Extending the wifi range of the FC40 camera

[PhantomPerk]

Trying to find a way to extend the wifi range of the FC40 camera. Anyone have any ideas? Here is what I am thinking.

Would a wifi extender hooked to a small usb power source pick up the signal from the camera and extend the wifi range. I am thinking something like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 1145951528

hooked to this for a power supply

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370953066013?va ... 1439.l2649

both of these items would not add much weight to the phantom and I was thinking of using something like this to help mount them to the phantom using the area designed to hold a transmitter

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Radio-Control-C ... 562/i.html

So for about $60 it would extend the range of the wifi camera. My only question is....will the wifi extender pick up the wifi signal from the FC40 camera.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Jenniar]

WIfi is very good. It bringus so mach convenience.

 

[FatKevinSmith]

I believe this video example would work great with the FC40 camera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FhZge-gLAI

 

[Little Ricky]

Can this be made to work?
http://www.wowhobbies.com/djiphantom2vi ... sdays.aspx

DJI PHANTOM 2 VISION PART 17 WIFI RANGE EXTENDER [DJI-PHVREXT] (product ships in 2 to 3 business days)

Price: $99.00
Part Number: DJI-PHVREXT ###
Manufacturer: DJI
Manufacturer Part No: DJI-PHVREXT

 

[Bigbells]

Can this be made to work?
http://www.wowhobbies.com/djiphantom2vi ... sdays.aspx

DJI PHANTOM 2 VISION PART 17 WIFI RANGE EXTENDER [DJI-PHVREXT] (product ships in 2 to 3 business days)

Price: $99.00
Part Number: DJI-PHVREXT ###
Manufacturer: DJI
Manufacturer Part No: DJI-PHVREXT

I don't think it can be made to work. I've tried. In addition, after trying and failing, I discussed it with Atlanta Hobby, and they confirmed that it is not possible. It should be possible, in my opinion, but it is not.

 

[Dalite]

If you want to experiment with custom router configuration, look into DD-WRT.

It is an open-source project that has produced much more versatile firmware for a variety of routers.

I use it on two wireless routers in my home network; one is turned into a repeater that gets DHCP services from main router, the other makes an XBox 360 think it is connected to wired Ethernet.

There are a very diverse range of configuration options available; increaded output is one of them, but you have to rewrite the stock linksys firmware to get them.

If you go ths route, I would suggest you range check on the ground by having an assistant walk away with the camera until it's output is unusable. The results should be a bit better when it is in the air than what you obtain on the ground.

Also, you may have to provide a secondary power source at the flying site to power a range extender. I would recommend an AGM battery ...

The FC40 camera contains a wireless router with an IP address of 192.168.1.1 and provides DHCP service to the gear that connects to it. They start at 192.168.1.100. It runs a smallish Apache *uix server that is password protected. The actual camera innards are from the same OEM that GoPro uses. The Aiptek camera it is based on provides many more options than are enabled on the FC40 variant.

 

[ericdes]

This discussion has been ongoing in the AR Drone community for some time, not only for the camera but for the controls as well. It is completely WIFI.

What seems to be the best repeater, 600mw, is the Amped SR10000. I have one and it is a breeze to setup, like 2 minutes.
I will try it with the FC40 camera once I receive it next week. With the AR Drone it can connect up to 900 feet, in some cases even more.

Now the beauty of this is that you can easily make an external power source with a Phantom battery, connector to the back of the SR1000, wires, and connector to the Phantom battery. Easy, portable and very reliable.

 

[jetdust]

I wonder if attaching something like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5A ... UTF8&psc=1 and using it as a repeater attached to the FC40 if it would increase the wifi range?

 

[Bigbells]

If anyone knows of an actual case where a person has successfully extended the wifi range of the FC40 camera, I'd like to know about it.
The open-source dd-wrt sounds like a promising way to extend the range, but I'm sure I've got lots of company who find those waters to be very deep and murky.
Reading about what SHOULD work, and reading about things that have no reason they SHOULDN'T work, is all fine and good, but what I'd really like to read about is an actual instance of something that DOES work.

 

[ericdes]

Are yout Talking about on the bird, or just get a stronger signal from either end? With the sr10000 from the ground as a repeater, you should attain 1000 feet, even more if the camera has a stronger WiFi then the AR drone. That is the same distance than what the fc40 default distance is until you put the transmitter Igo FCC mode.

 

[jetdust]

I picked up a sr10000 today from Best Buy and so far it seems to extend my range... Hoping to do some more testing/experimenting tomorrow to see if it's really extending or not..

 

[jetdust]

ok.. I can confirm that the Amped SR10000 got me a minimal of 300 feet of extra distance today when testing it which is quite impressive actually I think.. I read somewhere that people have used a wifi robin 1 which can pick up wifi from up to 2km away which is something I might pick up in the future after doing some more research. If I knew how to load up pictures on here I could show the difference.

 

[Bigbells]

ok.. I can confirm that the Amped SR10000 got me a minimal of 300 feet of extra distance today when testing it which is quite impressive actually I think.. I read somewhere that people have used a wifi robin 1 which can pick up wifi from up to 2km away which is something I might pick up in the future after doing some more research. If I knew how to load up pictures on here I could show the difference.

That is great... thanks for checking that out.

The Amped SR20000 is dual-band and adds 5.0Ghz in addition to the 2.4Ghz of the Amped SR10000. I wonder if it could possibly extend the effective communication range of the FC40 5.8Ghz copter controls. Obviously, 5.0Ghz is not 5.8Ghz, so I don't know if it would be a waste of an additional $30 over the price of the SR10000. Anybody know?
http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless-Wi ... ss+sr10000

 

[ericdes]

The distance of the SR10000 and SR20000 is in fact the same. Rated for a 10000 square feet house, 600mw output.
Indeed you would be wasting your money.

Please ensure you have upgraded to the latest firmware, and that during setup the repeater is in fact at 100% power.

You said it gave you at least 300 feet extra, for a total of about what?

 

[Bigbells]

The distance of the SR10000 and SR20000 is in fact the same. Rated for a 10000 square feet house, 600mw output.

The power and distance are the same, the covered frequencies are not. Thus my question.

 

[ericdes]

No, you won't be able to bind the transmitter to a wifi repeater, no matter what the frequency.
The transmitter can be setup for up to 500 meter distance, far more than a repeater anyhow.

 

[jetdust]

According to Google Maps its right around 1000 feet that I was able to go with the repeater and around 450 feet without the repeater. I have ordered some 16dbi vs 5dbi factory antennas to see if it will increase the range even further.

 

[ericdes]

Where did you order them from?

That is wicked distance!!!

 

[Bigbells]

Where did you order them from?

That is wicked distance!!!

I just ordered one, used, from Amazon, for $56. Cosmetic flaws don't bother me when a 44% savings is involved.
http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless-Wi ... B005UBNGY6

 

[ericdes]

Oh sorry I meant where did you get the upgraded antennas?