Flying from inside house or car anyone?

[JohnnyB]

Cap both ends.. drill holes needed.....

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[ebi718]

So, it appears L-Com has different setups for the mag mounts. Mine has no hex nut...
All I had to do was unscrew the female N connector (from the top).

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[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

The mag base (plastic base housing) outside diameter is 3 1/2 in.. This looks like it would work.
Shop Charlotte Pipe 3-in dia PVC Coupling Fitting at Lowes.com

 

[JohnnyB]

I believe instead of tearing apart the original base, a new build with a PVC reducer and caps will be the route I go.

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[JohnnyB]

The mag base (plastic base housing) outside diameter is 3 1/2 in.. This looks like it would work.
Shop Charlotte Pipe 3-in dia PVC Coupling Fitting at Lowes.com
View attachment 73452

There ya go

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[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Gawd... Now I'm buying PVC adapters...

 

[JohnnyB]

Gawd... Now I'm buying PVC adapters...

Laughs

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[JohnnyB]

Laugh if you want, but we use to make potato guns from PVC. Spray hairspray in the chamber and ignite... (Nice range lol) but to ignite and work well, we had to hot glue a grill lighter in the cap and that worked very well.. even after many many shots, it held very well. (We (cousin's) had wars, shooting at each other). So, my thoughts, for what they're worth, hot glue the antenna in the cap, (dedicated magnet mount antenna) then 90 straight to antenna.. less connections.
Edit: or solder straight to antenna....

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[ryanmanchester]

My rig when out never once failed me [emoji106]


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[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

My rig when out never once failed me [emoji106]


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Yes, that setup is a perfomance monster.

 

[cstout]

Thought about what you said of this issue. So I think I'll order these to see how they perform:
N Female to RP SMA Male LMR-240 Generic Coax Assemblies

I got the same cable with different ends (rpsma male to female) since my 400 is n to rpsma.


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[Jeremiah Nelson]

Gawd... Now I'm buying PVC adapters...

Lol

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

While reading pdf's and posts about antennas, I saw something about importance of grounding them. I can't find the page now, but I know the importance of grounding. My RF-Linx amps have grounding posts on them, but My L-Coms have no real grounding ability. I think I can ground them inline at either the amp connections or anywhere along the cable connection route. This quote is from a RC modeler (75mhz) about grounding and I agree.
Grounding antennas:
"This will help your receiver have a more efficient antenna, and
help ground any radio interference signals that may be generated in your negative battery lines."

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Here's good info on the reason to ground antennas:
Grounding is key to good reception -- antenna special on hard-core-dx.com

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Interesting info:

https://www.weboost.com/news/blog/antenna-separation-and-why-its-important/

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

After reading/contemplating antenna separation, I think I'll fabricate multiple antenna mounts (for my various antennas) to have two tripods, separated, each with it's antenna and amp mounted on it's tripod, able to be adjusted in angles (panel or omni) to match each flight scenario. These tripods are able to be moved in any location/angles/spacing/heights. It's one more item (each side) to deal with, but the adjustability factor warrants it. If this is able to reduce the amount of interference/blackouts/video feed lock ups, it will be worth it.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Glad I could give you guys as much of a laugh as I gave myself. Time to exchange the cables! Thanks for the comments on the mounts. I made them with some scrap wood and put 80lb magnet feet on the bottom of them. Holds pretty sturdy! Once I get a less ludicrous cable I'll be able to clean up the runs with zip ties.

(Pulls cap down lower on his head).. Did you just call the LMR-400 series... ludicrous? It's stiff like a porno king, but... ludicrous?... Just tell the wife, it's a one seater car.

 

[cstout]

(Pulls cap down lower on his head).. Did you just call the LMR-400 series... ludicrous? It's stiff like a porno king, but... ludicrous?... Just tell the wife, it's a one seater car.

Hahaha I mean...I mean...well, I kept it!


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[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Laughs... (You'll always keep it)....

 

[ebi718]

This is the current car setup: many thanks to all for the tips/knowledge you have shared.
10' of LMR 400 connected to RP SMA male to RP SMA female pigtails for the RC:



RF Linx 2400SAXU amps powered by DC-DC 12V converter. I am working on replacing the antenna cables to (shorter) LMR 400 with custom n mag base mount.



The antennae I am testing at the moment.The L-Com 8.5dBi is for control/TX; for video/RX I am using a 6dBi low profile multi-polarized antenna that is touted to provide "unequalled wireless communication in obstructed, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environments." (See datasheet).You can't get any more low-profile than this.



A quick run I did this evening (2200 ft out) was encouraging (see HealthyDrones ). I will be doing additional testing, to see how well it performs. (when I get my drone back.)