The Ultimate FC40 FPV Mod (Update 1780m=5840ft +)

[Almarma]

Hello again!

I'm working now on the mod using the AR Drone v1 I got, and I have a question:

The PCB says the black wire is +, and the red one is -. Just the opposite at the rest of the planet. But checking the battery from the drone, I see that the red cable is the + and the black is the -

I suppose from the drone, the cable is the same: red for + and grey for -, right?

UPDATE: I found it myself . It's the printing on the PCB what is wrong! The cables are right! I've checked the ar drone battery, and the red gives the +, so the red goes to the motherboard with the red cable. I've tested it and it works!!

Now, I have to wait until tomorrow, because it's dark now

By the way, tomorrow I'll use a temporal solution, but I have a cool idea I want to share with you people! I discovered recently a wonderful thing that I'm waiting to arrive: Sugru. It's a special silicone that once it's dry, it glued to things, and holds its form, but is flexible. People is doing incredible things with it, and I see little interest in the Phantom community, but I think it will be really useful: I'll build four fingers to hold the board, maybe inside a plastic clear box. Really excited about this project! Thank you again IIVII

 

[Almarma]

I've tried it today! After several days raining, today it was clear. I'll update later this post with pictures and a video. But I just wanted to say that I'm very happy with the results and I have a nice surprise about the FC40 camera too

Ok, about the mod: I've tried with the router in the ground, and the range was worse than with the stock fc40 camera. So after wondering what could I do, I just put the router under the remote control, with the antennas always oriented to the drone. Much better range! I have two omni antennas, one 5dbi and the other 8dbi. I found that it works better in horizontal. I'll upload pictures about it.

About the ar drone hardware: it's amazing, when you are used to the fc40 camera, to see the battery level, wifi indicator, and how it reconnects itself if you go out of range.

And about the fc40 camera: if you press the rec button just after the on/off button, it's wifi signal doesn't start (less interference), but also, video is recorder in one single file too! Not 3 minutes videos anymore! This was a great surprise!

Here's the update with pictures:

This is the very provisional camera and AR Drone boards placement. I'm just trying different places before the sugru arrives, but I found this to be a great place for the camera! It doesn't block the view from the FC40 one, I have exactly the same angle, even if I tilt the FC40 camera, and if I use velcro, I can remove the AR Drone camera, take out the FC40, and the same to install it again.



I found this router as a great and cheap solution to make a repeater. It's very lightweight, and it comes with two 5dBi detachable antennas. I replaced just one with an 8dBi one, in the hope of having good short and long range coverage. Maybe I'll replace in the future one of them with a 9dBi panel antenna. It requires also very little power (9V and 6W) so I also built this battery pack to feed it when I'm out:

I used a long cable, so I can have the pack inside a backpack or in a pocket in my jacket.

And now comes the funny thing: if I turn the router upside down under the remote controller, and turn around the antennas, it's very comfortable to use!



I continue in the next post because of the 5 attachment per post limit

 

[Almarma]

This is from a side:


And then, while flying, I've tried different antenna positions.

Knowing antenna theory, one knows that an omnidirectional antennas create like a big donut around them, being the antenna the axis of the donut. The more powerful the antenna, the more distant the donut is. So, as I'm holding the router in my hands, I can move the donut around to point to the drone while keeping the hands on the joysticks.

The first try had all antennas pointing upwards:


Then, I tried with one vertical, and the other horizontal:


This way, one donut is flat, and the other is sideways, but also directed to the drone.

And then, I tried with both horizontal antennas:


This way I could reach more stable signal at the top of the mountain (I'll upload the video later), maybe because the donuts, beings sideways, are more independent to the vertical position of the router, or maybe because of polarization.

As maybe you already know, antennas create a flat wave that travels across the air. It can be vertical or horizontal. If both antennas (emitter and receiver) are vertical or horizontal, they get better signal. If the emitter is horizontal and the receiver is vertical, the signal quality is worse. As the antennas in the AR Drone v1 board are horizontal, I thought that maybe they could work better in horizontal position, and they did!

So I'm quite happy with the results! I only hope to make it a bit more stable, because there were moments when the frame rate dropped, specially when turning around the drone.

But overall, it has been a nice improvement. And as I said before, being able to check the battery level is FANTASTIC, and even the FC40 camera works better (one video, one file)! Also this router, when attached to the remote, looks nice as both are rounded and white and about the same width

So, again, thanks to IIVII for this mod idea! Thank you, thank you and thank you! Now it's time to improve the AR Drone boards housing and camera for a permanent solution!! And keep flying! Cheers from Norway!!

 

[Almarma]

Here's the video with this test:

http://youtu.be/_x06r_FFoyY

 

[IIVII]

Hey Almarma .. Nice flying

I'm glad u r enjoying the Mod , here's a quick and easy way to increase your range :

- to double your current range replace one or both antennas with the Alfa 7 dBi APA-M04 :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alfa-7-dBi-gain ... 19be0fd207

- Now if you wanna hit the 1000m mark add this booster to your router along with the Alfa antenna :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141259266986?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT


keep them vids coming , try to use the screen recorder app to show ur FPV screen along with ur HD vid in the next clip


have fun and enjoy ..

IIVII

 

[Almarma]

Hey Almarma .. Nice flying

I'm glad u r enjoying the Mod , here's a quick and easy way to increase your range :

- to double your current range replace one or both antennas with the Alfa 7 dBi APA-M04 :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alfa-7-dBi-gain ... 19be0fd207

- Now if you wanna hit the 1000m mark add this booster to your router along with the Alfa antenna :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141259266986?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT


keep them vids coming , try to use the screen recorder app to show ur FPV screen alone with ur HD vid in the next clip


have fun and enjoy ..

IIVII

Hi IIVII thanks for the comment! And for the tips to even improve it further! I'll keep improving it in the following months (antennas, gimbal, maybe bigger batteries...). Can I record the ar drone screen on an iPhone? As far as I know, the Ar Drone app only records the camera image, not the screen itself with the battery and the other information, right?

 

[IIVII]

Hi IIVII thanks for the comment! And for the tips to even improve it further! I'll keep improving it in the following months (antennas, gimbal, maybe bigger batteries...). Can I record the ar drone screen on an iPhone? As far as I know, the Ar Drone app only records the camera image, not the screen itself with the battery and the other information, right?

i don't know about Iphone , but there should be an app for live screen capture , just like android devices .

check this link out:
http://youtu.be/q4AISOwl9Kg

 

[dtitus6297]

got my mod all hooked up with the v2 board and navistick!!! love having all the info on screen, the only downside is there is a little shorter range with the ar drone board than the fc40 camera. got me an amped wireless sr10000 wifi repeater and 2 7dbi alfa panel antennas for it off amazon for dirt cheap. the repeater was $34 (used) and the 2 pack of antennas was $18 (new). should have it all in a few days and test this weekend if weather permits. I have an extra lipo that came with the broken ar drone v2 that I bought for the mod, I plan on using that to power the repeater and ill b god to go. ill post my first long range fpv vid if I can figure out how to put the link on here...lol

 

[garrock]

got my mod all hooked up with the v2 board and navistick!!! love having all the info on screen, the only downside is there is a little shorter range with the ar drone board than the fc40 camera.

The Wheel Antenna Mod Kit will add range and importantly will drastically reduce video dropouts when the drone is rotated. (the AR Drone Main Board has a well known problem with its built in antenna.)

 

[dtitus6297]

I did my own external antenna mod just soldering a coax cable directly onto the main board and put a 3dbi antenna on it and disable the old antenna and chip.
Does anyone know if I can use something like a sunhans 3w wifi amplifier on a amped wireless sr10000 wifi extender? Wasn't sure if since it Is already amped in the extender can I still amp it again with the sunhans 3w?
also, had anyone tried an amplifier on both transmitter and receiver ends? I bet that would be pretty awesome.
one more...I am getting a max of about 500 yards with the external antenna w/ 3dbi stick antenna, and the amped wireless sr10000 with 2 7dbi alfa panel antennas. Anyone know if that is normal? I was expecting more but maybe I'm wrong

 

[dtitus6297]

Here's my bird with the 3dbi antenna and navistick and ar drone v2 board

 

[garrock]

Here's my bird with the 3dbi antenna and navistick and ar drone v2 board:

The photo shows the antenna pointing at around 45 degree angle.

Can it point straight down ?

 

[jabman13]

Hey guys...I used my main board for this mod and now I'm done with it, if anybody needs a board to use, it's up on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111562568222?ss ... 1555.l2649

 

[dtitus6297]

I have it point straight down during flight, I just put it up a notch for when I put it in my case that I magivered together out of a solid frame suitcase and packing foam. The antenna is only like a half inch from the ground when it's all the way down, so some caution has to be used when storing. I used a 3dbi antenna and chopped the extra plastic off of it because it was white and I thought it looked better. Gonna keep my eye out for a white 2dbi that's make a little smaller


anyone have any answers to any of the questions that I asked above?
I really wanna know if I can amplify the signal for my amped wireless sr10000 with a sunhans 3w or something for even more power. Not sure if that will mess anything up tho. I was kinda trying to avoid putting an amp on board the fc40 because of the weight. Anybody know of any lightweight wifi amps like the sunhans 3w or 2.5w? Any answers to any of my questions would be appreciated. I'm just getting started with the hobby for the last few months and I'm addicted!

 

[IIVII]

I did my own external antenna mod just soldering a coax cable directly onto the main board and put a 3dbi antenna on it and disable the old antenna and chip.
Does anyone know if I can use something like a sunhans 3w wifi amplifier on a amped wireless sr10000 wifi extender? Wasn't sure if since it Is already amped in the extender can I still amp it again with the sunhans 3w?
also, had anyone tried an amplifier on both transmitter and receiver ends? I bet that would be pretty awesome.
one more...I am getting a max of about 500 yards with the external antenna w/ 3dbi stick antenna, and the amped wireless sr10000 with 2 7dbi alfa panel antennas. Anyone know if that is normal? I was expecting more but maybe I'm wrong

dtitus ,

the 600mw in the sr10000 won't do u any good , cuz i believe that boost power in the sr10000 works as follows :

1- Signal source (Ar Board) -----> to -----> SR10000 = 10mw to 25mw .. which's the Ar Board output , the increase u see is due to the sr10000 sensitive receiver side which helps alot .

2- SR10000 -----> to -----> ur mobile = 600mw boosted signal .. which's useless unless u place the SR10000 in the middle of ur flying field .


so simply the sr10000 is catching the source signal and then rebroadcasting it with a 600mw boost power .. which works great if u trying to boost a home wifi network where the signal source is close to the sr10000, but it doesn't work as good in our application .. cuz we need that boost power the other way around ..

if u need a prove of how the sr10000 boost works .. do as i did in one of my tests .. attach the sr10000 underneath ur drone and fly with it .. i guarantee ya at least 800m range


try the (TP-Link 703 + Sunhans 2.5w booster + Alfa 2.4ghz 7dbi panel antenna) .. u won't be disappointed .

 

[dtitus6297]

Thanks IIVII for the reply. That makes sense, I kind of thought that was the case with the sr10000 but I wasn't sure. Glad to hear it from u because u seem to be very knowledgeable about this stuff. I'll put the sr10000 back to use in my house and order up the tp link 703 and maybe 2 sunhans boosters like a 3w and 2.5w. The sr10000 was too bulky anyway. Do u think the 3w is worth getting over the 2.5w? The price is a little more, but If I will get a considerable range increase I will definitely get it.
Still enjoying the mod extremely, it's so nice with the external antenna, no more drop outs while turning. Thanks for the ideas and recommendations!

Thanks again

 

[IIVII]

Thanks IIVII for the reply. That makes sense, I kind of thought that was the case with the sr10000 but I wasn't sure. Glad to hear it from u because u seem to be very knowledgeable about this stuff. I'll put the sr10000 back to use in my house and order up the tp link 703 and maybe 2 sunhans boosters like a 3w and 2.5w. The sr10000 was too bulky anyway. Do u think the 3w is worth getting over the 2.5w? The price is a little more, but If I will get a considerable range increase I will definitely get it.
Still enjoying the mod extremely, it's so nice with the external antenna, no more drop outs while turning. Thanks for the ideas and recommendations!

Thanks again

Glad i can help

u can use the tp link 703 or any other small light repeater just make sure it has less than a 100mw output power so it won't fry the booster .. i can't comment on the 3w , the sunhans i have is the 2.5w 12v black version listed below :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141259266986?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

just make sure u get the genuine Sunhans , cuz there are alot of knock offs online .. now if u get 2 of these on each end i bet u can hit 3000m mark easily ..

btw. is it possible to take a close up video of ur setup .. i've been getting alot of requests for a detailed video , but i can't help cuz the AR mod i have is in pieces since my fc40 transformation

 

[dtitus6297]

I can't seem to figure out how to put a video on here, so here are some pics close up of the mod.

 

[dtitus6297]

Here's how it's mounted

 

[IIVII]

looks good .. thanks for the upload