FPV Antenna positioning for 360 degree signal

[castlemaster]

Hi all,

I've tried 2 different antenna's on my 200mW vTX now, some standard circular polarised ones as well as some blue beam ultra's, and although the blue beam give me some extra range (about 2.2km so far) i still have the same issue I had with my old antenna set. The signal is fine as long as the phantom is flying away from me (antenna is pointing out of the back and downwards (90 degrees) from the back of the phantom).

However, when I rotate the phantom to fly back home I immediately loose video signal. Can anyone offer any advice on better antenna placement on the phantom so I don't get this happen?

Another thing which I thought was odd, is that I'm using the black pearl diversity monitor, with 1 Rx using a blue beam mushroom and one using a standard circ pol. Now the monitor kept picking up a stronger signal from the cir pol than the mushroom which I wouldn't have expected, anyone else had this?

Anyway, any advice on antenna placement would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

 

[castlemaster]

Just a bump incase anyone has any advice?

 

[ianwood]

I am by no means an expert, but from what I've read so far is that straight down is recommended. You will still have some break up on return if you have it sitting behind a gimbal but it may be less so than sticking out the back.

 

[ElGuano]

Mine is set up like that too, and it's just a fact of life, especially given the nature of 5.8ghz transmissions being susceptible to occlusion.

There was a recent video on rcgroups where someone doing long fpv video flights posted their setup. Interestingly, he had his vtx going along one of the back booms (along the ESC LEDs) and mentioned that this helped his reception quite a bit--the further from the phantom's body, the better.

I've definitely found that this is true of the vrx--having it far from the rctx definitely helps reception.

 

[castlemaster]

Ooh thanks for that info, i'll see if I can get some kind of extension for the antenna and place it off the end of one of the arms perhaps. I'll post back if I have any success.

 

[macheung]

I have mine pointed down near the rear of the main body and have the same issue with poor,reception when facing me.
Perhaps someone can get a flexible antenna extension and hang the antenna down a few inches below the landing gear