Antenna type and distance achieved

[Skipholiday]

something stable for 2.4 video and 5.8 controller that reaches 4km without changing the drone would sell good if it's not bulky and priced fair.
Then as an upgrade or add on offer something to upgrade the drones antennas for eVen further range.
And for us that are not antenna savvy simplify the eXplanation and we can process it better.

I'm a slow learner but proud I can still learn

Yes, to me any differences have been solved in private as gentlemen. Do not worry. It's all good.

Maybe he does not like me for some reason, who knows?

The most important thing is to have fixed any misunderstanding.

I sent a private message to Adam. And for what its worth.
I linked a couple of local friends to you/your site for antennas. One flys a large plane of some type.
(Planes go to far to fast for me) he stated his range is good compared to others but he has no RTH so a better antenna setup or some redundancy would be good.

good, thank you! not a problem again, probably the admin has updated the search feature.

My little 5.8 parasitic helix has been put through its paces... judging from the video quality at 4km it should be good up to 10km, but that's regular fpv.
Let me share the video of this little antenna which is the lowest gain I make for 5.8.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPHx2gqg5QM[/youtube]

 

[themosttoys]

3.75km, 12,300 feet. Flying the Phantom 2 Vision.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7900&p=82855#p82855

 

[mr_3_0_5]

3.75km, 12,300 feet. Flying the Phantom 2 Vision.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7900&p=82855#p82855

Nice distance and area thanks for sharing

 

[Mori55]

by Skipholiday » Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:07 pm

something stable for 2.4 video and 5.8 controller that reaches 4km without changing the drone would sell good if it's not bulky and priced fair.
Then as an upgrade or add on offer something to upgrade the drones antennas for eVen further range.
And for us that are not antenna savvy simplify the eXplanation and we can process it better.
I agree 100% ! Coma on FPVLR , take a break posting and make some packages and instructions up for us!

 

[Mori55]

I don't think he meant 4m just farther than stock. Just different packages for different distances.

 

[HaM-73]

Here is a size comparison between the half dome antenna and the parasitic helix.

The gain is almost the same, there is about 1 dB difference between the 2.

the parasitic is between 9 and 10 dBi
and the half dome is between 8 and 9 dBi.

FPVLR.COM

Let us know when available. I am very interested in the half dome.

 

[Skipholiday]

I don't think he meant 4m just farther than stock. Just different packages for different distances.

thanks. Like I said I'm slow

 

[Skipholiday]

Tony I dont do well at eXplaining nor is my 4km correct.
I'm getting 2000 feet with cheap 9bi and 7dbi antennas. I get this range fairly consistent and never lose video.
The connection on the screen for the controller has dropped to zero but never lost control.

Something in a package to go further than that without a 15 inch antenna sticking out would be great.

by Skipholiday » Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:07 pm

something stable for 2.4 video and 5.8 controller that reaches 4km without changing the drone would sell good if it's not bulky and priced fair.
Then as an upgrade or add on offer something to upgrade the drones antennas for eVen further range.
And for us that are not antenna savvy simplify the eXplanation and we can process it better.
I agree 100% ! Coma on FPVLR , take a break posting and make some packages and instructions up for us!

OK, but 4km without tapping the Camera antennas is impossible with non-bulky antennas.

If 2 LHCP long helix antennas were used on the extender and only got 2km, then 4km is only possible with a parabolic dish if you don't install external antennas on the DJI. That is not practical and is very bulky.

IN order to have 4km, then antennas on the camera HAVE to be added. People are doing that as we speak, so they will report back within a couple weeks.
Tony

 

[antennaman]

For what it's worth, I've tested some of FPVLRs antennas at work (I have the luxury of 125 cubic meter RF anechoic chamber calibrated to 20GHz, and around $200k of calibrated test gear and automation to play with) and they are very good. I've tested some others (whatever friends have passed to me to check!) and, well, there are some that nowhere near match the claims. There's some entertaining BS tech talk on some antenna sites too!
I've never met FPVLR but I suspect he's one of the very few making and selling stuff that has decent test gear (not just a $20 swr meter of dubious provenance) and has read the odd paper on antenna design!

 

[rofd]

hello tony i bought the parasitic helix antenna, so how much smaller is the half dome ? i think will be better if you put the dimension of each antenna as a guide, so we can know better how big they are, just a recommendation [/quote][/quote]

 

[Skipholiday]

For what it's worth, I've tested some of FPVLRs antennas at work (I have the luxury of 125 cubic meter RF anechoic chamber calibrated to 20GHz, and around $200k of calibrated test gear and automation to play with) and they are very good. I've tested some others (whatever friends have passed to me to check!) and, well, there are some that nowhere near match the claims. There's some entertaining BS tech talk on some antenna sites too!
I've never met FPVLR but I suspect he's one of the very few making and selling stuff that has decent test gear (not just a $20 swr meter of dubious provenance) and has read the odd paper on antenna design!

Thanks antennaman for the support,
I agree there are crazy claims out there, and lots of hype... so magically you find antennas with 180° beamwidths and 12dBi gain, simple math will disqualify these claims , people should beware of these claims.

Also there are people who are building these really quickly and just pushing them out the door to the point I doubt if they even use the 20$ swr meter to test them, as even a cheap swr meter can be of help if you know how to use it.

I don't go for quantity and I am not a fast builder but I'd rather have fewer customers who are ALL satisfied rather than accepting a percentage of unhappy ones.


This one took me all afternoon just to build, but there is design and testing work behind each one of these antennas

pretty sweet looking antenna setup. Can you eXplain how it functions and the size? Does it need to be on a tripod or in my case a helmet. btw I sent you a pm

 

[Skipholiday]

I am going to check the messages now, so here is the way it works.
You have 2 helix antennas of around 9 dBi each, both LHCP, this way we can fully utilize the wi-fi extender.

The third is a helix also LHCP 4.25 turns 10dBi, but I think I will do this one RHCP in case someone wants to upgrade the rc receiver on the copter itself (not needed).

This goes straight on the handheld transmitter+wifi extender, and is pointed by hand.

this is all for video? looks like it may block the controller antenna if mounted on the eXtender.
I should send you my setup so you have something to mock up on..

 

[Skipholiday]

awesome. This will work on the stock copter?
if it works on stock, what would be the best to add to copter for even further range?

I am going to check the messages now, so here is the way it works.
You have 2 helix antennas of around 9 dBi each, both LHCP, this way we can fully utilize the wi-fi extender.

The third is a helix also LHCP 4.25 turns 10dBi, but I think I will do this one RHCP in case someone wants to upgrade the rc receiver on the copter itself (not needed).

This goes straight on the handheld transmitter+wifi extender, and is pointed by hand.

this is all for video? looks like it may block the controller antenna if mounted on the eXtender.
I should send you my setup so you have something to mock up on..

Not just for video, the small one in the middle is for control, and goes in the place of the whip, you just screw this on the controller instead of the whip.

 

[Skipholiday]

Then you add 2 pinwheels to the copter and you are set for 10k+ feet.

This is not the highest gain setup on the ground, it's actually the lowest gain option I have, but also the smallest form factor.

2 of the larger 6.5 turns helix will outrange this setup, but I want to keep things on the small side first.

Then I will make a dual 6.5 turns setup for the hardcore...

this sounds very promising. 2 pinwheels = one for video and one for control?

 

[Skipholiday]

Then you add 2 pinwheels to the copter and you are set for 10k+ feet.

This is not the highest gain setup on the ground, it's actually the lowest gain option I have, but also the smallest form factor.

2 of the larger 6.5 turns helix will outrange this setup, but I want to keep things on the small side first.

Then I will make a dual 6.5 turns setup for the hardcore...

this sounds very promising. 2 pinwheels = one for video and one for control?

well, I was thinking video, control should be fine with stock setup on phantom.

Of course it would be better to use pinwheels but I think, even with the 3dB loss due to polarization, the stock setup will do well for control on the phantom side.

Cool.. trying to keep up. thanks so much for answering all my questions. I'm slowly learning.

 

[ClimbrJohn]

Circling back to the original intent of this thread, I created a new thread with a link to a shared spreadsheet where people can share their test results of various antennas. Please add your results and make a suggestion / comment. Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9781

*updated permissions to edit.

 

[Skipholiday]

Circling back to the original intent of this thread, I created a new thread with a link to a shared spreadsheet where people can share their test results of various antennas. Please add your results and make a suggestion / comment. Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9781

very good ClimbrJohn. I wil keep more detailed results. I have a 14 dbi TP Link. some 9 7 and 5 dbi omni duckys.
I have a very small Asus WL-ANT-157 panel that did very good on my controller, (close to 2000 feet) problem was that would lose control unless going straight or reverse.
Next clear day I wil have some results for your spreadsheet. This will help everyone. Thank you

 

[ClimbrJohn]

Could you please provide us with some additional details about that setup or add them into the spreadsheet? Thanks!

Such as: are these for video or control, links to the antennas used, specs, manufacturer, dBi gain, price paid, etc

2 pinwheels on the copter for an estimated 10k+ feet.

with the phantom unchanged I think 3000-5000 ft depending on area, if rural or with some interference.

 

[mr_3_0_5]

For what it's worth, I've tested some of FPVLRs antennas at work (I have the luxury of 125 cubic meter RF anechoic chamber calibrated to 20GHz, and around $200k of calibrated test gear and automation to play with) and they are very good. I've tested some others (whatever friends have passed to me to check!) and, well, there are some that nowhere near match the claims. There's some entertaining BS tech talk on some antenna sites too!
I've never met FPVLR but I suspect he's one of the very few making and selling stuff that has decent test gear (not just a $20 swr meter of dubious provenance) and has read the odd paper on antenna design!

Thanks antennaman for the support,
I agree there are crazy claims out there, and lots of hype... so magically you find antennas with 180° beamwidths and 12dBi gain, simple math will disqualify these claims , people should beware of these claims.

Also there are people who are building these really quickly and just pushing them out the door to the point I doubt if they even use the 20$ swr meter to test them, as even a cheap swr meter can be of help if you know how to use it.

I don't go for quantity and I am not a fast builder but I'd rather have fewer customers who are ALL satisfied rather than accepting a percentage of unhappy ones.


This one took me all afternoon just to build, but there is design and testing work behind each one of these antennas

Antenna artistry at its best man that looks sick :shock:

 

[mra1228]

I just tested the new 2.4 GHz LHCP Parasitic disk helix from FPVLR on my range extender and got 3,000 feet distance at 400 feet altitude with P2V pointed away and NO MODS to P2V! I didn't have time to test distance with P2V stock camera antennas sideways but I'm sure the distance would have been beyond RC.

Next I'll install some of Tony's LHCP pinwheels on the camera (since I'll be installing a gimbal soon) and see how much greater range I get!