RANGE? Immersion 600mw tx, with Spironets

[lotusman]

HI there, my setup consists of blackpearl diversity monitor receiver
Immersion 600mw tx
spironet antennas on both ends
spironet patch antenna on second rx port on monitor/receiver

Problem is Im only getting about 400-500 meters of range.
this setup is supposed to have about 3-4km line of site.

antenna on tx is pointed down

Im using band F and channel 1
thoughts?

 

[tawd77]

Do you have the black pearl set to diversity mode, so it can pick the best signal? I have the exact setup, but havent had it over 400meters out yet. I will try longer range on wednesday if the wind settles down. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[lotusman]

Do you have the black pearl set to diversity mode, so it can pick the best signal? I have the exact setup, but havent had it over 400meters out yet. I will try longer range on wednesday if the wind settles down. I will let you know how it goes.

Hi, I see the LED flashing back and forth, it say DIV, so yes

http://youtu.be/idp7157kzU0
took a video of my first ever flight, it was lots of fun

 

[goldfishrock]

I've got exactly the same setup and I am seeing similar performance.... I've taken it to about 600m at 120m altitude, almost perfect LOS (there was a tree about 100m from me) and the video starts to break up quite badly to the point of unusable. It's certainly better with the Patch than it was with just the Spironets however I beleived it would perform better than that.

I have bought a Fatshark 250mw to pop on and see if it's any better however at the moment I'm not planning on flying it any further than the 500-600m I currently do so the range surfices.

Would be interested to hear other's experience

 

[lotusman]

I love the marketing BS Immersion/fatshark claims for their patch antenna

This antenna will breathe new life into the CE-Legal 25mW systems, allowing multi-km range with ease. For 600mW systems, its time to start worrying about the range of the control link, since with a combination of this antenna, and a spiroNET omni, the video range can greatly exceed the control range of most 2.4GHz radios.

Haha, multikm with 25mw, we can't even get ONE km with 600mw, or 24x more power..

the only think I can think of is the black pearl is a really terrible receiver, anyone using immersion's DUO receiver? I figure there must be a reaosn the blackpearl is $200 for an LCD monitor, sunshade, and battery and charger and receiver, when the duo is $260 for JUST the receiver...

 

[thongbong]

I'm using the Uno and I'm still getting clear video out 600meters. Was about to sell my gear and get a BP, but now I think not :lol:

 

[goldfishrock]

I am beginning to wonder if it's the BP at fault here. It seems to be a common factor in a lot of these 'performance' posts.

 

[Jimpic]

I get a very good range with a Black Pearl, immersionRC 600 mw and good pinwheel antennas (+ directional Helix): more than 3 km.
May be the spironets are not so good.

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

I have the same setup and I am only getting 500m as well. Something is wrong and I too was disappointed. Please everyone chip in and lets work together to identify the weak link here. I read in another post that someone changed from the 600mw to the 250mw and instantly got better range so I would welcome reports on that.

As for my requirements 500m is going to be fine however if I am hanging around at that distance I expect distortion free video on my FPV.

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

I get a very good range with a Black Pearl, immersionRC 600 mw and good pinwheel antennas (+ directional Helix): more than 3 km.
May be the spironets are not so good.

Any chance of some pics of your antennas and links to where they came from please?

 

[goldfishrock]

I read in another post that someone changed from the 600mw to the 250mw and instantly got better range so I would welcome reports on that.

I have a Fatshark 250mw at home. I'll switch my IRC600 for the Fatshark and see what happens. Weather is ok here today so I'll try as soon as I get home this afternoon. I've also ordered a 5-Turn Helix to try.... but for now....

Test Setup
Fatshark 250mw with Fatshark Spironet
Black Pearl with Fatshark Patch + Fatshark Spironet

I'll report back as soon as I can

 

[Jimpic]

Any chance of some pics of your antennas and links to where they came from please?

You can see my set up on my blog there:
http://www.jimpic.fr/photos-de-mon-phantom-2/

Or here:

These antennas are made by lafabriquecirculaire.fr (very good quality french handycraft):

* LX LR is the one at the top on the above photo. I have them all but usually use the 2 others

You can buy them from this french shop for instance:
Pinwheel 5,8 SL SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-pinwheel-p-998.html
Pinwheel 5,8 SL RP-SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-pinwh ... -1032.html
LX 5,8 SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-helix-p-2026.html
LX 5,8 RP-SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-helix ... -2028.html

It's not a large production, so they are not always availbable. They have a very very good reputation in France.
I will not change for any other antenna.

 

[Ozon8r]

I wanted to add a monitor primarily for copilot viewing and to compliment my fatshark attitude goggles and irc tx.

I almost pulled the trigger on the bp
Monitor until reading this thread.

Although a much more expensive solution, the duo diversity looks like a more reliable based on user posted data here and other forums.

Btw, I just added the rmrc crosshair antenna giving me an extra 400m of clear video, replacing an irc spironet on rx.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

Any chance of some pics of your antennas and links to where they came from please?

You can see my set up on my blog there:
http://www.jimpic.fr/photos-de-mon-phantom-2/

Or here:

These antennas are made by lafabriquecirculaire.fr (very good quality french handycraft):

* LX LR is the one at the top on the above photo. I have them all but usually use the 2 others

You can buy them from this french shop for instance:
Pinwheel 5,8 SL SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-pinwheel-p-998.html
Pinwheel 5,8 SL RP-SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-pinwh ... -1032.html
LX 5,8 SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-helix-p-2026.html
LX 5,8 RP-SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-helix ... -2028.html

It's not a large production, so they are not always availbable. They have a very very good reputation in France.
I will not change for any other antenna.

Thats a comprehensive reply. Many thanks for taking the time to do that. I shall have to consider those.

 

[2trickpony]

I have to say, my Black Pearl and ImmersionRC 600mW seems to be pretty crap too.
I have managed 1 flight to 1000m straight up but dont get much further than 200m straight distance without the screen being
unreadable.
I have the CP antennas on TX and RX.

Think I will have investigate better antennas. :evil:

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

I read in another post that someone changed from the 600mw to the 250mw and instantly got better range so I would welcome reports on that.

I have a Fatshark 250mw at home. I'll switch my IRC600 for the Fatshark and see what happens. Weather is ok here today so I'll try as soon as I get home this afternoon. I've also ordered a 5-Turn Helix to try.... but for now....

Test Setup
Fatshark 250mw with Fatshark Spironet
Black Pearl with Fatshark Patch + Fatshark Spironet

I'll report back as soon as I can

Thanks for trying this out. I look forward to your report.

 

[2trickpony]

Any chance of some pics of your antennas and links to where they came from please?

You can see my set up on my blog there:
http://www.jimpic.fr/photos-de-mon-phantom-2/

Or here:

These antennas are made by lafabriquecirculaire.fr (very good quality french handycraft):

* LX LR is the one at the top on the above photo. I have them all but usually use the 2 others

You can buy them from this french shop for instance:
Pinwheel 5,8 SL SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-pinwheel-p-998.html
Pinwheel 5,8 SL RP-SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-pinwh ... -1032.html
LX 5,8 SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-helix-p-2026.html
LX 5,8 RP-SMA: http://www.studiosport.fr/antenne-helix ... -2028.html

It's not a large production, so they are not always availbable. They have a very very good reputation in France.
I will not change for any other antenna.

Is that a DVR below your Black Pearl monitor?
If so it looks really neat, what model is it?

Cheers

 

[Jimpic]

Is that a DVR below your Black Pearl monitor?
If so it looks really neat, what model is it?

Yes, it's FPV-Japan DVR. Works great!

 

[freyjoel]

Just in case this helps anyone out...Using Fatshark Attitudes (plus Spironets) with an Immersion 250mw tx I have gone out to 1200 meters without the video signal breaking up significantly. Gets a little sketchy when I turn around but still pretty good. Just for the heck of it I bought and attached an Immersion 600mw tx and so far have taken that out to 1000 meters and the signal is crystal clear no matter what direction I rotate the P2. Will try going out farther in the next few days.

 

[Ozon8r]

Just in case this helps anyone out...Using Fatshark Attitudes (plus Spironets) with an Immersion 250mw tx I have gone out to 1200 meters without the video signal breaking up significantly. Gets a little sketchy when I turn around but still pretty good. Just for the heck of it I bought and attached an Immersion 600mw tx and so far have taken that out to 1000 meters and the signal is crystal clear no matter what direction I rotate the P2. Will try going out farther in the next few days.

Same here. I have same setup and just tested 600mw yesterday hitting 1600m before hitting static. I replaced the spironet on the goggles with a crosshair antenna and easily reached 2000m no static. I chickened out and turned back. It seems the 600mw tx is less affected by orientation of the phantom and gimbal than the 250mw tx.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk