Air side booster mod kit

Kevin M · Feb 14, 2016

Hi Guys,

I would like to dedicate this thread just for the air side booster mod kit, i would like to know who actually has one of these modifications from Tony and if they do really work as advertised, I had mine done with Tony but at the time it was installed on the wrong leg, therefore I sent my phantom 3 back and is now in the process of being put on the correct leg which is N2 or N3
I will post my results when I get my phantom 3 back from Tony,.. meantime anybody else that has this modification please post your experience . please only post results with the correct modification on N2 or N3 antenna leg.

Thanks guys,
Kevin

maxwell smart · Feb 15, 2016

watching

KyleMaxxUAV · Feb 15, 2016

Kevin M said:
Hi Guys,

I would like to dedicate this thread just for the air side booster mod kit, i would like to know who actually has one of these modifications from Tony and if they do really work as advertised, I had mine done with Tony but at the time it was installed on the wrong leg, therefore I sent my phantom 3 back and is now in the process of being put on the correct leg which is N3.
I will post my results when I get my phantom 3 back from Tony,.. meantime anybody else that has this modification please post your experience . please only post results with the correct modification on N3 antenna leg.

Thanks guys,
Kevin

The massive confusions regarding which leg, coupled with the fact that it was shipped back to you not working properly would make me 100% not purchase this mod yet !!
Don't get me wrong, I have heard great things about tony and his products, just this one in particular seems to be a mess right now. DJI seems to have swapped the antenna leg locations for some reason !! Maybe this is part of the reason for better range on the first batches of p3's and less range on the latest ones ??

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

WTFOver · Feb 15, 2016

Watching also. Just wondering..... if I installed quite a few of these as a business I would have a meter to find the right legs, a history of model cut off on DJI location changes etc. Is DJI so catywompus that a decent history of changes and locations hard to chart? I am not criticizing anybody just feeling that this has entered into the realm of voodoo and chicken bones.
Going to pull the air side mods and stick to Transmitter mods for distance. Maybe someday a electrical schematic will surface. I have freq meters somewhere in the shop that I may dig up when I get the time to revisit this mod again.

KyleMaxxUAV · Feb 15, 2016

WTFOver said:
Watching also. Just wondering..... if I installed quite a few of these as a business I would have a meter to find the right legs, a history of model cut off on DJI location changes etc. Is DJI so catywompus that a decent history of changes and locations hard to chart? I am not criticizing anybody just feeling that this has entered into the realm of voodoo and chicken bones.
Going to pull the air side mods and stick to Transmitter mods for distance. Maybe someday a electrical schematic will surface. I have freq meters somewhere in the shop that I may dig up when I get the time to revisit this mod again.

Kind of my sentiment as well. I'm not blaming anyone but it seems out of character from all the good things I hear about fpvlr, which leads me to believe that a)DJI must just be all over the place with which leg they use b) this was released maybe a little too soon c) the gains by modding the AC side are minimal.... Or d) I have no idea what I'm talking about lol

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Kevin M · Feb 16, 2016

maxwell smart said:
watching

Have to pick up my phantom 3 p from usps wed, shipped from tony.
he told me antenna N2 and N3 are video. he rewired my leg to leg N2,
so I will be doing a test flight wed night pending weather...
I will post flight distance asap.

Kevin

GadgetGuy · Feb 22, 2016

Kevin M said:
Have to pick up my phantom 3 p from usps wed, shipped from tony.
he told me antenna N2 and N3 are video. he rewired my leg to leg N2,
so I will be doing a test flight wed night pending weather...
I will post flight distance asap.

Kevin

Eager to see how it works, especially with the battery mod. Hopefully, Tony has figured out how to make room for the extra batteries, too, as one without the other is overkill. I heard Tony tried mounting the amplifier inside the shell recently, which should help. His battery plates are too narrow for my larger 2800 and 2300 batteries, so I need to use the larger P2 battery plates that extend outside the struts in the front and back.

Kevin M · Feb 22, 2016

GadgetGuy said:
Eager to see how it works, especially with the battery mod. Hopefully, Tony has figured out how to make room for the extra batteries, too, as one without the other is overkill. I heard Tony tried mounting the amplifier inside the shell recently, which should help. His battery plates are too narrow for my larger 2800 and 2300 batteries, so I need to use the larger P2 battery plates that extend outside the struts in the front and back.

Hey GadgetGuy,
I finally took the plunge on this bird side amp mod,....and here's how it went.
I picked the most busy time of the day 5pm, then I picked the most densely
populated area of my town and pointed my bird that way,...I said to my self
HERE WE GO 5 MILES OUT OR BUST!!! wanted to fine out if this mod
works or don't work,......well it did 5 miles with full bars all the way out!!
the most I ever did in my town was 2 miles top. also I changed my channel
from channel 30 down to channel 22 and BINGO!! we got some great distance
for the first time, also iam using the thunder power 2100 Mah (weight is 197 each)
and had flight time of 23 mins with 24% left on battery.
your thoughts

Kevin

Kevin

GadgetGuy · Feb 22, 2016

Kevin M said:
Hey GadgetGuy,
I finally took the plunge on this bird side amp mod,....and here's how it went.
I picked the most busy time of the day 5pm, then I picked the most densely
populated area of my town and pointed my bird that way,...I said to my self
HERE WE GO 5 MILES OUT OR BUST!!! wanted to fine out if this mod
works or don't work,......well it did 5 miles with full bars all the way out!!
the most I ever did in my town was 2 miles top. also I changed my channel
from channel 30 down to channel 22 and BINGO!! we got some great distance
for the first time, also iam using the thunder power 2100 Mah (weight is 197 each)
and had flight time of 23 mins with 24% left on battery.
your thoughts

Kevin

Kevin

Sounds great! I have forgotten. So is the birdside amp inside the shell? How are you mounting the external batteries? Are you using the internal birdside battery mod, or a modded stock battery with the connectors hanging out the back? The 5 mile video range is exactly what I need. Channel 22 sounds like a winner, within the booster frequency. Are your transmitter side boosters 2.5 or 3.0 Amps each? New or old motor P3P? Which transmitter version? I assume you are using the FPVLR v2 mod? I'm getting up to 29 minutes with mine, down to 14% remaining battery, using the 2800 mAh MaxAmps (246 g each). Just not getting the stable video at 4-5 miles, like I was, with my original 323 bird. I have ordered a 3.0A Sunhans booster to replace the 2.5A Sunhans booster on the video reception side of the FPVLR v2 mod to my 300A transmitter. Maybe that will be enough...

Phantom751874 · Feb 22, 2016

Kevin M said:
Hey GadgetGuy,
I finally took the plunge on this bird side amp mod,....and here's how it went.
I picked the most busy time of the day 5pm, then I picked the most densely
populated area of my town and pointed my bird that way,...I said to my self
HERE WE GO 5 MILES OUT OR BUST!!! wanted to fine out if this mod
works or don't work,......well it did 5 miles with full bars all the way out!!
the most I ever did in my town was 2 miles top. also I changed my channel
from channel 30 down to channel 22 and BINGO!! we got some great distance
for the first time, also iam using the thunder power 2100 Mah (weight is 197 each)
and had flight time of 23 mins with 24% left on battery.
your thoughts

Kevin

Kevin

Did you think 23 min seemed a bit low? I did about 18 min 4 miles out and back with 10% battery left stock P3 and stock Controller.

I am interested in the battery mod and was hoping for ~30min of flight time to 10% using a couple Hyperion LiHV's 4s 2400's.

GadgetGuy · Feb 23, 2016

Phantom751874 said:
Did you think 23 min seemed a bit low? I did about 18 min 4 miles out and back with 10% battery left stock P3 and stock Controller.

I am interested in the battery mod and was hoping for ~30min of flight time to 10% using a couple Hyperion LiHV's 4s 2400's.

It all depends upon how you fly, but I'm getting an average of 29 minutes with my two 2800 MaxAmps at 246g each with new motors, landing at about 10%. If you want 30 minutes, you have to deal with overriding 10% Autoland, and go lower than 10% battery left. Rumor has it that the LiHV will swell if charged up to the full 4.35V and used in our setup. I have the 2300's and will be trying them soon. I'll start at 4.2V and see if the lighter weight is more efficient than my 2800's, before trying them at the higher 4.35V.

Phantom751874 · Feb 23, 2016

GadgetGuy said:
It all depends upon how you fly, but I'm getting an average of 29 minutes with my two 2800 MaxAmps at 246g each with new motors, landing at about 10%. If you want 30 minutes, you have to deal with overriding 10% Autoland, and go lower than 10% battery left. Rumor has it that the LiHV will swell if charged up to the full 4.35V and used in our setup. I have the 2300's and will be trying them soon. I'll start at 4.2V and see if the lighter weight is more efficient than my 2800's.

Hmmm, maybe I'll try non-LiHV first then. I'll need to look at some HK Nano-Tech's or maybe their Graphene line. It might save me from having to buy a LiHV charger if I can get ~30min without LiHV.

Ed209 · Feb 23, 2016

I only know of 1 person who experienced puffing on Hyperion G6's. @Silverwingflinx. I asked him what charge rate he was using and he said 5c. I've been giving my G6 1800s a full-charge at 1c and no issues after about 7-8 cycles. I haven't started testing my 2400's yet but I will charge them at 1c as well. Hyperion claims you can charge them at 6c but I don't see a need to go that high. You'll be waiting for your DJI batteries to finish charging at that rate. I don't think the puffing is caused by mixing with the normal 3.8v cells in the DJI battery. I'd be interested to see who else using LiHV had puffing but not with standard LiPo?

GadgetGuy · Feb 23, 2016

At least one person has suggested that a higher internal 4.35V cell voltage on LiHV externals could cause the internal DJI battery to "think" it was being charged, which might create "issues" until the externals reached the same voltage. Not sure I want to be the guinea pig for finding out what those "issues" might be...

Anyone know for sure that it is problem free?

Edit: Answering my own question----It's fine. Just plug in the externals after the DJI battery is turned on, and remove them first, before turning off the DJI battery, to avoid any problems.The DJI battery itself is composed of two internal LiHV batteries, so external LiHV's are obviously fine to use together with it!

GadgetGuy · Feb 23, 2016

Phantom751874 said:
Hmmm, maybe I'll try non-LiHV first then. I'll need to look at some HK Nano-Tech's or maybe their Graphene line. It might save me from having to buy a LiHV charger if I can get ~30min without LiHV.

The MaxAmps 2800's are the best bang for the weight, at 247g each, but they also cost $89 each, and exceed the specified carry load, but I haven't had any issues in 50 flights with them. I'm getting 28-29 minutes with the new motors and landing at 10%. Their extra weight may also exceed the sweet spot, but I know they work, and are a reliable baseline from which to tinker.

J-Boog · Feb 23, 2016

Lesson being learned in this thread?

We already have ground station antenna setups that will go 10 miles.
Some people here are interested in maximum range.
Some interested in maximum penetration.

If you are looking for maximum range, the only mod on the bird should be battery. More flight time equals more distance.
More hardware on the bird equals less flight time due to added weight and added component drawing current. The rest of the range can be achieved from the ground station mods.

If you are looking for maximum penetration, you have a different problem. Then this is where the bird side mod helps. But results will vary due to the obstacles needed to overcome. And the hardware involved is cheap crap so there's that as well. That's a $9 booster and a $4 bec being installed on your baby so take that into consideration.

If you sent something in and receive it back with output plugged into the wrong leg. Someone asked "shouldn't he test?" . Someone said "DJI must be all over the place" . "Maybe this was released too soon?"
All of the above. not only was the output not tested to make sure plugged into the proper port. But it wasn't even tested to see if it was functioning properly before it left the facility. Not cool. I hope dude got a freebie and all his shipping refunded for being a test dummy.

Kevin M · Feb 23, 2016

Phantom751874 said:
Did you think 23 min seemed a bit low? I did about 18 min 4 miles out and back with 10% battery left stock P3 and stock Controller.

I am interested in the battery mod and was hoping for ~30min of flight time to 10% using a couple Hyperion LiHV's 4s 2400's.

Sorry, but I I had my thunder power 1350 Mah (125)weight each , on that flight, not
the 2100'S.....
I also have lots of side emitting black lights leds and 100mw high power green
laser on my bird, FYI i'am only running 1 pinwheel antenna on the N2 leg for video,
that's all you really need.

Kevin

Kevin M · Feb 23, 2016

J-Boog said:
Lesson being learned in this thread?

We already have ground station antenna setups that will go 10 miles.
Some people here are interested in maximum range.
Some interested in maximum penetration.

If you are looking for maximum range, the only mod on the bird should be battery. More flight time equals more distance.
More hardware on the bird equals less flight time due to added weight and added component drawing current. The rest of the range can be achieved from the ground station mods.

If you are looking for maximum penetration, you have a different problem. Then this is where the bird side mod helps. But results will vary due to the obstacles needed to overcome. And the hardware involved is cheap crap so there's that as well. That's a $9 booster and a $4 bec being installed on your baby so take that into consideration.

If you sent something in and receive it back with output plugged into the wrong leg. Someone asked "shouldn't he test?" . Someone said "DJI must be all over the place" . "Maybe this was released too soon?"
All of the above. not only was the output not tested to make sure plugged into the proper port. But it wasn't even tested to see if it was functioning properly before it left the facility. Not cool. I hope dude got a freebie and all his shipping refunded for being a test dummy.

Hi,
Ten miles where?.... at the beach? farm lands where very low wi fi,
try New Jersey MOST densely populated state in the country.
your thoughts?

Kevin

Phantom751874 · Feb 23, 2016

J-Boog said:
Lesson being learned in this thread?

We already have ground station antenna setups that will go 10 miles.
Some people here are interested in maximum range.
Some interested in maximum penetration.

If you are looking for maximum range, the only mod on the bird should be battery. More flight time equals more distance.
More hardware on the bird equals less flight time due to added weight and added component drawing current. The rest of the range can be achieved from the ground station mods.

If you are looking for maximum penetration, you have a different problem. Then this is where the bird side mod helps. But results will vary due to the obstacles needed to overcome. And the hardware involved is cheap crap so there's that as well. That's a $9 booster and a $4 bec being installed on your baby so take that into consideration.

If you sent something in and receive it back with output plugged into the wrong leg. Someone asked "shouldn't he test?" . Someone said "DJI must be all over the place" . "Maybe this was released too soon?"
All of the above. not only was the output not tested to make sure plugged into the proper port. But it wasn't even tested to see if it was functioning properly before it left the facility. Not cool. I hope dude got a freebie and all his shipping refunded for being a test dummy.