DBS Mods … itelite Phantom Menace ... mods and tips

[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

No mods to the bird... No powered boosters on the ground... No booster apps to increase camera power level... That was purely "just an antenna install" on a brand new P2V+ v3 tx & range extender.


And speaking of the V3...

I have all updated everything except the 3.12 firmware... I hear mixed stories on that one..

I noticed with the batteries... When I plug them in to the charger... Nothing happens... Even if they are bone dry empty I have to turn them on to kick start them into charging... However my old battery left over from last year lights up and starts charging automatically when plugged in..

Is this normal? Do the newer batteries "have to be" turned on to charge?

 

[NOMADIXaerial]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

When are the new antennas going to be released to public?

What is the cost?

Looks like much easier system to break down and get back in a case.

 

[bbfpv]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

When are the new antennas going to be released to public?

What is the cost?

Looks like much easier system to break down and get back in a case.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[bbfpv]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

I dont have to turn mine on to charge them, but I've read elsewhere that some do. Not sure of my firmware version, but I havent updated any firmware except the camera in a few months.

 

[Lucan]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Nice... I agree this looks like a more convenient solution for my case, backpack, etc. the bulk of the fpvlr antennas has been what has prevented me from going that route...
I'm on my second p2v+. I have the V3.0 but honestly I'm not getting the range I did from the older version. ( Over 2000 feet was typical) Camera also pixellates and I get spottier control particularly on the camera wheel it gets jerky and weird. Never had camera problems on the old one.

Please let us know if there is a time frame on us being able to get our hands on this.

 

[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Please let us know if there is a time frame on us being able to get our hands on this.

Will do... When it gets ready for release I will create a thread in the antenna sub... The west coast marketing manager said "a few weeks" on the phone today so that's all I know.

They have a dozen or so websites lined up and they are looking to have them stocked and selling before the Drone show in Vegas in April.

Technical detail... (I threw this together on my phone... Sorry for potato quality)

In other news... I think I figured out my battery charger deal... I just wasn't waiting long enough for the battery to start itself charging... Seems to take a loooonnngggg time to initiate but if I just leave them alone they start charging after a long 10 or 15 seconds of sitting there with no lights .

Go figure... :roll:

 

[general01]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Umm can I say want again
That antenna upgrade looks sweet and leaves the bird stock

Want want want want want(umm did I say want again?)

 

[lsteigerwalt]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Welcome back brother, glad to see you up in the air again. How hard is the install on that antenna? Any soldering? Would love to get out a little further. My personal best with all stock is 4200'...your throwing sick distance there...

 

[Bear501]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Looks like the new antenna is working pretty good so far. You think it would go as far if your altitude was lower than what you was flying at? Maybe that could be your next test...

 

[Jacob]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

That setup is pretty intimidating...i'm jealous.

 

[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Welcome back brother, glad to see you up in the air again. How hard is the install on that antenna? Any soldering? Would love to get out a little further. My personal best with all stock is 4200'...your throwing sick distance there...

Thanks bro... good to hear from ya again... man I was going for the "how far can YOU fly" record that day my bird went down... and I was on a killer pace to hit a big number... ahhhhh well... water under the Phantom now right?

Anyway... I don't think it's too hard to do these range mods... no soldering at all... hardest part is drilling a few holes and slicing away some soft silicone on the transmitter internal connection.

Checkout the tutorial I posted and see if you think it's doable...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHe1iuVBro[/youtube]

Looks like the new antenna is working pretty good so far. You think it would go as far if your altitude was lower than what you was flying at? Maybe that could be your next test...

Not sure... I always try and keep a relative angle towards home point when going for distance... I did go a bit high on this one because I was trying to stay well above the new power station just built below... notice I lost signal right in that area?... hmmmm ... maybe I should try a different direction and compare ... "for science" right? :lol:

What altitude are you thinking? Any number in mind?

That setup is pretty intimidating...i'm jealous.

And here I was thinking this is the "cute and friendly" setup... :|

THIS is the intimidating iron !!!

 

[Bear501]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

I like to keep it as low as I can. That being said, my low is usually 150' at the lowest and 300' or so for high. Depending on the terrain of course. If I can get a good mile out of it no matter what then it is a good option to have. Thanks for being the guinea pig for all this.

 

[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

I like to keep it as low as I can. That being said, my low is usually 150' at the lowest and 300' or so for high. Depending on the terrain of course. If I can get a good mile out of it no matter what then it is a good option to have. Thanks for being the guinea pig for all this.

I can try a run at 250/300-ish ... 150 doesn't make sense in my area... I'll end up behind the tree line before max signal range is reached... maybe if I set up near the canal and run the river all the way? But then again I'll run out of river at a mile and a half or so where it bends off to the west.

Anyway , I'll see what I can do...

And yeah... don't thank me for being the "crash test dummy"... I thrive on this **** :twisted:

Learned a lot during my 2 month down time, building micro's and learning to fly all over again... I'm a better pilot now and have increased my micro soldering and modding skills by 100%.
Got active in quite a few other forums and met a bunch of new people along the way... even seen my micro hex made the cover photo for "Custom built Micro/Nano sized Quadcopter group" on Facebook today.

Pretty cool stuff for an old guy like me... "it's the little things" right?



And the saga continues.....

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[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Video of the 8000ft flight is up... You can see that Hot Air Balloon real good on the return... And yes I was in contact with them on the ground and we knew what each other were doing... He sure got that sucker filled up a lot faster than he said he would though... Wind was blowing south... So all I would've had to do was break north and avoid if he got in the air too quick.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJc1h0Scuto

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJc1h0Scuto[/youtube]

Funny how the fisheye lens kills perspective... Standing on the ground from where I was that thing looked as big as an office building lifting into the air... But try and turn around and take a shot of it with the Phantom and it looks like a little beach ball... :roll:

 

[JakeMaxxUAV]

Re: I'M BACK!!! - Hot air balloon - Video is up - page 4

Great range on stock bird! Love the idea of only modifying controller / range extender.

 

[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! - Hot air balloon - Video is up - page 4

Thinking about moving on to the next mod now... I don't like the idea of adding anything to the bird side for increased range at all... Don't like the way all sorts of pinwheel antennas look hanging off the sides of the Phantom... And the included 5.8gHz antennas are more than enough for more range than our batteries can handle anyway... The onboard 2.4gHz antennas are actually fairly decent as well but they are pointed in the wrong directions for a proper long distance run down range (unless you wanna fly sideways)

So I will move on with a mod I did with my last P2V+... Relocate the stock antennas for better apparent angle while flying out and back ... Front and rear of the Phantom...

Rear antenna will be under the battery compartment with a decent angle to be pointed back at home point as the Phantom is tilted forward at full speed...

Front antenna will be a bit different.. Mounted flush with the body... As the Phantom tilts forward on the way home the antenna naturally points a bit downward at the control point... Gonna see what I can do about mounting this one inside the actual body so it doesn't look so obviously modified sitting on my flight table in the field.

 

[capodrone81]

Re: I'M BACK!!! - Hot air balloon - Video is up - page 4

nice...

quick question regarding antenna.. i have a clover leaf sticking out my vtx immersion 5.8ghz .. the factory phantom antenna pops out of the leg directly near my clover leaf. obviously the stock tx is 2.4 ghz

i wondered with the 2 antennas basically touching each other but being different frequencies how bad is it?

 

[dalebb]

Re: I'M BACK!!! .... Hot air balloon invaded my space :-/

Video of the 8000ft flight is up... You can see that Hot Air Balloon real good on the return... And yes I was in contact with them on the ground and we knew what each other were doing... He sure got that sucker filled up a lot faster than he said he would though... Wind was blowing south... So all I would've had to do was break north and avoid if he got in the air too quick.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJc1h0Scuto

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJc1h0Scuto[/youtube]

Funny how the fisheye lens kills perspective... Standing on the ground from where I was that thing looked as big as an office building lifting into the air... But try and turn around and take a shot of it with the Phantom and it looks like a little beach ball... :roll:

When will this be available?

 

[DBS]

Re: I'M BACK!!! - Hot air balloon - Video is up - page 4

nice...

quick question regarding antenna.. i have a clover leaf sticking out my vtx immersion 5.8ghz .. the factory phantom antenna pops out of the leg directly near my clover leaf. obviously the stock tx is 2.4 ghz

i wondered with the 2 antennas basically touching each other but being different frequencies how bad is it?

Placing two antennas within ~1/2 wavelength of each other will cause them to inductively couple - effectively connecting themselves to each other. This results in detuning both antennas, as well as the Tx RF getting routed back down the other antenna, possibly damaging the receiver.

I don't know the output power of your immersion tx but I doubt it's powerful enough to actually damage the protection diode in the onboard receiver... But I would bet it does diminish performance to some degree just from the inductive coupling.

When will this be available?

itelite says "within a few weeks"... Shooting for end of March/first week of April-ish.

 

[capodrone81]

Re: I'M BACK!!! - Hot air balloon - Video is up - page 4

I have an immersion 600mw tx..

I experienced and recovered from a fly away this weekend at only distance of 168meters. Recovered using rth.

I just want to know what if anything I can doto seperatethe 2 antennas space is very limited on underside of phantom.. thoughts?