Very disappointed to hear of these range issues at the recent Seniors.
I ordered my portable PowerFlarm in August 2010.
Received at Uvalde PreWorlds August 2011 and found it quite
satisfactory during that contest.
(Except for the day I failed to recognize that my profile had changed
from glider to power plane after a battery swap. FP and "59" may never
forgive me.)

I don't expect a magic bullet for collision avoidance, but my Uvalde
experience was as-advertised, and I've been singing its praises since.

At dealer's request and with some misgivings, I shipped my unit back
for the "upgrade" over the winter.
(BTW, I paid shipping each way--was this everyone's experience?)

As the lone PF user so far in our club, I hadn't tried it since the
upgrade.
Loaned it to a friend for this year's Seniors, and am now hearing that
my previously awesome PF now has a range well under a mile.

My faith tested, I sincerely hope all involved recognize this critical
moment for what it is, and act accordingly.