Boosting Control Range

rbhamilton · Mar 22, 2015

So I kinda want to boost my control range a bit. I know the best way to do this would be with some fancy antenna but those things just look ugly to me and if I hook them up my remote won't fit in the case.

I think the best way for me is to hook up an Amp to my remote.

Please forgive the artwork - this is what I'm trying to get working:

The control signal for the vision 2+ is 5.8ghz so I found this amp:

http://www.amazon.com/Sunhans-802-11a-B ... B00N72QWDC

I would ideally like to mount it inside the remote and power it from the V3 Lipo battery but the Lipo is only 6v so I guess that's out. Failing that I need to find a decent quality 12V external battery source and they all seem insanely expensive. Ideas?

Next, I don't know if the amp will fit inside the remote case. My drawing above shows the amp outside the case. If it won't fit then perhaps I could velcro it to the back and drill a couple of holes in the back of the case to run cables.

One issue would be the cables. I think these two will fit the bill.

From the Tx transmitter inside the remote to the Amp:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 44779.html

From the amp to the antenna mount:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/WiFi-Ant ... 64894.html

And finally a decent TP Link antenna. I already have this one:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-ANT240 ... B004UBUE2O

Not ready to borg up my remote with a helical or anything like that. I know it's a 2.4ghz antenna but I've tested it and it works fine at 5.8ghz. Still, open to suggestions for a decent Omni antenna.

Has anybody done something like this mod? Any suggestions? Thanks.

justin00 · Mar 23, 2015

I highly recommend this cheap $20 antenna... Its very similar to the bluebeam (or whatever that company is called???) antenna they sell for $60

Its a 16dbi LHCP.... works GREAT for 5.8ghz for the RC.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251655837662 ... 1497.l2649

I've tried a crap load of antenna's lol... here is a half of them

I think the antenna still makes a big diff, espeacilly if you add an amp... I might buy the amp you mentioned actually

thanks.

Alfaisal1403 · Mar 24, 2015

justin00 said:
I highly recommend this cheap $20 antenna... Its very similar to the bluebeam (or whatever that company is called???) antenna they sell for $60

Its a 16dbi LHCP.... works GREAT for 5.8ghz for the RC.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251655837662 ... 1497.l2649

I've tried a crap load of antenna's lol... here is a half of them

I think the antenna still makes a big diff, espeacilly if you add an amp... I might buy the amp you mentioned actually thanks.

YOU DO NOT RECOMMEND THE FLAT PANEL ANTENNA??????

Alfaisal1403 · Mar 24, 2015

rbhamilton said:
So I kinda want to boost my control range a bit. I know the best way to do this would be with some fancy antenna but those things just look ugly to me and if I hook them up my remote won't fit in the case.

I think the best way for me is to hook up an Amp to my remote.

Please forgive the artwork - this is what I'm trying to get working:

The control signal for the vision 2+ is 5.8ghz so I found this amp:

http://www.amazon.com/Sunhans-802-11a-B ... B00N72QWDC

I would ideally like to mount it inside the remote and power it from the V3 Lipo battery but the Lipo is only 6v so I guess that's out. Failing that I need to find a decent quality 12V external battery source and they all seem insanely expensive. Ideas?

Next, I don't know if the amp will fit inside the remote case. My drawing above shows the amp outside the case. If it won't fit then perhaps I could velcro it to the back and drill a couple of holes in the back of the case to run cables.

One issue would be the cables. I think these two will fit the bill.

From the Tx transmitter inside the remote to the Amp:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 44779.html

From the amp to the antenna mount:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/WiFi-Ant ... 64894.html

And finally a decent TP Link antenna. I already have this one:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-ANT240 ... B004UBUE2O

Not ready to borg up my remote with a helical or anything like that. I know it's a 2.4ghz antenna but I've tested it and it works fine at 5.8ghz. Still, open to suggestions for a decent Omni antenna.

Has anybody done something like this mod? Any suggestions? Thanks.

I suggest to use this RF Amp instead of the one that you mentioned above.
http://www.amazon.com/Expansion-Booster-Amplifier-Transmitter-Wireless/dp/B00M3ZXCZK

1- Way smaller than Sunhans-802-11a.
2- It needs Input Voltage: 3.7-5.5V.
3- It fits to be placed inside RC.

What do you think ... ?

justin00 · Mar 24, 2015

Thats a nice little amp Alfaisal1403. Do you use it yourself ???
Only problem is according to the description its 2.4ghz, where as we need 5.8ghz for control.
Bit decieving how they put DJI in the title... I'm guessing DJI don't really make it heh... and yeah I guess it would suit which ever version of Phantoms use 2.4ghz for control ( as oposed to 5.8ghz that the vision+ uses)

And no I didn't like the flat panel antenna... others like it, but personally I think it sucked. Maybe it was because mine was a cheap knock off...However it looks exactly the same as the more expensive versions of it, and everything is in the same spot... so who knows... maybe they would prefer the LHCP I like.

Dartmoor Dave · Mar 24, 2015

I made up a simple reflector, slid it behind the stock antenna and got over 1500 metres out of the P2V+. I also had fpv the whole time, as I used the simple fpv booster app for that. The reflector is very easy to fit and remove. Before fitting that I was getting just over 500 metres out of the RC before RTH was triggered.

MrTommy · Mar 24, 2015

Dartmoor Dave said:
I made up a simple reflector, slid it behind the stock antenna and got over 1500 metres

I'd like to see what your "simple reflector" looks like. I like simple stuff, especially when it works!

N017RW · Mar 24, 2015

MrTommy said:
Dartmoor Dave said:

I made up a simple reflector, slid it behind the stock antenna and got over 1500 metres

Click to expand...

I'd like to see what your "simple reflector" looks like. I like simple stuff, especially when it works!

This reflector concept was all the rage 6 or so months ago.

Google it.

rbhamilton · Mar 24, 2015

Alfaisal1403 said:
I suggest to use this RF Amp instead of the one that you mentioned above.
http://www.amazon.com/Expansion-Booster-Amplifier-Transmitter-Wireless/dp/B00M3ZXCZK

What do you think ... ?

It's 2.4ghz so not compatible with the control signal from the RC for the Vision 2+. It might help on the Video side of things but I'm not sure how much. The video is transmitted from the drone to the RC. Putting an amp on the RC would boost the WiFi signal out to your drone. Maybe it would boost the incoming video signal too. I don't have much experience with amps.

If you wanted to test the amp you would need to mod your WiFi module to put on a standard antenna mount (which I did yesterday coincidentally).

I suppose you could mount one of these things on the drone too but there's weight and battery issues to consider. In any event I'm not really having any WiFi or video related issues - my limit is the control range.

For the control signal you need a 5.8ghz amp like the one in my original post.