FC40...enstein

BMc · Mar 23, 2014

Well, as per usual, I have been unable to leave my FC40 alone. I have decided to commence the next wave of mods.

This was my previous build:
Phantom FC40
Twin carbon fiber outboard battery mounts
Carbon fiber anti-jello kit w/ front FPV mount plate used to relocate FC40 camera
Gopro Hero2 naked w/ DJI loop attachment mounted to carbon fiber anti-jello mount
Carbon fiber rear FPV mount plate used to mount Lipo alarm
9.5" P2V props w/o guards
LiPo alarm w/ balance cable extension

I am now adding a gimbal, extending the range of the 5.8 GHz band (wifi booster for video coming soon too!), adding gimbal til lever to Tx, DJI Phantom ID Sticker Set on the Tx, and a few other refinements.

Anyway, I am still waiting on the gimbal (just a cheap amazon one for now) so I went ahead and modded my Tx with a 2X U.FL Mini PCI to RP-SMA Pigtail Antenna WiFi Cable to eliminate the stock antenna and attachment lead. I had to modify the Tx case a little to allow the accommodate the RP-SMA fitting but that was pretty easy. I then added a TP-LINK TL-ANT2408CL 2.4GHz 8dBi Indoor Omni-directional Antenna, w/ RP-SMA Female connector. I run these on my home and office wifi routers and they are awesome. I also added the OEM DJI gimbal tilt lever for manual tilt control of my gopro while in flight.

Once the gimbal arrives and is installed, I am then going to add a 2.4 GHz FPV system to broadcast the gopro video to a larger 7" screen I will mount on my Tx and do away with the FC40 camera all together. At this point my FPV stystem will outrange my flight control so I will add a signal booster to my Tx adapter I have installed and should have no problems reaching out over a mile.

Anyway, here is the modded Tx:

All parts were purchased off amazon so simply search my part descriptions (they are copied straight from amazon) and you will find them!

Stay tuned for more!!!

Jermz · Mar 23, 2014

Let us know what all is involved in getting the gimbal working. Not just how to mount it, but what you have to do to get it going. I mainly want to know if you just open up the phantom and plug it in, or if you have to solder anything. I'm interested in it if I can plug it in. I really don't want to attempt soldering.

So the antenna on the controller just connects with u.fl? I know I have some 5.8 omnis lying around at work, so I can do that pretty easy. I'd also like to know what you come up with for the video 2.4 booster.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BMc · Mar 23, 2014

Jermz said:
Let us know what all is involved in getting the gimbal working. Not just how to mount it, but what you have to do to get it going. I mainly want to know if you just open up the phantom and plug it in, or if you have to solder anything. I'm interested in it if I can plug it in. I really don't want to attempt soldering.

So the antenna on the controller just connects with u.fl? I know I have some 5.8 omnis lying around at work, so I can do that pretty easy. I'd also like to know what you come up with for the video 2.4 booster.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The gimbals are easy to do. Mounting it is cake. It has two connections, one is power and that is all you need since it has its own onboard gyro to level. The second is tilt control and you simply open it up, pluf a servo wire into the F2 port on the Naza-M with the black wire on top and plug the other end into the gimbal control board, left port, again, black wire up. From there, add the tilt lever and enable gimbal control in the Naza assistant and off you go.

As for the antenna, yes, its just a tiny u.fl so just by the adapter and run any antenna you like.

As for the booster, I had this in mind and it's been done on the FC40 before so it does work:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007B5PQ6A/ref ... 1DBLTCZTZF
powered by http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RQW5WG/ref ... 12ZSG6MELR

Jermz · Mar 23, 2014

BMc said:
The gimbals are easy to do. Mounting it is cake. It has two connections, one is power and that is all you need since it has its own onboard gyro to level. The second is tilt control and you simply open it up, pluf a servo wire into the F2 port on the Naza-M with the black wire on top and plug the other end into the gimbal control board, left port, again, black wire up. From there, add the tilt lever and enable gimbal control in the Naza assistant and off you go.

As for the antenna, yes, its just a tiny u.fl so just by the adapter and run any antenna you like.

As for the booster, I had this in mind and it's been done on the FC40 before so it does work:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007B5PQ6A/ref ... 1DBLTCZTZF
powered by http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RQW5WG/ref ... 12ZSG6MELR

That sounds good. I'm looking for a gimbal when I finally get a gopro.
I'll have to get an adapter for the antenna upgrade, but not a big deal. I don't much care for the u.fl connector, but I've dealt with them enough to work with it. I haven't had any issues losing signal to the phantom, more losing wifi to the camera. I know the gopro wifi isn't much better, so I'm interested in any way to boost that, either controller or phantom side.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ozhawk · Mar 24, 2014

Awesome work BMc, say where did you get the stickers for the tx from?

BMc · Mar 24, 2014

Ozhawk said:
Awesome work BMc, say where did you get the stickers for the tx from?

Thanks! Everything was purchased on Amazon. The stickers are currently sold out but he will be making more.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IOZ ... UTF8&psc=1