ItElite Modification Honest review --> OK range improvements

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So yeah after all the good reviews on this forum i have decided to mod my phantom 4 remote to see if i could get better range by buying the ItElite antenna mod.
I have already tested if the phantom 3 or phantom 4 remote would be better for this task in the following videos:

(see video description for second video, i cannot link more videos in 1 post on this forum)

As the result shows, the phantom 4 radio is around 20-30% better then the phantom 3 radio.

Now unto the modded phantom 4 radio with ItElite vs the stock phantom 3 radio..... As you will see in these video's the modded P4 radio is definatly better for sure, but not so much. Versus the stock phantom 4 radio it is about 10-20% better max- not worth it. You have to realise that the stock p4 radio already performed quite better after viewing top videos so already add 20-30% extra to the P4 radio. Then the modification on top of it. You can see it adds about 10-20% extra to the performance on average.



EDIT:
I have conducted more tests after i received a new installed set from the shop where i bought it and feel signal penetration somehow gets better over longer distance instead of over close range. Its weird to explain but i made 2 more video's to see how the new ItElite set behaves.
In this video (test 4) where i basicly flew at the same area as before you can see the set is barely improving signal over the stock antenna. its there but not significant of a difference.

Now the other test (test 3) i made you can clearly see the ItElite modification penetrates way more tree's and has more problems maintaining controller range rather then video range(wich might be bad, depends on if you are scared by that fact). But it is still like 40-50% better or so over the stock p3 radio. (do realise the p4 remote would do better anyway so its not 60%
Here is that test/video:

Some people claim it should be giving around 100% or 200% more range, well thats definatly not the case. I would think twice before doing this modification until i can maybe solve the issue that i am having together with the community here unless you can accept a improvement of ~50% (with objects in the way) and realise you sacrifice a bit of mobility. (do note that the remote with itelite plugged in fits perfectly in the new DJI backpack)
In all the cases i was pointing at the aircraft position with my radio's and was standing on exactly the same positions with the radio in my hands to make that clear.

In my opinion after the third test i did, the set is worth it combined with the new DJI backpack where it sits in. But it's a close call for me.

So although still a small improvement, it is pretty disappointing to get max 20% more range/power from this modification and to see that signal penetration has barely improved.

The people who claim alot of range with this mod could maybe also have reached this with stock setup like DJI people on the ofifical forum also have shown. If you are in a open field without something blocking line of sight or other signals intervening your battery will highly likely also be the shortcoming of the bird instead of maximum range the signal gets.
My tests are done in realistic flights. First tests with buildings and some wifi signals floating around, while the second test was free of any wifi signals exept for my iphone and shield tablet but we test the tree signal penetration there.

Thanks for watching and reading. I would be happy to try solutions if anyone has an idea.
 
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Haha !! Obviously you don't understand that where and how you fly makes all the difference . Go out and practice a little more before posting a bad review .


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The tests for ItElite and FPVLR mods are all exaggerated and not realistic for most situations. I have 5 modded rc's, 2 with DBMS amped and unamped, and 3 with FPVLR amped. I have tested all of them in realistic flying environments using same, litchi WP routes, using different modded rc's with different drones, such as my 3 Inspires, my P4, and my Matrice with even an onboard video amps and spirical birdside antennaes, and can tell you that you will be disappointed with both Dbms and Fpvlr mods if you are expecting to get their advertised ranges.
 
My boosted setup from maxxuav.com more than doubled my stock range. I'm not sure how far my range is because I have to turn around because of the battery . Today went out 16,100 from my neighborhood and landed with 32% so I could've gone farther . I had full bars the entire flight. I couldn't be happier with the setup.
ecb9d14c6960a18f1fe6b075568e2856.jpg



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@phantom13flyer i think you can also get this range on stock setup if you do not have any obstructions and a clear channel. I am testing in more realistic envoirements. Going behind buildings and tree's to test the "better signal penetration". obviously this barely makes a difference as my video's show.
To the people laughing in this thread obviously purchased a setup and do not want to feel bad they spend the money. Get some constructive feedback. The videos are fine proof of that in realistic situations the DBS mod gives you 10-20% more range at max.

@crashburn i was hoping to get a bit better penetration. But the difference is too small to notice really.
 
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As a sidenote may I ask, how do you record that video from your phone or tab?
 
As a sidenote may I ask, how do you record that video from your phone or tab?
It's the Nvidia Shield, it has a build-in video recorder.

I also expect other antenna boosters to perform worse or the same because this one actually got so much praise on here...I dont think its worth buying this unless you go boosted (wich is more bulky, heavier, ugly, illigal and expensive mostly)
 
I have a friend that flew over 20000 feet out with stock P3, so it's possible in right conditions with stock. The mods do improve reception, that's why I use them. But in most my flying environments, with wifi interference and trees and buildings, the range difference is no where near the advertised ranges. Lucky to get 20% improvement. I've gone in the country over open farmland and gone very far, but the sweaty hands and anxiety is not for me.
 
I read somewhere that the European criteria for the remote is different than we have in USA
Putting less power to antenna , are you flying UK?


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It's the Nvidia Shield, it has a build-in video recorder.

I also expect other antenna boosters to perform worse or the same because this one actually got so much praise on here...I dont think its worth buying this unless you go boosted (wich is more bulky, heavier, ugly, illigal and expensive mostly)
Before I modified my rc I was lucky to get 8k ft and I would get a couple dozen weak signal warnings . Now with my setup from maxxuav.com, flying in the exact same place I get over 16k ft with perfect full bars the entire flight . I could go farther but I'm limited to the p4 battery . So the maxxuav.com setup with the dbs antenna has most definitely doubled my range and probably a lot more.
 
I have a suggestion that can be a win win situation for people who want to modify their remote .
If maxxuav.com would rent their modified P4 for customers to try for a week with fees like $50 and full insurance and deposit to insure that they will get it back after the trial period. Then everyone would decide after the trial is it working for him or not .


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
In both cases i was pointing at the aircraft position with my radio's and was standing on exactly the same positions with the radio in my hands.
With only 20% improvement there are three possibilities:
1. The antenna you have is defective.
2. The installation of the cables inside the RC is flawed.
3. You have a misunderstanding how to point the antenna at the aircraft.

Have you discussed this with ITELITE to fix the problem?
 
I read somewhere that the European criteria for the remote is different than we have in USA
Putting less power to antenna , are you flying UK?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
good that you ask! Yes i am flying in Europe, meaning that range is less then in the USA. But overall power should not matter for the effect of this antenna.
 
With only 20% improvement there are three possibilities:
1. The antenna you have is defective.
2. The installation of the cables inside the RC is flawed.
3. You have a misunderstanding how to point the antenna at the aircraft.

Have you discussed this with ITELITE to fix the problem?
or 4. the claimed extra range and penetration is just heavily exaggerated....

At any case i will email them, lets see what they have to say. thanks for that tip.

The antenna is not defective i'm pretty darn sure about that. If it was it would totally have crappy range. Because its comparable to stock radio.

I also installed the cables like shown in the installation video. They are not heavily bent but connected well.
 
That sucks you're having a bad experience with your modification . Switch out your cables on the inside and out . Probably a hardware issue.
 
good that you ask! Yes i am flying in Europe, meaning that range is less then in the USA. But overall power should not matter for the effect of this antenna.

Are you using the latest updates on the rc and the P4? Are you manually switching the channel to perhaps 20 and dropping the downlink to 4mbps make sure all connections are nice and tight, and try flying a little higher than you perhaps are after all of that you will see the improvement.
 
I may be wrong , but if the range augmentation of the itElite Antenna is a function of the signal output of your sender the real gain of the antenna will be less than if you do this modification on USA standard remote , again we may need an expert on wireless antenna design to answer this question.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Are you using the latest updates on the rc and the P4? Are you manually switching the channel to perhaps 20 and dropping the downlink to 4mbps make sure all connections are nice and tight, and try flying a little higher than you perhaps are after all of that you will see the improvement.
I know...the point is to test the limits and improvement over the stock radio in this video. I wanted to see and test how much better it is- its barely better.
 

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