5.8 is control.  the 2.4 is vid and telemetry. or the 5.8 is rc to ac and 2.4 is ac to rc. the rc to device is wifi. I don't really believe aircraft to remote controller is WiFi it is 2.4ghz but from rc to device is wifi.. range extenders are basically a more sensitive antenna, or parabolic type reflect a portion back forward the antenna is omni directional  360° so the part that would half would be reflected.  think the one you mean may be a repeater type it receives the sig and retransmits it with a boosted sig.

the 2 wires on the legs ar your 5.8 your control antennas

gps is in the drone other parts us the one on your device

Aw phooey! Megas and Gigas and 5s and 8s.
Not had enough coffee when I was putting this one together. Sorry!

Mark The Droner Posted at 2017-2-13 17:28
Hi again,

Have you read your manual?  There's a lot of good info in there.  Lots of your questions are answered in the manual, although there's a lot the manual doesn't cover.

I'm the kind of person who reads the labels on cans or books of matches, and the first thing I did before I played with the drone was to read the manual. Since then I've read the parts on the two radios, which goes into each separately in detail but doesn't say how they both work together and with each other. Which is why I sat and tried to figure it out on paper and then posted my questions here.

Yes, you have sorted out a lot of my confusion in the other post you gave a link to - thanks.

Your P2V+ has 5.8 vertical polarity antennas running down the legs.  It has 2.4 ghz vertical polarity patch antennas inside the AC.

Are these antennae used for both sending and receiving? (In one of the Youtube vids it mentioned that the stubby white antenna on the controller sends both the 2.4 and the 5.8 ghz frequencies.)
If the 5.8 ghz command signal is being sent from the controller, then how does the drone receive it - where is the drone's antenna for this and likewise, where is/are the antenna for sending data back to the controller?

Thanks for all your help by the way.

ps bottom of your linked post you write "Remember - flying out of LOS is not legal in the U.S.  " This raised a grin, as Thailand is known as LOS - the 'Land Of Smiles'. And over here there is no pilot licence needed and you can fly unrestricted more or less anywhere outside of Bangkok (other than next to an airport) - and assuming you don't annoy anyone important!

The visible and obvious antenna on the controller is 5.8 only.  It's a one way system.  The signal is received with the dipole antennas in the legs.  That's all there is to it.  

The 2.4 uses patch antennas, they are a two-way system.  On the controller, those patch antennas are inside the "Range Extender" (on the P3S, DJI moved the 2.4 transmitter and the antennas for the "range extender" into the main controller making it completely invisible).  Ideally, you want the face (the flat part, the top) of the range extender pointing towards your AC.  

I think that covers all your questions for now.  Hope this helps.

Just a quickie - will the range extender wifi connection with the mobile app work if the camera is not present?

I've taken the gimbal off to repair it and just tried to connect to the app. The system light flashes until solid green then starts flashing  again - can't get a solid green or have the mobile device detect the Phantom.

Sorry to be dumb about this!

Thanks

I don't think it works although I don't know exactly why.  But you can still fly old-school.  Learn what the lamps in the rear wings are telling you before launch and during flight.  The lamps will give you lots of useful info once you learn what all the different light sequences mean.