carbon fiber parts

[scole]

im thinking of making a base for my phantom to prevent tip over. the base will be about the same shape as the phantom, 1/16 thick with rubber feet, mounted to the bottom of the landing skids. im planning to use a piece of carbon fiber, does carbon fiber interfere with radio signals?

 

[AnselA]

does carbon fiber interfere with radio signals?

Carbon fiber is good conductor and has been used e.g. in mobile phone antennas.

 

[scole]

so it will interfere with the radio?

 

[ElGuano]

so it will interfere with the radio?

Carbon fiber is generally radio-opaque, so it may block the tx signal. But I'm wondering more about what this "tipover base" is going to look like. The tx signal may be the least of your worries.

 

[AnselA]

so it will interfere with the radio?

If you are adventurous, try to connect RX antenna to your CF "base". Your own risk, of course. You may have invented a new antenna type for Phantom ;P

P.S. I'll guess 1/16" pultruded carbon rod is too flexible for you purpose?

 

[joeflyer]

Carbon fiber can block radio signals, plus making a "base" out of it would be a mistake for a lot of reasons. The Phantom definitely benefits from a larger footprint. It would be better to attach some skids to the landing gear. I made mine out of 1/4" styrene tubes to help against tip-overs and to raise ground clearance a little. I could extend them only about 1 to 1.25" in the front and keep them out of the camera's view, but that's enough to make a noticeable improvement. You could do something similar out of plastic, wood dowels or even carbon fiber.

There are also a number of after market landing gears that would accomplish the same.