The flight range of the AR.Drone is limited because the wifi range is limited to somewhere between 30 – 100 meters depending on where you fly and whether you have line of sight.
The flight range of the AR.Drone can be drastically extended to 1.5 – 2.5 kilometers by using RC equipment. The 2.4 GHZ RC hack instructions describe how the range can be extended in full detail.
The actual flight range will depend on the RC transmitter & receiver used. According to the tutorial it has been tested to work with Spektrum DX6i and Spektrum AR6200 DSM2 6 Ch Rx Ultralite. The Spektrum DX7 with the AR6200 (2.4Ghz), Futaba 9CH with Assan module and X8R7 (2.4Ghz) and the JR790UL spcm Rx (72 Mhz) have also been tested to work according to the tutorial. You will need a 5 volt BEC (Battery-Elimination Circuit) to power the Arduino and the RC-receiver since the AR.Drone’s battery is 11.1 volt. This will cost you around $10.
The wifi signal is passed from the RC-receiver to the AR.Drone through a small Arduino compatible device called YellowJacket ($55). The YellowJacket is based on the Arduino mini and comes with on-board wifi. You will need an USB breakout board ($14) as well to be able to program or transfer the Arduino sketches to the YellowJacket.
This is not a cheap hack. You could buy an extra AR.Drone for what you will have to shell out for this hack. And you have to feel comfortable with a soldering iron, programming an RC-controller and command line stuff. Like most hacks discussed here this is not for the faint-hearted.
Cmilian says
Is there Self stability loss with this hack?
Keith Olson says
If you want indefinite range, you could always add an APRS transceiver.
Barron says
Yeah, but at what cost?
Mohammad Hefny says
pls check http://technicaladventure.blogspot.com/2012/06/in-this-document-i-try-to-go-through-my.html for DX7 exploration
Mohammad Hefny says
pls check http://technicaladventure.blogspot.com/2012/04/controlling-your-rc-plane-from-computer_8337.html
This is how to use your DX7 as a TX station that sends signals from your PC to your RC vehicle.
Miguel says
Does anyone know if a solar panel would work if it was used on an ar drone and how i could implement that?
Peter Hasek says
Who makes the brush-less motors for the AR Drone 2.0?
The existing circuit board motor mount has a fixed diameter.
So, the only way to get more power from the current design is
to find a longer motor that will fit into the existing “socket” and is
compatible with the existing circuity. Larger battery’s and larger
motors will be needed to carry the hacks that are needed to convert
the AR Drone 2.0 from a WiFi radio interface to a 2.4Ghz DX-type
radio interface.
Peter Hasek
HAMILTON, ONTARIO
Dan says
Larger and better everything becomes quickly desireable. Quick solution I want to try is using parts from four drones thus having 16 props, each group four acting as one is currently, I can rewire and create new frame easily but have concerns that power draw will blow existing circuits and how to use two or more batteries at same time. idea being one copter’s control mechanism and batter but four copter’s lift capability. Any help with the wiring of above would be appreciated at dronestoronto@gmail.com
nusuns says
I have a breadboard power supply I built for converting 7-12 volt wall warts down to 5 volts. Couldn’t I mod that instead of using a bec. I would bet my mini power supply weighs a lot less than that bec.