NanoSync Antenna for DJI Mavic Coming Soon

[MacIak]

If any of you guys are curious as in what is inside the Nanosync antenna, well here you go. It is only a simple, off the shelf PCB patch. I really love the bracket design though. The white plastic patch in the photo was within 2dbm of the Nanosync and it is a six dollar antenna from Amazon.

I've done several controlled (as possible) tests and my home made biquads are best. They are not nearly as pretty, but they penetrate better than the four or five different antennas I have tested.

For what it's worth, the FCC controller has an output of about 45mw. (This on the left antenna of course) I did try a booster on the left antenna and it was putting out roughly 400mw after the booster. The booster proved to be too much for the downlink at 400mw as it started freezing as short as 1km. I still have more testing I want to do with the booster though. I may attenuate it more to about 100mw and see if I can establish an equalibrium between uplink and downlink.

Oh, and BTW, the rectangle black patch in the photo is crap. This is the patch they sell as a upgrade for the FRsky Taranis. I thought I may have had a bad one but, I tested four of them I have and they are all the same. I even opened them all up to make sure the solder joints were ok and to make sure the antenna was facing the correct way. The white 6dbi dipole tested better than the black patch.

Ken

View attachment 12098

Thanks for this. Indeed i also opened one of these in the past. Always the same in there, 2 identical patches. That's why it is no use poundering how to connect the cables outside. Still wonder why itelite always indicates "port 1 and port2" on these?! Having some theoretical knowledge of RM i always assumed that tx and rx antennas were different types for optimal use. Thanks testing stuff, always good contribution.

 

[flyingduck88]

I've read through every post here and haven't seen this asked. Go easy on me because I'm not near as educated on this as many of you are but, doesn't the Mavic use 2.4 and 5.0 ghz? Will this antenna null the 5.0ghz and only utilize the 2.4ghz?
I have my controller opened up BUT haven't removed the stock antennas just yet as I'm just really on the fence about this mod. I've used these antennas on my P2 vision plus and my P3A and was really impressed but the Mavic does better than I could imagine stock. I just enjoy (like others have confessed) tearing things apart and doing mods but if the gain isn't there it seems a shame to permanently "break" the antennas on the stock controller.
The biggest reason for my wanting to do the mod is penetration through trees and after looking at the links and reading here I don't see that being the case without the amp mod?

Thoughts?

 

[MacIak]

I've read through every post here and haven't seen this asked. Go easy on me because I'm not near as educated on this as many of you are but, doesn't the Mavic use 2.4 and 5.0 ghz? Will this antenna null the 5.0ghz and only utilize the 2.4ghz?
I have my controller opened up BUT haven't removed the stock antennas just yet as I'm just really on the fence about this mod. I've used these antennas on my P2 vision plus and my P3A and was really impressed but the Mavic does better than I could imagine stock. I just enjoy (like others have confessed) tearing things apart and doing mods but if the gain isn't there it seems a shame to permanently "break" the antennas on the stock controller.
The biggest reason for my wanting to do the mod is penetration through trees and after looking at the links and reading here I don't see that being the case without the amp mod?

Thoughts?

Do not remove your stock antennas relying on antenna manufacturers. They lie, really they do. There is not much gain without boosting. Even boosted the rc will outperform live feed leaving it useless. The best way is boost both the mavic and tx. Not many people including myself will do this (yet, working on that).
I m about to do some flying comparing 2 identical "range extenders" in exactly the same conditions. Expecting disturbing results. Will report later.

 

[CyberNate]

If any of you guys are curious as in what is inside the Nanosync antenna, well here you go. It is only a simple, off the shelf PCB patch. I really love the bracket design though. The white plastic patch in the photo was within 2dbm of the Nanosync and it is a six dollar antenna from Amazon.

I've done several controlled (as possible) tests and my home made biquads are best. They are not nearly as pretty, but they penetrate better than the four or five different antennas I have tested.

For what it's worth, the FCC controller has an output of about 45mw. (This on the left antenna of course) I did try a booster on the left antenna and it was putting out roughly 400mw after the booster. The booster proved to be too much for the downlink at 400mw as it started freezing as short as 1km. I still have more testing I want to do with the booster though. I may attenuate it more to about 100mw and see if I can establish an equalibrium between uplink and downlink.

Oh, and BTW, the rectangle black patch in the photo is crap. This is the patch they sell as a upgrade for the FRsky Taranis. I thought I may have had a bad one but, I tested four of them I have and they are all the same. I even opened them all up to make sure the solder joints were ok and to make sure the antenna was facing the correct way. The white 6dbi dipole tested better than the black patch.

Ken

View attachment 12098

I don't have the nanosync antenna; however I don't think it's fair to trash the antenna. All panel antenna that I've seen are built from off the shelf cheap panels, including the very best panel antenna which has more than 50,000 ft range unboosted, the Horizons Terminator. It's all about the housing for proper alignment and correct cabling length to get proper SWR. I think DBSMOD have a good reputation which is clear by checking the distance leaderboards across the different DJI models. DBSMOD is always near the top of the list of best performers.

 

[CyberNate]

I've read through every post here and haven't seen this asked. Go easy on me because I'm not near as educated on this as many of you are but, doesn't the Mavic use 2.4 and 5.0 ghz? Will this antenna null the 5.0ghz and only utilize the 2.4ghz?
I have my controller opened up BUT haven't removed the stock antennas just yet as I'm just really on the fence about this mod. I've used these antennas on my P2 vision plus and my P3A and was really impressed but the Mavic does better than I could imagine stock. I just enjoy (like others have confessed) tearing things apart and doing mods but if the gain isn't there it seems a shame to permanently "break" the antennas on the stock controller.
The biggest reason for my wanting to do the mod is penetration through trees and after looking at the links and reading here I don't see that being the case without the amp mod?

Thoughts?

The Mavic uses only 2.4GHz. The antenna should help some, but boosting will make the largest difference, especially for penetration through trees. Are you in the US? If you are, we have greater power output for our controller than Europe for example. If you are in a location with lesser transmission power, than you'll definitely want to boost your transmit side (left antenna).

 

[MacIak]

So flew 9 packs. Was rather disappointing when it came to range today, for some reason my boosted system was performing less than usual on the same route..Gaining altitude seemed to make things worse, signal deteriorating faster than normal. I did shorten the tx to booster cable a bit and 100 % sure it is done correctly ( tried another tested cable, also short too). Could this be related?
Anyway i decided to do some more testing with nanosync. Unboosted it really is no different to stock.
I used 2 different panels to make sure. Same tx same cabling (standard as they came) same flight profile compared to stock. The only difference being the nanosync system the signal drops "steeper" than stock which is more gradual. But rangewise...
I would not recommend CE regions to use this since there is no gain unless boosted. And that requires the tx to be modded anyway.

 

[flyingduck88]

The Mavic uses only 2.4GHz. The antenna should help some, but boosting will make the largest difference, especially for penetration through trees. Are you in the US? If you are, we have greater power output for our controller than Europe for example. If you are in a location with lesser transmission power, than you'll definitely want to boost your transmit side (left antenna).

I was under the impression that the "HD" mode used 5.0GHz for some reason I'm sure I read it somewhere but I guess not. Thanks for that.
I am in the US, a far south suburb of Chicago and have a lot of trees and a fair amount of wifi interference. I already opened up the controller so I guess even though I haven't removed the stock antennas I voided any warranty.....sigh.

 

[CyberNate]

Opening the controller doesn't void warranty. Only if they can prove the modification caused the warranty issue. Anyway the Mavic and controller are separate devices. The craft itself is more likely to have warranty issues than controller with all the moving parts.

 

[MacIak]

Opening the controller doesn't void warranty. Only if they can prove the modification caused the warranty issue. Anyway the Mavic and controller are separate devices. The craft itself is more likely to have warranty issues than controller with all the moving parts.

Mind the tabs and the crappy little wires on the bottom. With my mods ( i modded multiple, hehe) the pause button flew off once when seperating the shell. Took a while before i found it.
@CyberNate : you have a clue if it's possible that my range is cut in half cause i shortened the tx>sunhans cable? Soo frustrated..

 

[CyberNate]

Mind the tabs and the crappy little wires on the bottom. With my mods ( i modded multiple, hehe) the pause button flew off once when seperating the shell. Took a while before i found it.
@CyberNate : you have a clue if it's possible that my range is cut in half cause i shortened the tx>sunhans cable? Soo frustrated..

I shortened mine as well, replacing the cables with brass elbows and connectors. No range issues for me. I just flew out 34500ft today, total flight if Nealy 70,000 ft. Never lost signal entire flight over Urban area. I have a circular polarizing antenna rather than linear. Perhaps you are seeing too much interference. You might need an attenuator to drop the transmit power slightly if getting too much cross interference. Nice thing about circular polarizing antenna is there is diversity/isolation between the tx and rx.

 

[flyingduck88]

Mind the tabs and the crappy little wires on the bottom. With my mods ( i modded multiple, hehe) the pause button flew off once when seperating the shell. Took a while before i found it.
@CyberNate : you have a clue if it's possible that my range is cut in half cause i shortened the tx>sunhans cable? Soo frustrated..

That little sucker did the same thing to me! Right under the china cabinet...I'm thinking I'll just return the NanoSync and get the $ back. Maybe buy a fourth battery would be a better investment.

 

[CyberNate]

Mind the tabs and the crappy little wires on the bottom. With my mods ( i modded multiple, hehe) the pause button flew off once when seperating the shell. Took a while before i found it.
@CyberNate : you have a clue if it's possible that my range is cut in half cause i shortened the tx>sunhans cable? Soo frustrated..

Anyway, it's possible that you reached a cable length that has a poor SWR. Try changing the length to longer or shorter

Update:
The wavelength of 2.4ghz is 82mm. Check the length of your cable.

You should use the original length cable, as they optimized the length to get proper swr.

 

[MacIak]

Anyway, it's possible that you reached a cable length that has a poor SWR. Try changing the length to longer or shorter

Update:
The wavelength of 2.4ghz is 82mm. Check the length of your cable.

You should use the original length cable, as they optimized the length to get proper swr.

Initially i used 60mm, when it did not work out i cannibalized another cable (had to mod 1 end to rpsma) and got 100mm. Both bad. Original (working cable) was 120mm. Maybe the amp got issues i don't know, lights show operational but can't look inside. Nanosync is not optimal for this i know, but the only ones i got at the moment and it worked just fine.
Which one are you using at the moment, i thought you had the fpvlr ones?

 

[CyberNate]

Initially i used 60mm, when it did not work out i cannibalized another cable (had to mod 1 end to rpsma) and got 100mm. Both bad. Original (working cable) was 120mm. Maybe the amp got issues i don't know, lights show operational but can't look inside. Nanosync is not optimal for this i know, but the only ones i got at the moment and it worked just fine.
Which one are you using at the moment, i thought you had the fpvlr ones?

I bought RexUAV circular polarized off of Amazon. They blow away the fpvlr. Unfortunately a bit bulky, but they work nicely boosted.

 

[MacIak]

I bought RexUAV circular polarized off of Amazon. They blow away the fpvlr. Unfortunately a bit bulky, but they work nicely boosted.

Ah. Seen this kind on drone-world site as well. Is that the red wired one or silver wired? How the heck do you attach this and boosters on the remote?

 

[CyberNate]

Ah. Seen this kind on drone-world site as well. Is that the red wired one or silver wired? How the heck do you attach this and boosters on the remote?

Still a work in process. I've tried a couple different ways:



Fortunately I have also a stock controller for those times when I want simplicity.

 

[Spirytus]

Still a work in process. I've tried a couple different ways:

View attachment 12152 View attachment 12153

Fortunately I have also a stock controller for those times when I want simplicity.

Nice setup! I take it the boosters are the 3W 2.4Ghz Sunhans listed on the rexuav site?

Which tutorial did you follow for the remote tare-down?

Which cables / hardware did you install (inside) in-lieu of the stock?

 

[Cerberus]

Still a work in process. I've tried a couple different ways:

View attachment 12152 View attachment 12153

Fortunately I have also a stock controller for those times when I want simplicity.

That looks heavy

 

[MacIak]

Still a work in process. I've tried a couple different ways:

View attachment 12152 View attachment 12153

Fortunately I have also a stock controller for those times when I want simplicity.

Wow that s getting bigger by the day!! I recall that fpvlr also has these, for 3dr? Rexuav advertizes a similar product (yours) for 3dr AND dji (mavic not mentioned though)? Why did you not opt for the fpvlr one? I think i can mod my nanosync bracket easily to accomodate this! Would normal rg316 coax work as well?

 

[CyberNate]

Nice setup! I take it the boosters are the 3W 2.4Ghz Sunhans listed on the rexuav site?

Which tutorial did you follow for the remote tare-down?

Which cables / hardware did you install (inside) in-lieu of the stock?

I used the fpvlr installation package on dronenerds.com. it performs well, but the installation was difficult, requiring filing away of sone plastic to make it fit. I bought the RexUAV afterward and found it works better with the boosters Dronenerds.com has an installation video as does MaxUAV.