vertical flying @ the park

[morris]

So i went to the park today for a flight with my little buddy solo, wanted to go vertical so i did went up 395' ,man what a cool view ,when all of a sudden i hit max height by accident witch is like 396', my controller said lost signal and return to home witch it did thank God,first time i had a return to home due to signal lose ,the drone was 5' away and straight up 396' feet when lost signal, have a stock bird with gps upgrade and original antenna, they are pointed SlIGHTLY down should i of had them pointed straight out or should i upgrade to the alfa antennas ?,with the alfas what i understand is that they need to be pointed toward the bird( the alfa letters toward the bird) and then switch them pointing them so they face up if I'm going vertical like i did at the biggening of this post any feed back is appreciated. p.s I regained signal but bird still came back to home and would not let me take control even when i hit fly.

 

[Joe Horn]

Due to the position of the antennas in Solo's legs, connection 400' straight up is already more difficult than 400' away horizontally. And yes, the remote's antennas should be pointing perpendicular to the drone. Imagine sitting on the drone, and wanting to look down and visually see as much of the remote's antennas as possible. Orient the remote's antennas with that in mind. Although pointing the antennas straight out from the remote can help, you will obtain an even stronger connection if they are pointed slightly down AND the remote is tilted slightly back (top towards you), especially if you are using a tablet with a metal back which can block some of the signal.

Losing connection has nothing to do with hitting the preset "ceiling". The fact that it happened at that altitude was a coincidence.

Disclaimer: I *think* that all of the above is correct, since it agrees with my experience, but if any of it's wrong, I'm happy to be corrected, since we're all learning here.

 

[morris]

Thanks J.H for your input and of course we’re all learning

 

[morris]

I think [emoji848] next time I’ll use my phone since it’s smaller and won’t block vertical signal as much ,I was using an iPad mini witch now that I think about it does a good job of blocking line of sight

 

[pyrate]

just put your antenna on the controller at 45 Degrees and try not to fly directly overhead
its a dead zone because of the antenna placement.

 

[Mala Suerte]

Had the same thing happen to me. I lost the drone in the sun so i tried to bting it back manually and ended up putting it rt above me at 500ft. And then it said lost signal and boy did my butt pucker. It started to come back on its own rt when i remembered about the antennas so i pointed it straitght above me and regained connec and i hit fly button and brought it home manually.

 

[morris]

That’s good to know pyrate thanks for the heads up

 

[morris]

Mala were you using Alfa antennas

 

[allen_993]

I think [emoji848]...I was using an iPad mini...

Don't want to get off topic, but are you using an iPad Mini 4? If so, does it work without issue? Thought I read somewhere that the Mini 4 was "not compatible" with the Solo...was some issue with it.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

Oh look, a handy guide to antennas: https://3drpilots.com/threads/basic-guide-to-solo-antennas-stock-alfa-fpvlr.8078/

 

[morris]

I have a iPad mini 3 that I use when I feel like using the 3dr app and I’m running the most current iOS with it

 

[allen_993]

I'm thinking one of the older versions of the iPad mini like a 2 or 3 might be the way to go. I would imagine the feed from a GoPro Hero 4 Black is gonna look the same on a Mini 2 or 3 as it would on a Mini 4.

 

[morris]

I believe but don’t quote me on this but on the 3 they went with a better display

 

[Mala Suerte]

I was using Itelite DBD Range Extenders.

 

[Joe Horn]

Don't want to get off topic, but are you using an iPad Mini 4? If so, does it work without issue? Thought I read somewhere that the Mini 4 was "not compatible" with the Solo...was some issue with it.

Nah. The iPad Mini 4 works great with Solo. It's what I've used for over 2 years almost every day.

 

[Hansolo1977]

So i went to the park today for a flight with my little buddy solo, wanted to go vertical so i did went up 395' ,man what a cool view ,when all of a sudden i hit max height by accident witch is like 396', my controller said lost signal and return to home witch it did thank God,first time i had a return to home due to signal lose ,the drone was 5' away and straight up 396' feet when lost signal, have a stock bird with gps upgrade and original antenna, they are pointed SlIGHTLY down should i of had them pointed straight out or should i upgrade to the alfa antennas ?,with the alfas what i understand is that they need to be pointed toward the bird( the alfa letters toward the bird) and then switch them pointing them so they face up if I'm going vertical like i did at the biggening of this post any feed back is appreciated. p.s I regained signal but bird still came back to home and would not let me take control even when i hit fly.

Hello

 

[Hansolo1977]

My solo will go to 999’ that is the max the remote will display then it just blinks 999’ but the solo is still gaining altitude I don’t know why it does this as I have only done this one time I stay below 400’ all the time for safety reasons

 

[morris]

are you saying your going vertical 999' and higher ?

 

[Joe Horn]

are you saying your going vertical 999' and higher ?

It's both safe and legal to go much higher than 400' above take-off altitude IF the terrain is also climbing. Solo only reports how high it is above take-off altitude, not above ground level, but the 400-foot ceiling recommendation by the FAA means 400' AGL. I've often flown well over 1200' above take-off altitude, but never over 400' AGL, by flying far into steep canyons.

Just pointing this out in case anybody is tempted to start scolding the O.P. before asking what the altitude was AGL.