Range

pdmike

pdmike

Extremely Popular Member
I just lost a drone because I had no idea that there is a range limitation with a drone. I flew it out of range, the wind got it and it ended up gone.

So let me ask a question or two about range. I guess the question is, is it possible to get a drone with significant range (1 mile or more) without having to spend in the four-figure category? I am awaiting delivery of a replacement drone (a Syma X8SC) that I now discover (after ordering) has a range of 76 yards. Hell, I can CHIP a golf ball that far.

What kind of drones produce these videos that look like they start in Carmel and end up in San Francisco? I exaggerate a bit, but you get the idea.

So please - let me hear from you guys about range and what I can realistically expect if I want to increase my range significantly.
 
Thanks, Mike. Since posting this thread, I did a bit of nosing around on the Net and learned a lot. I guess there are lots of them out there. I found one at Hammacher Schlemmer for $250.00 that has a half a mile range. Not too shabby.
 
pdmike said:
Thanks, Mike. Since posting this thread, I did a bit of nosing around on the Net and learned a lot. I guess there are lots of them out there. I found one at Hammacher Schlemmer for $250.00 that has a half a mile range. Not too shabby.
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Not bad! These things have come a long way in the past couple of years.
 
DJI Phantom 3 Pro series FCC compliant 3.1 mile range this can be extended to 4.5 mile using Circular Polar High gain antenna upgrade, Phantom 4 & Mavic 4.3 mile range. And this is of course having an unobstructed line of TX.
 
Flysky i6, 2 tests on YT get upto 2 miles without mods on an ia6b rx. So combine this with helical directional antenna. People are getting upto 4 miles.. On a £40 tx/rx then say another 30 on a antenna.
This is what I'm looking into @ the moment. Making my own.
 
I think range is a function of the transmitter you are using. That about it?
 
Range is a function of MANY variables: Transmitter power, receiver sensitivity, terrain, potential interference, antenna types, etc, etc.
If you want range, I'm talking about REAL range, then you hafta forget about the traditional 2.4GHz control with 5.8GHz video and
delve into the realm of UHF frequencies .

A stock "Dragonlink" system will give you about 30 miles of range for around $350 ;)

If I remember correctly they use around the 400 MHz frequencies for control and 2.4GHz for video
 
Gyro Doctor said:
Range is a function of MANY variables: Transmitter power, receiver sensitivity, terrain, potential interference, antenna types, etc, etc.
If you want range, I'm talking about REAL range, then you hafta forget about the traditional 2.4GHz control with 5.8GHz video and
delve into the realm of UHF frequencies .

A stock "Dragonlink" system will give you about 30 miles of range for around $350 ;)

If I remember correctly they use around the 400 MHz frequencies for control and 2.4GHz for video
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The reason I say I think it's all about the transmitter is that I just got a Syma X8SC. It comes with a transmitter that gives it around 100 yards of range but I learned that, if I want to go to a Syma X8G transmitter, it will work on my X8SC and increase the range to almost 500 yards.

This is all academic, because I am a beginner at this and am just learning how to fly, so range isn't all that important. It's all LOS for me but nonetheless, I would like a bit more range than 100 yards, so I have sent for the larger transmitter.
 
pdmike said:
I have sent for the larger transmitter.
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Also look into the antenna mod videos on YouTube for even more range.
I performed one on the Tx for my MJX X-101 and better than DOUBLED THE RANGE. :)

It basically consists of removing the simple piece of wire hot-glued inside the case that sufficed as an antenna,
and installing a connector so you can put a REAL antenna on it. ;)
 
i dunno syma but a 25mW (industry standard??) covers the 250m adjacent lot here... you sure you didn't just lose it because of the wind?
 
yay said:
i dunno syma but a 25mW (industry standard??) covers the 250m adjacent lot here... you sure you didn't just lose it because of the wind?
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I didn't lose the Syma. I lost an XK. I think it was a combination of the wind and out of range. The wind got it while it was still in range but just on the edge. It quickly blew it out of range. I could no longer control it because it was out of range. Bye bye baby.
 
The same thing happened to my X-101.
At the edge of the control zone the wind quickly swept it out of range.
It was never to be seen again. :(
 
pdmike said:
I didn't lose the Syma. I lost an XK. I think it was a combination of the wind and out of range. The wind got it while it was still in range but just on the edge. It quickly blew it out of range. I could no longer control it because it was out of range. Bye bye baby.
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I hope you get the X300 back in the air at some point. That's an interesting quad. Have you received your X8 yet?
 
Rick M said:
I hope you get the X300 back in the air at some point. That's an interesting quad. Have you received your X8 yet?
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I don't think I will, Rick. Repair requires rewiring the entire quad and that's way above my present pay grade. I did receive the X8 on Thursday. I put it together yesterday and plan to take it out this afternoon.

But I am keeping everything with regard to the X300. Perhaps some day ....
 
pdmike said:
I don't think I will, Rick. Repair requires rewiring the entire quad and that's way above my present pay grade. I did receive the X8 on Thursday. I put it together yesterday and plan to take it out this afternoon.

But I am keeping everything with regard to the X300. Perhaps some day ....
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Rewiring the entire quad? What broke?
 
yay said:
i dunno syma but a 25mW (industry standard??
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A lot of places limit power transmissions to 25mW (without having a Ham license or some other such nonsense) ....
most people (in the USA anyway) ignore this and use up to about 600mW VTXs :p
 
Rick M said:
Rewiring the entire quad? What broke?
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The body consists of four, propeller arms. The arms are part of the body - they cannot be disconnected and put back on again. One of those arms snapped off completely. As I see it, this means I will have to get the top and bottom halves of the quad body, remove the guts from the old quad, and put them into the new quad. Before I can put the top and bottom parts of the body together, I will have to connect the guts to the new body half and rewire all of the propeller arms.
 
... The guts come out as a whole and can be dropped into the new body, not so daunting a task as actually rewiring everything .... been there, done that ;)
 
i know this is kinda OT but with folks worrying about jello (sure, an issue consigned to previous tech) and such, it's a wonder no one has made flexible/spring arms. i mean, sure, it introduces some oscillation, but it's not going to stop the motor from providing lift. there's enough popsicle stick frames around to know that the frame doesn't have to be that perfectly aligned. but prolly not worth mentioning it here tbh ;)
 
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