Recently bought a magic air 2 as my first drone. Have used it a few times and both times I have been disappointed by the lack of range. It's advertised as getting 6miles of range but in both uses I quickly ran out of signal in under a mile.

First test case was in front of my house so I assumed It was because of the density of where I live and interference. However the second test was at the beach and even then I was only able to make it around a kilometer before it dropped signal.

I guess I have to ask if this is expected behavior? Is advertised range something that is overinflated and perfect world conditions only?

Foamcows said:

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Recently bought a magic air 2 as my first drone. Have used it a few times and both times I have been disappointed by the lack of range. It's advertised as getting 6miles of range but in both uses I quickly ran out of signal in under a mile.

First test case was in front of my house so I assumed It was because of the density of where I live and interference. However the second test was at the beach and even then I was only able to make it around a kilometer before it dropped signal.

I guess I have to ask if this is expected behavior? Is advertised range something that is overinflated and perfect world conditions only?

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Absolutely. But you should expect better than 1/6th of what is advertised. In this case, it's entirely upon the integrity of the manufacturer to be more accurate (or truthful) about the "real" performance. This is where all of the online reviews come in handy. All of what I'm saying is based on my experience in product design and development. Six miles is an awfully long-range and depending on how much you paid for the drone, I'd have double-checked that spec if I were spending a lot of money on it.

Disclaimer: I am not a drone expert at all and as I said earlier, this is based on my experience as an Engineer in Product design and development. I'm sure that there are drone experts on here that can provide a much more accurate and dependable response.

Did you go into the settings and adjust your max flight distance? You can specify both the max distance and max altitude. I don't remember what the initial default was set to,

I am a drone expert (own a drone company) and I can tell you that you won't get 6 miles. You'll be lucky to get 2 miles. And line of sight is essential for these radios, so few trees and not around buildings. There are some antennas that can push a little further but 10,000ft is about max. Don't ask me how I know, because technically, no one should be flying their drone past where they can see it. And you won't be able to see that small of a drone past about 700ft.

Not to be the drone police or anything but you should at least be aware that there are very strict rules for what you can and cannot do with drones. You can learn more on FAA website. But, even as a hobbyist, you need to register your drone with the FAA. https://faadronezone.faa.gov/ It costs $5.

Just as an FYI, a guy did something like you mentioned, and lost his drone. The next day, the NTSB was knocking on his door b/c they found the motor from his drone in a blackhawk. Along with about $200,000 in damages. He was flying about 2 miles across a bay when he lost it.

Its really dependent on signal interference so you need to have line of sight. I've gone pretty far over water with a clear line of sight to the drone the entire time. But if you drop behind any obstacles then forget it. And in cities you're going to have a hell of a lot off interference.

My advice to you, don't fly out very far anyway. There's really no point to it, and it dramatically increases the likelihood you're going to lose the drone to some kind of accident.

I worked in the UAV business in a previous life. Like what AgFox said, you're going to have less range than what's advertised.

The physical orientation of the antennas is very important if you're trying to eek out more distance.

If I may ask a related question, can anyone suggest a good rogue drone defense system?

I'm not sure of the laws in the US re: drone defense. There's a few different flavors available. Again, I'm not familiar with the availability to civilians. For starters, there are systems that jam the telemetry links and or the GNSS (GPS). Jamming the telemetry or control link will typically force the drone to land (nicely). Jamming the GNSS will force the drone to land as well... not as nicely.

Wouldn't anything that could jam those signals be illegal for a civilian?

agfox06 said:

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I am a drone expert (own a drone company) and I can tell you that you won't get 6 miles. You'll be lucky to get 2 miles. And line of sight is essential for these radios, so few trees and not around buildings. There are some antennas that can push a little further but 10,000ft is about max. Don't ask me how I know, because technically, no one should be flying their drone past where they can see it. And you won't be able to see that small of a drone past about 700ft.

Not to be the drone police or anything but you should at least be aware that there are very strict rules for what you can and cannot do with drones. You can learn more on FAA website. But, even as a hobbyist, you need to register your drone with the FAA. https://faadronezone.faa.gov/ It costs $5.

Just as an FYI, a guy did something like you mentioned, and lost his drone. The next day, the NTSB was knocking on his door b/c they found the motor from his drone in a blackhawk. Along with about $200,000 in damages. He was flying about 2 miles across a bay when he lost it.

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On the stock 2.4 systems, yes you're probably not going to get that kind of range, but he should still be getting more. Crossfire, even in legal transmission power will go many miles, unlocked a helluva lot more. Yes, ive owned a drone business to, I was flying and building multirotors when you still saw arduinos as FCs.

He is right though, I would not push the long range issue and non LOS issue, great way to get yourself in a world of poo right now. The guys you see pulling them off are running specialty radios, have very good telemetry coming in, and are way out in the middle of nowhere. I'm suprised the above referenced Blackhawk incident didnt catch him federal charges....

Shife said:

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If I may ask a related question, can anyone suggest a good rogue drone defense system?

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Theyre considered aircraft by the FAA. Shooting one down, jamming it and crashing it or harassing it is a federal crime.

You may not like it, but you don't own the airspace above your property. The feds changed the law recently, and even sub 400 feet is not YOURS. Drone pilots did not want or endorse this, but the "rogue drones OMG" panic caused it.

Shife said:

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If I may ask a related question, can anyone suggest a good rogue drone defense system?

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What was said above regarding the legality of taking down a drone is spot on. However, my company provides Counter-UAS (C-UAS) solutions that enable you to detect, identify, and track drones. Data is collected that can be turned over to law enforcement.

PM if interested.