Kag49601 said:
Broken down and edited for in-line answers below
Thanks! I'm using FPVLR 2.4 pinwheels on the phantom, 2 watt- 5ghz amp
(same amp I use)
running to 10db RHCP on the control side,
(you don't mention using any RHCP antenna on the Phantom itself for 5.8Ghz receiver... if you are using the stock pigtails on the Phantom for 5.8Ghz rx then you would be better off with a vertically polarized patch antenna for your tx... but that's not your problem as you state later ... just throwing it out there)
2.5 watt (2.4ghz) amp running to a 9dbi LHCP for one side of the range extender, and one pinwheel strait off the other side of the extender. I have the phantom side antennas mounted and pointed in different directions at 90% from each other.
(sometimes just messing with orientation can clear up problems you are having with wifi dropping out before control signal)
I also use both the taco booster app and the booster + app (go between the two)
(taco for wide open spaces with no outside interference... booster + app will help in urban or high traffic areas by helping reject unwanted interference) .
I have never lost 5.8 signal with this setup, even when line of sight is an issue (for 2.4). The control always is rock solid. My problem this far is loosing fpv . Im pretty sure the issues is completely related to LOS since when I do lose signal I can get it back (to 100%) by moving slightly and\or raising the bird.
(good troubleshooting ... nobody can narrow down "your" particular issues than you can by repeated trial and error... hopefully more trial than error) :?
The area I live in is full of hills and trees which makes LOS hard to achieve at altitudes I'm comfortable with. The mission that I completed to get #5 on the list (my all time best) was the result of me having to raise the bird to 1400 feet. Im not a fan of crazy altitudes when I'm at this distance.
(always remember ... altitude don't mean jack squat once you are over a hundred feet... it's the same , Phantom destroying crash , from 50ft up or 5000ft up ... but yeah... I don't like flying that high either for other AMA type reasons ... so I gotcha on that one)
So hopefully (soon) I have the opportunity to try again in similar environment (like you) that allows for better LOS at much lower altitudes. In your opinion, do you believe using pinwheels (on the phantom) is hurting my fpv distance?
(Pinwheels or Cloverleaf antennas don't gain you more distance than any regular dipole antenna of the same rating... what they do is give you cleaner signal at that given max distance by rejecting outside interference and/or multi path distortion better than linearly-polarized antennas would... There is some argument about weather this actually helps or hurts in a MIMO setup but these circular antennas have shown huge results so I certainly wouldn't blame them for any shortcomings in distance at the ranges you are talking about)
I made the switch hoping it would make it easier to aim my antennas at the bird (which it has) but I'm wondering if the stock patch antennas would do better which just relocating them, as you did.
(if you are going to stick with your directional 9dBi antenna on your extender... then you are better off sticking with your Cloverleaf type antenna on the Phantom... The DJI Patches aren't true circular polarization... they are kind of this pseudo circular patch forced into being circular by directing the feed and notching the corners to cause this phenomenon... it is a very shallow circular polarity compared to the LHCP designs you are using on your extender... think coarse thread or fine thread on a screw... FPVLR being coarse thread... DJI patch being fine thread... FPVLR antennas coarse circular works better with their sister antennas mounted on the Phantom... Used with the DJI patch antennas there is a certain degree of missmatch and therefore dB loss... The DJI patches actually show less dB loss sending to a standard linear patch antenna of the same dBi rating so yeah... stick with same type polarity and same type build rather than mix and matching) Thanks for sharing!
Other things that cause problems that are easy to solve with do it yourself installations...
Repeater mod... look at your cables inside and make sure there are no kinks... I saw an install where the cables were too long and crammed inside the repeater ... so the guy bundled them and put zip ties... This caused two sharp 180° turns where the wires doubled back on themselves and ruined everything... This can cause a standing wave in the short run of cable near the kink and kill an entire signal before it ever reaches the radio... There are different degrees of that type of problem but it is best to have nice wide sweeping bends in your cables rather than any hard 90° turns anywhere... especially more than one... they use that type of method to kill radio interference so it is not ideal in any wireless setup.
Pinwheel orientation... always pays to experiment... just like real estate ... location is everything.... move them around and see what orientation gives you the best results.
Connectors... This is just a double checker... but it's worth it... people get confused with SMA vs RP-SMA... and they look at the thread side and the collar side and just screw them together... but the inside of the connector needs to be pin to socket (male to female) ... we just had that happen to one of our flyers where three of his connections were lesbian (female to female) ... and he was still getting fpv out at 2000ft but couldn't figure out why... changed the cables... boom... 10,000ft run on the next flight with no booster amplifiers and no booster app running on the Phantom.... just those itElite patch antennas i use all the time.
Hope this helps sir... good luck and happy flying out there :ugeek:
