5.8 controller range booster

Carl4 · Jul 27, 2014

Is anyone running an FC40 with one of these boosters on the controls ?

Would this help range much ?

Are there better options?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111315254025?lpid=82

Carl4 · Jul 28, 2014

Also found this antenna

I think 12db with 1000mH transmitter might give good range, but be a little overkill...

http://www.amazon.com/AIR802-ANOM5X12R- ... ntenna+dbi

J.James · Jul 28, 2014

just the stock transmitter set up to take interchangeable antennas gives some serious range boost. With a 6 dbi ommidirectional I can get about .9 miles = 1,448 meters and all together for the pit tail connector and antenna was under $10

and if I use a cheap 4x4 inch 12dbi directional panel antenna I have gone 1.3 miles and never lost signal and could of gotten farther if i hadn't forgot to set the max radius in the naza assistant to be higher then the default setting of 2000m But some one else with the same set up and a duel battery had gotten 1.7 miles. Tho its about the max range one can go out to and be able to make it back safely with enough battery to get back to the home point with an FC40

Carl4 · Jul 28, 2014

J.James said:
just the stock transmitter set up to take interchangeable antennas gives some serious range boost. With a 6 dbi ommidirectional I can get about .9 miles = 1,448 meters and all together for the pit tail connector and antenna was under $10

and if I use a cheap 4x4 inch 12dbi directional panel antenna I have gone 1.3 miles and never lost signal and could of gotten farther if i hadn't forgot to set the max radius in the naza assistant to be higher then the default setting of 2000m But some one else with the same set up and a duel battery had gotten 1.7 miles. Tho its about the max range one can go out to and be able to make it back safely with enough battery to get back to the home point with an FC40

Thanks for the reply. I wanted to avoid the directional antenna. Not sure if it creates problems.

J.James · Jul 28, 2014

They dont really create any problems other then you having to keep it basically pointed in the general direction your phantom is at. or else it will lose signal and go in to RTH and start coming back. Or get you out so far away if you do keep it pointed that you might get much farther then you want to be.

Tho when I'm not trying to go supper far and just general flying I prefer the ommi direction ones so I don't have to stay pointed right at it the whole time. and being they only get me about .9 miles away I don't have much risk of being too too far away if I ever lose track of it in the sky and have to use the RTH with out getting to nervis after few long minutes goes by and its still not close enough to at least start hearing its buzz over head.

biomedchad · Jul 29, 2014

where did you find the kit to replace the antenna on the transmitter? got my fpv almost ready to go and id like to extend out the transmitter range.

J.James · Jul 29, 2014

I bought the PCI U.FL to RP-SMA pigtail wire (some times also called IPX to RP-SMA) Thats needed to do it and the antennas separately. But there is a reputable supplier on ebay that sells them together as a it to. and lets you mix and match what pigtail and antenna you want. you can get a 7 inch pig tail and a 6dbi antenna for $4.72 + shipping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2dBi-6dBi-7dBi- ... 1e7c54cc2d

he also has lots of other stuff to. and he ships wickad fast to.

biomedchad · Jul 29, 2014

Thanks. Just ordered one up...that should help get me out there further with all my new fpv gear.

Woody · Jul 29, 2014

Be careful, it's a delicate procedure.

J.James · Jul 29, 2014

Be careful, it's a delicate procedure.

Ya getting the silicon caulk they use to hold the mini ipx connector down to the board inside the tx can be a pain in the butt to get it off easy and not break any thing. The easiest way to do it is to take the transmitter board right off of the main board in the tx its just held down with some foam tape and a pin header that plugs in to the board it sides on. But once its off and you free the wires going to the antenna from were they are siliconed in the slots in the tx then you can work on it much easier then if you try to do it with it still inside the tx and connected to the main board.

and then use a razor to carefully slice the silicone around in a circle with out cutting in to the connector underneath the silicone or the printed circuit board. Then take a pair of tweezers to pick away the silicone. till you can get the ipx connecter free then clean up the bits that are around the male part of the connector so you can get the new one on easier. Then put a drop of hot glue on it to hold it in place and you can use a dot or two on the wire to hold them back down in the groves it runs in going up to the antenna end. just go slow and careful and you should be ok. and if you ever do the phantom side antenna it will make the silicone look like cake. on the receiver side they use a conductive cement that is hard as a rock and you actually have to break it off the board by prying the female part of the connector with a screw driver or similar object with out breaking the board or the male connector off of the board.

Woody · Jul 29, 2014

Mr James, do you know where I can get a replacement tx board? Got the old one off. if the replacement part comes with a bare exposed PCI/IPX connector I just might be able to finally fix my botched attempt at upgrading my antenna. Thanks for all the good info you provide here.

biomedchad · Jul 30, 2014

thanks woody..ive got plenty of sharp #11 hobby blades and tweezers from building models..il throw the magnifiers on and go at it a piece at a time.

J.James · Jul 30, 2014

Mr James, do you know where I can get a replacement tx board? Got the old one off. if the replacement part comes with a bare exposed PCI/IPX connector I just might be able to finally fix my botched attempt at upgrading my antenna. Thanks for all the good info you provide here.

Off hand I dont recall ever seeing and replacement tx boards for sale any were only the receiver boards.

But I have seen a few places you can get the solder down pcb mount PCI/IPX connectors Which might let you fix it if you just pulled the connector off the board but still have some of the trace left to be able to solder back on to it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-IPX-U-FL-R ... 20e986e827

Tho they are for whats called SMT type soldering were it mean to be soldered using paste solder to stick it to the board then the whole board with all the smt components goes in to a re flow oven and heats up tot he melting point of the solder and flows all the solder on all the parts. But they still can be hand soldered if you are careful. Or if you use a liquid solder aka conductive glue. Which is awesome stuff. esp for super tiny parts that are hard to solder. You can also use it to fix broken traces on boards and can just paint a new line on to it. and can even use it to draw entire circuits on stuff.

Woody · Jul 30, 2014

I see the receiver boards for sale too, but never the tx boards for some reason. Don't really need it since I bought a new controller but it would be nice to get if fixed and have a backup. Thanks for the info.

tmartin62 · Jul 30, 2014

Woody said:
I see the receiver boards for sale too, but never the tx boards for some reason. Don't really need it since I bought a new controller but it would be nice to get if fixed and have a backup. Thanks for the info.

Did you mod the replacement transmitter? I am contemplating doing mine.

I'm a bit of a stickler about everything having tight normal fits. There was 1 really informative video on how to do the mod but I also saw that he had a gap in the end where the antenna connector fits into the controller so it makes me a bet hesitant. I think I could come up with a way for a good fit somehow.

Woody · Jul 30, 2014

Did you mod the replacement transmitter? I am contemplating doing mine.

No, I'm not going to risk it again on another one. But I would love to finish the one I started. I cut the top ring/collar off the tx and glued the SMA in place, that part turned out just fine. The connection to the board is where I screwed up. If I had a new board with a new connector on it the antenna wire would be easy to attach.

It's that white rubber silicone that makes it so difficult to change antenna wires. If you do it, take your time and don't pull on it. Get all the glue off before attempting to remove the antenna wire.

Ironically, I find now that I don't even need the extra range. I tried FPV with the FC40 camera and a iPad but really didn't care for it much so now I fly LOS and the range is farther than I can see, so no need for it. Just kinda bugs me that I broke something needlessly and would feel better about the situation if I could fix my mistake.

tmartin62 · Jul 30, 2014

I made a wifi booster out of my old Linksys WRT54G and the dd-wrt firmware. It helped a lot with the range of the camera. Honestly, I probably don't need it either. I would like to know I can go out as far as I can see with no problems.

The stronger the signal to the phantom from the controller, the less likely you would be affected by something on an adjacent frequency. That is probably my main motivation for considering it.

Thanks for the info.

dtviewer · Jul 30, 2014

I see that DJI now lists stock FCC range as 800 meters...they used to list it as 500.

I guess since I am so new to this I'm still afraid to go beyond where I can comfortably see it by sight...is amazes me that some posters on here want to go even further!!