Antenna placement?

[Marconi Union]

Where do you place your datalink antennas? There very long on a phantom 2 and have no strength or integrity. I have placed them up along the leg next to the sats. I did this as I saw it done on another thread.How do you place them? Is there a better and neater solution? For the record I've not flown yet.



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[Diesel31]

here's my set up. i used a strip of electric tape to hold the antennae down while the other points straight out. No issues and good reception.

 

[EMCSQUAR]

I used small pieces of heat shrink glued to shell fished antennas through and made sure antennas are 90 degrees from each other.

 

[OI Photography]

I'd definitely suggest using an arrangement like Diesel or EMC recommended, or something like this even (not mine, but would work well):

Any of those would probably work better than the one you started with there, but groundstation range is often a non-issue...unless you're flying the Phantom with it in joystick mode, you don't have to maintain contact with it for it to continue executing a mission.

What will probably have more of an impact on your effective range than your exact placement is keeping the last 2 inches of the antennae (the exposed silvery part) as straight as possible. Bends in them can create uneven reception and weak spots in certain orientations.

 

[Marconi Union]

I'd definitely suggest using an arrangement like Diesel or EMC recommended, or something like this even (not mine, but would work well):

Any of those would probably work better than the one you started with there, but groundstation range is often a non-issue...unless you're flying the Phantom with it in joystick mode, you don't have to maintain contact with it for it to continue executing a mission.

What will probably have more of an impact on your effective range than your exact placement is keeping the last 2 inches of the antennae (the exposed silvery part) as straight as possible. Bends in them can create uneven reception and weak spots in certain orientations.

Would placing them near the compass be a problem? I will try that I think. So is my placement a bad solution? I don't fly with joysticks as I don't like the actual experience Yes the silver ends are straight.


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[OI Photography]

Would placing them near the compass be a problem? I will try that I think. So is my placement a bad solution? I don't fly with joysticks as I don't like the actual experience Yes the silver ends are straight.

Placing one of the antenna just above the compass shouldn't be an issue, others have done it with no problem. You could also put it in the same location but just tape the leads to the outside of the legs if you want.

Your original placement isn't horrible, it just isn't nearly optimal. The idea with 2 antenna leads like that is to keep them separate so they can compliment each other's reception.

 

[mister421]

mine works very well i sent it to 1.5 km antenna pointing sideways 45 degrees

 

[Marconi Union]

Would placing them near the compass be a problem? I will try that I think. So is my placement a bad solution? I don't fly with joysticks as I don't like the actual experience Yes the silver ends are straight.

Placing one of the antenna just above the compass shouldn't be an issue, others have done it with no problem. You could also put it in the same location but just tape the leads to the outside of the legs if you want.

Your original placement isn't horrible, it just isn't nearly optimal. The idea with 2 antenna leads like that is to keep them separate so they can compliment each other's reception.

Ok, thanks for your advice. I will change it to your suggestion.


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[Marconi Union]

mine works very well i sent it to 1.5 km antenna pointing sideways 45 degrees

Good meet placement, I like it!
What is the white fabric tape called and where can you get it from?


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[Opp5151]

mine works very well i sent it to 1.5 km antenna pointing sideways 45 degrees

Hey
Like the phantom connection vision
You can send me e-mail.
How did you do it
And how does it work?
And if it's worth the price.
[email protected]

 

[Nidge]

Radio waves have two components, an electrical and a magnetic component, which are 90 degrees different fro none another. So if the antenna is vertical in orientation the electrical field is also vertical while the magnetic field is in the horizontal plane. If you feel the antenna may be influencing the compass a simple test is to place a regular compass close to the antenna and see if the needle deflects from North when you apply power to the Datalink unit.

Regards

Nidge

 

[JamesD]

Nidge,
I wonder if applying power to the Datalink unit, while a computer is hooked up to the Phantom Assistant Software, monitoring the compass readings, would give you a more accurate look at the variation (if any) in numbers?

Jimmy

 

[Opp5151]

I'd definitely suggest using an arrangement like Diesel or EMC recommended, or something like this even (not mine, but would work well):

Any of those would probably work better than the one you started with there, but groundstation range is often a non-issue...unless you're flying the Phantom with it in joystick mode, you don't have to maintain contact with it for it to continue executing a mission.

What will probably have more of an impact on your effective range than your exact placement is keeping the last 2 inches of the antennae (the exposed silvery part) as straight as possible. Bends in them can create uneven reception and weak spots in certain orientations.

How do you recharge the ground station

 

[OI Photography]

How do you recharge the ground station

The groundstation doesn't have a built-in battery, it needs to run off a separate external battery or the USB connection to a laptop. In the picture above, the battery is probably behind the iPad.

 

[Diesel31]

yeah, you can see the balance plug behind the iPad.

GS comes with a plug that you have to solder to plugs that you would like to use for your power source. It's rated to take up to 6s (not sure why), but I use a 3s battery and for a bout an hour of flying, I still have 90% charge.

 

[wkf94025]

What sort of FPV impact are you GS users seeing? I tried mine in March briefly, and noticed a lot of interference with FPV quality. I use an IRC 600mW VTx, and the GS antennae were routed one along the side of the hull, and one down one of the back legs. Didn't spend much time at all experimenting, and curious what others have seen in terms of GS range, Tx range, and FPV quality/range as you experimented with different GS antenna locations. Having read through all the posts in this topic, I like someone's idea of running one of the antenna straight out the back into the air, but I also have my extended SpiroNet antenna currently occupying that space. Appreciate any best practices you have found.

From a usage standpoint, on longer/further flight plans, how much do you care about losing Tx range? Are you sufficiently comfortable that GS (or RTH) will always bring her home?

Kelly

 

[tbwester]

I taped mine to the arms. They end directly under the props. Seems to work well enough.

 

[creativedogmedia]

I have the BlueBeam Ultras with one coming off of the immersionRC....it comes out near same leg as compass....that should be ok, right? Do you think the 90* elbow is required for this or does straight out and bent down work better?

 

[OI Photography]

I have the BlueBeam Ultras with one coming off of the immersionRC....it comes out near same leg as compass....that should be ok, right? Do you think the 90* elbow is required for this or does straight out and bent down work better?

I have the BB Ultras and the Immersion Tx and I use the 90deg adapter. My Tx is oriented pointing out the rear of the Phantom rather than the side, but in either direction it's best to orient the antenna downward.

 

[creativedogmedia]

I have the BlueBeam Ultras with one coming off of the immersionRC....it comes out near same leg as compass....that should be ok, right? Do you think the 90* elbow is required for this or does straight out and bent down work better?

I have the BB Ultras and the Immersion Tx and I use the 90deg adapter. My Tx is oriented pointing out the rear of the Phantom rather than the side, but in either direction it's best to orient the antenna downward.

Thanks...I just re-routed the wiring and added the elbow to the transmitter. Looks like if it's straight down it could hit grass or something on landing....is that the case with yours? Only other option in current setup is to move it under that side of the landing strip and it sit on the outside just a touch. How do you have yours?