Belly of the Beast - AKA Peripheral and Cable Management

[ATC Drone Flyer]

Request for Peripheral Mounting and Cable Management ideas

1.) I had a P2V (not Plus+). On its 100th flight, it flew back to Shenzhen, China (I call this the DJI Diamond Anniversary phenomenon )
2.) I purchased a crashed P2V+ cheap on eBay (just the aircraft, no camera or gimbal, no controller, no WiFi repeater, no batteries, nothing)
3.) Fixed crashed P2V+
3a.) Repairs successful.
4.) Flies great!

Now I'm in the process of converting this P2V+ into a Phantom 2

Parts list (already acquired or on order):
1.) H3-3D Gimbal
2.) Anti-interference Reinforcement Board
3.) mini iOSD
3.) Boscam 400mW Video Transmitter
4.) FrSky Taranis X9D Remote Control TX/RX Combo
5.) FEELWORLD 8" FPV Monitor with Dual Receivers and/or SkyZone FPV Goggles
6 (Down the road.) Flytrex Live

The items listed above in THIS color are typically mounted under the battery bay.
Once I have all these pieces on hand, I will start the overhaul.
So, what I am looking for from the community at large, are suggestions for peripheral mounting and cable management ideas. Would those of you who use some or all of these peripheral items please post close-up photos of your setup? I've been searching for a third-party peripheral mounting solution, but thus far haven't really found anything that doesn't impede the insertion and removal of the "Smart Battery" cartridge.

Post your pictures please!
. . . and Thank you in advance :!:

 

[OI Photography]

You can move the canbus port from the leg up in to the body, and then mount the iOSD in there as well. This will leave only the gimbal and video transmitter on the outside, until you add the Flytrex later. I did this install on someone's P2 this past weekend:

The Tx is just hanging loose there but you get the idea. I ended up mounting it right behind the gimbal facing out sideways, with some heavy-duty Velcro. It was just far enough forward that you could still see the serial number on the Phantom sticker. I didn't get any pics of the final mounting (if you can believe that) but I'll ask the owner if he can grab one for me.

Also, that double-sided tape you see in the 2nd pic was used to build up a flat layer on the uneven backside of the Tx before sticking the Velcro to it.

 

[OI Photography]

One more thing, I just realized you're going to be putting in the FrSky receiver too, so you'll need to adjust things a bit from what you see in that pic. You might want to consider using the smaller X4R receiver instead, that's what I'm using in my Phantom.

 

[QYV]

+1 to OI. You should move the CAN-BUS connector up inside the shell for an internal iOSD mini mount. Now the only thing you have to deal with on the bottom is the video transmitter, and all your cables are up inside the shell.
attached is a pic of the bottom of my Phantom. I have a larger video transmitter so I had to put it at an angle to keep that antenna away from the compass.

If you need a video of how to move the can-bus up internal I can link you but really it's so simple: just remove the 4 little screws holding the can-bus to the leg, and remove the loops. remove the connector from the ribbon cable. pull the ribbon cable up inside the body, re-attach the connector. done!

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

One more thing, I just realized you're going to be putting in the FrSky receiver too, so you'll need to adjust things a bit from what you see in that pic. You might want to consider using the smaller X4R receiver instead, that's what I'm using in my Phantom.

I want to thank you both for your input. . . Very helpful :!:
Yeah, I do in fact have a X4R Receiver on order, based on one of your earlier recommendations. I just ordered that last night. I haven't got a tracking number for that yet, but I purchased it from a vendor here in the USA, so I would expect it to arrive sometime late next week.

On that note, would you recommend stacking the mini iOSD and the Receiver?
Any risk of one injecting RF interference into the other? If so, do you think incorporating some RF shielding on either or both would be prudent?
As I understand it, the FrSky telemetry receivers are actually full-duplex (meaning they actually receive control data and transmit the telemetry data back to the transmitter) devices. That being the case, if I stack the mini iOSD and the Receiver on top of one another, I would hate to introduce any spurious RF from the receiver into the mini iOSD or vice versa.
What makes the most sense? Receiver on top and iOSD on the bottom, or the reverse?

Your thoughts?

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

Dear QYV,
I have a few questions for you:
1.) Have you any photos of the inside of your Phantom? If so, would you please post a few (or one, what ever the case might be)?
2.) What is the purpose of those Black covers over your LED's? Are you trying to make your Phantom more stealthy during night time operations?
3.) Is that a Circular Wireless Skew Planar Wheel on your Video Transmitter? If so, how do you like it?
4.) Have either of you used any of Video Aerial Systems (IBCrazy) Antenna products? It seems that both Video Aerial Systems and Circular Wireless antennas come highly recommended. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks in advance :!:

 

[OI Photography]

I have the X4R stacked on top of the iOSD mini right next to the NAZA, I'll try to grab you a pic tomorrow morning when I open up my Phantom to do some other work. I haven't noticed any ill effects of that mounting arrangement or impact on range, but I've only had it in there that way a little while and all my hours logged since then have been short range testing or demo flights. I plan to do some range tests soon anyway between my 550 (w/X8R) and my Phantom (w/X4R).

I'm not sure what the potential is for interference with that arrangement, but if we find it's causing problems it should be possible to whip up a quick DIY EMI shield to slip between the iOSD and X4R...like the one in the Phantom's lid covering the GPS module.

I currently use the BlueBeam ultra's with my Immersion 600mW Tx and Immersion Rx. They've worked great for me so far but I'm not a range junkie...you'll rarely find me flying at more than 400m distance. If you're looking to really push things out you'll probably want to look at a set with at least some type of directional antenna on the Rx.

One more thing (sorry I didn't mention this sooner): I found the 250mm FrSky antenna leads (sold at Aloft and most other dealers) to be the ideal length for routing down the Phantom's legs. I'll get pics of they way I have those arranged too.

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

One more thing (sorry I didn't mention this sooner): I found the 250mm FrSky antenna leads (sold at Aloft and most other dealers) to be the ideal length for routing down the Phantom's legs. I'll get pics of they way I have those arranged too.

Thanks again for your reply/input. I'm kind of a big fan of going 100% circularly polarized. That's how I had my P2V setup. I replaced the stock Omnidirectional 5.8GHz antennas (on the Phantom) with Video Aerial Systems 5.8 GHz Mad Mushrooms and was able to get a reliable control signal to around 6500 Feet and I got some LHCP 2.4 GHz Antennas from FPVLR (http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=55) which helped me extend my Vison Wi-Fi telemetry and video to almost 4000 Feet. At some point, I'll likely do a similar mod to my FrSky Taranis TX/RX. . .

 

[EMCSQUAR]

On that note, would you recommend stacking the mini iOSD and the Receiver?
Any risk of one injecting RF interference into the other? If so, do you think incorporating some RF shielding on either or both would be prudent?

What makes the most sense? Receiver on top and iOSD on the bottom, or the reverse?

Your thoughts?

I usually mount IOSD in front side of battery cavity leaving room for tx parallel to NAZA.

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

I usually mount IOSD in front side of battery cavity leaving room for tx parallel to NAZA.

Hmmmm. . . Interesting. I just checked, and it does look like there might be just enough room for the iOSD mini to fit in there. Nice suggestion.

One small problem though EMCSQUAR. . . Where are your photos? :mrgreen:

 

[QYV]

Dear QYV,
I have a few questions for you:
1.) Have you any photos of the inside of your Phantom? If so, would you please post a few (or one, what ever the case might be)?
2.) What is the purpose of those Black covers over your LED's? Are you trying to make your Phantom more stealthy during night time operations?
3.) Is that a Circular Wireless Skew Planar Wheel on your Video Transmitter? If so, how do you like it?
4.) Have either of you used any of Video Aerial Systems (IBCrazy) Antenna products? It seems that both Video Aerial Systems and Circular Wireless antennas come highly recommended. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks in advance :!:

1) I'm traveling this week for work so it'll be like, Labor Day before I can get a picture of the inside posted but basically I have my iOSD Mini mounted the same as EMC: it fits very well right in front of the battery compartment.
2) yep, I used gaffer tape to Stealth Mode my LEDs so I can fly around the city at night and not be crazy obvious.
3&4) negative. I have the FPVLR 3-antenna 5.8Ghz kit. That's the FPVLR Tx pinwheel, and it came with a matching Rx pinwheel and a Rx helix. I can't recommend them highly enough if they're in your budget ($110 USD). In a low interference environment I've been out over 600m with just the pinwheels. When I fly over the city there's too much interference so I switch to the helix on my receiver and I've been out over 800m and I lose RC control before I get any hint of FPV interference. I'm currently working with him to get an antenna upgrade for my RC. I have also heard good things about the other antennas so I'm not trying to bash them, all I can say is Tony from FPVLR (who is active on this forum quite a bit) is a great guy, has excellent customer service and does top quality work. Aside from 1 situation with a bitchy and uncooperative customer who posted here instead of just handling the mistake privately everyone I know that has gone for the FPVLR antennas is very happy. The aforementioned situation only had to do with not understanding SMA vs RP-SMA male/female so the customer got the wrong plugs... if you go with FPVLR just contact the sales @ address before and after you order and confirm which transmitter/receiver equipment you have and he'll make sure you get the right plugs.

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

I have the FPVLR 3-antenna 5.8Ghz kit. That's the FPVLR Tx pinwheel, and it came with a matching Rx pinwheel and a Rx helix. I can't recommend them highly enough if they're in your budget ($110 USD). In a low interference environment I've been out over 600m with just the pinwheels. When I fly over the city there's too much interference so I switch to the helix on my receiver and I've been out over 800m and I lose RC control before I get any hint of FPV interference. I'm currently working with him to get an antenna upgrade for my RC. I have also heard good things about the other antennas so I'm not trying to bash them, all I can say is Tony from FPVLR (who is active on this forum quite a bit) is a great guy, has excellent customer service and does top quality work.

Thanks QYV! I don't know if you saw a few posts back where I mentioned:

. . .and I got some LHCP 2.4 GHz Antennas from FPVLR which helped me extend my Vison Wi-Fi telemetry and video to almost 4000 Feet. . .

Yeah, I liked the build quality of his antennas also. My only complaint about FPVLR would be the long delivery time. I ordered over $250 worth of antennas from them and had to wait almost 3 weeks for delivery. I'm guessing that either:
a.) His antennas are selling like hotcakes and he just can't keep up with demand, or. . .
b.) He is a "One Man Show" building each antenna by hand, by himself, or something to that effect
Either way, I must say that they worked very well for the short time that I had to use them. Fortunately when my P2V flew back to Shenzhen China, I only had the two LHCP 2.4 GHz Antennas from FPVLR installed as I think they were only about $30 each. It was the loss of the two VAS 5.8 GHz Mad Mushroom Antennas at $45 a piece that still makes me cringe a little when I think about it

 

[QYV]

I think it's both A and B. word is spreading that he makes amazing antennas so the demand just keeps increasing

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

These questions are primarily for OI Photography, but anyone else who would like to "chime in" please feel free!

So, I've received all the items on my shopping list except for the Ground Station Video Monitor/Receiver combo, and I'm just about ready to perform the "sex change" operation on my P2V+ :mrgreen:

My questions are:
1.) Regarding the X4R Receiver - It came delivered with these Mickey Mouse six inch antenna leads that I intend on replacing straight away. The only problem is, much like the P2V Receiver, the antenna leads are glued to it with very strong (cement like) glue. When I performed the same removal task on the P2V receiver, I accidentally ripped one of the U.FL connectors from the circuit board. I obviously would like to avoid doing that again; so I'm looking for some advice. How did you get your antenna leads off without damaging anything?
1a.) Wiring up the X4R Receiver - Any good guides on this Phantom Pilots Forum for that?
1b.) X4R Receiver Power - Related to question above. I just read the manual from cover to cover (all two pages of it :roll: ) and it says the required voltage is 4 to 10 volts. Where does that voltage come from since the "Smart Battery" puts out 11.1 volts?
1c.) Do I need to solder a wire to the "RSSI Pad" shown in the manual? If not, what is it for?
2.) You mentioned before, that setting up the Taranis X9D with the Phantom 2 is pretty well documented here. Would you mind linking me to those resources (a good starting point considering I know absolutely nothing)

As always, THANKS IN ADVANCE :!:

 

[OI Photography]

My questions are:
1.) Regarding the X4R Receiver - It came delivered with these Mickey Mouse six inch antenna leads that I intend on replacing straight away. The only problem is, much like the P2V Receiver, the antenna leads are glued to it with very strong (cement like) glue. When I performed the same removal task on the P2V receiver, I accidentally ripped one of the U.FL connectors from the circuit board. I obviously would like to avoid doing that again; so I'm looking for some advice. How did you get your antenna leads off without damaging anything?
1a.) Wiring up the X4R Receiver - Any good guides on this Phantom Pilots Forum for that?
1b.) X4R Receiver Power - Related to question above. I just read the manual from cover to cover (all two pages of it :roll: ) and it says the required voltage is 4 to 10 volts. Where does that voltage come from since the "Smart Battery" puts out 11.1 volts?
1c.) Do I need to solder a wire to the "RSSI Pad" shown in the manual? If not, what is it for?
2.) You mentioned before, that setting up the Taranis X9D with the Phantom 2 is pretty well documented here. Would you mind linking me to those resources (a good starting point considering I know absolutely nothing)

As always, THANKS IN ADVANCE :!:

1. To remove the stock antenna leads, pinch one right near the connction and wiggle back and forth (side to side, parallel to the board) very gently and only a little bit at first, then gradually more and more as the glue starts to give. Eventually it will let go completely around the collar, and you can then add a little lifting force to pop it off the connector. Once you have them both off, use an xacto knife or something similar to carefully scrape away the rest of the glue away from the connector. Be sure to remove any that's still on the connector, and it'll come off in big lumps if you peel it slowly and carefully (don't need to do much scraping).

1a. Just connect a cable from the SBus port (first three pins on the bottom) to the X2 port on the NAZA. That's it. Like you see here:

1b. On any Phantom, the Receiver draws 5v power over its connection to the NAZA.

1c. No, that's only needed if you connect a 3rd-party OSD/telemetry system that can display RSSI (signal strength) readings from a compatible receiver like the X4R

2. There's several good series of how-to videos for the Phantom, but the ones I like the best and recommend are produced by Scott Page. Here's the handful you should start with, but any you find on his channel are good (though many deal with aircraft setups that don't get used on multirotors). Here's the few I would suggest starting with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9yJCxQ ... s81HuU7p4w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g8jNil ... s81HuU7p4w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtOQJiJ ... s81HuU7p4w

Those should at least get you to the point where you can use the PC software to create/edit/burn settings files (eeproms) to/from the Taranis. Once you can do that, attached here is a pre-configured eeprom you can start with, set up to work similar to stock Phantom controls...flight mode is on switch SC, IOC is on switch SB.

 

[OI Photography]

Forgot to mention: if you haven't already ordered the longer antenna leads, I found the 250mm length to be pretty ideal for use on a Phantom with stock landing gear. I have one hanging straight down the back left leg, and the other is horizontal across the inside of the right bottom skid.

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

Dear OI Photography,

pinch one right near the connction and wiggle back and forth

I'll give that a try. . .

1a. Just connect a cable from the SBus port (first three pins on the bottom) to the X2 port on the NAZA. That's it. Like you see here:

Simple enough.

1b. On any Phantom, the Receiver draws 5v power over its connection to the NAZA.

Good to know

Those should at least get you to the point where you can use the PC software to create/edit/burn settings files (eeproms) to/from the Taranis. Once you can do that, attached here is a pre-configured eeprom you can start with, set up to work similar to stock Phantom controls...flight mode is on switch SC, IOC is on switch SB.

Thank you for all the awesome resources! I can't wait to start this project (truthfully, flying it for the first time once it's finished, really)!

I found the 250mm length to be pretty ideal for use on a Phantom with stock landing gear. I have one hanging straight down the back left leg, and the other is horizontal across the inside of the right bottom skid.

Yup, I have had the cables for a while now. I plan on doing another custom antenna cable run (similar to my old P2V) that consists of: Receiver --> U.FL <--> RG178 <--> SMA <-- White 2.4GHz LHCP 2dBi Phantom Pinwheel (2 each) from FPVLR. I'll post some photos after I get it all put back together

OI Photography - You are the best! I can't thank you enough for sharing your wisdom with me.
Best wishes, and I hope you have an awesome Labor Day :!:

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

Hello Tony,
Thanks for stopping by and chiming in. So is it simply a coincidence that I just spent another $100 at your online store a little over an hour ago? The timing of your post here is a little spooky, I must say :shock:

Since you are here, might I ask you a few of questions which are specifically antenna related?

1.) Can you explain (in layman's terms, please) what is "Axial Ratio" and why is it important?
2.) On many of the higher end VAS antennas there is a "Ferrite Bead" (more like a cylinder really) just under the radiating elements. IBCrazy is calling it an "Integrated Balun". What purpose does it serve, and why don't designs from other manufacturers (like yourself) have these?
3.) Do you have any plans to include antenna radiation patterns on your Web Site some day? I would consider FPVLR as a major player in this market in the near future and some of your product descriptions can be a little sparse at times (just a little constructive criticism there).

EDIT: 4.) Now that I've exceeded roughly $350 in purchases from you, I'm getting curious as to how one accumulates "Reward Points" (Home » Account » Reward Points ) Mine still says = "You do not have any reward points!"

Thanks in advance, and welcome to this thread :!:

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

Dear Tony,

I was doing a random search in this and other forums for FPVLR to see what people say and think about us. I do this daily , as it is of great concern to me what the perception is and it gives me pointers on what to fix or do better.

Wow, I must commend you on your work ethic. Now that I am getting to know you a bit better, and having purchased good quality products from FPVLR in the past; I think I might just make FPVLR my exclusive source for all things RC Antennas.

I can't explain it any easier than this.

That will do. Thank you for the explanation. I think I comprehend (and thank you for not inserting any math equations . I tried to find the answer myself, and landed on a page filled with algebra and trigonometry equations throughout. Needless to say it wasn't very helpful to a non-physicist such as myself)

ferrite acting as a "choke" because they are poorly tuned

I was afraid you were going to say something like that. . .

You'd be surprised how many VaS customers I get

Not any more. . . I must admit, I was sucked in by the abundance of tutorial/educational videos published by IBCrazy on YouTube. Most of them are very good, and have been a valuable resource for someone like me who is new to the whole FPV thing. Believe it or not, I was in the electronics/communications field in a previous life. The thing is, I don't believe any of the systems that I worked on back then even came close to 1GHz. Circular Polarization :?: The first time I ever heard those two words in the same sentence was when I started in this hobby

but we feel that the average multirotor pilot might be turned off by all the technical talk

I guess I'm just a geek then :geek: I almost always spend a large part of my time doing research and comparing specifications from one product to another prior to making most purchases. One of the deciding factors as to why I own VAS antennas at all, where due to the specifications like these easily found on the manufacturers Web Site:

I guess I fell victim to the marketing hype. I just figured that if anyone was willing to go through the expense and effort to have their antennas tested in an anechoic chamber, they must have some confidence in the quality of their products, and therefore so should I. Oh well. . .

Rewards points is just a feature of the website which I have not implemented yet, as well as gift carts etc. Hopefully coming in the near future.

I see. Hopefully you will reward those who supported you in the "early days" as well . Shoot, I'd be grateful for "FREE SHIPPING" on orders over $100.
Hint, hint. . .

Last but not least for this long winded post:
I have one more question for you regarding antenna theory - In the Wi-Fi industry they commonly utilize 2.4GHz antennas in dual transceiver products (2.4 and 5.8GHz radios in the same product) which I assume is due to the fact that 5.8GHz is the first harmonic multiple of 2.4GHz. Does this interchangeability also apply to Circularly Polarized antennas? What kind of performance could one expect, if for example, one had a http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=60 (RHCP 5.8 GHz Pentalobe V.2) on the 5.8GHz video transmitter and a http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=70 (RHCP 2.4 Ghz 6.25 turn Helix) on the receiver? Just curious. . .

Thanks again Tony.
Your time and replies here are VERY much appreciated :!:

 

[ATC Drone Flyer]

but being a receiver antenna, your 2.4ghz helix will still work for 5.8ghz, but your performance will be about half of what you'd get on a properly tuned helix, due to high swr and inefficiency at that frequency

Dear Tony,
Hmmm. . . too bad. Oh well, I guess that means you'll be getting more of my money. . .
Since I just placed an order with you two days ago, can I add two more antennas to my existing order so you can ship them all at the same time and so I might save $10 on shipping an additional package :?:
Thanks again for the reply, and take care.