RANGE? Immersion 600mw tx, with Spironets

[Karl666]

Hi,

I've been watching this forum for sometime but never posted before. I have suffered with poor FPV for many months and was starting to doubt my setup. I have a BP and an ImmersionRC 600mw tx. I was initially using a rubber duck and a spironet v2 on the BP and a spironet v2 on the phantom tx. This was mounted like many others, out of the back. Needless to say my range was very poor only getting about 200 meters before having to turn back. This made it worse because now antenna on the tx is shielded from view by the gopro.

Just by changing the position of the tx so it hangs out the side and upgrading the antennas gave a massive improvement. I now easily get 1km @ 30m with rock steady video and no major issues.

I'm using Channel 4 (5800) on the tx
Spironet v2 on the tx coming out the side ( compass side )
Black hawk helical 5 turn and a nimrod on the BP

I was thinking about having a spironet or nimrod mounted underneath between the landing gear. If the semi rigid antenna cable was mounted in a small diameter tube with a light tension spring assembly it could be made to extend as the craft lifted from the ground and retract under the weight of the phantom on landing. The nimrod is encased in epoxy resin so this might be better suited and be more hard wearing. This would then easily clear the bottom of the landing gear when in flight and in theory give no blind spots no matter what the flight orientation.

You If you are using the Spironet antennas on both Tx and RX with you should be getting over a mile range. Make sure you didn't make the same mistake I initially did. Check the connector on the antenna that plugs into the ImmersionRC 600mW. It should have a PIN in the center.

Should look like like this.

Hi,
Yep antennas have the correct plugs. The issues were resolved by using black hawk 5 turn helical and nimrods, moving the tx antenna out to the side ( compass side ). I could probably go out further but 1km is fine by me. The video is stable and predictable which is what I'm after.
Karl.

 

[havasuphoto]

Black balls, with orange 3M earplugs(1 full ear plug stuffed into each damper);, 1 1/4"X1 1/4", 1/4"

Reduced 90% of high speed vertical hop, and about 75% reduction in micro bounce. Your mileage may vary.

Does the sorbothane not take away the benefit of the ball dampers as you are creating a "touching" surface in the frame?

No. It actually helps absorb a large amount of the vertical hop you get on climb-out and at speeds. Also-using the black balls with ear plugs, stiffens them up, and help reduce some of the micro-bounce.
I just tried it without the earplugs, and it was worse!!
So, the best you can do to removed vibration from your Zen H3-2D, is what I described above. I've tried all 3 colors of dampers, and each with earplugs and without-and am at the final "solution".

 

[hook3m]

Hi,
Yep antennas have the correct plugs. The issues were resolved by using black hawk 5 turn helical and nimrods, moving the tx antenna out to the side ( compass side ). I could probably go out further but 1km is fine by me. The video is stable and predictable which is what I'm after.
Karl.

Just wondering why you were getting such poor reception without the helical. With the Spironets alone you should have gotten at least 1600m.

 

[havasuphoto]

Just got these from Canada-they're Planar Skew type antenna's. Made to order. The 1 for the TX has an RP-SMA and the receiver has an SMA connector. Will report back when the weather clears on range, etc.;

 

[Karl666]

Hi,
Yep antennas have the correct plugs. The issues were resolved by using black hawk 5 turn helical and nimrods, moving the tx antenna out to the side ( compass side ). I could probably go out further but 1km is fine by me. The video is stable and predictable which is what I'm after.
Karl.

Just wondering why you were getting such poor reception without the helical. With the Spironets alone you should have gotten at least 1600m.

Its all about antenna positioning. When I fly out I don't fly in straight lines. I tend to weave around and explore as I go. With the antenna coming out of the back you obscure your own signal as you turn or make your way back. Hanging out the side and down low makes it much more visible. The helical is the master when it comes to picking up small signal fragments. The new nimrod on the BP hardly cuts in at all unless the phantom is up close.

I still think the ultimate solution ( in my mind anyway ) is to have a sprung loaded CP sprionet or nimrod that deploys from underneath the craft as it lifts and retracts again under the weight of the phantom as it lands. The dome of the antenna would be visible in almost all positions.

 

[2trickpony]

Hi,
Yep antennas have the correct plugs. The issues were resolved by using black hawk 5 turn helical and nimrods, moving the tx antenna out to the side ( compass side ). I could probably go out further but 1km is fine by me. The video is stable and predictable which is what I'm after.
Karl.

Just wondering why you were getting such poor reception without the helical. With the Spironets alone you should have gotten at least 1600m.

Its all about antenna positioning. When I fly out I don't fly in straight lines. I tend to weave around and explore as I go. With the antenna coming out of the back you obscure your own signal as you turn or make your way back. Hanging out the side and down low makes it much more visible. The helical is the master when it comes to picking up small signal fragments. The new nimrod on the BP hardly cuts in at all unless the phantom is up close.

I still think the ultimate solution ( in my mind anyway ) is to have a sprung loaded CP sprionet or nimrod that deploys from underneath the craft as it lifts and retracts again under the weight of the phantom as it lands. The dome of the antenna would be visible in almost all positions.

I have thought of doing that with a simple hinge and spring setup.

 

[Karl666]

Yeah, anything to get the antenna clear of the gimbal, gopro and landing gear can only be a good thing.
The only problem with the hinge approach is that as the phantom travels the antenna will bend backwards in the wind. I reckon if the coax section of something like a spironet was inserted through a rigid plastic/pvc tube and mounted between the legs of the landing gear, it would allow it to fall down when the phantom lifts. It would retract back inside when the phantom lands. Some sort of weak spring assembly might be needed to help gravity lower the antenna on take off. The fatshark or nimrod might be best suited because the elements are encased and would be damaged when the phantom touches down. It would probably only need to drop a few inches.

 

[mcmax20]

I'll post a picture after I get home but mounting inside works fine for me and I have the antenna coming out the bottom with a little S-bend so it sits exactly the same height as the landing gear a bit behind the gimbal. This works great for me for the whole 360 degrees, I think the only time it wouldn't work is if I'm flying below my home position. At anything over 5m I'm always in view of the antenna because of the angle. Since the GoPro sits slightly above the landing gear it still works fine when facing me.

 

[havasuphoto]

Made another long range run Today. Winds were light, and crosswind-so no issues there. The "goal", was to go past 1500M, @50M, retain video, with no F.S. This is on an "island", so there's pretty much zero radio interference.

Now keep in mind that 1 mile, is 1609M. I very much wanted to achieve that goal....but just not on the first flight of the day.

My set-up; Same as before, Phantom 1, Boscam 600mw VTX, Spironet CP(red sticks), with SMA-RP SMA adapter into the VTX, sticking out the left side past the landing gear/body, with the mushroom part, pointed down. I have the Zen+GP3, and I was using a 2800mah Maddog battery(it's all I use anymore).
Also, the receiver/monitor is a generic 7", with 1 Spirontet CP on one side, and a generic CP on the other.
I use Fatshark Base goggles, plugged into the monitor. AND, with the FS battery, the lenses stay way cooler than when I was powering it with the 2200mah battery.

So, off I go-get to about 10 meters, climbing and going forward, take hands off remote, put goggles on, and hit the "turbo" button(that's a joke-there isn't one).

I sat there and watched as 1000M clicked by, then 1300M...I'm really paying attention now, got to 1500M....and just kept going! I had good video, and there was no delay in the stick control, so I continued-out to 1612M...at 80M(I had intended to remain at 50M-but was so intent on watching the distance, I kinda spaced watching the altitude readout).
That's 1.02 miles!!!!

Now for some math; It took me 115 seconds to reach 1612M, for an average of 14m/sec. That's easily achievable with the Vision props/Phantom 2(assume no wind). So, almost 2 minutes.

Then, I hit the "back turbo" button(just pulled back on the stick), and flew backwards-at around 16m/sec.......it's not til I get too around 700M that I feel comfortable turning the aircraft around. I've found that if I try to turn around any further out than that-I lose video signal momentarily, but, the aircraft almost immediately enters Fail Safe. That's just not fun, watching your Phantom fly back at 8m/sec-yawn.

At this point-I'm just awaiting the new P2Z+H3-3D. I will probably arrange the VTX a little differently-haven't decided yet, where I want the antenna-but I'm pretty sure it will be sticking out the side with the Compass-not the RC, and down.
I'll have iOSD mini on that one too. Will be interesting to go too the exact same point, and repeat-with the same VTX/antenna combo-but the stock P2 controller(I use a Futaba T8J RX/TX).

 

[2trickpony]

I sat there and watched as 1000M clicked by, then 1300M...I'm really paying attention now, got to 1500M....and just kept going! I had good video, and there was no delay in the stick control, so I continued-out to 1612M...at 80M(I had intended to remain at 50M-but was so intent on watching the distance, I kinda spaced watching the altitude readout).
That's 1.02 miles!!!!

.

Yeah, the first mile is exciting, well done!

 

[d4ddyo]

Sweet! Question... is everyone experiencing better reception going out compass side? thought i read somewhere it was better going away from compass?

 

[2trickpony]

Sweet! Question... is everyone experiencing better reception going out compass side? thought i read somewhere it was better going away from compass?

I would keep it well away from the compass.

 

[havasuphoto]

Sweet! Question... is everyone experiencing better reception going out compass side? thought i read somewhere it was better going away from compass?

I would keep it well away from the compass.

Why? Power it up, with the aircraft plugged into Naza, and wave the VTX around the compass and see if the readings change?? I'm curious.
I have mine facing the RC side.
And-I don't see much point in going further than a mile with my PH1. You start approaching the point where it will enter fail safe, fly too slow home, and decide to land itself somewhere. Not worth the risk.
Now when I get the PH2-that's a different story

 

[Karl666]

Sweet! Question... is everyone experiencing better reception going out compass side? thought i read somewhere it was better going away from compass?

I would keep it well away from the compass.

Mine is out the compass side and I've had no issues at all. Flys great
As long as the bend in your antenna is clear of the legs then no problem.

 

[Maxxborg]

Took mine out to 1830m before losing video, I had to hit failsafe to bring it back so I had video again. Man I love the long distance stuff, very fun!

 

[havasuphoto]

Took mine out to 1830m before losing video, I had to hit failsafe to bring it back so I had video again. Man I love the long distance stuff, very fun!

What type, and where is your antenna located on the aircraft?

 

[qazico]

New here. My contribution. Haven't put her in a scale yet. Still to windy here to try anything other than a quick hover.

 

[mcmax20]

Seriously guys, the best thing you can do is straight down somewhere at the middle of the body to have the cloverleaf inline with the landing gear to the point where it is a 5th point to land on, this will be below the gimbal. You can turn around without any interference at all; any side mount, regardless of direction, with not work as well. These are quadcopters, 90% of the time operated at a height higher than that of the pilot and need the antenna mounted underneath, not sideways.

I have mine mounted inside coming down and I can't say it is the best for summer (risk of overheating) because I haven't had the opportunity yet, but I do know that a cloverleaf coming down to the same height as the landing gear will be the best option possible; besides coming down below the landing gear - but that would be very hard to land in the conventional manner.

Just my $0.02, take it how you like! :ugeek:

 

[mcmax20]

A pic of my setup, I'm really happy with it. Don't mind the mini iOSD & GS, they're velcro'd on but hold firm. I do this so I can take the GS off when I'm not using it. The foam on top of the GoPro is for when I have it in the case to stop it from moving around during transport.

 

[cuffking]

Looking to add a BlK Pearl to my setup. Has anyone purchase from these guys? http://www.rangevideo.com/index.php/bla ... ttery.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes I ordered my Black Pearl from Range Video a few weeks ago. They were good to work with and I received it in about 4 days standard delivery. I don't know about you but I found that most suppliers do not have the BP in stock And if they do it' doesn't include the battery. Range Video had it. I also purchased the Fly Sight 400mW transmitter instead of the immersion 600. SMe price but I figured I would bypass some of the issues others on this thread have ran into by purchasing the matching transmitter from the makers of the Black Pearl.