Antennas and extended range

Turn11 · Mar 16, 2018

Out here in my corner of Arizona there are many areas where I can see 20 miles without anything higher than 4 - 5’ tall. Our elevation ranges from 500’ to 7,000’ . The majority of the time the terrain would be flat to rolling where the elevation change might be 100’ from me to a wash on the other side of a rise. Takeoff and landing would be off the top of a Jeep with a landing pad on the roof for contrast.

I AM NOT trying to get a spot on the range leaderboard.

Under these conditions which antenna would have an advantage directional or omnidirectional? OR perhaps a second RC bonded to the AC.

Which antenna make and model would you recommend?

Larry

lannes · Mar 17, 2018

Titan Cyclone 2.4ghz model

Turn11 · Mar 17, 2018

Thanks for your reply. I have seen a number of your posts #2 on this topic. I had been thinking about a LifThor display holder for my (present display) iPad. It looks like that might be a lot of front end weight. Also I wonder if there would be enough room between the RC and amp. AND would it affect the signal radiation.

How fragile does the RC & Amp become. Any thoughts

lannes · Mar 17, 2018

Turn11 said:
Thanks for your reply. I have seen a number of your posts #2 on this topic. I had been thinking about a LifThor display holder for my (present display) iPad. It looks like that might be a lot of front end weight. Also I wonder if there would be enough room between the RC and amp. AND would it affect the signal radiation.

How fragile does the RC & Amp become. Any thoughts

I don't believe that the lift Thor will work with the Titan t-lock mount which has a bracket in front of the controller, I'm not sure if it will work with any panel type antenna system.
You can see the t-lock bracket in the image below.

There is a little bit of extra weight on the front end, if I were using the Cyclone, I'd look at a mount that places the ipad a bit more behind the controller to counter balance.
e.g. https://www.amazon.com/KUUQA-Aluminum-Alloy-Foldable-Holder-Controller/dp/B071XP2MJ1/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1521327083&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=tablet+mount+mavic+pro&psc=1

In 8 mths of use, I haven't has a problem with the connection point at the controller, which takes the weight of the Cyclone panel
When your holding this arrangement at 45-55 degrees facing the sky you don't really notice the weight.

Turn11 · Mar 17, 2018

Thanks for the top picture, I think you are correct.

I liked the visibility and the access the Lifthor gave BUT it looked like the addition of the amp would have a clearance problem, make it even more top heavy and possibly cause a signal radiation problem. I am NOT an antenna expert BUT I do ask a lot of questions.

I presently use a SKYREAT display holder and I think the amp would balance it nicely

mnoutdoors · Mar 17, 2018

Turn11 said:
Out here in my corner of Arizona there are many areas where I can see 20 miles without anything higher than 4 - 5’ tall. Our elevation ranges from 500’ to 7,000’ . The majority of the time the terrain would be flat to rolling where the elevation change might be 100’ from me to a wash on the other side of a rise. Takeoff and landing would be off the top of a Jeep with a landing pad on the roof for contrast.

I AM NOT trying to get a spot on the range leaderboard.

Under these conditions which antenna would have an advantage directional or omnidirectional? OR perhaps a second RC bonded to the AC.

Which antenna make and model would you recommend?

Larry

I run these in Arizona

mnoutdoors · Mar 17, 2018

I run the big panels on the left if I want to run out to the limit

droneuser · Mar 18, 2018

Turn11 said:
Takeoff and landing would be off the top of a Jeep with a landing pad on the roof for contrast.

I AM NOT trying to get a spot on the range leaderboard.

Under these conditions which antenna would have an advantage directional or omnidirectional? OR perhaps a second RC bonded to the AC.

Which antenna make and model would you recommend?

Larry

I would assume that roof is not metal? yes if the terrain is flat to rolling then a directional would be the way to go

droneuser · Mar 18, 2018

mnoutdoors said:
View attachment 33750 I run the big panels on the left if I want to run out to the limit

Wow you have a nice setup!

droneuser · Mar 18, 2018

@lannes

do you think he would be better off getting titan switch?

mnoutdoors · Mar 18, 2018

I have both Titan cyclone and the atlas, and they do improve the range. But in my case,flying in the mountains
I needed more power, so I went first with the 8watt amps and the 14DBI panels and that got me more range.

droneuser · Mar 18, 2018

mnoutdoors said:
I have both Titan cyclone and the atlas, and they do improve the range. But in my case,flying in the mountains
I needed more power, so I went first with the 8watt amps and the 14DBI panels and that got me more range.

how much more did you get?

mnoutdoors · Mar 18, 2018

I have not found the limit on the large 20DBI panels and the 8 watt unit yet ( tripod mounted units )
I can get 54K out pretty easy , on the smaller panels with the 8 watt amps I’ve been out to 42K with no loss of
Of signal at all. I’ve only been out to 38K with the small panels and 4 watt amps. And this is no offense to any others. Just like in racing there’s no replacement for hp. In radio signal, unless you have a lot of experience. More wattage gets you further. And you can be a little sloppier getting there. But I fly mostly in the mountains sometimes through small passage ways between peaks and in my unexpert opinion. The rock just soaks up the signal so I need more power. Open flat unobstructed areas you will get by with less. Fly over water as daring as it is,yields long signal paths. And salt water is better than fresh I understand.