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Lancelot

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Aug 7, 2017
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As I have seen many great answers around the range and connection issue, I thought there should be a thread that sum this all up,
so that new people/ people looking for solution doesnt have to look into different threads and/or open up its own thread.

This thread will be updated, so all suggestions, or things I probably missed, just shout out on this thread or send me pm.



  1. Certification type
    There are 4 different certification type for the Spark and this determines the power of transmission - thus affecting range.
    Full details on spec is here Spark – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads
    But in essence, this will be the result on range due to that transmission power limitation
    2.4GHz FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.3 mi (500 m); SRRC: 0.3 mi (500 m); MIC: 0.3 mi (500 m)
    5.8GHz FCC: 1.2 mi (2 km); CE: 0.18 mi (300 m); SRRC: 0.7 mi (1.2 km); MIC: -
    Basically if you are in US, you will have FCC, thus greater range (officially up to 2km, but some people achieve 3km+)
    and if you are in Europe (also most other countries) you will have to be happy with 500m on 2.4ghz or 300m on 5.8ghz.
    There are hacks but this wont be handled in this thread.
    So what you think as range problem might not be at all.



  2. Signal Interference
    This is one of the most common issues - especially failing to switch off disrupting devices and/or moving away from wifi congested area.
    Some examples of devices that you should turn off if you want to improve connection stability (and sometimes range):
    • All bluetooth devices. (BT operates at around 2.4Ghz)
      This includes: Phone bluetooth, Smartwatch, Wireless earphone, etc.
      Not to mention that the person next to you (wife, friends) also has to switch theirs off
    • All wifi devices if possible
      As mentioned above, this will interfere, or at best this will create traffic in certain channels or frequency, forcing spark to only use certain channel/ freq.
      Thus limiting its option and possibility to switch if the current channel is not good enough.
  3. Antenna positioning
    The antenna should be straight up and not on an angle.
    The flat part of the antenna on the remote control should be the area that is facing the spark.
    2017-08-16_10_31_17-_Spark_User_Manual_V1.0.pdf.png

    This will greatly improve connection and also range.




  4. Using OTG cable
    At any given time, there are two connections going on.
    One is between aircraft and remote control, the other is phone and remote control.
    The two should work flawlessly beside each other
    however, as signals in the area might be congested, it is possible that you will get better connection/ range
    if the connection between phone and remote control is on cable (OTG)

    OTG is short for On The Go. In simple words, a cable that will let your remote control as host so that your phone will be able to connect to it.

    Some suggestions on cable that worked for other users:
    OTG cable for connecting the remote controller to the mobile device with a cable
    I ordered this today. $6.97 shipped.
    CableCreation Micro USB Male to Micro USB Male OTG Cable Mobility Cable, Short
    8" long, 1 piece deal!!

    Sequence (important)
    1) switch on remote (nothing plugged in)
    2) switch on spark
    3) Wait for green light on controller
    4) switch on phone
    5) open up DJI Go4 App you will have a grey screen.
    6) plug in your standard charging cable to phone (micro usb for android, lightning for iOS)
    7) plug in usb end of charging cable to the female usb of the OTG
    8) plug OTG micro usb end to remote controller
    9) phone will rumble to mark connection
    10) You'll get the "This accessory may be etc, etc" HIT dismiss
    11) Camera view pops up. Done.


    Some people does however experience difficulties trying to get this to work.
    Here is a couple of troubleshooting post from other users that have been great help:
    (there is also this youtube video that has been a great help for many users)

    In case of android, both side are microUSB, so you should be sure that the OTG adapter is connected to the RC side. Normally you don't need enabling OTG on the phone as it is the RC that need to be the OTG host. But, cannot be bad I think.
    If you see that the battery of your phone is discharging quickly, then your cable should be reverted. The phone can deliver 1A to charge the RC (so your phone could discharge in a few hours) , but when wired correctly, it is the RC that deliver 0.1A to the phone, which has only small impact on autonomy.

    I first thought that after update that my OTG was also not working.
    What I found is that I have to wait almost 20 seconds after the controller is bound to Spark, before I connect the USB cable.
    Then, after connecting to USB cable, I have to wait for the phone to connect to Spark for almost another 20 seconds.
    On the last wait, for the Android, if I go into the USB mode, and choose "media", it connects immediately and launches DJI go 4.

    I had a problem this morning even getting the RC to control the Spark via WiFi. The RC light remained Red, never turned Blue. I reset the Spark to it's factory Settings (hold the power button for 9 seconds. Then I watched his video and followed it step by step. He really made it clear just how the RC differs from the Spark in the way they communicate. Now the RC connects via WiFi and it also works with my OTG cable. Hope this helps you.





More info to be added!
 
Last edited:
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Great info, would it be possible to walk us through getting to 5.8 GHz? I would like to fly in that range with less interference. Thanks,Ron
 
Thanks Ron ,I am from South Africa and also battle to get WIFI SIGNAL AND DO CONNECTION FROM MY RC to my Nokia8 phone take longer than a hour to connect most of the time did not connect and I cant fly .so I will follow these steps with OTG Cable connection .whats your thinking buying a Parabolic dish for exstra range
 

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