I saw a reply to a post recently (which I cannot find) in one of the range extender threads where a guy said he made a reflector out of aluminum foil and mounted it behind the control antennae on his radio. A consensus seemed to develop that he was being less than truthful about the increase in range using his foil reflector. But, it got me thinking, maybe there was something to it. Here is my version:
I printed a drawing of a parabola, then transferred that to some heavy stock paper and carefully cut out 2 pieces, which form the sides. The reflector is just the middle of a 12 oz soda can that I cut out using an old pair of (now very dull) scissors. To join the sides to the reflector, I used ordinary tape. I made a hole in the sides at the focus point of the parabola, extended the antennae a bit with a straw, then mounted and tested.
To my complete astonishment, the thing actually worked! Without the reflector I was getting about 1500 feet before losing the control signal. With the reflector I can get nearly twice that (both tests under ideal, i.e. line of sight conditions). The one slight downside is the antennae seems to become somewhat directional with the reflector in place.
I should also mention that I am using the RE700 wifi range extender instead of the one that came with my Phantom, so I have been able to maintain the FPV signal.
Unfortunately, I do not have any 'proof' that it works this well, but it is very easy to make and doesn't cost anything, so I would encourage others to try it and see if you get similar results.
\\FCD\\
I printed a drawing of a parabola, then transferred that to some heavy stock paper and carefully cut out 2 pieces, which form the sides. The reflector is just the middle of a 12 oz soda can that I cut out using an old pair of (now very dull) scissors. To join the sides to the reflector, I used ordinary tape. I made a hole in the sides at the focus point of the parabola, extended the antennae a bit with a straw, then mounted and tested.
To my complete astonishment, the thing actually worked! Without the reflector I was getting about 1500 feet before losing the control signal. With the reflector I can get nearly twice that (both tests under ideal, i.e. line of sight conditions). The one slight downside is the antennae seems to become somewhat directional with the reflector in place.
I should also mention that I am using the RE700 wifi range extender instead of the one that came with my Phantom, so I have been able to maintain the FPV signal.
Unfortunately, I do not have any 'proof' that it works this well, but it is very easy to make and doesn't cost anything, so I would encourage others to try it and see if you get similar results.
\\FCD\\