Broken antenna on my P3P, Where to get replacement?

[RusWolf]

Hello all,

I flew my bird for the first time in almost 2 years couple of weeks ago and yesterday decided to fly again, opened my case and BAM one of the antenna rods is broken! Bummer!

Still flew 6700 ft into the ocean by holding the antenna rod in stock position lol.. risky move i guess, but i figured if its connected with a wire and I hold it properly it should be ok. glad that it was.

So now, Where do I get the replacement rod? I've seen some on ebay and amazon, they appear to be longer than OEM's and they go for $32 shipped. Do those work and improve anything?

If not, where do I get OEM antenna rod?

Here is a link to the ebay rods.

DJI Phantom 4 & 3 Inspire 1 Signal Booster Enhanced Range Refitting Antenna Set for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DJI Phantom 4 & 3 Inspire 1 Signal Booster Enhanced Range Refitting Antenna Set at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[cheddarman]

Firstly I presume we're talking the antenna on the RC unit, not the drone itself and secondly I believe you are in the US?

Contact DJI Online support HERE

Press "Others?" and then "Online support" and you'll get to chat to very helpful operative!

 

[RusWolf]

Firstly I presume we're talking the antenna on the RC unit, not the drone itself and secondly I believe you are in the US?

Contact DJI Online support HERE

Press "Others?" and then "Online support" and you'll get to chat to very helpful operative!

Yes antenna rod on the remote. yes, i'm in the US.

 

[Deleted member 120647]

Since the antennae works and if the break is in a suitable place why not just glue the bits together and perhaps put a length of adhesive lined heat shrink or some form of sleeve over the break. If stiffness is a concern slivers of wood etc. could perhaps be stuck in place over the break, as splints, before the heat shrink or sleeve is applied
Whilst trying to remove antennae in order to fit extender antennae the outer 'stalk' of one antenna actually pulled off its pivot's spigot. Fortunately the actual antenna wire was disconnected from the controller mainboard so I didn't do any other 'damage' and the stalk simply slipped back onto its spigot and clicked into place. I do not know how the wire is removed fron the stalk but this might mean, if you are so inclined, that you could replace just the outermost stalk rather than needing to open the controller to replace the entire antenna assembly.

 

[RusWolf]

Since the antennae works and if the break is in a suitable place why not just glue the bits together and perhaps put a length of adhesive lined heat shrink or some form of sleeve over the break. If stiffness is a concern slivers of wood etc. could perhaps be stuck in place over the break, as splints, before the heat shrink or sleeve is applied
Whilst trying to remove antennae in order to fit extender antennae the outer 'stalk' of one antenna actually pulled off its pivot's spigot. Fortunately the actual antenna wire was disconnected from the controller mainboard so I didn't do any other 'damage' and the stalk simply slipped back onto its spigot and clicked into place. I do not know how the wire is removed fron the stalk but this might mean, if you are so inclined, that you could replace just the outermost stalk rather than needing to open the controller to replace the entire antenna assembly.

It broken at the base somehow,
so literally when it comes out of the controller itself it broke right there.
I thought about the glue, but i'm a little worried that if i glue it i may not be able to take it out if i decide to put a new antenna in. idk...

 

[Deleted member 120647]

Awkward place for a break.
Before you open the controller I'd suggest disconnecting and removing the USB board. This leaves its ribbon cable loose and free to 'pull' through the shell opening when you do split the main shell. Be careful of this ribbon cable, I snagged mine when during reassembly when the controller slipped and I made a grab for it. This ripped the ribbon cable off the main board and took the connector and some board tracks with it, the board and controller still worked but there is no USB connection and buttons C1 and C2 are no longer connected so, if needed, there is no way to relink the controller to the drone.

Do not over tighten the screws when reassembling.

 

[wa5tef]

Amazon usually has anything you need.
Good luck,
Jim
WA5TEF

 

[Deleted member 120647]

One other source for the genuine plastic bits would/might be a dummy controller i.e. an ex demonstrator.
I have bought a couple of these to reshell controllers with knackered shells and some of the internals switches have been complete so you might get some spares out of it too. The antennae seem kosher, pivot and tilt the same as the working ones and are hollow right to the end but have no wiring.

 

[RusWolf]

Ok fixed it all guys. Flew to 14,000 feet and back which was the farthest i ever went!
Before i was getting about 4-5k before weak transmission would pop up.
Today i flew to 10k at 40ft alt, weak signal appeared. Stopped, went up to 160 ft and flew to 14,200 ft with no issues until weak signal appeared.
I think if i went higher to 200ft or above, POSSIBLY i would have flown a little further, but didn’t want to risk it, since i saw a low flying aircraft at the beach and did not want to have a chance of an accident so i stayed well below 200.

I’m super happy, did it alp myself, was easy as a cake and replaced with OEM 2.4 ghz antenna from inspire one, got it from ebay shipped from hong kong for $10 shipped and it arrived quickly as well!

 

[kerrylaw7307]

Ok fixed it all guys. Flew to 14,000 feet and back which was the farthest i ever went!
Before i was getting about 4-5k before weak transmission would pop up.
Today i flew to 10k at 40ft alt, weak signal appeared. Stopped, went up to 160 ft and flew to 14,200 ft with no issues until weak signal appeared.
I think if i went higher to 200ft or above, POSSIBLY i would have flown a little further, but didn’t want to risk it, since i saw a low flying aircraft at the beach and did not want to have a chance of an accident so i stayed well below 200.

I’m super happy, did it alp myself, was easy as a cake and replaced with OEM 2.4 ghz antenna from inspire one, got it from ebay shipped from hong kong for $10 shipped and it arrived quickly as well!