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Can the H make this journey?

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Jun 18, 2017
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Fairly new owner and still getting my feet wet on the capabilities of the H....but gaining more and more confidence on each flight.
I have only flown 1300 feet max distances and have experienced no signs of any signal loss.
I do fly quite often in the area pictured(sorry the only pic on computer is a winter pic) and now the other side of the lake is starting to call for me.
I took a boat ride last weekend and found out the other shoreline is just a bit over a mile away.......the peninsula on the right is about 2200 feet away from where I would be taking off....So I'm quite confident that I can at least reach the peninsula on my stock 3 antenna's?....but not sure if I can reach the other shoreline.
The depth is deceiving in the pic but I'm probably 150 foot plus in elevation to the lake and there is nothing but clear skies and very little in the way of powerlines and other interference between my launch point and the other side. So it's pretty much ideal conditions I would think.
Do you think this can be done?......What are the symptoms of signal loss? Do you always lose video first before loss of control to craft?
I have also read conflicting reports of whether or not the H will return home or to the point of last signal in the event of signal loss.
Some have said it will just drift around until battery is low and then autoland....I certainly can't have that happen with all the water it will be traveling over.
Yes,I know it will be just a speck in the sky at that distance but I have gotten pretty good relying on the green arrow when I get a little disoriented.
If this is not possible on the stock antenna's .....is it pretty much assured of achieving with the itelite(sp) dbs aftermarket antenna? I will go that route if need be.20170202_074637.jpeg.jpg
 
Short answer no. You will lose video before before control.
At a mile it won't be just a spec in the sky it will be not seen. If you want to make that trip why not just boat over there?
 
Do you always lose video first before loss of control to craft?
I have also read conflicting reports of whether or not the H will return home or to the point of last signal in the event of signal loss.

Yes, typically video goes first, tho the card will still be recording OK. An H working properly will automatically enter RTH, and start back until it regains the ST16 control signals.

My opinion is that the mile is too risky. I assume (a bad thing to do) that you have no need of flying to the other side, but merely want to do it. You'll get all sorts of answers here, but ultimately it's up to you. If money's not a big deal, well.......(Stay above 100' or 150' and watch the voltage).
 
Short answer no. You will lose video before before control.
At a mile it won't be just a spec in the sky it will be not seen. If you want to make that trip why not just boat over there?
Point taken....and I do plan on taking the H on my boat and exploring many areas of the lake from it but just thought it would be nice to fly right from my backyard to the other side of lake.
Yes, typically video goes first, tho the card will still be recording OK. An H working properly will automatically enter RTH, and start back until it regains the ST16 control signals.

My opinion is that the mile is too risky. I assume (a bad thing to do) that you have no need of flying to the other side, but merely want to do it. You'll get all sorts of answers here, but ultimately it's up to you. If money's not a big deal, well.......(Stay above 100' or 150' and watch the voltage).
Your assumption is correct. I guess I am just trying to find out what the limits are for the H in my particular area. Maybe I will just take it as far as the video goes until it breaks up.
One other question. I do plan on keeping good height and I am also assuming(uh oh) that if I am flying at 150' feet on the St16 but I am already 150' above the lake then I am actually 300' above the lake surface and in reality I could potentially fly 550' above the lake surface if I brought it to the 400 foot max?
 
The conditions shown in the picture would be perfect for a long flight. If it didn't make it back you would just retrieve it from the snow on the lake.
Flying over water is altogether different. Any glitch at all and it will be a submarine. I aways attach a GetterBack to the landing gear when over water. It's still a risky flight and everything depends on the wind conditions. Anytime you plan to fly out past 1500' you should be flying into the wind. When you hit 15.3 volts it's time to start the return trip. If you were flying upwind to return home at 15.3v you might not make it. I always plan to land around 14.7 - 14.8v.
 
if I am flying at 150' feet on the St16 but I am already 150' above the lake then I am actually 300' above the lake surface and in reality I could potentially fly 550' above the lake surface if I brought it to the 400 foot max?

Say what? You lost me a few feet back...:rolleyes:
 
The conditions shown in the picture would be perfect for a long flight. If it didn't make it back you would just retrieve it from the snow on the lake.
Flying over water is altogether different. Any glitch at all and it will be a submarine. I aways attach a GetterBack to the landing gear when over water. It's still a risky flight and everything depends on the wind conditions. Anytime you plan to fly out past 1500' you should be flying into the wind. When you hit 15.3 volts it's time to start the return trip. If you were flying upwind to return home at 15.3v you might not make it. I always plan to land around 14.7 - 14.8v.
Thanks again Steve....still very much in a learning process with the H. This is my first GPS drone. But it is so much easier to fly than my other sub $100 drones which were an invaluable learning experience.
Hmmm.....may be smart for me to wait for the lake to refreeze before attempting. :eek:
Say what? You lost me a few feet back...:rolleyes:
My place where I'd be launching from is already 150 above the lake
 
The flight cannot be legally done if the operator remains at the launch point.
That actually gives me an idea.......I could launch from my boat and see how close I get to the other side and if I run into problems take the boat after it. except I wouldn't have as ideal conditions probably.
 
I should clarify the function of the Auto RTH based on your post comments.
It is a misconception that losing video will trigger RTH. It only happens when the Control signal is lost. The H will head for the last known position of the ST16. Once it reacquires the control signal it will go to hover waiting for input from the ST16. Your description of the H hovering until the battery runs down is a result of pilot error. If you lose video, telemetry and the green arrow then you must switch to Home and wait until you can see the orientation of the H, then go to Angle mode. Those who describe the H going into hover on signal lose are really talking about loosing video. So they wait thinking the H will return without switching to Home. It's just a matter of understanding how the system works and what the pilot should be doing. Whenever you are near water you also need to remember that the H in Home mode will land 13-20' from the ST16 in the line of flight. If you are on the shore or in a boat, the H will auto land in the water.
 
That actually gives me an idea.......I could launch from my boat and see how close I get to the other side and if I run into problems take the boat after it. except I wouldn't have as ideal conditions probably.

Launching from the boat has it's own problems. If the TH goes into Return-To-Home mode, or you put it there, where will it go? To the launch point or to your controller.

RTH has saved my bacon several times when the video signal dropped out. If you get some great distance out, the video image on the controller may stop updating when you turn the TH or camera to one side or the other. If video starts to get flaky, try gaining altitude and point the camera directly away or towards you. The arrow on the screen may not be reliable in that situation.

Oh yes, make sure the battery is locked in place properly. Double check it. As long as the TH has power (and a place to land), it's pretty fail-safe.

Remember that once the TH is far enough away that you can't tell which way it is going visually, you are outside the legal operating range. That may be only 1000 ft. or so.
Good luck.
 
Home is always the ST16 or the last know position of the ST16. It doesn't care about the launch point. If you travel a few hundred yards while flying it makes more sense for the H to return by this method.
 
If you are really keen to test this flight, then maybe a suggestion is to operate the H from a half-way point. This way, you will be in the middle of the flight path with the ST16 and the take off and end point will be at either end. You mention a boat. Using this will get you to your half way point on the lake.
The easiest way to complete this flight would be to take off from the middle point and fly to one end of the lake and then return to your take off point. If you still have good battery, then continue on to the other end. If not, then land, swap out your battery and then take off and go to the other end, and return. If this works out, then you could also save this a a route in the CCC (either directly on the ST16 or with UAV toolbox) so that you have the flight path to fly again at another time. I use UAV toolbox a lot, not just to fly way-points, but I find the telemetry data invaluable, particularly for the summaries it gives for the radio link and the GPS acquisition. This is also another way to see how your H and ST16 handle the distances over the lake.
Just a suggestion and possibly something to consider.
 
I'll chime in...
If the conditions are right you could try it.
I'd fly in the early morning on a windless clear day.
If windy, flying into the wind to start would be best as that is when your battery would be drained quickly and not so much on the return.
Also don't try it in one flight, make multiply flights to test your range and take baby steps to increase your range with each flight.
Another thing to remember is that LOS also means transmission from the controller to the Typhoon and back.
Even if you can visually see the H, if a tree gets in between, you could loose feed in which case you would have to move so there is a direct line between the controller and the Typhoon.
In my case I live on a hill and can usually reach 5000'and have reached 7100' on a clear windless morning.( White route in maps below)
My Flights
Flights Aug17.jpg

Here is a long (6 min) video of one flight reaching 5100 '


and the flight path

NovFogPath.jpg

Anyway, good luck and be sure to post your results as that looks like it could be a nice video !
 
Home is always the ST16 or the last know position of the ST16. It doesn't care about the launch point. If you travel a few hundred yards while flying it makes more sense for the H to return by this method.
Thanks Steve. I've never actually tried moving from the launch point during a flight to see how RTH responds. Good to know.
Still, landing (?) or hand catching on a boat is something that should be practiced first before it is critical to the mission. For example, practice hand catching on land, then in a boat but close to a good earthen landing point as a backup. There is quite a bit of information on this forum about hand catching.
 
In my case I live on a hill and can usually reach 5000'and have reached 7100' on a clear windless morning.( White route in maps below)
Atomic, did you ever have video breakup during these long flights? Did you have the early stock 2 antenna ST16 for those flights?
Beautiful video!
 
Rubik...Stock 2 Antenna ST16 ( One Year Old This WEEK !)
Yes...on some long distance flights I get video loss...
More in the summer because of the heat and tree foilage.
Here is a path where you can see the loss of Tele data.(Orange Path)
The video keeps on playing on the Camera, but I loose Tele Data.
When I loose connection, I just flip the switch to RTH mode and it returns back to me,
When I get video feed back, I just return to Angle mode and keep flying.
Has not failed me yet !
BU Path.jpg
 
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Awesome video! I have a long range antenna I was provided at the time of purchase with my Yuneec. It's a black box wth two cables that plug into both connectors on the ST16. I'vd not used it to try the distance of my Yuneec as I'm a bit nervous to see the end result. Has anyone used a long range antenna similar to mine to test the distance of the Yuneec?

Thanks,

Isaiah
 
Awesome video! I have a long range antenna I was provided at the time of purchase with my Yuneec. It's a black box wth two cables that plug into both connectors on the ST16. I'vd not used it to try the distance of my Yuneec as I'm a bit nervous to see the end result. Has anyone used a long range antenna similar to mine to test the distance of the Yuneec?
Thanks, Isaiah
I think you should define what you mean by long range. You should have no problems with video or control to at least 1500' and probably to 2000' if you can still see it that far away.
 
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