A2s controller

[Macinfo]

I don't like long range tests because they are in less than optimal conditions. Perhaps for the work I do, I prefer to do tests in the laboratory.

As I said it is likely that the MA2s will go further because in FCC mode the power of the transmitter and the drone has been increased.

The extra power is a factor, but they would not have altered the Antenna config if they did not think it also improved the performance..

Of course no range test is ever flown under optimal conditions, some locations will be better than others for a number of reasons. The video I saw was definitely not optimal conditions, which is sort of why I think it was chosen; to show that under perhaps less than optimal conditions the MA2S would perform better than the MA2.. and it did..

 

[Raffaello_IZ0QWM]

I'm not sure where the image from the manual above came from (maybe an earlier version of the manual that has since been corrected) but the verbiage above is NOT in the manual that is on the DJI website. It is almost certainly the same controller (since it has the same part number) and the difference is all in the bird itself.
Here is page 34 of the manual now:

View attachment 127474

Thanks for this page. This explains many things.

 

[Raffaello_IZ0QWM]

The extra power is a factor, but they would not have altered the Antenna config if they did not think it also improved the performance..

Of course no range test is ever flown under optimal conditions, some locations will be better than others for a number of reasons. The video I saw was definitely not optimal conditions, which is sort of why I think it was chosen; to show that under perhaps less than optimal conditions the MA2S would perform better than the MA2.. and it did..

Of course, the antenna system improves performance, having more antennas allows you to get the best signal from the best side. It is called diversity.
Not only that, it also improves error correction and consequently decreases latency because there are fewer retransmissions.
In addition, having more antennas, especially at high frequencies (5.8GHz) also improves signal management in the case of multipath


So it was good to put more antennas.
The only thing I'm curious about is not the use of 4 antennas on the drone that can be put on 4 legs, but on the remote control where space is really limited and usually to have a good diversity the distance between the antennas must be at least lambda/2 which means about 3cm for 5.8GHz and about 6cm for 2.4GHz.


I don't have the smart controller here but how wide is the space where the antennas are?
I made a video where I show the antennas of the MA2 controller.

 

[z28lt1]

Of course, the antenna system improves performance, having more antennas allows you to get the best signal from the best side. It is called diversity.
Not only that, it also improves error correction and consequently decreases latency because there are fewer retransmissions.
In addition, having more antennas, especially at high frequencies (5.8GHz) also improves signal management in the case of multipath


So it was good to put more antennas.
The only thing I'm curious about is not the use of 4 antennas on the drone that can be put on 4 legs, but on the remote control where space is really limited and usually to have a good diversity the distance between the antennas must be at least lambda/2 which means about 3cm for 5.8GHz and about 6cm for 2.4GHz.


I don't have the smart controller here but how wide is the space where the antennas are?
I made a video where I show the antennas of the MA2 controller.

The Smart Controller's antennas (actually the plastic covering over the antennas) measure 5cm (inside edge to inside edge) and 6.7cm center to center.

 

[Raffaello_IZ0QWM]

The Smart Controller's antennas (actually the plastic covering over the antennas) measure 5cm (inside edge to inside edge) and 6.7cm center to center.

Oh gosh, so it's possible to have diversity.

It is likely then that they used an antenna design similar to what is in the v2 goggles.
Here you see:

At 0:45

Imagine to have two of them on every side of the antenna space of the controller.

They are shortened (folded) dipoles. They are not as performing as those used in the MA2 controller but being 4 they do their duty.

At this point I wonder if the inputs of the 4 antennas did not already exist in the old MA2 controller but simply were not used.
Here you can see its inside but I can't figure out if there are any unused inputs: