Upgrading antennas, FPVLR vs. Airblade?

[sgrim70]

I am going to upgrade my antennas very soon and was going to go with a set from FPVLR but I have been hearing alot about the new Airblades. Has anyone done a direct comparison of these antennas? I have emailed FPVLR my set up and was informed that the following items would be the best for my particular case. I am still leaning towards FPVLR because they were really helpful and I have heard nothing but good things about their products but am wondering if anyone has used both of these antennas? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

My rig:
Phantom 2
Zenmuse H3-3D Gimbal
Gopro 3+ black
Mini iOSD
Immersion 5.8ghz transmitter
Fatshark predator 2 goggles

FPVLR suggests:
On immersion tx
http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=60
On fatsharks
http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=59

Here is a link to the Airblades I am curious about:
http://www.stoneblueairlines.com/hangar ... t-370.html

 

[paulgrenga]

That's a tough one. Both made in the USA.

I've used Tony's Stage 4 with the helix and pinwheel. They work great. I think the "diversity" of combining the helex and circular gave me better range. I did have one of the FPVLR 2.4ghz antenna lobe's crack off the antenna on a rough landing. I soldered it back on & it worked fine, but I don't think they should be quite so brittle.

The 2 piece StoneBlue's are certainly less expensive but not sure about the distance. I have not tried them.
Good luck with whatever you buy. Keep us posted.
Paul

 

[myancon]

I have tried both airblades and FPVLR.

Both are great antennas. You pay more for FPVLR, but the quality is better.

If you have the additional funds, I would go with FPVLR.

My $0.02

 

[QYV]

sgim70, I'm one of the biggest FPVLR evangelists around here (I have all the antennas I'm about to talk about personally) but I am a realist and want to make sure you get what you need. First let's talk about the antenna for your transmitter: indeed you need a nice omnidirectional antenna because you want to transmit a good spherical pattern FROM the Phantom and that FPVLR Pentalobe is one of the best, however you can go with less expensive options as long as they are omnidirectional.

On the receiver side is really where you're going to make or break your performance (imo). Having another omnidirectional antenna on the receiver (your goggles I think? Fatshark?) means it will receive from any direction... you don't have to keep it pointed at the phantom, but you sacrifice range. So if you're flying with goggles at say under 500m distance, you don't necessarily need that helix you linked. In a zero-interference environment with my 400mW transmitter (yours is stronger) with the pentalobe on the transmitter and the FPVLR pinwheel on the receiver I got a bit over 600m before the signal was not useable... gotta tell you that's premium distance with an omni antenna on the receiver... I have a buddy with cheap cloverleafs on the Tx and Rx and he gets 150m max.

Now about that helix... that's a DIRECTIONAL antenna meaning you need to keep it pointed at the Phantom at all times, but the range is amazing. I've been out to 1800m (over a mile) and plenty of people have gone further... so if you need that kind of distance you're going to have to get some sort of helix, and that one is the best it's the perfect balance between range and not having to be TOO precise with where it's pointed (the longer the helix, the more directional it is meaning you have to be more precise with where you point it).

Here's my point: When the helix is on a display it's a lot easier to keep track of where the Phantom is, goes, and just turn yourself slightly to keep the antenna pointed at the Phantom as it moves around. If you attach that helix to a set of goggles, it will be a lot harder to keep the helix pointed straight at the Phantom, since the goggles are much more immersive plus you can't see the antenna to know exactly where it's pointed. I think it would be frustrating to use on goggles.

Are you 100% goggles or do you have a display also? My personal recommendation is you get the FPVLR ultimate kit which has the pentalobe for the transmitter, and both the helix AND a pinwheel receiver antennas. You can use the pinwheel on the goggles when you're not going for long distance, and switch over to the helix if/when the range of the pinwheel isn't enough or you're flying display vs goggles.

 

[sgrim70]

Thanks for the replies, I greatly appreciate it! I am pretty sure I will go with my first instinct and get some from FPVLR. I understand the principal of omni directional and helical and have read a lot about them. I will say it seems like I have had much better range with my stock antennas then most. I have been out to 1220m (according to my mini iOSD) with the stock antennas on both the immersion tx and fatsharks with very little video breakup (more noticeable when I turn around to head back but video is still decent). I have done this numerous times so it was not a fluke but there are other days where I could only go around 800m before substantial video loss. I can imagine the antennas from FPVLR would only increase this distance but I know results may vary for each person and each location. I am using 100% goggles and want to stay that way. I would like to have the ability to run 2 antennas at once but have not looked into doing that yet as my goggles do not allow for diversity in there stock form.