Helical/Patch Antenna + Other Question

[dollerprod]

Trying to finalize my FPV shopping list and I'm a bit confused about the antenna set-up..

What is the difference between a Helical and Patch antenna??
They are both directional antennas right? I.e. help with long range..

Is the SpiroNET by ImmersionRC the same thing as a cloverleaf antenna?
What's better, IBCrazy Bluebeam, or the SpiroNET?

What's the best set of 3 for a diversity Rx monitor? And yes, what is the difference between Helical and Patch?

 

[dollerprod]

please..

 

[miragecy]

Get the IBCrazy bluebeam set and the Fatshark patch. That's what I use and I'm very happy with them
Andy

 

[noiseboy72]

I think you are a little confused about Helical and Patch antennae.

Helical antennae are very directional, with the acceptance angle decreasing the more turns you have. Patch antennae use a flat surface, with a ground plane directly them, giving a much wider pattern, but they are still directional to a certain extent.

The more important part is down to the polarisation. Static links are best with either vertical or horizontal polarization, while something that moves can suit circular polarization better. Cloverleaf antennae are by design circular, but can be left or right handed. Patch antennae can be circular polarisation, but require special design and cabling to be so.

Helical antennae are also circular polarisation.

For the TX, a Spironet is a good choice, but make sure you match the polarisation to the RX antennae. I run one 4 leaf clover on the RX and one helical. This seems to work very well, with at least 1000m range.

 

[creativedogmedia]

So between the IBCrazy Helical 5 turn and the Fatshark patch, which one gives longer range?

 

[dollerprod]

I THINK that the IBCrazy Helical 5 turn would give more range, but is more 'directional,' meaning that it needs to be pointed more directly at the videotx.

My question is, how many "turns" is ideal in the Helical? 3? 5? More? Less? When do you start to outdo the range of the Phantom itself?

Also, my question to you ddublu is where did you find the IBCrazy Helical 5 Turn? It seems out of stock everywhere

 

[creativedogmedia]

I THINK that the IBCrazy Helical 5 turn would give more range, but is more 'directional,' meaning that it needs to be pointed more directly at the videotx.

My question is, how many "turns" is ideal in the Helical? 3? 5? More? Less? When do you start to outdo the range of the Phantom itself?

Also, my question to you ddublu is where did you find the IBCrazy Helical 5 Turn? It seems out of stock everywhere

My understanding is the 3 turn is less distance, broader width of range....5 turn seems to be pretty ideal unless you have absolute direct LOS at which point the 10 turn would give great distance.

I found the 5-turn at Motor City Drone....I even told them, "Man, you guys need to advertise more that you have these...NO one has them in stock." Reach out to [email protected] and tell him Daryl from Virginia sent you. http://motorcitydroneco.com/collections ... ic-helical

 

[dollerprod]

I found the 5-turn at Motor City Drone....I even told them, "Man, you guys need to advertise more that you have these...NO one has them in stock." Reach out to [email protected] and tell him Daryl from Virginia sent you. http://motorcitydroneco.com/collections ... ic-helical

Thanks and will do!

 

[Tails_Up]

I'm using the helical antennas, and they certainly work. But here's the rub: as you get more distance beyond easy LOS, losing FPV means you're blind. Or, perhaps even worse, having better FPV means running out of control range first... so you're not blind, just helpless !

 

[creativedogmedia]

I'm using the helical antennas, and they certainly work. But here's the rub: as you get more distance beyond easy LOS, losing FPV means you're blind. Or, perhaps even worse, having better FPV means running out of control range first... so you're not blind, just helpless !

How far does control range go out?

 

[LuvMyTJ]

This video does an excellent job explaining antennas. There is a lot of good videos on his site... I recommend you subscribe for future reference -> http://youtu.be/Bx7gMUw1MGw?list=UUahqHsTaADV8MMmj2D5i1Vw

 

[QYV]

I've got this set of pinwheel antennas which are omnidirectional on my Phantom, I've been out to about 300m with a 500mW Tx and never even gotten a hint of interference with the Phantom in any orientation... they should go much farther I just haven't done it yet hope to this weekend.

FPVLR antennas are REALLY great and the guy is on this forum (user FPVLR). his name is Tony you can email him at the sales email on the website he's really friendly and helpful

 

[Dogstr]

I've got this set of pinwheel antennas which are omnidirectional on my Phantom, I've been out to about 300m with a 500mW Tx and never even gotten a hint of interference with the Phantom in any orientation... they should go much farther I just haven't done it yet hope to this weekend]

Have you been able to test the range on your antennas yet? I'm considering getting the same fpv setup you have for my Phantom 2. I'm wondering how well it does. Range in the city / countryside?
I'm new at this. I have a lot to learn.
Thanks.

 

[QYV]

Have you been able to test the range on your antennas yet? I'm considering getting the same fpv setup you have for my Phantom 2. I'm wondering how well it does. Range in the city / countryside?
I'm new at this. I have a lot to learn.
Thanks.

I just did a run out to 400m distance at 50m height and it was still as rock solid as it is sitting on the table next to me. Right now I'm in Gloucester, MA so the interference here is minimal this is a little fishing town.

I feel like the battery drains quite a bit faster than my old P2 with a H3-2D and 200mW transmitter, but that might be the gimbal. I feel like this -3D isn't working perfecly and it's running the motors like constantly

 

[MenaceCat]

?.,

 

[Tails_Up]

Control range, stock setup, is longer than FPV range, normally. As you bump up FPV range, you can often find where FPV exceeds control. Stock bird with 4.25 turn helical ants, about 4000 to maybe 5000 feet with good conditions. Beyond that and you get into situations where just being able to hold the control box steady is a factor, along with noise level / interference, terrain, water vapor, time of day, all kinds of things.

My experience is that adding two 5.8 pinwheel type antennas to the Phantom are the next step beyond helical ants on the control box, so you can maintain solid connection no matter what the orientation of the bird. If you're going way out there, you should be in NAZA mode, where you can use Home Lock to pull it back up towards you. Nothing worse than losing FPV and trying to steer it blind back in the home direction.

By the way, keep an eye on your Wi-Fi signal level. It gives you a good idea if you're getting close to the FPV limit.

 

[QYV]

?.,

If that was for me, I was referring to this:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=21345

my flight time has improved noticeably since I "fixed" my gimbal. I now think what was happening before was the gimbal was imbalanced so the motors were constantly "running" and draining the battery extra quick.

Now I'm getting normal (15-18mins) flight times.

In other news, my current personal record with the FPVLR antennas is about 650m with just the pinwheels in a low-interference environment. In a high-interference environment (yep I'm one of those drones clouding the skies in NYC) I only got about 300m with the pinwheels so I added the helix to my receiver and my FPV is again rock solid out to about 650-700m when I lose control signal, so I'm working on boosting that next

 

[MenaceCat]

Oh - thanks for clarifying