External Antenna Mod for the FC40 cam :)

[tobbe]

can anyone post Pictures of their tinfoil parabols they have used With their Phones to get a better signal?
im about to solder on a external antenna in the fc40 now.

 

[tmartin62]

It happens no matter where I fly. Most of the time lately I am around a park on the outskirts of a small town.

I'm curious if the random drop outs still occur after this external antenna mod. I get them within 30 feet of the phone, with or without the wifi repeater.

Which area are you flying in?
Is there too much wifi interference around?(like in residential areas?)
That could be one reason.

 

[tobbe]

I MUST have done something wrong!!

After antenna modification i only have like 15 metres and then i loose the signal, i have full signal when im 1 meter away but as soon i go away it drops really fast.
I have tried two different cables, and 4 different antennas, i get about 10db in gain With the antenna mounted to the cable.
I have a normal 3 db antenna and even some 19db antennas, but theres really no difference..??

Have i soldered wrong cable to wrong side?

Ill attach Pictures so please help me out, i have checked the soldering and their really firm and have a good grip even though i added a dot at the end.. it looks Cold soldered but its really not.

On the Picture on the first page its + and -.
I have soldered the inner cable to the + and the outside wich surrounds the inner shielded cable to the -.
Is this correct or is it the other way around?
Check out my Pictures and the original one from page one. what do you guys think?
This is my cam and soldering

Original Picture from page 1

My problem if something is messed up is that i destroyed the original "antenna" when i removed it.. So i have to fix this somehow..

 

[wattage]

On that first picture, looks like the shield has been heated up quite a bit and may have burned through the insulation shorting out on the centre cable. Have you continuity tested both ends of your sma lead for a short?

 

[tobbe]

I dont think its shorten out, i had same issues with 2 different cables..
is it correct that the inner cable is on the right side on my first picture?
i can check for shortouts tomorrow but im pretty sure thats not the issue as i was careful.
Anyone else did this mod?

 

[Mini-geek]

Just read through this.. Seems simple, do you just power the booster off the inboard power supply that's used for a Gimbal?

I'm going to get the same booster as the OP used..

 

[tobbe]

On that first picture, looks like the shield has been heated up quite a bit and may have burned through the insulation shorting out on the centre cable. Have you continuity tested both ends of your sma lead for a short?

Well, tested it again today With a ohmmeter and found the inner cable to be broken near the antennaconnector..
So i resoldered the other one i had laying around, and got up on signal again up to 45-50 db when having the phone right Next to it,
but it dropped 10 db when i Attached the antenna.. Isnt that strange?
I tried several antennas and everyone made the signal weaker??
I took of the antenna and flew it once now With just the cable hanging out of the back and got about 50 metres of Connection before dropping out?
Theres really no more than Pictures from the user IIVII
He never came back and answered the question about how this worked for him...

For me it Works poorly, so until further investigation i would advise against doing this mod..
I dont understand why, but anyone here who have knowledge about cables and maybe its something wrong With the ones i have used?
Wrong recistance or whatever..??

Also IIVII you said u had a idea about giving this a range of 1500 metres, im very interested espesially now when i have gone from 100 metres to 50 metres of Connection due to Your mod.
Sadly i broke the original antenna when trying to take it out or else it would have been back inside.

 

[tobbe]

DONT DO THIS!!

First of all, the original antenna is what i remeber in one piece so there is NO + and - .
I soldered on thinking as topic starter that it was a + and - at this Board, but had +45db at the best, and it didnt matter what antenna i used so i started to investigate and found out that its + and + so i after many trials and error soldered on two wires out from the cam and soldered each end to the same piece of copper antenna wich were inside my 18db antenna.. and THEN i got a good signal.. BUT my cam looks like its been in a car crash, i had to modify the camholder, it looks like a piece of **** but i belive i now at least can use it when flying again.

Im gonna test it tomorrow, and if it still sucks im just gonna say FXXX this and buy a New fc40 cam or something more like a FPV of some kind wich will not make me bancrupted..
Any suggestions anyhow about fpv i can use wich are cheap is very welcome!

Also- this IIVII he havent been updating this since he self did this "mod" or "breakage" i would Call it of his own cam.
One may Wonder that it wouldnt take him a month to give a feedback on his own "mod".

So. DONT DO THIS.
If anyone wanna sell me their fc40 cammodule cheap.. let me know.

I really dont wanna post Pictures of HOW messed up my cam looks now..
Just imagine a fc40 wich have been run over by a car and With two wires sticking out of it wich are soldered to a piece of copper that are bent into spirals..

Its pretty much fuXXed up.

 

[wattage]

Any suggestions anyhow about fpv i can use which are cheap is very welcome!

Cheap eBay 200mw 2.4GHz video transmitter, cheap fpv camera, female balance lead power extension for 3.3-5v video TX, cheap eBay 2.4GHz video receiver, TP-Link 8dB 2.4GHz antennae, assorted thin cabling, cheap eBay 7" screen, cheap eBay RC TX mount (for screen, video RX, and 12v lipo) and you're good to go. I put mine together (excluding GoPro but INCLUDING Walkera gimbal) for about £135 (approx $190) and it gets me a mile away.

Honestly, forget the FC40 camera. Nothing good can come of it. I too wasted time with range extenders, a tinfoil parabola etc but with my cheap-as-chips eBay concoction I'm getting a solid, fast frame rate FPV experience. Even my Vision Plus and its app are nowhere near as good.

 

[tobbe]

Please provide links to Products and please also hod did you Mount and Connect this..

-------------------

For People at the external topic, i just did a flytest and IM BACK!!!
The New antenna mod wich means that those two soldering Points are to be Connected to a antenna in each end is correct!
I now flew 100 meter + and didnt loose signal, my homelock didnt work today so i was afraid to og further as i am about to leave the house.
BUT i managed to figure this one out so if anyone have done this idiotic mod and followed the IIVII instructiions and got a failure, just redo the mod like i did.
The two solderpoints ARE SUPPOSED to Connect but With a antenna in the middle.. MAybe i clean it up better, but at least i got it back to working order..

 

[wattage]

These are most of the items I got from eBay. I also got the Walkera G-2D gimbal from there but it's not showing on the above screenshot. For the rest of the stuff see the below video. That guy is the God of cheap FPV so I followed his recommendations and ended up with a solid but insanely cheap setup.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUaC_Z08k9M[/youtube]

Below is a quite low quality picture of my setup and how my RC unit looks now. Originally the FPV stuff was tripod mounted but I went with the 'bolt everything onto the TX' approach for portability. It's a bit bulky but doesn't weigh too much and I plan to tidy it up a bit more in the future.

 

[Speedline]

Nice set up, can you tell me the receiver you are using , I see different strengths available, so want to make sure I get one that works

Cheers

 

[peterek]

Im in a process on getting parts for 2.4ghz fpv , what lcd screen did you use and what antenna?

 

[ryanw777]

Hi, got the lead, got the front off, and the small screw out, then couldn't get the rest out of the case.
I see you've taken the back off as well. Are there more screws holding it all togeather?
Kim..


Bump - Anybody?

 

[tobbe]

DO NOT!!! i repeat!! DO NOT DO THIS MOD!!!!!!!

It will not work, Your cam will loose signal and stop filming even maybe after 50 metres,
the antenna mod is NOT working! You WILL destroy Your camera and FPV if proceeding!!
READ MY POSTS!!

Have you seen any lately posts from the original topic maker?
I did this mod and LOOK AT MY PICTURES; its UTTER ********!!

If you wanna destroy Your cam, why not switch it With mine who is already "modded"??

Ill even pay the shipping
Thats how STUPID and NOT WORKING This mod is.

 

[cave_man]

Hi Guys
With this antenna can work to be done?

 

[wattage]

Nice set up, can you tell me the receiver you are using , I see different strengths available, so want to make sure I get one that works

I just got a cheap 2.4GHz receiver with no manufacturer name on. It says "Video Sender" on the unit (strange since it's not sending anything, just receiving), has a DC input and a DC output and phono jack outputs for video and audio. I paid no attention whatsoever to channels or frequencies on the receiver dip switches but when I connected up my GoPro to the filth cheap TX and powered up the receiver, everything worked first time.

Im in a process on getting parts for 2.4ghz fpv , what lcd screen did you use and what antenna?

It was the cheapest 7" screen I could find on eBay available within the UK. It cost £23. I think the antenna is the secret weapon for the long range in my setup. TP-Link 8dB. If you watch the video from MikeH I embedded, I just copied what he had (minus the cheaper gimbal and Mobius.)

 

[elialpi]

Sorry i'm unable to see on page 1 photo from 5 to 13. Please can u upload a zip file that incluse all the photos? Thanks a lot

 

[Yesa88]

hello i saw your post on the forum and wanted to ask you if you send me the photos on my mail I have to do the same job on camera FC40 thanks! my mail is [email protected]