MaxMyRange - for DJI drones - drone range calculator

[Alex Proto]

Hey guys,

A while back I made Max my range , a calculator that helps people choose their antennas, frequencies and power when building their FPV setup.

Given the recent popularity of custom antennas, boosters etc, I've had a few of my Phantom Angel customers ask me to create something similar for the DJI series of drones.

So, to that end, here's a request to all of you to let me know which non-standard antennas and boosters and other similar equipment you use! And i'll make sure to include them. (please provide links)

I'll report back here once its up and running

In the meantime you may want to check out a short article I wrote on this topic recently: 8 ways to increase your drone's range

Cheers

 

[Advexure]

That's a nice article you linked, Alex. A few facts I was not aware of. Thanks for expanding my knowledge today

 

[Alex Proto]

That's a nice article you linked, Alex. A few facts I was not aware of. Thanks for expanding my knowledge today

Hey! Glad you found it useful

 

[drz1972ss]

Thanks very good information

 

[Skydog]

Good info - Thanks Alex !

 

[Alex Proto]

Really glad this is useful guys. If you've seen anything missing or confusing do let me know and I'll get it updated right away

 

[lake_flyer]

Useful for anyone(!) fighting a war, using consumer drones.
The standard 2-4km range is enough to lose your 4000$ drone already. I have an RC experience of 40 years and I will happily share my knowledge when it comes to safe flying. But I wouldn't educate the anonymous anybodies here, or on the rest of the web, how to get the extremes out of their stuff.

We all have a responsibility not to do so.

 

[SRJ_Inspire _2_ES_MD]

Two thumbs up Alex for a great article... two thumbs down to the drone police....

 

[Ralph thompson]

Alex, regarding your very helpful report (8 ways to increase range..), flying an Inspire 1 Pro, standard RC configuration, how close to multiple WIFI sources (eg a long row of country houses) could potentially cause interference on 2.4 GHz please? I'm guessing it's a square law, 30 metres a safe distance?
If only 2.4 GHz transmitters affect the RC, why do high energy transmitters like power lines pose a risk of interference?
Many thanks from a very happy Phantom Angel user.

 

[Alex Proto]

Alex, regarding your very helpful report (8 ways to increase range..), flying an Inspire 1 Pro, standard RC configuration, how close to multiple WIFI sources (eg a long row of country houses) could potentially cause interference on 2.4 GHz please? I'm guessing it's a square law, 30 metres a safe distance?
If only 2.4 GHz transmitters affect the RC, why do high energy transmitters like power lines pose a risk of interference?
Many thanks from a very happy Phantom Angel user.

Hey Ralph,

Really glad you like the article and your Phantom Angel

Now, regarding your questions. I'm afraid I'll be annoying and say "it depends". There are just so many factors at play here... Are the houses close to you (the operator) or the drone... What channels are they on... how far away is your drone... It really is hard to tell, so I won't risk a random answer... Saying that when I do normal flying (i.e. I'm well within my range) then flying within 30m of homes is not an issue in terms of interference. If you're on the edge of your range then it may well be an issue.

Regarding interference from sources on other frequencies... I suspect people who do RF for a living will chime in here but it is safe to say that:
a) 2.4 can be partially affected by transmitters using other frequencies, especially when it comes to harmonics (e.g. 1.2GHz)
b) Sources of high power RF can wreck havoc on a lot more than just your control/video signal. For example... placing a 1.5W Tx within 10cm of a camera gimbal will make it go haywire (I tried this on my FPV Traxxas summit 4x4 vehicle... had to insulate the two to make the setup work). The sensors within modern drones are exceptional but also sensitive so anything super high power isn't a good idea

Hope this helps (a bit).

 

[Ralph thompson]

Thanks Alex. I really don't understand radio science so I just let the Inspire figure out the best channel. It's done pretty well so far. I was asked to do drone footage at a stadium (potentially 20k people) but it fell through after the Association banned all drone use close to a stadium. But I did think about close to 20000 smart phones all viaing for about 20 channels around 2.4GHz. Is there away to simply explain this?