Phantom 2 controller range *PICTURES*

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furthest I've gotten is 1100m and then I went into fail safe mode due to losing controller connection. I've been flying in a suburb of Nashville with plenty of homes and cell towers and power lines and trees in the area. I'm getting dropouts at 700-800 and the furthest I've gotten it is about 70-80m high and 1000-1100 meters out. I'm still getting used to the fpvlr antennas, they're pretty good to about 800+ then break up a bit. That could something im doing incorrectly.

Can anyone advise me on longe range FPV best practices? Is 1100 meters typical range for the factory controller? I was under the impression that much greater lengths could be had with the 2.4ghz antenna.



 
Re: Phantom 2 controller range

I got 1200 meters with the stock antenna on the controller. Be sure to not aim the antenna at the copter; the strongest signal radiates away from the sides of the antenna, not out of the top of it.

For FPV video, I bought these antennas: http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=77&product_id=97 This REALLY improved the fp video quality. I use the AVL58 transmitter that came with my kit. I had to get another monitor so that I could run two antennas on it (my stock one only held one antenna). I sold my kit monitor from B&H Photo on eBay and purchased a Boscam monitor.

For the controller range, I bought an upgraded antenna and watched a few videos on Youtube on how to change it out. I ended up scraping a vital part of the antenna module inside the controller. Had to do some micro-surgery and soldering to bring it back to life. With the modified controller, the range was 1300 meters. Definitely NOT worth the headache. I have an antenna power booster coming in and will see if that helps anything and will post a better summary of results when I get a chance to appropriately test each antenna setup.

So far, my FP Video distance is much longer than my controller distance. I get a little snow, but it is not bad at 1300 meters.
 
S4boost said:
Pictures added of my setup. That's a Boscam ts353 and the fpvlr kit

S4boost-- I had the exact same setup as you! (stock Tx, Boscam TS353, Boscam RX-LCD5802, FPVLR kit) and have made it 3000+ meters. In the picture below you can see I still have the control ATT signal. But this was under ideal conditions (quiet evening, good weather, over the ocean, no obscuration, launch from elevated bluff) and with a few failsafes. In my experience having control at this range is unusual. At the same location I've hit FS at only 2000 meters, sometimes 2200. The humidity, distance above land/ocean, interference, obscuration, all have an effect.

A couple of tips. As was mentioned earlier, make sure all your omni antennas are vertical. Note that if you do go into FS, you can toggle btwn GPS/ATTI and back to regain control. Yeah, it might just fall right back to FS again, but sometimes it locks on and you can squeeze out some more meters.

With the TS353 video becomes flaky at 2000 or more meters under ideal conditions, and much lower under non-ideal. At these distances turning the Phantom around to come home almost always drops the video signal because the antenna LoS is obscured by the GoPro. The first time you experience this you may be inclined to panic. Either turn it around and fly backward, or switch to course lock and bring it back. But switch back to ATT as soon as you can so you can get the speed you'll need to come home.

I just bought a TS352, which supposedly outputs more than it's 500mW rating. But the picture is choppy on the high-power channel (ch 4). Channel 1 seems to work ok. I may go back to the TS353 if I don't see significant improvement in further testing. Good luck!

3km.jpg
 
S4boost said:
furthest I've gotten is 1100m and then I went into fail safe mode due to losing controller connection. I've been flying in a suburb of Nashville with plenty of homes and cell towers and power lines and trees in the area. I'm getting dropouts at 700-800 and the furthest I've gotten it is about 70-80m high and 1000-1100 meters out. I'm still getting used to the fpvlr antennas, they're pretty good to about 800+ then break up a bit. That could something im doing incorrectly.

Can anyone advise me on longe range FPV best practices? Is 1100 meters typical range for the factory controller? I was under the impression that much greater lengths could be had with the 2.4ghz antenna.




Your tx antenna seems to be tilted a bit too much to the side, it should have best radiation pattern when it's perfectly straight, maybe some longer landing gear legs would help you there.
 
jflyer3 said:
S4boost said:
Pictures added of my setup. That's a Boscam ts353 and the fpvlr kit

S4boost-- I had the exact same setup as you! (stock Tx, Boscam TS353, Boscam RX-LCD5802, FPVLR kit) and have made it 3000+ meters. In the picture below you can see I still have the control ATT signal. But this was under ideal conditions (quiet evening, good weather, over the ocean, no obscuration, launch from elevated bluff) and with a few failsafes. In my experience having control at this range is unusual. At the same location I've hit FS at only 2000 meters, sometimes 2200. The humidity, distance above land/ocean, interference, obscuration, all have an effect.

A couple of tips. As was mentioned earlier, make sure all your omni antennas are vertical. Note that if you do go into FS, you can toggle btwn GPS/ATTI and back to regain control. Yeah, it might just fall right back to FS again, but sometimes it locks on and you can squeeze out some more meters.

With the TS353 video becomes flaky at 2000 or more meters under ideal conditions, and much lower under non-ideal. At these distances turning the Phantom around to come home almost always drops the video signal because the antenna LoS is obscured by the GoPro. The first time you experience this you may be inclined to panic. Either turn it around and fly backward, or switch to course lock and bring it back. But switch back to ATT as soon as you can so you can get the speed you'll need to come home.

I just bought a TS352, which supposedly outputs more than it's 500mW rating. But the picture is choppy on the high-power channel (ch 4). Channel 1 seems to work ok. I may go back to the TS353 if I don't see significant improvement in further testing. Good luck!

3km.jpg

Do you have a picture of your antenna placement on the P2? I'm not sure where I can place it without it touching the ground. I'm hesitant to get longer landing gear cause then it might not fit in my case anymore.
 
Roseto75 said:
Your tx antenna seems to be tilted a bit too much to the side, it should have best radiation pattern when it's perfectly straight, maybe some longer landing gear legs would help you there.

Do you mean the vTX antenna? If so, the problem with straight down is the gimbal blocks the signal when pointing home. I've found that a 60 degree down angle works best for signal regardless of direction. The problem with this vTX is that it's right up against the compass. Generally a bad idea.

And the bigger issue is the FPV screen is in the way of your TX antenna unless you hold the controller at a funny angle.
 
ianwood said:
Roseto75 said:
Your tx antenna seems to be tilted a bit too much to the side, it should have best radiation pattern when it's perfectly straight, maybe some longer landing gear legs would help you there.

Do you mean the vTX antenna? If so, the problem with straight down is the gimbal blocks the signal when pointing home. I've found that a 60 degree down angle works best for signal regardless of direction. The problem with this vTX is that it's right up against the compass. Generally a bad idea.

And the bigger issue is the FPV screen is in the way of your TX antenna unless you hold the controller at a funny angle.

How do u suggest I arrange the fpv screen? One thing I've noticed is a ton of interference depending on the angle of the tx antenna. Pictures are much appreciated
 
I gave up on VTx antenna clearing the ground long ago. I hand launch and hand catch always, which may not work for you. I have a 2" extension on VTx to get it below other gear and good transmission in most orientations. Nonetheless, agree flying backwards as needed when far from home, and/or home lock mode. Under ideal conditions I have usable FPV out to 4km; under less than ideal 2.5km typical FPV range.

Kelly
 

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