AerialTEK Copper Parabolic add-on.
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Keep up the good work.
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Thanks @neven !!! Not sure what I did lol but I will take the compliment ! Ha ha ha
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"And on the 8th day God made Canada because even the Americans need a hero!"
As said by a co worker from the great white north.
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As said by a co worker from the great white north.
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Don't worry KyleMaxxUAV, I ordered my kit the other day an I'm still waiting on it.
I'm so freakin excited bro!!!!
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Awesome man !!! Are you in the USA ? Ordered from Jake ??
Looking forward to seeing the results !! We are always around if you need any help / have a question / etc!!!
I'm stoked for ya !!
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I wanted to weigh in here as well. I have used these for a long time and they do work but require a little adjustment when you're flying with them. You have to careful to point the controller in the"general" direction of the drone. The beam spread is pretty wide (about 120 degree from what I've tested) but if you turn away from the drone, they are pretty unforgiving. In addition to the parabolic advantages, which are used in everything from Dish TV setups to the sky beacons that are used for large parties, you also improve your antenna alignment. Using a set of these force your antenna into an exact parallel relationship, which is optimal for signal strength especially at long distances. My experience in a wide variety of locations is that these can add 50% or more distance to your flight. The alternative is to use an upgrade kit like the ARGtek to increase it even further. I did a test with an EMF meter a while back that you can watch below to show you the signal improvement.
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Putting on my ham radio hat here...
First, you need to understand the stock antennas.
They are omnidirectional, vertically polarized antennas. That means that the radio waves leave the antenna in all directions perpendicular to the long axis of the antenna. Very little to no signal leaves the top of the antenna and goes straight up. This is why you can have control issues if the Phantom is directly overhead; the signal is going straight in front of you much more than it is going up.
It's also important to understand that the signal is going out in a 360 degree pattern from the antenna - so at any given time, half of the signal is - by definition - heading AWAY from the drone. Yes, much of that is aimed at YOU.
What you are doing with these reflectors is bouncing that ("wasted") signal back out in the forward direction - a 120 degree arc, based on the comments above, at the expense (not that you likely care!) of dramatically decreasing the signal in the other 240 degrees of arc to the side and towards you. This is why you need to keep the antennas aimed more at the Phantom.
The other point is that this is not just beneficial for those who want to fly further, but for those who want a more reliable signal at any given distance. In areas of interference, this could be quite useful.
First, you need to understand the stock antennas.
They are omnidirectional, vertically polarized antennas. That means that the radio waves leave the antenna in all directions perpendicular to the long axis of the antenna. Very little to no signal leaves the top of the antenna and goes straight up. This is why you can have control issues if the Phantom is directly overhead; the signal is going straight in front of you much more than it is going up.
It's also important to understand that the signal is going out in a 360 degree pattern from the antenna - so at any given time, half of the signal is - by definition - heading AWAY from the drone. Yes, much of that is aimed at YOU.
What you are doing with these reflectors is bouncing that ("wasted") signal back out in the forward direction - a 120 degree arc, based on the comments above, at the expense (not that you likely care!) of dramatically decreasing the signal in the other 240 degrees of arc to the side and towards you. This is why you need to keep the antennas aimed more at the Phantom.
The other point is that this is not just beneficial for those who want to fly further, but for those who want a more reliable signal at any given distance. In areas of interference, this could be quite useful.
I know for a fact these inexpensive additions to your antennas work wonderfully in hightly congested radio wave environment. I doubled the distance but you really have to keep the antennas pointed in the direction of the phantom any deviation as mentioned above from Joet you can lose signal pretty quick.. When I first used them, I really thought the same, they didn't work or worse I'm getting less distance only because I was flying the same as before knowing how stock antennas worked and using the copper parabolic system you really need to focus the "beam" at the quad and you will get much more distance guaranteed.
The antennas on the Phantom are not omnidirectional. They are actually little slim PC boards, like a miniature panel antenna. Pull the sleeve off of one of your antennas and you will see what I mean. They are etched PC boards with, I believe quarter length etchings on them. This makes them directional and not omni at all. This is why DJI specifies in the owners manual that they are to be pointed at the aircraft at all times.
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They are omni, the etched boards do not mean they are directional.
The board is not a reflector which would make them omni. The signal passes through as if the board wasn't there.
The OEM DJI antennas are omnidirectional.
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The board is not a reflector which would make them omni. The signal passes through as if the board wasn't there.
The OEM DJI antennas are omnidirectional.
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You are right. I was thinking wrong.
They are omni, the etched boards do not mean they are directional.
The board is not a reflector which would make them omni. The signal passes through as if the board wasn't there.
The OEM DJI antennas are omnidirectional.
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Phantom 3 Advanced. I am not sure of the remote model number. I do not have the box with me, DJI has it right now.
I want to say its the B.
I want to say its the B.
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Yeah the model in on the bottom side of the remote. The colour doesn't matter, it's all the same. Even in the new Lightbridge 2 remotes.
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Maxx is spot on, the antenna are omni-directional and the PC board is essentially invisible to the signal. Technically it's a dipole antenna on the P3A, P3P and P4 because there are a pair of them. For the best radiation pattern it's important to keep them parallel to each other to avoid an abundance of nodal patterns (dead spots) in the transmission. By adding the parabolic reflector you're providing a surface the signal needs to bounce off of and are creating a "crude" directional antenna as well as keep the antenna perfectly parallel.
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