Phantom 2 Vision WIFI mods

[helixaviator]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Thanks! cool app. Can't believe they don't have anything similar on iphone or even pc for that matter. Guess I will have to borrow someone's android device.

 

[gfredrone]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Thanks! cool app. Can't believe they don't have anything similar on iphone or even pc for that matter. Guess I will have to borrow someone's android device.

They do its called WiFi Analyser. I have it on my i5.

You need to jailbreak and it's in the Cydia store.

 

[helixaviator]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

i did see that. unfortunately, it only works on jaibroken ios6 and mine is jailbroken with ios7..

 

[Seahorse]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Bizarre, works perfectly on any Android device, locked or unlocked... :!:

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here's an updated parts list to my original post. one part was wrong, female to Female SMA Coupler. I now have the correct coupler part link, a SMA Female to RP-SMA Female. These parts will allow you to do the camera antenna mod with out having to take the camera apart with the exception of taking just the cover off. Since I could not find a Male u.fl to Male RP-SMA cable, or a Male to Male U.FL cable. The following 3 parts will get the same basic job done.

The parts are as follows and will be listed with E-Bay links below. a 6 inch male to female u.fl cable. a male U.Fl to Male SMA connector. A Female to RP-SMA Female coupler.

How to do the mod.

Using a 1.5mm hex wrench you will remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the camera. Put a piece of tape over the button so it does not fall off when lifting the cover, first from the back then the front then lifting straight out. You will disconnect the cable plugged into one of the side facing square antennas into the male end of the 6" cable, then the female end into the adapter then screw in the twin female head sma coupler, then your antenna into that. Oh. And you will route the 6" antenna wire through existing vent holes on the plastic bottom so no drilling required. That's it, Easy.

Here's link to my video on the subject. Note, the video shows the wrong female / female sma coupler. I have an annotation noting the correction, The correct parts list is also in the video description as well as below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_nVHSkSdo

Parts List.

Adapter SMA plug male to IPX U.fl male plug RF connector straight M/M
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271217077429?ss ... 1423.l2649

SMA female to RP-SMA Female
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271201499649

Pigtail: U.FL Male to U.FL Female Extension - 6 inches
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300942434456?ss ... 1423.l2649

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

After trying a wide range of linear antennas on the pv in various positions and angles. I now conclude that linear antennas on the pv offer no advantage over the stock lhcp antennas. This is surprising given the 3dbi mismatch between cp and linear. I have orderd a set of lhcp helical and skew planar and will continue hunting range. The best that I have achieved so far with the docooler repeater and netgear linear patch antenna, with stock camera antennas is 1.6 KM. I am hopeful that lhcp is the way forward. Will post results once the parts arrive.

If you use the antennas and positions I used there is definitely an improvement in range with two antenna config.

You can see my video discussing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_nVHSkSdo

 

[Highcloud]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

After trying a wide range of linear antennas on the pv in various positions and angles. I now conclude that linear antennas on the pv offer no advantage over the stock lhcp antennas. This is surprising given the 3dbi mismatch between cp and linear. I have orderd a set of lhcp helical and skew planar and will continue hunting range. The best that I have achieved so far with the docooler repeater and netgear linear patch antenna, with stock camera antennas is 1.6 KM. I am hopeful that lhcp is the way forward. Will post results once the parts arrive.

If you use the antennas and positions I used there is definitely an improvement in range with two antenna config.

You can see my video discussing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_nVHSkSdo[/quote

Hi bendrone, what range are you getting ? I seem to hit a wall at 1.6 km regardless of what I do. I have a new idea I'm working on to try to break past this point . Will build test and post results in due course

 

[nhoover]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

I was stuck at 1.6km for a while too. This was no mods to the camera, just an omni and a directional on the repeater. Then I tried a different site and went to nearly 1.9km. So it's possible to go further, but it's shakey. I think I will do the camera mod as well as the TX mod as I would like it much more solid at 1 to 1.5km. I don't really need to go much further than that.

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

After trying a wide range of linear antennas on the pv in various positions and angles. I now conclude that linear antennas on the pv offer no advantage over the stock lhcp antennas. This is surprising given the 3dbi mismatch between cp and linear. I have orderd a set of lhcp helical and skew planar and will continue hunting range. The best that I have achieved so far with the docooler repeater and netgear linear patch antenna, with stock camera antennas is 1.6 KM. I am hopeful that lhcp is the way forward. Will post results once the parts arrive.

If you use the antennas and positions I used there is definitely an improvement in range with two antenna config.

You can see my video discussing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_nVHSkSdo[/quote

Hi bendrone, what range are you getting ? I seem to hit a wall at 1.6 km regardless of what I do. I have a new idea I'm working on to try to break past this point . Will build test and post results in due course

In the areas I have flown there is too much WiFi interference to go very far. Using an 8dbi omni directional on the range extender I've flown to half mile away. Its worth noteing that I can do that at any orientation and I maintain full signal but the fpv will randomly cut in and out for no apparent reason.

I'm sure flying in a WiFi free area I'll easily push past 1km with the omni and I will be picking up a high gain rhcp helical to match the skew planer I have which goes in place of one of the two Omni's and it wouldn't surprise me if I can push 2km with that setup. I doubt I'll get more with out adding a signal amplifier to the phantoms camera.

Also I wouldn't feel comfortable going too far beyond 2km do to battery concerns I prefer keeping a safe buffer for battery life so I know my Phantom will make it back should anything go wrong. That and the lack of telemetry past 1km

 

[helixaviator]

Re: Micro amps

If you have Android device, you may download a free app called Wifi Analyzer https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... yzer&hl=en (or other similar apps). On my Nexus 7, Wifi Analyzer can show hidden SSID signal strength (Vision camera FC200_XXXXXX is a hidden SSID). You may then compare Wifi signal strength with and without an amplifier at the same distance. This is not accurate measurement, but just a brief idea of how much extra gain with amplifier.

The hidden SSID of your Vision camera is shown in Vision app Settings | Binding.

For measuring signal strength, you don't need to know the SSID. If you open the Wifi Analyzer app and flip to a page below as highlighted in red, you may see a "?" following the MAC address. That's the Vision camera signal strength, -37 dBm in that particular instance. If you move your device away from the camera, you may see lower signal strength, or vice versa.

BTW, Phantom _XXXXXX is the repeater signal strength.

Downloaded wifi analyzer on android phone but not picking up hidden ssids. do you need the pay version?

 

[themosttoys]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

In the areas I have flown there is too much WiFi interference to go very far. Using an 8dbi omni directional on the range extender I've flown to half mile away. Its worth noteing that I can do that at any orientation and I maintain full signal but the fpv will randomly cut in and out for no apparent reason.

I'm sure flying in a WiFi free area I'll easily push past 1km with the omni and I will be picking up a high gain rhcp helical to match the skew planer I have which goes in place of one of the two Omni's and it wouldn't surprise me if I can push 2km with that setup. I doubt I'll get more with out adding a signal amplifier to the phantoms camera.

Also I wouldn't feel comfortable going too far beyond 2km do to battery concerns I prefer keeping a safe buffer for battery life so I know my Phantom will make it back should anything go wrong. That and the lack of telemetry past 1km

Sorry for a partial cross post, but here is a test under very noisy conditions (1000's of wifi, many cell towers, power lines, even a 200+ foot hill). Could have gone further, but needed to return into wind and wanted to be sure I got back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43rRozzyGek

The problem I had with my omni setup was not potential range it was orientation. Linear antennas are very sensitive to orientation. Wind blowing the P2V (aka, the P2V slanting sideways into the wind) knocked off my reception, flying in any direction would knock off reception (unless I could match the angle with the repeater), ... Switching to circular polarized did not necessarily get me any further then I could do with linear, but it eliminated orientation concerns.

You are right to limit your range based on battery. Really, other then proving that it can be done, what is the point in flying straight out and straight back. The vast majority of the flying I do is well within 1km. The thing I like about having the setup capable of doing more is that within 1km I practically never lose signal (unless I fly behind a huge water tower ;-) ) I can go behind trees without a problem (not the case with the stock or even the linear setup I was using.)

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here's an updated parts list to my original post. one part was wrong, female to Female SMA Coupler. I now have the correct coupler part link, a SMA Female to RP-SMA Female. These parts will allow you to do the camera antenna mod with out having to take the camera apart with the exception of taking just the cover off. Since I could not find a Male u.fl to Male RP-SMA cable, or a Male to Male U.FL cable. The following 3 parts will get the same basic job done.

The parts are as follows and will be listed with E-Bay links below. a 6 inch male to female u.fl cable. a male U.Fl to Male SMA connector. A Female to RP-SMA Female coupler.

How to do the mod.

Using a 1.5mm hex wrench you will remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the camera. Put a piece of tape over the button so it does not fall off when lifting the cover, first from the back then the front then lifting straight out. You will disconnect the cable plugged into one of the side facing square antennas into the male end of the 6" cable, then the female end into the adapter then screw in the twin female head sma coupler, then your antenna into that. Oh. And you will route the 6" antenna wire through existing vent holes on the plastic bottom so no drilling required. That's it, Easy.

Here's link to my video on the subject. Note, the video shows the wrong female / female sma coupler. I have an annotation noting the correction, The correct parts list is also in the video description as well as below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_nVHSkSdo

Parts List.

Adapter SMA plug male to IPX U.fl male plug RF connector straight M/M
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271217077429?ss ... 1423.l2649

SMA female to RP-SMA Female
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271201499649

Pigtail: U.FL Male to U.FL Female Extension - 6 inches
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300942434456?ss ... 1423.l2649

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Sorry for a partial cross post, but here is a test under very noisy conditions (1000's of wifi, many cell towers, power lines, even a 200+ foot hill). Could have gone further, but needed to return into wind and wanted to be sure I got back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43rRozzyGek

The problem I had with my omni setup was not potential range it was orientation. Linear antennas are very sensitive to orientation. Wind blowing the P2V (aka, the P2V slanting sideways into the wind) knocked off my reception, flying in any direction would knock off reception (unless I could match the angle with the repeater), ... Switching to circular polarized did not necessarily get me any further then I could do with linear, but it eliminated orientation concerns.

You are right to limit your range based on battery. Really, other then proving that it can be done, what is the point in flying straight out and straight back. The vast majority of the flying I do is well within 1km. The thing I like about having the setup capable of doing more is that within 1km I practically never lose signal (unless I fly behind a huge water tower ;-) ) I can go behind trees without a problem (not the case with the stock or even the linear setup I was using.)

Yeah that's basically what I've noticed with using the regular omnis. They can work really well but definatly have reliability issues as I'll randomly loose signal even with full signal showing just before it happens. Though the latest variation of my antennas certainly helped improve that a lot it's still been far from ideal. Tomorrow I'll have my second Skew Planer antenna and have my dual setup running. As well as the RHCP Helical antenna which I will combine with one of my omnis for my repeater. I'm excited to see how that setup will perform and if I can finally get to or break the 1km mark (highest preview quality) from the 2,600 foot mark (lowest preview quality) I've been stuck at in my heavily wifi congested area. Also, is their any particular brand of wifi signal booster you'd recommend, for one that's 2 watts or under?

 

[nhoover]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here's an updated parts list to my original post. one part was wrong, female to Female SMA Coupler. I now have the correct coupler part link, a SMA Female to RP-SMA Female. These parts will allow you to do the camera antenna mod with out having to take the camera apart with the exception of taking just the cover off. Since I could not find a Male u.fl to Male RP-SMA cable, or a Male to Male U.FL cable. The following 3 parts will get the same basic job done.

...

Parts List.

Adapter SMA plug male to IPX U.fl male plug RF connector straight M/M
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271217077429?ss ... 1423.l2649

SMA female to RP-SMA Female
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271201499649

Pigtail: U.FL Male to U.FL Female Extension - 6 inches
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300942434456?ss ... 1423.l2649

This is great! I knew you would find these parts so I waited - just put in my orders now! Thanks so much.

 

[themosttoys]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Also, is their any particular brand of wifi signal booster you'd recommend, for one that's 2 watts or under?

I don't have a recommendation. I have some thoughts I can share:

I personally like L-com (www.l-com.com) but their products are not easily modified to be used on the P2V.

I chose radiolabs because of the size and weight (http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wirel ... -800mw.php). While it is advertised as 800mw, it is actually testing out at 350mw (BTW, this is NOT uncommon as I have a 2.5w amp that tests out at 750mw.) I dislike the unnecessarily massive 90 degree connector they use but otherwise it has performed reasonably well for me (I'm happy with it).

I've used Sunhans products for other projects (ex: the aforementioned 2.5w amp) and have also had reasonable results, the reason I didn't use one of the Sunhans I already had were:
1) Weight (150g+).
2) power draw, originally I was flying a separate battery and wanted to go with a smaller battery.
3) I simply didn't need so much power and while it should not have an effect on the other components of the P2V (Ex: GPS) I didn't see a reason to increase risk. Before going down this route, I had tried a number of high powered repeaters / amps & antennas (ground side) and noticed an odd phenomena where the P2V GPS would not lock when close to the high power wifi. The higher the power, the further I needed to place the P2V from it to get GPS lock. That made me nervous about amping the P2V. There is zero doubt in my mind that GPS issues (usually people not waiting for a solid lock and home position set, or the GPS losing signal in flight) are the absolute top reason for "flyaways" or other unfortunate situations.

These were my results and my reasons, as always YMMV.

Cheers

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here's an updated parts list to my original post. one part was wrong, female to Female SMA Coupler. I now have the correct coupler part link, a SMA Female to RP-SMA Female. These parts will allow you to do the camera antenna mod with out having to take the camera apart with the exception of taking just the cover off. Since I could not find a Male u.fl to Male RP-SMA cable, or a Male to Male U.FL cable. The following 3 parts will get the same basic job done.

...

Parts List.

Adapter SMA plug male to IPX U.fl male plug RF connector straight M/M
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271217077429?ss ... 1423.l2649

SMA female to RP-SMA Female
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271201499649

Pigtail: U.FL Male to U.FL Female Extension - 6 inches
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300942434456?ss ... 1423.l2649

This is great! I knew you would find these parts so I waited - just put in my orders now! Thanks so much.

You're welcome. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Nasrace10]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Thanks everyone for all the hard work on this thread..... To date I have done the repeater upgrade and with two omnis
I've been able to fly 3300 ft ... But like everyone I want further I purchased the helical and the one for the drone and finished
The upgrade to the camera. See pics. Does anyone know what he distance should be for these after upgrading I can only go about
2500 ft.... Was wondering if I have something mismatched or something or maybe purchased the wrong antennas. Any help would be gratefull

 

[mr_3_0_5]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Thanks everyone for all the hard work on this thread..... To date I have done the repeater upgrade and with two omnis
I've been able to fly 3300 ft ... But like everyone I want further I purchased the helical and the one for the drone and finished
The upgrade to the camera. See pics. Does anyone know what he distance should be for these after upgrading I can only go about
2500 ft.... Was wondering if I have something mismatched or something or maybe purchased the wrong antennas. Any help would be gratefull[/


Ok edit you got pictures up
Looks like the same setup themosttoys is running

 

[themosttoys]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Thanks everyone for all the hard work on this thread..... To date I have done the repeater upgrade and with two omnis
I've been able to fly 3300 ft ... But like everyone I want further I purchased the helical and the one for the drone and finished
The upgrade to the camera. See pics. Does anyone know what he distance should be for these after upgrading I can only go about
2500 ft.... Was wondering if I have something mismatched or something or maybe purchased the wrong antennas. Any help would be gratefull

With that setup, you should be near 2km (near 3km in rural area) and easily well over 1km. The only difference between that and mine is that I don't use an omni.

1st thoughts:
Sounds like the distance is coming from the omni alone (aka, sounds like the new antennas may not be properly connected).
Have you checked all your cables and connectors? If you were using an omni before, you probably have RP-SMA pigtail, did you get an RP-SMA to SMA adapter or did you change the pigtail to SMA? Looks like you have some type of connector on the SP, is it the correct type (Ex: SMA - SMA with SMA pigtail, ...)?
How are you attaching the SP to the P2V? Best is to attach it to the landing gear pointing straight down. It will work in any orientation, just be aware of the dead spots at the top and bottom of the antenna (and of course anything that may come between the antennas, like the camera or P2V itself.)

 

[HaM-73]

Re: Phantom 2 Vision WIFI

Here's an updated parts list to my original post. one part was wrong, female to Female SMA Coupler. I now have the correct coupler part link, a SMA Female to RP-SMA Female. These parts will allow you to do the camera antenna mod with out having to take the camera apart with the exception of taking just the cover off. Since I could not find a Male u.fl to Male RP-SMA cable, or a Male to Male U.FL cable. The following 3 parts will get the same basic job done.

The parts are as follows and will be listed with E-Bay links below. a 6 inch male to female u.fl cable. a male U.Fl to Male SMA connector. A Female to RP-SMA Female coupler.

How to do the mod.

Using a 1.5mm hex wrench you will remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the camera. Put a piece of tape over the button so it does not fall off when lifting the cover, first from the back then the front then lifting straight out. You will disconnect the cable plugged into one of the side facing square antennas into the male end of the 6" cable, then the female end into the adapter then screw in the twin female head sma coupler, then your antenna into that. Oh. And you will route the 6" antenna wire through existing vent holes on the plastic bottom so no drilling required. That's it, Easy.

Here's link to my video on the subject. Note, the video shows the wrong female / female sma coupler. I have an annotation noting the correction, The correct parts list is also in the video description as well as below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_nVHSkSdo

Parts List.

Adapter SMA plug male to IPX U.fl male plug RF connector straight M/M
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271217077429?ss ... 1423.l2649

SMA female to RP-SMA Female
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271201499649

Pigtail: U.FL Male to U.FL Female Extension - 6 inches
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300942434456?ss ... 1423.l2649

We must have been thinking along the same lines. My problem was I could not take the camera apart because they put so much loctite on the screws that one of them ended up stripped out. So I also bought that 1" cable that was just an extension, and of course it did not solve the problem, so I then found the SMA to IPX U.fl connector. Paid a bit more but the quick ship was worth it. Only problem with that connector is I could not find a way to fit it inside the camera without more modification. So as you will notice in my pics, I just mounted it outside for now. I do have a plan to get things inside but it may take a week or so to develop. This configuration was able to get me 3000 feet with lots of other WiFi in the area. I should get more connectors tomorrow which will enable me to test my ibcrazy helical. Will report back on those results.

Link where I got the connector.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141113641120?ss ... 1497.l2649

This guy also makes custom cables too.
http://www.wifiexpert.us