1 km range with cheap $10.00 antennas

chapsrlz · Mar 23, 2015

hi guys.

on friday i had the oportunity fo fly my p2 on an open field, i wanted to test distance and height and i did 1 km in distance and about 500mt in height and a pair of cheap antennas.
http://www.flytrex.com/mission/quadcopt ... -hQ5533V2/

my setting.

phantom 2
avl58 transmitter
black pearl monitor (dont know if its 7 or 32 channel)
and a set of cheap antenas (http://www.ebay.com/itm/FPV-5-8Ghz-Clov ... 3a92c2bc59)

i lost reception at about 1,050 meters.

just wanted to let you know about this great antennas, which are very cheap

greetings!

gword256 · Mar 24, 2015

Interesting that they would use a 3-lobe and a 4-lobe. Why not both the same?

10$ is tempting. How long for shipping?

I wanted to go with mushroom antenna just so I don't damage them during handling.

vinnyvetere · Mar 24, 2015

:?: :?: :?: I'm new and trying to learn everything I can about the PV2+v3.
Where do these antennas connect to?
I just have the stock bird & controller.
What else do you suggest I buy?
I appreciate all answers.
Thank You :roll: :roll:

chapsrlz · Mar 24, 2015

you need the following (the easiest way without soldering)

dji zenmuse h3-3d or h3-4d
dji hub
avl58 transmitter (if using the black pearl monitor)
dji anti interference board
iosd mini
plug all of the above to the dji hub.

the antennas from the link which are connected to the black pearl monitor
one antenna which is connected to the avl58 transmitter

and thats all

(like i said, the easy way, there are a lot of you tube videos on how to connect each accessorie to the hub)

greetings
cas

lake_flyer · Mar 25, 2015

That's when you have a P2.
With a Vision it's a whole different story, you're stuck with the 2.4GHz stream to smart phone unless you change the bird completely, in which case you probably shouldn't have bought a Vision at all.

lake_flyer · Mar 25, 2015

To the OP:

I love these posts where it's shows that with a bit of dare, luck and research, you can find very cost effective solutions.
My experience with using extremely cheap 2.4/5.8GHz panel antenna (I believe they boost 6dB on 5.8 and 3 on 2.4) on my Fatshark Predator, as well on my diversity screen, are amazing.

Bought a pair of them for less than 10$ including shipping from China (Goodluckbuy.com), they arrived within 2 weeks. Turned out to be the wrong connector (always mess them up). I just soldered a piece of copper wire in the connector to change it to male.

So far I haven't scratched the limits yet. Took it out as far as I dared, well over 2Km and still had no loss in video. Using the Fatshark 250Mw with the stock whip in combination with one panel antenna on the receiving end works absolutely great. Tried an expensive mushroom on the Fatshark Tx but it got snowy and glitchy after 1200meters, where the stock whip would still produce a clear image.

After modding my FC40 to 2.4 GHz I will be interchanging the Fatshark Tx as well as the G-2D gimbal/gopro between my P2 and FC40, simply by using velcro and a few connectors. Saves me an extra Tx and gimbal.

Getting the most for your money without suffering quality of the final result, I like that. And I believe it educates you towards a point where you can better judge the value of the more expensive solutions.

voodoo · Mar 25, 2015

How spotty is your video during this flight and other of such range? I have been having issues with reception after a couple hundred meters. I am trying to figure out the fpv experience that everyone else gets. Cheers!

chapsrlz · Mar 25, 2015

as you can see in the picture, i placed the transmitter/antena in the back of the phantom. when im flying forward i have very clear transmission up to 500 mts (yesterday i tried it in the city). when i turn the phantom and the front is towards me, the reception gets a lot of interference at 400 m (again in the city).

in my first post i was in a very open field (no trees, buildings, etc) and when flying forward i had clear transmission up to 750 - 800 mts and when i turned the front of the phantom towards me i got interference at about 500 - 600 m.

i had reception, with some interference (i was able to read the telemetry and saw the video), up to 1 km on the open field.

lake_flyer · Mar 28, 2015

voodoo said:
How spotty is your video during this flight and other of such range? I have been having issues with reception after a couple hundred meters. I am trying to figure out the fpv experience that everyone else gets. Cheers!

The reception is pretty good. Worst picture I get is when it's very near or straight above me. I don't see much loss going out 1.8Km. I placed the Tx with antenna at an angle with velcro on the left aft leg, it's directly under the left aft motor, opposite of the compass leg. After turning to face home, the reception is still fine, a little bit more interference and maybe the picture is slightly blurred, but still very good. Only in the turn I get some real dropouts but only a few seconds. The higher up, the better reception. The 1800m run was at around 80m high.

The panel antenna boosts 11dbi on 2.4Ghz and 6db1 on 5.8Ghz.

I tried to use a expensive mushroom on the Goggles and screen but the at greater distances reception got really bad. With stock whip on the Tx, the panel on the Fatshark goggles, as well as on the diversity screen (in combination with 1 stock whip), the reception is amazing. Never thought it would be that good, after reading everything about expensive antennae and mods and the problems lots of people have, even after spending 40$ or more per antenna.

I really think a lot of stories about these antennae are a bit over the top. Try it first with a cheap panel like I have. (less than 10$ for a pair!) and see how you can improve on that.

Not saying good quality high end antennae are a waste of money (yes, I do actually, but I'm sure everyone here has a good reason to buy them).
Not bashing expensive stuff at all. There must be some reason people prefer them. I have tried to convince myself that I needed high end hand built boutique antennae but I just couldn't.

Must say, the immersion Tx's (Fatshark), specially the 250Mw version, is one of the best out there. Most people get amazing distances with it, no matter what you have on the receiving end, Goggles, separate Rx or (diversity)screen. Even with the standard whips on both ends I reached 1300m without much noise.