Drones have become very popular and are no longer reserved only for photographers. Now, many private homes own a drone because of its amazing filming abilities in the air. Drone range is the distance a drone can fly from the operator while still working properly. Those ranges are not always accurate when it comes to theory and real-life but they do give you an idea of how much your drone can fly. Drone range can vary from model to model and you want to pay attention to that info if the distance is an important factor for you when purchasing a drone.
There is also a law regulation that requires that you keep your drone in sight at all times for safety measures. Some drones can get to the distance of 5-8km which is great but can you keep it in sight that far away? More expensive drones come with a bigger available distance but you usually can’t utilize them without breaking the law regulations.
Obstacles and drones
You also need to consider the obstacles that may weaken the signal between drones and GPS satellites. Those could significantly shorten the previously indicated distance. What happens in this situation is the signal between drone and operator is lessened which can lead to a loss of a relationship. To prevent this from happening you need to do a thorough research of the environment that you’re gonna use your drone in. Check if there are any mountains that might interfere with the signal. Are there any trees that might affect your sight? You need to make sure that you can do this process safely and not end up with your drone running into the water or a three, or hurting someone.
Transmission system
If you wondered if a transmission system can affect a drone’s flying space, the answer is yes. If relations are weak between your drone control, GPS, and a drone itself there will be a significant impact on the flying space. The problem is that the drone will already fly a certain distance before alarming you that the signal is weak. If this happens return your drone. If you don’t it may happen that the drone flies off on itself or drop from the sky.
The controller range and safety
While toy drones won’t be able to fly a length of the football field, mid-ranged drones can get to 0.4km allowing you a good visual. The high-end drones allow you to fly your drone from 2.5 to 5km which is a notably bigger range than mid-ranged drones.
When you fly your drone to such a distance, it doesn’t matter if the drone can keep in contact that much, but if you can keep the visual? This is important because of the safety issues. At that distance, you won’t be able to tell if the drone is properly following your commands and you could even mix it up with a bird. The lack of a fantastic visual automatically means that safety regulations are not honored. You could endanger animals, humans, vehicles, and buildings. That is why FFA tips exist. Not to get fun away from you but to keep you and the rest of the location safe.
If you’re wondering why do they even exist then if we can’t fly them to that distance? Well, it’s because there are many professional uses for the drones and those are controlled by certified and accredited pilots. They can apply to FAA to run beyond visual line of sight.
Also, they would have the flight planned upfront so that visual is not necessary. That’s specifically often done for the agriculture fields, mapping, etc. For package shipping as a business in development, drone route is also automated with flight preparations.
Why should you choose a high-end drone for private purposes? Well, usually people do this because of the fact that longer rangeability ensures a good signal, no transmission problems, and better responsivity even on the nearer range.
What can happen when a drone gets out of the range?
Two types of drone ranges are the video signal range and the control range.
The control range drone will be able to fly since it works on a 2.4GHz range, while the live video input drone runs on a 5.8GHz range. With a live video drone, your movie feed will shed. After that, you will lose the screen connection and won’t be able to see the live video any longer. But remember that drones can still respond to your controls so just keep going without panicking.
If you don’t have a clear location with no obstacles or pre-planned flight, we suggest that you press the “return to house button” to avoid drone infraction or damaging buildings and vehicles, or even hurting people. Since you won’t have a video visual of your drone, any of these situations can happen in a diverse location. You can also return your drone a bit so you can pick up the movie feed again.
Some GPS drones have a failsafe built-in option that allows your drone to automatically come back home. In some situations, the drone will hover in the air which will give you the opportunity to come closer and regain control signal.
Another situation that may happen is that the drone lands down which is great unless it’s flying over the water or difficult to access location. The worst scenario is that your drone flies off and crashes into something. This can also happen when the drone is returning home over terrain with lots of obstacles.
Increasing your drone’s range
Here are several ideas you can try to increase your drone range:
Using FCC limits instead of the CE limitations (Europe)
Buy a better antenna for your controller or use an antenna extender
Use a more robust receiver for your drone
Purchase a range extender
Conclusion
When purchasing a drone don’t just focus on the bigger range but pay attention to safety measures and quality of the materials used for making a drone. Keep in mind that the usage of drones with installed cameras over private properties is forbidden.
Also, important to know is that radar can detect any communication type drone as well as the pre-programmed ones. FAA can track your drone and check the license plate number. It has access to your drone’s location, the direction of flight, and flying speed. If you want to use your drone in closed spaces, we recommend using an indoor DJI. If you are not quite sure what to look for when purchasing the drone for inside use, here you can find a nice selection of indoor DJI drone.