Aircraft Antenna Mod

[Gh0stxSinghx]

That's not the kind of results I've had with the 4w amps. I'm using a stock controller though. With a stock controller, I'm getting between 3-4 bars at 40k feet in good conditions.

That's HD signal for 3-4 bars? My side UK HD signal 0-2 bars with 4Hawks RC signal 3 bars no booster 13km and stock RC signal 0 bars, HD signal 2 bars 10km.

 

[mnoutdoors]

Both signals between 2-4 bars for me with this configuration. HD is generally 1 bar stronger. It's an improvement for sure but I want to see what the 8w can do.

What antenna will you be using with the 8 watt? We use 14DBI panels sometimes with 16 DBI Yagis
Never power them up without something attached, it will be interesting to see what some others get for signal errors compared to what they were before the 8 watt amp was used. I’ve have very good success with them and very low signal errors at even 54K

 

[mnoutdoors]

I'm talking about trying the 8w on the Mavic plugging it into the Mavic antenna.

It beastly heavy, probably want to remove from the case
They do get warm but not as warm a the 4w units do

 

[mnoutdoors]

Yeah. Gotta take the case off. I have my 4w mounted to the rear of the Mavic without a case on it.

Why do you find you need a AC mounted amp? At 59K you should not? Not if the RC signal is strong enough.
Now on a Phantom series going 70-110K certainly it helps

 

[mnoutdoors]

Ok, that makes a difference

 

[dirtybum]

I'm talking about trying the 8w on the Mavic plugging it into the Mavic antenna.

As a test pilot for horizon antennas, I had the opportunity to pic the brain of the owner William, a seriously smart, and sometimes controversial antenna guru, and I couldn't possibly go into the technical babble of it, but from what I understood, you are not going to see any benifit from an 8w amp booster over a 4w amp. At least not on any dji application. I was told that 4 w isnt even going to offer no more than 2.5w.
Only weight and extra battery consumption.[emoji41]
Just what I heard and I believe his expertise.

 

[mnoutdoors]

Well then explain to me why they're such a difference flying a 4watt amp Compared to an 8 In fewer signal errors that must account for something?

If you mean only on the aircraft I would go along with that From an RC standpoint I would not agree

 

[dirtybum]

Well then explain to me why they're such a difference flying a 4watt amp Compared to an 8 In fewer signal errors that must account for something?

If you mean only on the aircraft I would go along with that From an RC standpoint I would not agree

Well I couldn't possibly explain it to you, it's just what I heard from a self-proclaimed expert. I'm no antenna expert I'm just a dirtybum that likes to fly silly toys out long distances[emoji41]

 

[mnoutdoors]

Well I’m no expert either just a man with testing equipment we all want the same thing results!

 

[mnoutdoors]

Test bench

 

[mnoutdoors]

Awesome setup. Did you get the 8w amps from Ebay? Think it's feasible to put one on the bird?

I have not put a birdside amp on a Mavic as of yet, and I DO agree with DB contact, I think I would not go bigger than 4 amp birdside, I just don’t think you need it. I put more stock in RC side than birdside. But that’s just me.

 

[mnoutdoors]

Just ordered one of those 8w amps. One of the reasons I'm interested in bird side is because I'd like to use the goggles at range. My understanding is that they do their own tx/rx to the Mavic so a controller mod wouldn't help in that case.

Are you using those 8w amps on that controller mod I'm looking at in that picture? How is that homemade controller mod working out for you? Was considering doing a home made controller mod like that. I don't have a lot of work space or equipment though.

Yes, we have bought the 8w amps from eBay,they are much bigger in size than the 4w units.on the plus side they don’t need the voltage reducers. 6-16V i dont run the power on mine much less than 10v

I have tried most other antenna systems and they all work to different degrees,but none have compared to using
Antennas with the 8w amp. The 14dbi China panels work nice.with the amps,the largest panels I have tried are 20dbi and I think they would be all anyone would ever need. The 14dbi do very well,and I have used them out to 54k. Terrain of course changes things, and LOS is required, where I fly most in the mountains, I have to gain almost 5000 feet (mod required, although rarely over 400 above the current ground level) between mountains to get that far and that uses a lot of battery power to climb.

 

[mnoutdoors]

It looks like the new Mavic 2

 

[mnoutdoors]

Props going to clear? Or are you moving it back a bit? Motor spacers would lift it up.

 

[lolo780]

View attachment 33729 The 8w amp came in. Need to order a male connector for it before I can try it out. Looks like a tight fit on the nose

Be careful of prop clearance. This was from diving inverted.

 

[mnoutdoors]

WTH, diving inverted?

 

[mnoutdoors]

Thankfully not much water in the desert!

 

[lolo780]

WTH, diving inverted?

 

[beanbubba]

I finally got this 20dBm continuous carrier amp in from china and I will start experimenting with the RX-only ports on both the aircraft and RC. It tested out right at 20dB on the spectrum analyzer. NOTE: don't attempt to use this style amp on the TX/RX port, it's not designed for it. Or think of putting inline with another pulsed carrier amp.

I suspect there will be interference on the mavic radio chip and will have to experiment moving the antennas away from each other. But if this works as I hope on the RC side, this will be good news and extend the overall range of the mavic radio systems.

 

[beanbubba]

Got a link for it? How much was it?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0785YF3HM