Home made antenna booster

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Attempt 1 same range with or without. Attempt 2 wrap cd's in reflective tape which had the same results. Going to try a curved 3d printed design soon.
 
Think of the radio wave as a light beam. In this design, if you point it perfectly, you get no improvement, because the antenna itself is blocking it's own reflection, and the other reflections are being directed to the left and right. Best case with this design is to point the controller slightly off center. Then you could perhaps come close to doubling the signal strength, which would add roughly 50% range. But every time you point it perfectly straight on, you suddenly lose half your signal strength. That is one reason why the design doesn't make sense.

The parabolic is better because you don't lose signal strength when pointing it directly.

Next we have the polarity. You want the linear antennas as close to parallel as possible. And that's impossible with this design. You might get one but then not the other.

So yeah, the classic windsurfer with the parabolic reflector works. This design is flawed.
no it doesn't radio waves are bouncing off of things being dispersed until they lose power and or gets blocked, this design he has here is like an amplifier therefore (boosts) signal in return making the signal go further


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LOv3 and Pumpfixer - I have done the parabolics and now have the black directional wifi antennas. They do the same thing and have given me the same range of just at 2 miles. The CD'S are not that good because they don't focus like the parabolic reflectors do.

My plan now is to add signal amplifiers and better omnidirectional antennas. That way I should get long range and not have the hassle of having to constantly face my drone and keep the angle right. Directional antennas become real sensitive to exact direction near their limits.
 
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no it doesn't radio waves are bouncing off of things being dispersed until they lose power and or gets blocked, this design he has here is like an amplifier therefore (boosts) signal in return making the signal go further
It's a design, yes, but it's a poor design

It changes the antenna from omni to directional. That's a good thing. But it's not a focused beam and it has a hole in the middle of the beam due to the fact that it's blocking its own reflection. The design doesn't make sense when you know you can make a correctly designed windsurfer with perfect reflection with household materials in just a few minutes.
 
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just made some for my rc out of a plastic cup some super glue and some foil. win or fail?


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It should work OK, but for about $10.00 you can have perfectly manufactured ones.
 
if you wouldn't mind sending the link sir


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Trust me, the windsurfers work pretty well. The thing I liked about the ones I bought is that they are hinged together so they keep your antennas parallel and then when you are done you just close them like a clamshell and they fit in my backpack case. They seem to be the best bang for the buck. I am moving on to amplified setup now, but unless you want to spend hundreds and open your remote the windsurfers are the way to go.
 
Trust me, the windsurfers work pretty well. The thing I liked about the ones I bought is that they are hinged together so they keep your antennas parallel and then when you are done you just close them like a clamshell and they fit in my backpack case. They seem to be the best bang for the buck. I am moving on to amplified setup now, but unless you want to spend hundreds and open your remote the windsurfers are the way to go.
For sale: ITELITE / sunhans 3w gold amp modified 300c controller for the p3a/p3p and even the p4. like this?


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I think he's talking more this style:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017MI9ZJE/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_4cFaxbDFD1SVK

I agree with the above comments. Great cheap upgrade and you don't have to mod anything.

I got a pair just like this for $6 on eBay.

I also have a pair from Dynamic 3D Solutions
Paid about $20 total for those but they are great too. Very strong single piece windsurfers and I slightly prefer these because they are slightly shorter, which gives me the clearance to point my antenna a little more upward. Makes me feel like I don't have to point my RC as high, so it's more comfortable for me. But I think both are a great effective upgrade for the price
 
Yes Toph, like that but I am trying to avoid the retail profit margin. I already have a leftover 11.1v 2200mah battery from another project and can make a bracket out of plastic to hold it all together. I think the most expensive part will be the two 4 watt amps I ordered for about $23.00 each. There are only a few components in the $300.00 kits.

1) Antennas - admittedly this IS THE critical part and FPVLR has put some time into coming up with a fine tuned helical antenna. The DBS one is probably like two flat panel WiFi antennas in one very nice casing. I plan to try something more omnidirectional and just make up for antenna losses with amp power.
2) Cables - You need decent ones that have the right ends, etc. but that is not rocket science either.
3) Amplifiers - These are not rocket science, some brands are better than others but hard to tell until you try some. All will likely produce within 5-10% of each other at the same power rating. That's why I went with ones advertised at 4 watts counting on them being a real 2-3 watts.
4) Battery - Anything that can power the amps is good. You could buy a few 9v rechargeables and wire them in parallel. I am using a cheap and easy off the shelf RC 11.1v battery as I stated above. Recharge it with any wall wart that puts out 12-16 volts.
5) A Bracket - This is where most people will fall apart. I like dremeling plastic and making stuff. It really is not that hard to make something to hold the stuff together but will take a little time. I would BUY a nice bracket if someone was selling them separately, but so far I have only seen one battery holder bracket on Amazon, (for $45 I think) and I am not sure if my stuff will line up right to it. I will just make my own. I bought a big sheet of black plastic off Amazon for about $10 so I can just cut some and heat/bend it with my heat gun.

I figure it can be done for about $116.00
~$46 for 2 amplifiers, they come with antennas, antenna wires, and power adapters I will cut the plugs off of and throw in my junk pile.
~$20 for 2 antennas, cheap WiFi antennas omni or directional. IF you don't use the free ones that come with the amps, I will try to just use the ones that come with the amps at first.
~$10 for the antenna wires from the controller board to the amps. These come packaged with some of the cheap antenna kits advertised for DJI drones.
~$25 for the Turnigy 11.1v 2,200mah battery I already own. There is probably a battery that is better suited for this purpose but I already have this one, so I am using it for now.
~$15 for plastic, screws, etc. I am being generous in this dept.

As for me I already have the plastic, screws and scraps in my garage, a battery, and some Alfa directional antennas. All I will need is some time when the amps from China arrive.
 
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P.S. When I get it together I will ether brag about the gains, or admit if it is not that great. I think it will do a good job and out range my battery.
 

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