Antenna mods

[votography]

Hi all, my concern or issue is the signal penetration, not range. I live in a heavily-wooded area and would like to have more reliable signals. I often have to fly way above the tree lines to see anything. Of course, I can go to open fields to fly too, but with my busy work schedule, even flying in my own front yard is a challenge.

Would you trust this item from eBay? 16DBI 2.4GHz 5.8GHz Circular Polarized Antenna Signal Booster for DJI Mavic Pro | eBay

Thank you in advance for any words of wisdom!

 

[Maroco]

Hi all, my concern or issue is the signal penetration, not range. I live in a heavily-wooded area and would like to have more reliable signals. I often have to fly way above the tree lines to see anything. Of course, I can go to open fields to fly too, but with my busy work schedule, even flying in my own front yard is a challenge.

Would you trust this item from eBay? 16DBI 2.4GHz 5.8GHz Circular Polarized Antenna Signal Booster for DJI Mavic Pro | eBay

Thank you in advance for any words of wisdom!

I am new to this and getting my Mavic Pro Platinum in shortly. I am most interested in flying far from any wifi interference out at my camp in the woods. I am really hoping that I can get at least 2 -2.5 miles range. The area has many trees and I am wondering if I will get that range with stock? If not could I potentially get that range with the EvoLite Kit? Main reason for purchasing was the advertised 4.3 miles max range. I understand that getting 4 miles would require line of sight and perfect conditions but I was hoping I could at least get 2.5 miles in a wooded area with stock setup. Based on this forum post I am starting to think that may not happen without a modification. I would love to hear some feedback from experienced pilots.

 

[Adamcain112]

Titan just released a amped whip antenna setup. From reading amped signal is the way to go.

 

[sprtbkrydr]

Titan just released a amped whip antenna setup. From reading amped signal is the way to go.

A boosted setup is the only way to go.

 

[Adamcain112]

A boosted setup is the only way to go.

Thats what I meant I get them confused

 

[votography]

Thank you. I will get on YT and watch a few videos first.

 

[mph300]

I have the Cyclone and I am modding it to be able to use whips or the circular antennas. Pretty simple mod. Once done, I'll post some pics and tips.

Here is the completed mod. Sweet. One power unit two different types of antennas.

Parts:
2 90degree RA sma reverse polarity connectors
1ft lms 100 low loss microwave cable
2 sma reverse polarity bulkhead BH
Two sided tape

Tools:
T10 torx driver
Spudger
Scissors
1/4 inch plastic drill bit or modify twist bit via YouTube video to drill two front plate holes.
1/8 carbide bit to mill slot for circular antennas wires to go external.
Solder station if assembling cables yourself.

Disassemble front plate with the 4 T10 screws. Remove front plate with spudger as it is secured with light two sided tape.

Use spudger to pry both amps loose from two sided tape.

Remove the circular antennas leads from amps.

Remove circular antennas from front face with spudger. Note orientation for reassembly.

Scribe inside of front plate at vertical center.

Scribe inside top of front plate horizontally at 1/2 inch from edge.

Remove t connector bracket from rc and separate the plate from plastic block via 2 Phillips head screws.

Mark center line on metal bracket.

Use bracket centered on inside of front plate to scribe the two hole locations centered over horizontal scribe line on inside of front plate.

I can not stress this enough. Your holes need to be exact for the antenna spacer to fit correctly. Take your time and go very slow drill rpm. If you choose to modify a bit and you are not educated in drill bits, use the 1/4 inch plastic bit. Use twist bit at your own risk. I used a modified twist bit from the inside 50 percent and then finished the hole from the front of plate. Worked well.

Next, you will need to drill a 1/8 inch hole in the top of the antenna body. You will see it is constructed of 1/4 inch thick rings. Drill the ring closest to front face centered on ring.

Next, use the carbide bit to open the hole into a u slot towards the front face side.

At this point, assemble cables or purchase cables already assembled. Showmecables.com

Install sma bulkheads into front plate and tighten slightly.

Install the 90 degree end to the amps.

Push amps down firmly to reset two sided tape.

Route wires for clearance. I chose to have the left amp connect to the right bulkhead and ran cables across inside top of controller.

Reinstall circular polarized antennas on inside of front plate.

Route circular antennas connector to outside of antenna box via slot.

Reinstall front plate.

Install two small vecro tabs to secure inner antenna connectors while using whips.

Wipe massive amount of fingerprints from unit and GO FLY!

 

[mph300]

First flight with modded Cyclone and whips.

Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones


When I fly from home, I'm surrounded by 80 foot trees within 50 yards

Previously, the furthest I went on this flight path was around <2000 feet out at 400 altitude. It was scary on signal strength at 2000.

I went out 3800 feet at 400 altitude but chickened out as the wind was really blowing. Signal strength was still 3 bars solid when RTH.

 

[crw92662]

Titan just released a amped whip antenna setup. From reading amped signal is the way to go.

I just bought and installed the Titan Amped "Cyclone" for the Mavic.

Install is very easy as they have a Youtube video showing how to mod the remote. Yes it takes about 45 Minutes and you will want to order pry tool kit and small screwdriver kit from amazon but those are $5 bucks each and worth to have around anyway.

Amp is really the only way to go, don't settle for simply swapping antennas that pretty much a $20 Deflector addon can do.

The droneworld antenna is way over priced!

 

[cderoche]

Here is the completed mod. Sweet. One power unit two different types of antennas.

Parts:
2 90degree RA sma reverse polarity connectors
1ft lms 100 low loss microwave cable
2 sma reverse polarity bulkhead BH
Two sided tape

Tools:
T10 torx driver
Spudger
Scissors
1/4 inch plastic drill bit or modify twist bit via YouTube video to drill two front plate holes.
1/8 carbide bit to mill slot for circular antennas wires to go external.
Solder station if assembling cables yourself.

Disassemble front plate with the 4 T10 screws. Remove front plate with spudger as it is secured with light two sided tape.

Use spudger to pry both amps loose from two sided tape.

Remove the circular antennas leads from amps.

Remove circular antennas from front face with spudger.

Scribe inside of front plate at vertical center.

Scribe inside top of front plate horizontally at 1/2 inch from edge.

Remove t connector bracket from rc and separate the plate from plastic block via 2 Phillips head screws.

Mark center line on metal bracket.

Use bracket centered on inside of front plate to scribe the two hole locations centered over horizontal scribe line on inside of front plate.

I can not stress this enough. Your holes need to be exact for the antenna spacer to fit correctly. Take your time and go very slow drill rpm. If you choose to modify a bit and you are not educated in drill bits, use the 1/4 inch plastic bit. Use twist bit at your own risk. I used a modified twist bit from the inside 50 percent and then finished the hole from the front of plate. Worked well.

Next, you will need to drill a 1/8 inch hole in the top of the antenna body. You will see it is constructed of 1/4 inch thick rings. Drill the ring closest to front face centered on ring.

Next, use the carbide bit to open the hole into a u slot towards the front face side.

At this point, assemble cables or purchase cables already assembled. Showmecables.com

Install sma bulkheads into front plate and tighten slightly.

Install the 90 degree end to the amps.

Push amps down firmly to reset two sided tape.

Route wires for clearance. I chose to have the left amp connect to the right bulkhead and ran cables across inside top of controller.

Reinstall circular polarized antennas on inside of front plate.

Route circular antennas connector to outside of antenna box via slot.

Reinstall front plate.

Install two small vecro tabs to secure inner antenna connectors while using whips.

Wipe massive amount of fingerprints from unit and GO FLY!View attachment 22014 View attachment 22015 View attachment 22016 View attachment 22017 View attachment 22014 View attachment 22015 View attachment 22016 View attachment 22017

I'm betting the next product Titan releases will be one like this, dual purpose Cyclone and Whips both amped and one panel. Surprised when they came out with the amped whips that they didn't just mod the Cyclone to have the option to add whips that are amped. Currently if you buy Cyclone you can order whips, but you use them non-amped.

 

[votography]

Here is the completed mod. Sweet. One power unit two different types of antennas.

Parts:
2 90degree RA sma reverse polarity connectors
1ft lms 100 low loss microwave cable
2 sma reverse polarity bulkhead BH
Two sided tape

Tools:
T10 torx driver
Spudger
Scissors
1/4 inch plastic drill bit or modify twist bit via YouTube video to drill two front plate holes.
1/8 carbide bit to mill slot for circular antennas wires to go external.
Solder station if assembling cables yourself.

Disassemble front plate with the 4 T10 screws. Remove front plate with spudger as it is secured with light two sided tape.

Use spudger to pry both amps loose from two sided tape.

Remove the circular antennas leads from amps.

Remove circular antennas from front face with spudger.

Scribe inside of front plate at vertical center.

Scribe inside top of front plate horizontally at 1/2 inch from edge.

Remove t connector bracket from rc and separate the plate from plastic block via 2 Phillips head screws.

Mark center line on metal bracket.

Use bracket centered on inside of front plate to scribe the two hole locations centered over horizontal scribe line on inside of front plate.

I can not stress this enough. Your holes need to be exact for the antenna spacer to fit correctly. Take your time and go very slow drill rpm. If you choose to modify a bit and you are not educated in drill bits, use the 1/4 inch plastic bit. Use twist bit at your own risk. I used a modified twist bit from the inside 50 percent and then finished the hole from the front of plate. Worked well.

Next, you will need to drill a 1/8 inch hole in the top of the antenna body. You will see it is constructed of 1/4 inch thick rings. Drill the ring closest to front face centered on ring.

Next, use the carbide bit to open the hole into a u slot towards the front face side.

At this point, assemble cables or purchase cables already assembled. Showmecables.com

Install sma bulkheads into front plate and tighten slightly.

Install the 90 degree end to the amps.

Push amps down firmly to reset two sided tape.

Route wires for clearance. I chose to have the left amp connect to the right bulkhead and ran cables across inside top of controller.

Reinstall circular polarized antennas on inside of front plate.

Route circular antennas connector to outside of antenna box via slot.

Reinstall front plate.

Install two small vecro tabs to secure inner antenna connectors while using whips.

Wipe massive amount of fingerprints from unit and GO FLY!View attachment 22014 View attachment 22015 View attachment 22016 View attachment 22017 View attachment 22014 View attachment 22015 View attachment 22016 View attachment 22017

MPH300,

This is a wealth of knowledge and thank you for sharing it with the forum. If you don't mind, will you disclose the total dollar amount spent to get the complete mod? Can't wait to see some images of your completed project.

Thanks again.

 

[votography]

First flight with modded Cyclone and whips.

Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones


When I fly from home, I'm surrounded by 80 foot trees within 50 yards

Previously, the furthest I went on this flight path was around <2000 feet out at 400 altitude. It was scary on signal strength at 2000.

I went out 3800 feet at 400 altitude but chickened out as the wind was really blowing. Signal strength was still 3 bars solid when RTH.

"Chickened Out" is totally fine. I fly conservatively every time. If I don't feel comfortable, I return home. MP is not a cheap toy (to me at least). General public safety is another aspect of my flying behavior.

 

[MrsTreat]

Here is the completed mod. Sweet. One power unit two different types of antennas.

Parts:
2 90degree RA sma reverse polarity connectors
1ft lms 100 low loss microwave cable
2 sma reverse polarity bulkhead BH
Two sided tape

Tools:
T10 torx driver
Spudger
Scissors
1/4 inch plastic drill bit or modify twist bit via YouTube video to drill two front plate holes.
1/8 carbide bit to mill slot for circular antennas wires to go external.
Solder station if assembling cables yourself.

Disassemble front plate with the 4 T10 screws. Remove front plate with spudger as it is secured with light two sided tape.

Use spudger to pry both amps loose from two sided tape.

Remove the circular antennas leads from amps.

Remove circular antennas from front face with spudger.

Scribe inside of front plate at vertical center.

Scribe inside top of front plate horizontally at 1/2 inch from edge.

Remove t connector bracket from rc and separate the plate from plastic block via 2 Phillips head screws.

Mark center line on metal bracket.

Use bracket centered on inside of front plate to scribe the two hole locations centered over horizontal scribe line on inside of front plate.

I can not stress this enough. Your holes need to be exact for the antenna spacer to fit correctly. Take your time and go very slow drill rpm. If you choose to modify a bit and you are not educated in drill bits, use the 1/4 inch plastic bit. Use twist bit at your own risk. I used a modified twist bit from the inside 50 percent and then finished the hole from the front of plate. Worked well.

Next, you will need to drill a 1/8 inch hole in the top of the antenna body. You will see it is constructed of 1/4 inch thick rings. Drill the ring closest to front face centered on ring.

Next, use the carbide bit to open the hole into a u slot towards the front face side.

At this point, assemble cables or purchase cables already assembled. Showmecables.com

Install sma bulkheads into front plate and tighten slightly.

Install the 90 degree end to the amps.

Push amps down firmly to reset two sided tape.

Route wires for clearance. I chose to have the left amp connect to the right bulkhead and ran cables across inside top of controller.

Reinstall circular polarized antennas on inside of front plate.

Route circular antennas connector to outside of antenna box via slot.

Reinstall front plate.

Install two small vecro tabs to secure inner antenna connectors while using whips.

Wipe massive amount of fingerprints from unit and GO FLY!View attachment 22014 View attachment 22015 View attachment 22016 View attachment 22017 View attachment 22014 View attachment 22015 View attachment 22016 View attachment 22017

Thanks for all your info and taking the time to post a write-up!

 

[mph300]

MPH300,

This is a wealth of knowledge and thank you for sharing it with the forum. If you don't mind, will you disclose the total dollar amount spent to get the complete mod? Can't wait to see some images of your completed project.

Thanks again.

Cyclone 250
Titan whips with quick coonect adapters 40
(adapters are not needed) you could take the whips from an old wireless router as long as 2.4ghz
Two custom cables parts 62
$352.00 total

That is taking in the fact that I have every tool needed to do mod.

The reason the external connections are screw on is I did not want to damage internal antenna wiring if the quick connectors were hard to pull off, as they can be.

Mavic 18650 battery pack mod next. Stay tuned...

 

[votography]

Cyclone 250
Titan whips with quick coonect adapters 40
(adapters are not needed) you could take the whips from an old wireless router as long as 2.4ghz
Two custom cables parts 62
$352.00 total

That is taking in the fact that I have every tool needed to do mod.

The reason the external connections are screw on is I did not want to damage internal antenna wiring if the quick connectors were hard to pull off, as they can be.

Mavic 18650 battery pack mod next. Stay tuned...

Thank you for a quick response!

 

[JoshuaCarlton]

I just bought and installed the Titan Amped "Cyclone" for the Mavic.

Install is very easy as they have a Youtube video showing how to mod the remote. Yes it takes about 45 Minutes and you will want to order pry tool kit and small screwdriver kit from amazon but those are $5 bucks each and worth to have around anyway.

Amp is really the only way to go, don't settle for simply swapping antennas that pretty much a $20 Deflector addon can do.

The droneworld antenna is way over priced!

I am just about to do this, any concerns about static? Not sure how important that is or really how to stop static.

 

[cderoche]

I am just about to do this, any concerns about static? Not sure how important that is or really how to stop static.

Just buy one of these... the alligator clip even comes off so you can plug it into a wall outlet ground hole if need be.
https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Static-Wrist-Strap-Grounding-Adjustable/dp/B002O6U65W

 

[JoshuaCarlton]

Just buy one of these... the alligator clip even comes off so you can plug it into a wall outlet ground hole if need be.
https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Static-Wrist-Strap-Grounding-Adjustable/dp/B002O6U65W

thank you, I ordered it!

 

[TheLightSpeed!]

Cyclone 250
Titan whips with quick coonect adapters 40
(adapters are not needed) you could take the whips from an old wireless router as long as 2.4ghz
Two custom cables parts 62
$352.00 total

That is taking in the fact that I have every tool needed to do mod.

The reason the external connections are screw on is I did not want to damage internal antenna wiring if the quick connectors were hard to pull off, as they can be.

Mavic 18650 battery pack mod next. Stay tuned...

That’s awesome! So you essentially made the antenna and amp connection external, and put the whips on when you need them, and then close the loop when you need the panel?

Genius.

 

[TheLightSpeed!]

Cyclone 250
Titan whips with quick coonect adapters 40
(adapters are not needed) you could take the whips from an old wireless router as long as 2.4ghz
Two custom cables parts 62
$352.00 total

That is taking in the fact that I have every tool needed to do mod.

The reason the external connections are screw on is I did not want to damage internal antenna wiring if the quick connectors were hard to pull off, as they can be.

Mavic 18650 battery pack mod next. Stay tuned...

Do you have pics of the internals of the panel opened up?