Little help with antennas please

[NickCopter]

Greetings all!

I purchased a Phantom 2 (nonvision) about a month ago and noticed my range is pretty terrible.

Flying away from me is no problem, and the furthest I've gone is about 450m, but coming back the FPV screen completely blacks out which is pretty concerning.

From what I can tell, its a combination of poor antennas and positioning, and I think this is the kit most people recommend:

http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... uct_id=106

it looks like my current monitor and transmitter (as far as I can tell) are:

http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-RX-LCD5802 ... B00HM0L5ZU

and

http://www.getfpv.com/5-8ghz-32ch-a-v-6 ... ts832.html

Here are some pictures of the monitor/transmitter for confirmation.

I'm wondering if the FPVLR set of 3 antennas is compatible with my current equipment, and if you think it will do the trick in making my FPV range better.

it looks like the current TX has only an SMA (not RP-SMA) but I don't know the difference or what a good substitute would be.

and also, should I choose to buy some FPV goggles, would my setup work, or do I need to buy a specific FatShark transmitter setup and such?

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks all.

 

[landmannnn]

I think you have mostly answered your own questions..position and antennas are critical for a decent range.

Suggest a sma to rp sma adaptor for your transmitter, then you can use the fpvlr out of the box.
Incidentally the 600mw tx is overkill, but you have it now so probably not worth swapping to a TS353.

For goggles you could use the video out on your receiver or go for a standalone set which receive directly from the air, they don't mind which brand of tx you are using.. You really get what you pay for, so budget top end!

 

[mendezl]

I find that this antenna placement works great. Love my FPVLR antennas. Always solid signal and clear video. Tony with fpvlr is very helpful, email him with any questions.

 

[NickCopter]

Thanks for the help!

I wasn't aware that there was an adapter that could change it from RP to RP-SMA!

 

[landmannnn]

Thanks for the help!

I wasn't aware that there was an adapter that could change it from RP to RP-SMA!

Somewhere in the world you can buy almost anything! It might be worth getting a little 3" extension to your transmitter antenna made with sma on one end and rpsma on the other.

 

[landmannnn]

Thanks for the help!

I wasn't aware that there was an adapter that could change it from RP to RP-SMA!

Somewhere in the world you can buy almost anything! It might be worth getting a little 3" extension to your transmitter antenna made with sma on one end and rpsma on the other.

 

[QYV]

Somewhere in the world you can buy almost anything!

for americans, that somewhere is Amazon

that's where I get all my antenna extenders, 90-degree adapters, etc

usually you get 2 or 3 for a few dollars

 

[landmannnn]

Yeah, amazon us seem to have a lot more vendors outside of the traditional consumer electronics sector than the rest of the world.

 

[Joeg1937]

Nick copter
First get rid of those stick antennas and get the blue beam, next get an extension for the transmitter antenna and let it hang below the bird,that way your radio can always see the birds antenna, I hand catch so the antenna doesn't hit the ground.

 

[Hughie]

Nick copter
First get rid of those stick antennas and get the blue beam, next get an extension for the transmitter antenna and let it hang below the bird,that way your radio can always see the birds antenna, I hand catch so the antenna doesn't hit the ground.

Do you hand launch too, or do you take off from a raised platform ?

 

[QYV]

I do the same thing as Joeg... the lobe of my transmit antenna hangs below the legs of my Phantom so indeed I usually just take off from a ledge... table, rock, curb, log, whatever... and always hand-catch.
I'm also not afraid to hand-launch with a partner, it's not something you can do solo.

 

[Joeg1937]

I start from the ground and just let the antenna bend a little and it straightens out when it takes off, I get great reception because there is nothing obstructing it.

 

[Hughie]

I start from the ground and just let the antenna bend a little and it straightens out when it takes off, I get great reception because there is nothing obstructing it.

Yeah I tried this with my Spironet, but it is not that flexible, it just tilts the quad forward

I have to take off from my backpack, but that is not ideal because the weight of the quad on on edge of it makes it lean quite badly. What I could do with is some kind of takeoff step or block which could quickly and easily fold flat into the backpack.

 

[QYV]

I definitely wouldn't do that with a premium antenna

The phantom doesn't have to be perfectly level, it's usually not that hard to find a ledge. tree stumps, logs, rocks, picnic tables, wooden hand railings, curb... pretty much anything will do

or if you have a friend just hand launch. I'll have a buddy hold the bottoms of the legs, Phantom overhead and then just give her full throttle for a couple seconds and they release when I say go. pointing the gopro down at them for takeoff makes for some cool videos

 

[Joeg1937]

I definitely wouldn't do that with a premium antenna

or if you have a friend just hand launch. I'll have a buddy hold the bottoms of the legs, Phantom overhead and then just give her full throttle for a couple seconds and they release when I say go. pointing the gopro down at them for takeoff makes for some cool videos

I hope you never have to land RTH because it will fall from the height it took off at, and the Blue Beam antennas are made to bend

 

[QYV]

I hope you never have to land RTH because it will fall from the height it took off at, and the Blue Beam antennas are made to bend

lolwhut? "fall from the height" ? no, I'd never let RTH actually land the craft. I use RTH to make it fly back to me but I always take control back.

We're cool man, I'm just tryin to help you out with info, aight? the only thing the Phantom uses it's take off "height" for is for it's over/under reference point for the 20meters part of the RTH feature... you know, if the Phantom is BELOW 20m relative altitude from it's take off point/height it will ascend to 20m, fly back to it's GPS home position, then land. If it's above 20m relative height from take off point, it simply flies home and then lands.
that's also why in the newer firmwares they have the "dynamic home point" feature where you can re-define that 20m "zero point" so that it's +20 height is above any obstacles nearby

It does NOT just shut off it's motors when it reaches that height... it will continue to descend until it realizes it's not descending for a few seconds (via it's internal barometer) THEN it shuts the motors off.

but like I said I'd never let it land itself... even aside from the fact that my antenna lobe hangs low why even risk it bouncing or tipping over which happens all the time... the computer isn't factoring for wind or anything it's simply descending until it senses it stops... ie a "dumb" descent. human control much better imo

 

[PhantomFanatic]

Somewhere in the world you can buy almost anything!

for americans, that somewhere is Amazon

that's where I get all my antenna extenders, 90-degree adapters, etc

usually you get 2 or 3 for a few dollars

That is where I get everything! (Except for some FPV equipment.)