DJI MAVIC PRO Review - Part 4 - [6.4 Mile In-Depth Parabolic Range Booster Test 😮]

Here's Part 3 with 6 mile stock range test:

I'll be doing much more with the Mavic. Please subscribe so you don't miss it :)

Send me a Letter | Donation | or anything else. I may feature your contribution in an up-coming video :) !

Dustin Dunnill
P. O. Box 880040
Pukalani HI 96788

[GrowingAnswers]

I actually did a range test with the reflectors and got to 20, 200ft distance using sport mode. I ignored the RTH when the battery hit 70% at 20, 000ft. Once I got to 200ft further I realized I may run out of power so I did return to home manually using sport mode, but had to land about 1/4 mile short of my launch location and then go get it. I did another flight to 3 miles distance without the reflectors and safely returned. So I found that using the reflectors with the mavic pro for further distance rather than with just the bare antennas is pointless if you don’t have enough battery power to make it back anyway. However, I think for shorter range flights through physical obstructions like trees, the reflectors give a slight advantage for better transmission. This is based on a few tests I have done, but still inconclusive.

One thing that’s important to note, using sport mode does use more power. I tested this too. I flew the same path twice with and without sport mode. The test with sport mode used 7% more power and that was at 10, 000ft distance. This is because wind resistance isn’t double at 40mph vs 20mph. It’s 4x. hypothetically if it could fly in a vacuum, sport mode speed should use the same battery power vs non-sport mode because you cover 2 times the distance in the same time period. But the only way to utilize battery power for max distance flight is using non-sport mode to fly into the headwind and return using sport mode with a tailwind.

[cavaleir]

The hood made a buffer for the wind preventing it from going faster both ways like a parachute effect, only good for taking pic in the sun not for distance or speed.

[mrbracht]

Still, by far, my favorite YouTuber. Thanks for the great videos!

[BeastModeDR]

I cant wait for the day we have 1 hour batteries lol

[charlieodom]

This is where I think DJI did very well in engineering their drones, cause the range limit seems to be battery limited and not controller range, assuming people don't fly it down to 10%.
I have done the sport mode vs regular and battery life is worse in sport mode. Another test I did was to fly out in regular mode with headwind and back in sport mode with tailwind, and range is excellent. You can look at power consumption to see if your drone is speed or tilt limited to get an idea of how much range you will have.

For example, in sport mode with just a few MPH headwind the power will be at 100%, whereas with a light tailwind, maybe only a MPH or so, you can fly 40mph at 75% power or so, which means the drone is speed limiting, not tilt limiting.

Either way, these things are amazing with their ability to transmit 4k video over miles of distance instantly.

[maurocoruzzi]

I canceled a meeting today just to watch if you ended in the woods 😂😂😂😂😂

[samnella]

Dustin - You are a real daredevil! Nice baby crying sound effects. :-)

[GadgetInspector]

I just bust out laughing!!!! You're voice is always so calm and chill and then all of a sudden the sound of a baby crying. Hilarious.

[chilled]

I have these extenders with a Mavik Air, I’m using them more as insurance against losing signal at regular distances

[MikeyLykens]

About 20 minutes into the video I'm petty sure I saw Sasquatch. That drone is awesome!!

[MrLew]

Great Video and thanks for taking a risk and educating us on this drone & range ! I would never do something so risky and unnecessary BUT a HUGE THANK YOU !!

[slbynum]

I might add that there's a location near me that similar to yours up on the side of a mountain with no interference and I took my phantom 4 pro stock out pretty much like you did and got 3.6 miles out but the battery was my limitation and I still had good strong signal strength on both the bird and the video. I ended up having 19% battery when I got back so I probably could've hit 4 miles but again battery seems to be the limitation on these. It sure gets the adrenaline flowing!

[mostinterestingmaninthewor]

YOU should fly it till it looses signal then ad the booster and see if it goes further.

[mdav]

Wow what an amazing video! You have an incredible flying spot. There was a minute there I was certain you weren’t gonna make it back. Nerve wracking! Looks like you still had pretty decent signal strength even at that range. I guess at this point battery life is the limit instead. Pretty cool. Can’t wait to pick one of these up on eBay for a good deal.

[sutv]

Great, My heart was pounding. I thought in an environment like this the unit should go 3 miles with nothing. In your experience do the boosters truly help. I can't seem to get a mile with out the screen loosing the picture and often the connection Lots of trees around and I'm low and flying over mts. but still. . Great video either way.

[bobbrown]

If you want it to come home on the least battery, engage RTH first and let the craft pick the most optimal angle and once it starts moving, kick it out of RTH with sports mode toggle and full stick forward in sports mode for a speedy return. Should be useful even if the app crashes. I found it even flies diagonally to counter the crosswind if there is any.

[davidanderson]

A lil scared to take mine that far, “yet”, but, very impressive bro! The longer I own her the more comfortable I am about her reliability

[pop-popmoose]

Great video! What's amazing is the detail of the WiFi FPF. I've tried WiFi FPV and got no range on it . Within a few feet I was having video cutouts. My new drone has 5.8G FPV and 720p camera. Your image quality is superb! Keep up the great vids and I'll keep coming back

[benjuliebenjulie]

To give you the gain the dishes create a more directive signal, so you need to make sure your antennas are pointed in the direction of the drone at all times, more so than the stock setup

[robertpawlusiak]

Absolutely one fine demo hats off Dustin ! I got to have one !