Terrible wifi connection with Anafi

[Skassa]

Ok, thanks, I will try! But do you still see with the latest FW/SW update the overlapping curves on the wifi/channel screen (to be able to check out the interference for a channel)? I don't.

Do not worry put manual and channel 166 in europe nobody uses this channel and yes i have last firmware.Very important is to point the skycontroller towards anafi and that there are no obstacles at a height of 60 meters for the first kilometer and 150 meters towards 2 kilometers.

 

[Ton]

this is what's concerning me before buying an Anafi. I have an XSP, Tyhpoon H, Spark but like the look of the Anafi and really like Quiet UAVs. I love my spark but I find the range can be pretty poor (UK).

I also have a Spark (quite loud indeed). It is also not very difficult to set the Spark to FCC mode. I don't care about the range, but I care about loosing signal due to interference and obstacles (trees), even when flying in LOS. I think DJI makes good mechanical quality drones, but for me Parrot is more user friendly and I think more innovative. DJI came out with Mavic 2 pro and zoom....almost 1 kg, much to bulky IMO.

 

[Skassa]

I also have a Spark (quite loud indeed). It is also not very difficult to set the Spark to FCC mode. I don't care about the range, but I care about loosing signal due to interference and obstacles (trees), even when flying in LOS. I think DJI makes good mechanical quality drones, but for me Parrot is more user friendly and I think more innovative. DJI came out with Mavic 2 pro and zoom....almost 1 kg, much to bulky IMO.

If you loose the signal the rth is selectable until 150mt of altitude the drone move up then back to home the signal is back after interference or obstacle without problem.

 

[cheetah2k]

What is the method to use FakeGPS on my android phone, and then connecting to the SC3?

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

What is the method to use FakeGPS on my android phone, and then connecting to the SC3?

Have a look at THIS thread.

 

[nicholashickman]

I also have a Spark (quite loud indeed). It is also not very difficult to set the Spark to FCC mode. I don't care about the range, but I care about loosing signal due to interference and obstacles (trees), even when flying in LOS. I think DJI makes good mechanical quality drones, but for me Parrot is more user friendly and I think more innovative. DJI came out with Mavic 2 pro and zoom....almost 1 kg, much to bulky IMO.

I find the spark not too noisy, compared to my Autel anyway! I'm not fussed about range per se, but good signal quality. In an urban area I can get about 200m on my spark when set to 2.4ghz before video signal issues. Surprisingly my XSP, which is FCC only as Autel do not sell in the UK, has problems with video signal even at close ranges whereas my Typhoon H does quite well on signal quality & range.

What I'm worried about is buying an Anafi and finding its is limited in range and signal strength as my spark ~200m ish.

 

[Skassa]

I find the spark not too noisy, compared to my Autel anyway! I'm not fussed about range per se, but good signal quality. In an urban area I can get about 200m on my spark when set to 2.4ghz before video signal issues. Surprisingly my XSP, which is FCC only as Autel do not sell in the UK, has problems with video signal even at close ranges whereas my Typhoon H does quite well on signal quality & range.

What I'm worried about is buying an Anafi and finding its is limited in range and signal strength as my spark ~200m ish.

With 2.4 ghz and fcc i have same issue but with 5.4ghz and channel 165 not problem anymore i got more than 2 km in urban but you need altitude and not ostacle from controller to anafi. Better than US the channels from 149 to 165 not in use in europe and not interference wifi. The noise of anafi is very low at 50mt no one hears and the zoom help to see at high altitude.

 

[Zamzara]

Can't add much, just to confirm I find pointing the flat top of the controller's aerial towards the drone is the most important factor in keeping a connection, as it's very high gain so highly directional.

You can also make flight plan flights outside signal range, if you can accept the extra risk/worry. The app warns it will RTH but it doesn't while the flight plan's running.

 

[Ton]

I find the spark not too noisy, compared to my Autel anyway! I'm not fussed about range per se, but good signal quality. In an urban area I can get about 200m on my spark when set to 2.4ghz before video signal issues. Surprisingly my XSP, which is FCC only as Autel do not sell in the UK, has problems with video signal even at close ranges whereas my Typhoon H does quite well on signal quality & range.

What I'm worried about is buying an Anafi and finding its is limited in range and signal strength as my spark ~200m ish.

Hi Nicholas, if you set the Anafi to FCC your range is quite good. I passed over 1 km and still no loss of signal. I did not dare to go further this time.
Good luck with you're decision ;-)

 

[MauiMacMan]

Thanks for replying, I actually questioned about whether my RC was in control, and I also used my old iphone 5s which was without SIM card and in flight mode to fake GPS for 5 GHz band. But the signal was still getting poor at 50 meter away and I didn't dare to push it because RTH would not work if it lost.

I guess, is that possible that the new 1.1.0 firmware for drone jams wifi? I just can't believe I received two defects in row.

BTW, I have a Mavic pro 2 but been returned to DJI to repair because of some gimbal issue. I flew my MP2 two km away and got it back safe and steady. I feel angry about Anafi because it is a 4k camera drone which costs me 700 bucks but doesn't work properly. It is not a toy and I need it to get into spot and transmit image in good quality for filming and taking photos. I think I am more like a photographer than a pilot.

I agree with you and am having similar WiFi, Interference and very poor video transmission with iPhone 8+. I tried with my ipad pro 11 and that seems to communicate a whole lot better. Maybe try a different phone/tablet also?

 

[MustangPhil]

Could you just confirm one thing (that was suggested at the beginning but you answered about SIM cards) :
Is the WiFi signal of your phone ‘OFF’ ? Or did you try the ‘Airplane mode’ ?
Do you have close around you when you fly a friend or yourself with a ‘WiFi’ device such as a phone or a ‘smart watch’ ?
With a smartphone that is on WiFi ‘Off’ position, could you post a screenshot of the surrounding WiFi band analysis when your SC3 is connected to the phone (the picture you posted is a ‘blanck’ WiFi signal screen like if your phone was not connected of the SC3 controller is not operating)

 

[Nidge]

Some things to consider.

Both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz allocations are not exclusive to WiFi. Your WiFi analyser APPs and the activity screen within Freeflight6 will only show WiFi activity and NOT the multitude of other signal/modulation types also in those same allocations.

Case in point. I was doing some testing of my Anafi and Spark in my back garden. Both are on FCC spec (The Spark is hard coded to FCC in firmware), and both on CH165. When either drone was only 20ft up and about 20ft distant I was experiencing severe signal degradation, even though the activity display in the APP claimed that CH165 was clean and green.

Next I broke out my portable spectrum analyser and this showed that there was a very strong signal on CH165, but also spread over a number of adjacent channels, being the cause of this interference.

Vanilla WiFi is used on many consumer drones because it's cheap to implement and the manufacturers don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and not because it’s effective over long distance, because it certainly isn’t. Nor is it impervious to interference mainly because it’s not frequency agile. Even in auto channel selection it will assign a frequency to use on first connection and will not change frequency even if interference is encountered during the flight. Where as my main RC controller, Taranis X9D, uses a frequency agile protocol, whereby both the receiver and transmitter are continuously communicating with one another, and if either one detects interference both will instantly change to a clean allocation. I’ve never experienced a loss of connection with this system in the seven years I’ve been using it even though I legally fly up to 1000ft agl and distances of a few miles.

Now that a technology known as LoRa is now becoming more accessible I think manufacturers will inevitably drop the use of point to point WiFi. ImmersionRC have recently released their “Ghost” system which uses LoRa technology for controlling UAV’s and boasts some quite impressive range capabilities while still maintaining power levels compliant with CE regulations. I’m currently testing a system from Skydroid that also permits 720pHD video back to the pilot. Skydroid claim interference free video reception for between 10km-15km, and interference free control between 20km-30km. All done using 2.4GHz with a power output between 60milliwatts, which is compliant with current CE regulations.

Time will tell but I’m confident that the likes of DJI, and Parrot if they choose to stay in the consumer market, will transition to LoRa as the main complaint from consumers is connection loss at relatively short distances using Vanilla WiFi and the variations of this technology.

Nidge.