My new antenna kit has arrived

[itchybeard]

I have just received my pilot-end, compact, extreme antenna kit from Horizon FPV. Yay! Now all I have to do is fit it without wrecking my RC controller (gulp). I shall perform the required surgery this weekend after I have calmed down and got myself into correct mental state. Wish me luck .

 

[Loaderbull]

Any pics you could take of pre-build?

 

[itchybeard]

Thanks, Geert. I shall study the the videos carefully.

Okay, Loaderbull, I will take take some before, during and after photos and post them when I have completed the mod.

 

[ToThePoint]

I have just received my pilot-end, compact, extreme antenna kit from Horizon FPV. Yay! Now all I have to do is fit it without wrecking my RC controller (gulp). I shall perform the required surgery this weekend after I have calmed down and got myself into correct mental state. Wish me luck .

Break a leg.

 

[flyNfrank]

Don't be surprised if it takes 3-6hrs just to do the controller alone.

Also keep in mind that you will not be able to enjoy any part until you have both the controller antenna and the antenna on the quad installed. Alot of people have made the mistake of just doing their controller antenna, and then run out to test only to find out the they now only fly maybe 500ft. That happens due to the antennas are no longer matched which is why I mentioned getting both antennas installed first. Good luck!

 

[DBS]

Don't be surprised if it takes 3-6hrs just to do the controller alone.

Also keep in mind that you will not be able to enjoy any part until you have both the controller antenna and the antenna on the quad installed. Alot of people have made the mistake of just doing their controller antenna, and then run out to test only to find out the they now only fly maybe 500ft. That happens due to the antennas are no longer matched which is why I mentioned getting both antennas installed first. Good luck!

Words from the wise right there bro :ugeek: ... You see this all the time on the forum due to bad advice... If you are not going to mod the Phantom side right away then you are much better off getting a flat patch antenna that is vertically polarized to match the antennas in the landing gear on the bird... :ugeek:

 

[UKFlyer]

Don't be surprised if it takes 3-6hrs just to do the controller alone.

Also keep in mind that you will not be able to enjoy any part until you have both the controller antenna and the antenna on the quad installed. Alot of people have made the mistake of just doing their controller antenna, and then run out to test only to find out the they now only fly maybe 500ft. That happens due to the antennas are no longer matched which is why I mentioned getting both antennas installed first. Good luck!

No worries in fitting the antennas itchybeard, what takes the time is scraping the resin off the stock tx cable. I was all done fitting the three in around one hour.
Not sure what you mean by the above flyNfank? I just installed the stage 2 kit from fpvlr but to the controller and wifi only, the phantom is still stock. I don't need any more distance because the furthest i go is about 2500ft which it has been doing from standard no problems, sometimes the fpv gets a bit laggy at this distance depending on location so i'm hoping for a more stable signal all in. Not flew it since installing the antennas, will see how it is at the weekend.

 

[smaugnaut]

I have just received my pilot-end, compact, extreme antenna kit from Horizon FPV. Yay! Now all I have to do is fit it without wrecking my RC controller (gulp). I shall perform the required surgery this weekend after I have calmed down and got myself into correct mental state. Wish me luck .

Dude no worries. Its pretty simple with patience and the right tools. If you need help we got you.

 

[smaugnaut]

Don't be surprised if it takes 3-6hrs just to do the controller alone.

Also keep in mind that you will not be able to enjoy any part until you have both the controller antenna and the antenna on the quad installed. Alot of people have made the mistake of just doing their controller antenna, and then run out to test only to find out the they now only fly maybe 500ft. That happens due to the antennas are no longer matched which is why I mentioned getting both antennas installed first. Good luck!

No worries in fitting the antennas itchybeard, what takes the time is scraping the resin off the stock tx cable. I was all done fitting the three in around one hour.
Not sure what you mean by the above flyNfank? I just installed the stage 2 kit from fpvlr but to the controller and wifi only, the phantom is still stock. I don't need any more distance because the furthest i go is about 2500ft which it has been doing from standard no problems, sometimes the fpv gets a bit laggy at this distance depending on location so i'm hoping for a more stable signal all in. Not flew it since installing the antennas, will see how it is at the weekend.

So you didnt dremel the top off for the tx 5.8 antenna and were left with a gap. Are you able to tighten the antenna without the connector twisting along with it? If so, or you want to get rid of the gap i simply used a white tie wrap and squeezed them together. You can barely even see it and will prevent the connector from turning. By the way i like the colors you picked. I have my phantom side antennas coming next week sometime. Maybe ill post some pics.

 

[DBS]

Not sure what you mean by the above flyNfank? I just installed the stage 2 kit from fpvlr but to the controller and wifi only, the phantom is still stock.

I think he's trying to say...

If the Phantom is still stock then why spend all the extra money on the Horizon 5.8Ghz helix that's useless... The Phantom rx antennas are linear vertical... You could get 2 or 3 times the control range by using a proper polarity vertical patch antenna from eBay for 12 bucks... The helix only becomes an advantage after modding the rx antennas on the bird to match the CP of the helix.

 

[ToThePoint]

If the Phantom is still stock then why spend all the extra money on the Horizon 5.8Ghz helix that's useless... The Phantom rx antennas are linear vertical... You could get 2 or 3 times the control range by using a proper polarity vertical patch antenna from eBay for 12 bucks... The helix only becomes an advantage after modding the rx antennas on the bird to match the CP of the helix.

A polarity mismatch counts for a 3db loss or 50% cause doubling a range requires a 6db gain.
Also circular polarization ( helix ) suffer less from reflection of the transmitted signal.
Vertical polarization does indeed suffer from reflection and in some situations it can suppress the signal resulting in a cancellation of it on the receiver.

 

[smaugnaut]

UMMMMMMM I have a stage two from FPVLR and i can honestlly say that you are wrong that it wont help with range. I went from 700 meters 1500 meters and sometimes further with solid FPV and without any app. I have my Phantom side antennas coming in the mail. So i will let you know exactly how much further you can go with both modded.

 

[Kag49601]

Don't be surprised if it takes 3-6hrs just to do the controller alone.

Also keep in mind that you will not be able to enjoy any part until you have both the controller antenna and the antenna on the quad installed. Alot of people have made the mistake of just doing their controller antenna, and then run out to test only to find out the they now only fly maybe 500ft. That happens due to the antennas are no longer matched which is why I mentioned getting both antennas installed first. Good luck!

Words from the wise right there bro :ugeek: ... You see this all the time on the forum due to bad advice... If you are not going to mod the Phantom side right away then you are much better off getting a flat patch antenna that is vertically polarized to match the antennas in the landing gear on the bird... :ugeek:

I have modified just the pilot end 5.8 without doing the same to the bird (10dbi rhcp) and have flown 2 miles with no control issues. This is using a pilot-side amp, but even without I'm getting close to a mile. Just my 2 cents. I do plan to do the aircraft antennas soon (just because) but it's kind of a pain to perform on the vision plus because if the epoxy on the plugs.

 

[itchybeard]

Mmmmmm, It seems that opinions vary on the benefits of installing a circular polarised pilot-end mod. Eventually, I plan to fit a pair of 5.8Ghz LHCP skew-planar pin-wheels to the bird, but I've got too many other mods to do at the moment

Tin foil mod
T-motors
Carbon fibre landing gear
Bespoke carbon fibre prop-guards

As well as the RC controller mod.

So I will do it when I've cleared the backlog. In the meantime, modding the RC controller will allow me to fit a high-gain 5.8Ghz 'rubber duck' omni if needed.

 

[DBS]

circular polarization ( helix ) suffer less from reflection of the transmitted signal.
Vertical polarization does indeed suffer from reflection and in some situations it can suppress the signal resulting in a cancellation of it on the receiver.

So If we're still talking about the 5.8Ghz control signal... All the more reason to do the Phantom side mod if you're going to use a helix to send the signal... You aren't getting the full benefits from an expensive antenna if you're receiving with the stock dipoles

I have modified just the pilot end 5.8 without doing the same to the bird (10dbi rhcp) and have flown 2 miles with no control issues. This is using a pilot-side amp, but even without I'm getting close to a mile. Just my 2 cents.

I could get close to a mile with my stock bird out of the box... And 2 miles cost me 20 bucks to build this little thingy... No amps

Sorry to throw a negative into the thread back there... I used the word "useless" and I shouldn't have... These expensive CP antennas obviously have a positive boost to range but I guess I always think in "miles per gallon" or rather "miles per dollar" ... And then there's the form factor... The small CP antennas look so cool and keep everything down to a manageable size... So that's worth a lot right there as well...

Everybody has their own groove and build style and we all love going after that deep range flight that's so exciting... So sorry about using that word "useless"... None of this is... It's all part of what's in our blood and we can't help it :ugeek:

 

[Jstic]

Almost every long distance flight that is documented by video that I have seen is done in a rural setting, with EXTREMELY flat terrain. Has anyone flown one of these mile(one way) or longer flights in an urban setting, or even in the suburbs, in a place like New England where there are tons of variations in the terrain?

 

[UKFlyer]

So you didnt dremel the top off for the tx 5.8 antenna and were left with a gap. Are you able to tighten the antenna without the connector twisting along with it? If so, or you want to get rid of the gap i simply used a white tie wrap and squeezed them together. You can barely even see it and will prevent the connector from turning. By the way i like the colors you picked. I have my phantom side antennas coming next week sometime. Maybe ill post some pics.

No dremel, but i may cut off the top to make a neater job. I made the slots slightly bigger by scraping away and the connector was a great fit, not the neatest job ever but it is very secure and does not twist.

 

[itchybeard]

It has to be said. That's a sweet looking rig you've got there, UKFlyer

 

[saao]

i am a little confused guys horizonfpv states that the pilot kit extreme will give a huge boost range in km without any mods to the bird since the 2.4 ghz antenna is tested for around 11 km they say u should buy a 5.8 amp to boost more rc control. advise

 

[itchybeard]

Yes, it is confusing, but I'll do my best, Saao.

DBS is right in saying that using circular polarised antennae on the pilot side will cause a mismatch, because the standard 5.8Ghz antennae on the bird are linear omni antennae not circular polarised. However, the standard RC controller has a 1dbi 5.8Ghz linear omni antenna and the Horizon FPV 5.8Ghz LHCP antenna is 12dbi so even if we assume a 3dbi loss for the mismatch that still gives us an overall increase of 8dbi.

12-1-3=8

So there should be a substantial increase in range regardless. This would, of course, be improved by installing matching antennae on the bird.

I hope this helps