Phantom 2 Vision WIFI mods

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

I've ordered some stuff that will arrive later this week. I'll post pictures when I confirm it all works and let you guys know what I purchased. It should provide the best of both worlds in being able to land and getting a good, reliable connection. It does require drilling a couple holes in the side of the camera unless you were use extensions or get longer pigtails.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

BenDronePilot said:
rum.pirate said:
Hi all,

Question regarding where to place the external antennas on the PV2. I have read ppl have received good signal quality by extending antenna downwards which causes the landing problem.

Assuming you have enough cable does anybody have any thoughts on attaching the antenna on the top side of PV2 (where the dji sticker usually goes)?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

RP

Based on my tests thus far I don't think that would work well at all. The downward signal will most likely be getting badly blocked and interfered with, pointing straight down is the best way to give optimal results. Now if only you could have it auto retract when landing but you would need a powered sever and extra transmitter channel for that. That's why some just hand catch and take off so they can have the antenna pointing straight down under the Phantom. Just prey your phantom never needs to land on its own unexpectedly as it will fall sideways if it did. One other solution could be an almost pointing down antenna on a spring loaded mount. As you land the pressure of the antenna against the ground can retract the antenna under the Phantom and vice versa for take off. Adding small wheel at the tip of the antenna could also help with that.

Thanks Ben - if I get good results with different positions that have not already been posted will share with all..
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Im getting ready to do this same mod, flew out to 3000' with the modded repeater and the TPlink TL-ANT2414A,

I have two questions if someone has the time,

*can I use the TPlink antenna with the SPW24-CW?

*Would it be ok to mount the SPW24-CW on an "arm" so that I could point it down without interfearing with landing, Im thinking of putting a short arm on one of the legs and going from there.

*one more ?, im not planning on running an amplifier on the p2v, looking to get close to a mile if I could, possible without doing that?


Ive ordered the SPW24-CW and the HELIAXIAL24-CW
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here is my solution for a linear antenna on the PV. It is a rubber tube that allows the antenna to fold flat on the ground for take off and landing but more importantly remains near vertical during flight ensuring near 100% polarity alignment from a linear repeater antenna - see my 18 DBI set up. I have yet to range test due to the bad weather in the uk but with 18dbi patch and docooler repeater and 9 DBI omni aligned during flight I think this might get towards 3 km maybe more. Will post results when the weather changes ..... Hopefully sometime this year :roll:
 

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Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Ground station set up
 

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Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

I think I verified a great thing today. People have mentioned on the More Powerful Repeater thread that keeping the repeater charged up seems to be a good thing. I think my last 4 flights show that it puts out more power when fully charged:

1) Repeater not fully charged, not powered during flight - distance result not as good as I had achieved before (2800' away).

2) Repeater not fully charged, but powered during flight - distance still not that great (it wasn't fully charged). 3300' by flying sideways, losing connection.

3) Repeater nearly charged (sat over night), powered during flight - first try at distance similar to 1 and 2. But tried again and dramatically got further (4472' away vs max of 3300' before). I didn't look at the repeater light, but I believe this is because it had reached a full charge part way through the flight.

4) Repeater fully charged, powered during flight - altitude test. Previous high was ~1900'. This time went to over 3500' and could've gone higher. Wifi solid at >3500' altitude! Repeater 100% charged at the end.

This is with stock Tx and P2V; repeater has 8dBi omni and 9dBi directional. On the altitude test, I was flying almost straight up with the directional parallel to the ground exactly.

I HATE how the app's distance turns to N/A at 3300' but luckily, altitude doesn't have that bug. But it's ok if the FPV works, and there's always Flytrex telling me the exact distance.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

nhoover said:
I think I verified a great thing today. People have mentioned on the More Powerful Repeater thread that keeping the repeater charged up seems to be a good thing. I think my last 4 flights show that it puts out more power when fully charged:

1) Repeater not fully charged, not powered during flight - distance result not as good as I had achieved before (2800' away).

2) Repeater not fully charged, but powered during flight - distance still not that great (it wasn't fully charged). 3300' by flying sideways, losing connection.

3) Repeater nearly charged (sat over night), powered during flight - first try at distance similar to 1 and 2. But tried again and dramatically got further (4472' away vs max of 3300' before). I didn't look at the repeater light, but I believe this is because it had reached a full charge part way through the flight.

4) Repeater fully charged, powered during flight - altitude test. Previous high was ~1900'. This time went to over 3500' and could've gone higher. Wifi solid at >3500' altitude! Repeater 100% charged at the end.



This is with stock Tx and P2V; repeater has 8dBi omni and 9dBi directional. On the altitude test, I was flying almost straight up with the directional parallel to the ground exactly.

I HATE how the app's distance turns to N/A at 3300' but luckily, altitude doesn't have that bug. But it's ok if the FPV works, and there's always Flytrex telling me the exact distance.

Yes it's true that keeping the stock repeater at top of charge does increase range. I posted a set up using a USB power pack a month or so ago. I achieved 650 metres with out of the box stock set up. Keep the repeater at top of charge for the best range
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

[quote="Highcloud"Yes it's true that keeping the stock repeater at top of charge does increase range. I posted a set up using a USB power pack a month or so ago. I achieved 650 metres with out of the box stock set up. Keep the repeater at top of charge for the best range[/quote]

Does anyone have the ability to measure the repeater output in mw? I would really like to know what it's doing when fully charged vs discharging.

Or if one of you experts knows how to measure this, tell me and I'll buy the equipment and do it.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

I have upgraded to 2x 9dbi omnis on the extender, and 2x 5dbi omnis on the camera (p2v). And the result is a little bit dissapointing....i only got about 7-800 meters, while others have got around 1400 meters with only 1 omni on each ! What is wrong? Would it help to switch to an 8 dbi on the RX? Wifi booster on the RX/p2v? I dont know....please anyone...
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Innovation at it's best.

Thank you themosttoys and any others that shared their mod experience in detail so a follower such as myself can get involved and modify my own P2V. Your efforts and time spent are greatly appreciated by me, and I'm sure some others as well.

I plan to do this mod and a few others. I'm glad to come across a group that has a passion is making something better. Thanks again guys!

themosttoys said:
I've received a lot of PM"s requesting a complete parts list with links to purchase everything to do the WIFI mods.

One problem is that for a lot of it I used what I already had on hand. I can list the parts, but not necessarily where I got them (I just had them left over from previous projects.)

The amplifier is RadioLabs: http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wirel ... -800mw.php
The Antenna (as previously mentioned) is Circular Wireless SPW24 : http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... ts_id=1096
The repeater antenna (matched to the SPW24) is the HELIAXIAL24 : http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... ts_id=1538
The cable coming out of the camera (I've now removed the extension cable) is 8" of this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/RG178-U-fl-IPX- ... 1e840cf4c9
The attenuator is 6db : http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMA-2W-male-to- ... 4d0adce5c3
The connector from the attenuator to the amp is a 90 degree SMA to RP-SMA that I had.
The cable from the amp to the antenna is RG316 RP-SMA to SMA that I had, but pretty sure I got it from wifiexperts (see link for cable out of camera above).
The connector holding the antenna to the landing gear is a standard cable tie that I had.
Originally I used a separate battery (I already had) to power the amp but it's this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Turnigy-1000mAh ... 27dd747a00
I have a bunch of BEC's lying around, but in the latest go around I used some crazy small one's : http://www.ebay.com/itm/131035992771?ss ... 1497.l2649
All the power connectors are standard JST that I had laying around.
I soldered to the battery terminal (see picture above) drilled and filed the hole to the size of the JST connector and epoxied the JST connector in place.

I think that about covers it.

edit: Some are asking about the quick release on the repeater / heliaxial : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FSZUX8/ref ... _ST1_dp_i1

Happy mod'ing.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Trond Harbak said:
I have upgraded to 2x 9dbi omnis on the extender, and 2x 5dbi omnis on the camera (p2v). And the result is a little bit dissapointing....i only got about 7-800 meters, while others have got around 1400 meters with only 1 omni on each ! What is wrong? Would it help to switch to an 8 dbi on the RX? Wifi booster on the RX/p2v? I dont know....please anyone...

If you can post a few pictures about your setup on both P2V and repeater, it's helpful to let us understand more of your setup.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here is my setup. Im not satisfied at all...... Any Clue what i can do to get the wifi more stable/and get a distance for about 12-1500 meters? Thanks for all answers !!
 

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Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Trond Harbak said:
Here is my setup. Im not satisfied at all...... Any Clue what i can do to get the wifi more stable/and get a distance for about 12-1500 meters? Thanks for all answers !!

In order to make antennas work for P2V, you may need to understand the basics. I grabbed a few diagrams from the web showing antenna RF pattern. The higher gain antenna, the narrower RF pattern with longer coverage, as shown in the diagram with comparison between 3dBi, 6dBi & 9dBi dipole.

If you lay down 5dbi dipole along the landing skid, the RF pattern is radiating to left/right instead of front/back. If you fly P2V sideway, you should get much better video range, while front/back are with almost NULL signal. If you prefer to fly forward instead of flying sideway, you should lay the dipole antennas across 2 landing skids. Another option is to mount 5dbi vertically, but it may not be practical on P2V due to the length.

For 9dbi dipole on the repeater, you may lay them down horizontally to match the polarization of the 5dbi on P2V.
 

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Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

So for those of us who just want fly no more than 1 to 1 1/2 klm what do you suggest ? I really want something small on my repeater and transmitter not interested in dragging a ground station around or having a bunch of heavy bulky stuff hanging off my radio. Also if I decide to get a gimbal I dont want anything interfering with that.
I guess I just want something better than stock were if I happen to fly behind me I won't lose control..
Is this even possible ?
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

In order to make antennas work for P2V, you may need to understand the basics. I grabbed a few diagrams from the web showing antenna RF pattern. The higher gain antenna, the narrower RF pattern with longer coverage, as shown in the diagram with comparison between 3dBi, 6dBi & 9dBi dipole.

If you lay down 5dbi dipole along the landing skid, the RF pattern is radiating to left/right instead of front/back. If you fly P2V sideway, you should get much better video range, while front/back are with almost NULL signal. If you prefer to fly forward instead of flying sideway, you should lay the dipole antennas across 2 landing skids. Another option is to mount 5dbi vertically, but it may not be practical on P2V due to the length.

For 9dbi dipole on the repeater, you may lay them down horizontally to match the polarization of the 5dbi on P2V.[/quote]


THANK YOU! I will try point the antennas on the p2v another way like you said. And also on the RX. I guess it dont hurt to place a wifi booster on the RX/f2v.
.... i may also replace one of the 9 dbi omnis with one 12 dbi directional.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

flyNfrank said:
Innovation at it's best.

Thank you themosttoys and any others that shared their mod experience in detail so a follower such as myself can get involved and modify my own P2V. Your efforts and time spent are greatly appreciated by me, and I'm sure some others as well.

I plan to do this mod and a few others. I'm glad to come across a group that has a passion is making something better. Thanks again guys!

Thank you for the kind words.
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Trond Harbak said:
THANK YOU! I will try point the antennas on the p2v another way like you said. And also on the RX. I guess it dont hurt to place a wifi booster on the RX/f2v.
.... i may also replace one of the 9 dbi omnis with one 12 dbi directional.

PVFlyer gave good advice. Just to add (and for others reference)

The amplifier is not required, it extends the range beyond what is needed, I use it for some additional penetration (does not add much, but with it, at least I can fly behind a tree.)

Linear antennas will work and under good conditions will work as well (if not better) than circular. The challenge with the whips (linear polarization) is maintaining the same orientation (Ex: in wind and while moving fast) the further away from parallel the more gain is lost. For best results, linear antennas must be parallel to each other (horizontal will work, but vertical will be more consistent results in our use.)
 
Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Trond Harbak said:
Here is my setup. Im not satisfied at all...... Any Clue what i can do to get the wifi more stable/and get a distance for about 12-1500 meters? Thanks for all answers !![/quote

To maximise the energy transfer between antennas they must be of the same polarity, e.g. linear, circular rh, circular lh (this what the internal antennas are inside the camera). If you use linear omni antennas, then to transfer the most energy between the repeater and the PV, it is imperative that they are in the same plane or as near as possible. Failure to align the antennas in the same plane will cause signifificant mis match and a great deal of signal (energy) will be lost between the two sets of antennas. So. if your repeater antenna is vertical then your PV antenna must also be vertical. If you elect to go the horizontal route then bear in mind the narrow beam that will be available for horizontal (normally vertical) use.

Hope this helps
 

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