Other Free Vision+ Range Booster it works that good?

[KulliLutku]

I don't want my Phantom permanently boosted in case the mod somehow affects the ability to update later versions of firmware or something along those lines... like voided warranty due to goofing around with code... and if I'm gonna do a temporary boost each time I fly, I want it to be easy.

listen jerky, it's not "permantent" in any way. it's a **** linux startup script. you can edit it any time, and just delete the line that boosts the output.

the warranty will be just as voided by using any of these available booster apps, all the SSH connections leave their mark into some log file on the bird.

 

[DBS]

listen jerky, it's not "permantent" in any way. it's a **** linux startup script. you can edit it any time, and just delete the line that boosts the output.

the warranty will be just as voided by using any of these available booster apps, all the SSH connections leave their mark into some log file on the bird.

Sorry... I didn't realize I was talking to a twelve year old...

If you don't understand how things work or why people do what they do... then go ahead and call people names and post completely inaccurate info in your responses... that'll fool everybody into thinking you're a big boy... :roll:

 

[linuxkidd]

listen jerky, it's not "permantent" in any way. it's a **** linux startup script. you can edit it any time, and just delete the line that boosts the output.

the warranty will be just as voided by using any of these available booster apps, all the SSH connections leave their mark into some log file on the bird.

Sorry... I didn't realize I was talking to a twelve year old...

If you don't understand how things work or why people do what they do... then go ahead and call people names and post completely inaccurate info in your responses... that'll fool everybody into thinking you're a big boy... :roll:

To summarize...
- modifications to the /etc/rc.local file can be reversed at any time
- however, the reversal of the changes REQUIRES that your WiFi be operational (since this is the only way into the filesystem)
- So, if you do something in the /etc/rc.local that kills your WiFi connection... you're pretty well toast.

With this in mind.. it is nice to have the ability to apply the change as a one-off, knowing that if something goes wrong.. you can simply power cycle the craft/repeater and be back to normal. This is easily accomplished either for testing before commiting to the rc.local update... or each time via an app or some other SSH access.

LK

 

[linuxkidd]

Look, can one of you prop-hats tell me why we need all these **** fancy apps for boosting the power, when we can simply SSH to the copter, and place the boost command "iw phy ph0...." into the file /etc/rc.local so it fires up every time the bird is booted automatically.

WHY, do we need these apps?

Those that are comfortable editing the /etc/rc.local don't need these apps. The Apps are simply there for those who are not comfortable in the Linux space. To each their own.

LK

 

[ocatcr]

Thanks for your advice. Should be possible to implement the flight logger as what Flytrex does. But the GPS data format you mentioned is different.

We could confirm that the packet format is as

2 bytes sof
1 byte packet length
1 byte <-- sub cmd
2 bytes seq number
1 bytes cmd
- bytes data
1 bytes checksum

hexdump is as

0000000 bb55 0a09 1ce8 0025 553c 09bb e90a 651c
0000010 7d00 bb55 0a09 1cea 0049 5552 09bb eb0a
0000020 411c 5b00 bb55 0809 1ced 0044 555a 09bb

eg.
sof -> bb55
len -> 09
sub cmd -> 0a
seq # -> 1ce8
cmd -> 25
data -> 0
checksum -> 3c

total packet length = 9

we just started to study how to enable the 7th channel. the first thing we took a look at is how the DJI Phantom apps communicate with the phantom. as other members (eg.linuxkidd) stated, ser2net is used at port 2001 in the transmitter, and we tried to "cat" the packet sent out from the DJI Phantom apps and want to know how the packet format looks like. The packet format splits into 7 parts as

2 bytes sof
1 byte packet length
1 byte ???
2 bytes seq number
1 bytes cmd
- bytes data
1 bytes checksum???

thats what we found so far.

For port 2001, which contains telemetry according to linuxkidd, it could be (COULD BE) that it's encoded in the same way as the serial data coming directly from the GPS. If this is the case, somebody has already done some heavy-lifting, and hopefully some or all of it may be applicable : http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1995704

Even if not directly applicable to 7th channel, it's definitely worth a look for obtaining, telemetry data. If telemetry can be tapped from the wifi and rebroadcast, it would open the door for a vast aray of ground-based utilities. Flytrex without flying an onboard unit anyone? Antenna tracking? GPS location finding. Endless... GET the TELEMETRY!

 

[ocatcr]

At the first view of the DJI Vision app, it sent following cmds to port 2001:

0x5,
0x25,
0x40,
0x41,
0x44,
0x24,
0x49,
0x80,
0x52,
0x53,
0x65,

we found that after it sent 0x49, the gimbal cant be controller by the 7th channel anymore. thats what we found so far.

 

[varmint]

Is the same command sequence going out with every packet?

 

[ocatcr]

probably not, I think the apps set a timer for each command sending out. eg. some commands sent ten times a second , some commands sent once a second.

Is the same command sequence going out with every packet?

 

[ocatcr]

Thanks for your help. It seems that the transmit power is hard coded in the driver even the value is passed to it properly.

Did you reset the repeater power after turning on the phantom? Any recommendation of the test equipment you are using?

No I did not reset the repeater power after turning on the Phantom... I can try that here in about an hour or so.

My tests were done with a Galaxy Note 3 using Android WiFi Analyzer app... shows good comparative rssi numbers for power output and the change on the Phantom output is very obvious... I will report back soon on the repeater output... thanks for the reply sir.


EDIT:
ok... did some more messing around and still not able to cause any change to the repeater output... The highest setting is 20dBm(100mw)... but the repeater is already putting out 20dBm so i don't expect to see any gain there... so I try to cut the power down to 10dBm... no change... cycle the power on the repeater and reconnect... try the change again... nothing... did this several times ... same result.

The Phantom side is working like a boss... As soon as you select a power level you can see the signal increase or decrease in response to the command... As a matter of fact ... by setting the Phantom to 20dBm you can see the signal strength matches the strength of the repeater which makes sense because the repeater is rated at 20dBm... If I could get the repeater side to work my next suggestion was going to be to raise the repeater power level so there is actually some gain going on there...

Any other suggestions or things I could try to get this working?
I don't think I'm doing anything obviously wrong because I can get the power output changes on the Phantom working properly... hope this gets worked out... thanks again.

 

[ocatcr]

for someone who fly your phantom in a noisy environment, try setting the fragmentation threshold using the iw command.
iw phy phy0 set frag <fragmentation threshold|off>

just a simple test in a park that is close to our company. turning off the threshold, we lost the video feed at around 1800 feet. with setting the threshold around 1000, we still got a stable live video at 2000 feet.

you could try a different setting until you get the best result.

 

[DBS]

Actual flight testing this morning... results were awesome

Today's setup.... just a simple short range panel using the stock DJI repeater antennas and a 14dBi patch for the tx... (I figure we are all modding the repeater for RP-SMA connectors so why not pop out the antennas and use them for something right?)

So ... how far will it go? I have no idea.... I went 10,000ft this morning and never lost video feed... never had a glitch or a freeze... This is especially impressive on the return flight when the antennas on the phantom are at their worst apparent angle to the controller... really pleased with this result and was totally unexpected with this antenna setup.

Comparison?...

With this same antenna setup... If I don't boost the Phantom at all I can easily fly out 3 to 4 thousand feet but on the return flight the video glitches and freezes quite a bit until I get back inside 3000 feet... If I boost with the other booster app I can fly out over a mile and a half but get the same video glitch problems on the way back until I get inside 6000 feet or so...

Today's stats...
Range: 10,240ft
Alt: 312ft
Boost: 100mw

Wanted to switch over and try a longer range antenna setup but the wind started picking up and the dreaded gimbal freak out started showing itself towards the end of my first battery so i ended my day and will sort things out before I try anything crazy.

Keep up the good work and here's hoping you keep up with the updates and features :ugeek:

 

[hacksweden]

we just started to study how to enable the 7th channel. the first thing we took a look at is how the DJI Phantom apps communicate with the phantom. as other members (eg.linuxkidd) stated, ser2net is used at port 2001 in the transmitter, and we tried to "cat" the packet sent out from the DJI Phantom apps and want to know how the packet format looks like. The packet format splits into 7 parts as

2 bytes sof
1 byte packet length
1 byte ???
2 bytes seq number
1 bytes cmd
- bytes data
1 bytes checksum???

thats what we found so far.

Happy to see others looking into this as I too would like be able to access the telemetry data outside of the app. I've posted a few of my own findings in Accessing the P2 wifi repeater and camera.

 

[linuxkidd]

Actual flight testing this morning... results were awesome

Today's setup.... just a simple short range panel using the stock DJI repeater antennas and a 14dBi patch for the tx... (I figure we are all modding the repeater for RP-SMA connectors so why not pop out the antennas and use them for something right?)

So ... how far will it go? I have no idea.... I went 10,000ft this morning and never lost video feed... never had a glitch or a freeze... This is especially impressive on the return flight when the antennas on the phantom are at their worst apparent angle to the controller... really pleased with this result and was totally unexpected with this antenna setup.

Comparison?...

With this same antenna setup... If I don't boost the Phantom at all I can easily fly out 3 to 4 thousand feet but on the return flight the video glitches and freezes quite a bit until I get back inside 3000 feet... If I boost with the other booster app I can fly out over a mile and a half but get the same video glitch problems on the way back until I get inside 6000 feet or so...

Today's stats...
Range: 10,240ft
Alt: 312ft
Boost: 100mw

Wanted to switch over and try a longer range antenna setup but the wind started picking up and the dreaded gimbal freak out started showing itself towards the end of my first battery so i ended my day and will sort things out before I try anything crazy.

Keep up the good work and here's hoping you keep up with the updates and features :ugeek:

VERY IMPRESSIVE! Would you mind sharing the specifics of your setup? What material is the backplate, more photos of the attachment to the controller, etc...

Thanks,
LK

 

[linuxkidd]

we just started to study how to enable the 7th channel. the first thing we took a look at is how the DJI Phantom apps communicate with the phantom. as other members (eg.linuxkidd) stated, ser2net is used at port 2001 in the transmitter, and we tried to "cat" the packet sent out from the DJI Phantom apps and want to know how the packet format looks like. The packet format splits into 7 parts as

2 bytes sof
1 byte packet length
1 byte ???
2 bytes seq number
1 bytes cmd
- bytes data
1 bytes checksum???

thats what we found so far.

Happy to see others looking into this as I too would like be able to access the telemetry data outside of the app. I've posted a few of my own findings in Accessing the P2 wifi repeater and camera.

May I suggest creating a new thread specific to decoding the TCP 2001 (ser2net) traffic? It would be much easier to find and better to track with it's own topic, instead of being spread across 2 unrelated threads...

Thanks!
LK

 

[DBS]

VERY IMPRESSIVE! Would you mind sharing the specifics of your setup? What material is the backplate, more photos of the attachment to the controller, etc...

Thanks,
LK

Don't mind at all...

Back plate is aluminum... 1.5mm thickness I believe... used an extra piece from an old itelite flat panel antenna I no longer use.

First off... removed original antennas from stock DJI repeater and noticed that the leads were directly soldered to the feed plate.. didn't really like that so I soldered up my own u.fl connectors...

Before (bottom) and after (top)

Then cut out the aluminum plate with a dremel... rectangular holes match the feed plates on the back of the DJI antennas so they will sit flat on the plate... round hole for SMA connector on 5.8 tx antenna... painted white to match the whole DJI theme and it's a wrap...

5.8Ghz tx antenna is mounted with 3 thicknesses of 3M double sided mounting tape to match itelite's backspacing requirements for proper reflected signal on 5.8...

DJI antennas already have some sticky gunk on the backside left over from how they are mounted inside the repeater... and I added some hot glue on the backside to beef that up as well as hold the u.fl cables solid so they're not relying on the u.fl connector itself...

Carbon fiber FPV monitor mount holds it all together.... found here... http://www.ebay.com/itm/261319990016

Itelite 5.8Ghz 14dBi antenna for tx is this one... http://www.itelite.net/en/Katalog/5-GHz-80211a-Triband//PAT50014.html... but there's some serious work involved to get it to this point... it comes in a weather proof housing with an N type connector (huge) so it has to be cut out of the housing and desoldered from the N connector and peeled away from its original backing plate... then resoldered with an SMA connector and remounted... If I had to do it all over again I probly would have used an N type to RP-SMA adapter cable and left it on it's own back plate... then just made the other plate for just the DJI antennas... but I was bored that day... and already half way into the foolishness before I realized what I had got myself into

 

[ocatcr]

Thanks for your review. very impressive.

Actual flight testing this morning... results were awesome

Today's setup.... just a simple short range panel using the stock DJI repeater antennas and a 14dBi patch for the tx... (I figure we are all modding the repeater for RP-SMA connectors so why not pop out the antennas and use them for something right?)

So ... how far will it go? I have no idea.... I went 10,000ft this morning and never lost video feed... never had a glitch or a freeze... This is especially impressive on the return flight when the antennas on the phantom are at their worst apparent angle to the controller... really pleased with this result and was totally unexpected with this antenna setup.

Comparison?...

With this same antenna setup... If I don't boost the Phantom at all I can easily fly out 3 to 4 thousand feet but on the return flight the video glitches and freezes quite a bit until I get back inside 3000 feet... If I boost with the other booster app I can fly out over a mile and a half but get the same video glitch problems on the way back until I get inside 6000 feet or so...

Today's stats...
Range: 10,240ft
Alt: 312ft
Boost: 100mw

Wanted to switch over and try a longer range antenna setup but the wind started picking up and the dreaded gimbal freak out started showing itself towards the end of my first battery so i ended my day and will sort things out before I try anything crazy.

Keep up the good work and here's hoping you keep up with the updates and features :ugeek:

 

[ocatcr]

since we already knew how the camera and the DJI apps communicate, we are working hard on some features(eg. flight logger). we are able to decode some necessary info such as GPS, altitude, speed... from the telemetry data. the flight logger client side coding is almost finished hopefully next version will be released a week later.

we just started to study how to enable the 7th channel. the first thing we took a look at is how the DJI Phantom apps communicate with the phantom. as other members (eg.linuxkidd) stated, ser2net is used at port 2001 in the transmitter, and we tried to "cat" the packet sent out from the DJI Phantom apps and want to know how the packet format looks like. The packet format splits into 7 parts as

2 bytes sof
1 byte packet length
1 byte ???
2 bytes seq number
1 bytes cmd
- bytes data
1 bytes checksum???

thats what we found so far.

Happy to see others looking into this as I too would like be able to access the telemetry data outside of the app. I've posted a few of my own findings in Accessing the P2 wifi repeater and camera.

 

[ocatcr]

we just have progress on the flight logger. the simple demo is at viewtopic.php?f=27&t=20198

we also want to share our findings how the flight info is updated. the flight info (eg. GPS, altitude, speed... ) is available in the data field of packet with command 0x49.

since we already knew how the camera and the DJI apps communicate, we are working hard on some features(eg. flight logger). we are able to decode some necessary info such as GPS, altitude, speed... from the telemetry data. the flight logger client side coding is almost finished hopefully next version will be released a week later.

we just started to study how to enable the 7th channel. the first thing we took a look at is how the DJI Phantom apps communicate with the phantom. as other members (eg.linuxkidd) stated, ser2net is used at port 2001 in the transmitter, and we tried to "cat" the packet sent out from the DJI Phantom apps and want to know how the packet format looks like. The packet format splits into 7 parts as

2 bytes sof
1 byte packet length
1 byte ???
2 bytes seq number
1 bytes cmd
- bytes data
1 bytes checksum???

thats what we found so far.

Happy to see others looking into this as I too would like be able to access the telemetry data outside of the app. I've posted a few of my own findings in Accessing the P2 wifi repeater and camera.

 

[lignow]

excellent thanks..ps.NIC is my Hero