Best repeater, antennas, and equipment for urban areas?

[ClimbrJohn]

So I've done the mods on the DJI range extender adding both an 8dBi omni and a 9dBi directional with success. In an area over a lake in a less populated area, I can get FPV out to about 2,000ft / 600m and also start to lose control range with an unmodified remote controler and I'm happy with that.

While flying downtown in a major city, likely surrounded by hundreds (thousands?) of 2.4/5.8 GHz WiFi access points in an apt complex, even from my roof, I can only get about 250ft / 75m of FPV (I've never ran out of control range). If I rotate the P2V at just the right angle, I can squeeze out a bit more FPV range, but not much. FPV range was even closer prior to adding the external antennas.

So... my question for the WiFi / RF experts, what can I do to increase my limited range specifically in urban environments? Do I need to add an aftermarket range extender? Add a specific antenna and/or booster to the P2V camera?

If I could get the 'stock' distances in an urban area (line of sight), I would be thrilled. Is this even possible? Or do I need to switch to different, less utilized frequencies offered by other manufacturers?

 

[gfredrone]

So I've done the mods on the DJI range extender adding both an 8dBi omni and a 9dBi directional with success. In an area over a lake in a less populated area, I can get FPV out to about 2,000ft / 600m and also start to lose control range with an unmodified remote controler and I'm happy with that.

While flying downtown in a major city, likely surrounded by hundreds (thousands?) of 2.4/5.8 GHz WiFi access points in an apt complex, even from my roof, I can only get about 250ft / 75m of FPV (I've never ran out of control range). If I rotate the P2V at just the right angle, I can squeeze out a bit more FPV range, but not much. FPV range was even closer prior to adding the external antennas.

So... my question for the WiFi / RF experts, what can I do to increase my limited range specifically in urban environments? Do I need to add an aftermarket range extender? Add a specific antenna and/or booster to the P2V camera?

If I could get the 'stock' distances in an urban area (line of sight), I would be thrilled. Is this even possible? Or do I need to switch to different, less utilized frequencies offered by other manufacturers?

Keep an eye out here

http://www.fpvlr.com/store/

& here

http://horizonfpvantennas.mybigcommerce ... antom-2-1/

As for the best setup someone with more knowledge on RF will need to answer that question.

 

[ClimbrJohn]

Thanks gfdrone, I've seen those sites, but I'm unsure which equipment will give me better range in urban areas. Most of the discussions here are specific to range in best case scenarios. While flying 5km away is cool, I'd love to fly just 500m away near where I live.

I'm really hoping someone will explain if a pinwheel, whip, helix, etc will give the best reception in urban areas with lots of interference.

Keep an eye out here

http://www.fpvlr.com/store/

& here

http://horizonfpvantennas.mybigcommerce ... antom-2-1/

As for the best setup someone with more knowledge on RF will need to answer that question.

 

[mr_3_0_5]

You should get 300m even where you are.
are you sure your connected properly some have tried connecting straight to the camera without the repeater and have similar results to you
Just want to make sure your using the repeater

 

[ClimbrJohn]

Yes, as mentioned in my OP I can get 600m FPV when not downtown. I'm connecting to the Phantom_XXXXXX SSID.

I have to have 3 seperate 2.4/5.8Ghz APs in my loft for ~900 sq feet the WiFi is so bad (each on non-adjacent channels of course).

(I do IT for a living and have worked extensively with residential and commercial WiFi installs.)

You should get 300m even where you are.
are you sure your connected properly some have tried connecting straight to the camera without the repeater and have similar results to you
Just want to make sure your using the repeater

 

[PVFlyer]

Yes, as mentioned in my OP I can get 600m FPV when not downtown. I'm connecting to the Phantom_XXXXXX SSID.

I have to have 3 seperate 2.4/5.8Ghz APs in my loft for ~900 sq feet the WiFi is so bad (each on non-adjacent channels of course).

(I do IT for a living and have worked extensively with residential and commercial WiFi installs.)

You should get 300m even where you are.
are you sure your connected properly some have tried connecting straight to the camera without the repeater and have similar results to you
Just want to make sure your using the repeater

Using high gain (narrow beamwidth) LHCP helical antenna (like other members indicated) on the repeater may help in certain level, if you point the helical toward P2V flight path. This is mainly due to narrower beamwidth helical picking up less noise in urban area, and higher gain could also maintain better signal-to-noise ratio. Obviously, this would limit your flight angle.

A better approach is to change Wifi channel of P2V camera to less crowded frequency, but then it needs to hack the camera (not the repeater). I found my P2V camera always picking Wifi Channel-1, which is one of the most crowded frequency.

I'm finding a way to hack the camera if possible. Then I can change Wifi channel to avoid crowded frequency or even change AP mode to client mode for easy Wifi configuration as needed.