_F vs _E firmware differences?

[bpacholek]

I have recently bought a Yuneec Breeze from a normal, legitimate computer shop, I live in Poland.

Before the first flight I had to update to latest firmware (1.47_F): back then I did not care about the _F _E symbol as my knowledge about the drone was limited, yet after reading the forum it seems to me that actually I have received it with firmware made for Australia/New Zealand as it is the _F one, is that correct?

Should I change to latest _E one or is _E just a copy of _F one as in OTA it does not even exist anymore:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/webdownload-global/Breeze/breeze_firmware.xml

The reason I am asking is the range: with the stock _F one I manage to fly over 40m, but it starts to drop connection, above 50m it is almost impossible to fly. Then I have tried 1.39_A firmware with a phone switched programatically to US zone (Lineage OS allows that), but it looks to me like radio-firmware in that phone ignores those settings: it allowed to connect but the range was about 20m.

Then I have tried the 1.39_E firmware as noticed that stock firmware (_F) could possibly use some channels allowed only for SRD (short-range devices) in EU and a phone made for Europe: around 30m connection was dropped.

So it looks like I have managed to get best results in Europe with firmware made for Australia/NZ.
It looks to me like here in Europe the firmware _F works best: still lousy , but best.

 

[DoomMeister]

F firmware is the official for Europe at this point in time. There is an older version of the E firmware for Europe (v1.39) that many have had better results with.

I think the best persons to answer these questions are @airborne or @robbie2. Hopefully one or both will chime in.

 

[airborne]

The F firmware complies fully with the European regulations regarding radar interference. That implies a full scan over the channels in the upper as well as in the lower range of the 5 GHz band. This behaviour can lead to a rather long delay until the breeze binds with the phone. Telecom rules demand this scan for a "free" channel not only at the time when the connection is established but also at regular intervals of approx. 60 seconds. This can lead to an interruption of control that in consequence results in a RTH (hopefully).

The E firmware circumvents the delay by just omitting the scan of the higher channels (where the weather radar and other services live). So the main advantage is that the bind between breeze and phone is a matter of a few seconds whereas the F firmware may take up to more than a minute to bind successfully.

My personal experience with the E and F firmwares (I live in Austria) lets me prefer the E firmwares (1.39) because of the more robust and faster binding. Rangewise there is not so much of a difference because the usable range depends on the mobile you use (Android vs. IOS plus the make of your mobile). As I use the Zyxel range extender I am always on the safe side with my sony z3.

My post tries to shed some light on the different frequencies.

 

[DoomMeister]

Thanks again @airborne! That post is now a separate sticky thread in the Breeze Discussion forum. Located Breeze 5 GHz WiFi differences.

 

[robbie2]

l agree with airborne that 1.39E is much more agreeable in terms of binding speed. With 1.47F, more often than not, I would not be able to bind on the second or third batteries of a session. l.e. when firing up the Breeze for the first time, it would bind (after the long wait that airborne explained). Fly for 10 minutes, exchange battery, wait.... no green light. Did not happen with 1.39E so far.
I had one incident with 1.39E (and the ComFast extender) where there suddenly was enormous video lag. But then, my overall flying experience with the Breeze is limited to a few dozen flights overall. So, no reas basis for reliable statistics :O