Covert Drones Installs Amplified 2.5w Antenna Boosters INSIDE your remote.

[nolimitdronez]

Thanks for the reply

As i do the testing the remote is partially disassembled like so:
View attachment 133913

no wires are going under or over the booster.

I did notice something on your NEW WELL DONE videos
What is this thing?
View attachment 133914
I have not installed it, in the previous videos you had on your site THE GUY DID NOT INSTALL IT.
I followed that video, as you didnt have any instructions anywhere except that badly shot video.
And i repeat the guy on that video did not install this.
What does it do? Is it needed?
I cant find it anywhere, i may have misplaced it.

It is a relay so that you do not have to use the button.
It switches of when the RC switch off so that it cuts the connection between the battery and the booster circuit.

I can send you one of you like?

/C

 

[Apostol.]

The thing that strikes me here in this thread about all of this is how completely poorly almost everything about the operation of these amplifiers and how they interact with the stock hardware is explained. Things would make so very much more sense if nld started out by clearly explaining how the original hardware worked and what gets changed when their amplifiers are added. Based upon what I've seen here, they don't even really explain how to connect their gear in the first place, much less how things work afterward.

I'm a degreed electrical engineer with an RF background and a proficient ham radio enthusiast who has designed some of my own gear, and if I was serious about buying one of these amplifier packages (I'm not) I would still have a ton of questions.

I suspect other vendors are even worse.

You are absolutely 100% right, selling things with no documentation and only a badly shot video to go by isnt exactly the best thing

 

[nolimitdronez]

The thing that strikes me here in this thread about all of this is how completely poorly almost everything about the operation of these amplifiers and how they interact with the stock hardware is explained. Things would make so very much more sense if nld started out by clearly explaining how the original hardware worked and what gets changed when their amplifiers are added. Based upon what I've seen here, they don't even really explain how to connect their gear in the first place, much less how things work afterward.

I'm a degreed electrical engineer with an RF background and a proficient ham radio enthusiast who has designed some of my own gear, and if I was serious about buying one of these amplifier packages (I'm not) I would still have a ton of questions.

I suspect other vendors are even worse.

Apostol has a better knowledge base and has put far more effort into this than any vendor has the right to expect and he's still having major problems. That just doesn't seem right to me.

We are working on a pdf document for each specific drone and RC.

Currently we have some well made videos on our YouTube channel.
The link is posted in another reply in this thread.

The Videos shows step by step how to do it and how to disassemble both drone and RC.

We have has a couple of amplifiers that did not work as they should and we do not hesitate to send a new one.

There is many misunderstandings on how boosting for dji drones work in general.
In most drones from dji, there is a dedicated channel/antenna for RC communication and one for the video link.
The video link is on most drones occusync and on older drones LightBridge.
Common for each is that the RC controls will be routed over the strongest connection.

In this case we boost the video link and all RC commands will be rooted automatically over the video link.

Both antennas do RX/TX, each with their individual purpose.

/C

PS: I am on my way to bed so I can not give more replies before tomorrow morning

 

[Apostol.]

It is a relay so that you do not have to use the button.
It switches of when the RC switch off so that it cuts the connection between the battery and the booster circuit.

I can send you one of you like?

/C

Oh a relay got it, basically a convenience thing to get rid of the button.
No need for that as already have the button installed, and id like to switch off and on the booster when i desire, also alot more stuff to cram into such a tight place.
Button=good.
Besides that, i don't want you sending me stuff that wont make a difference, i only want the stuff I've got to work as advertised.

 

[Apostol.]

@nolimitdronez

As i wrote in a previous lengthy post,originally one of the two boosters you sent me was doa.

I contacted you and the replacement you sent me "seems" to be working ie it lights up.

However it creates the situation i described above.
I even did a test flight (with the booster on the AC installed and the booster on the RC) to verify and the results were miserable 300-400 meters out lost connection.

I watched the new videos you uploaded.
Everything i have done is the same or better (eg the placement of the booster inside the RC)
I triple checked all the connections eveything checks out.

One thing that was different in your new video(besides the relay thing) is the connection of the booster on the RC board to the LEFT socket.
Obviously i have tried that before, but i did it again: no luck same results.

Next i disconnected the booster that is in the AC and i jerry-rigged the "new" booster onto the AC.
Seems to be working, and be seems i mean i see nothing unusual on the image trasmission state.
Whether it actually does anything (much like the one that is in the AC right now) i dont know.
I also measured current draw, it draws 0.58 amps at 5 volts.

The only thing i have not tried is getting the booster thats in the AC out, to test it on the RC, to see if it behaves the same.

Sadly i cannot do that as it is glued into place and if i force it out it might break.


Note that this is the best possible place to install the booster, it clears the IMU by a few millimeters so its not a problem, Also does not block the fan intake and stays cool.


So you tell me, what im doing wrong and what should i do before i rip it all out and return the thing to stock state.

From my perspective i am not doing anything wrong.
I paid good money for the boosters, did everything right and its not working.
Is there any possible fix?
Note that the RC is RC1B variant if that makes a difference (i know there is a RC1A variant as well)

Your support via email is slow, so we can talk here or through pm's.
Thanks.

 

[uavbooster]

I am a user of NLD's amplifier kit, a great kit. Much better than ALIENTECH.
I installed it on Mavic2 pro according to the instructional video. After many distance tests. Significantly enhance the uplink and downlink signals. There is no change in appearance. Ignorable weight. The flight distance has increased by 2-3 times compared to before. No need to aim at the drone like ALIENTECH. That's too hard.
The only bad thing is that the temperature has increased a bit, but I can accept it. I will recommend it to my friends.

 

[Apostol.]

I replied to your question before.
All I wanted was to make sure that you were in FCC mode.

It doesn't matter what Software does it, fcc mode is fcc mode and that is it.

I saw your support ticket and I told the support guy to tell you that from your pictures you were in fcc mode.

You can of course get a full refund, because you did not have to buy a license to apply fcc.

I don't know what other software does and that is why I asked if you had enabled fcc in nld.

Regarding the signal, online one antenna is needed to be boosted.
When the RC signal can not reach the drone, all RC functions are routed over occusync which is the video feed.

I will have support give you a detailed answer on how it should be installed properly.

Be aware that if the power wirre is going over or under the amplifier, then the magnetic field from the wire will interfere with the amplifier and cause noise.

If that is the case here I don't know.

/C

If you took a minute to read and see the pictures earlier in this thread before you wrote your first post, you would have seen that the drone is in FCC mode, without telling me to do it via your software.

I will be taking out all the boosters, returning the AC to stock, i am tired of this whole mess.
I also demand some kind of refund for the boosters, if you want them back i can send them to you if you pay the shipping costs.

I'm done.-

 

[Apostol.]

Also there was a reply here that got deleted from a new user @uavbooster with 0 posts praising the boosters,
How convenient @nolimitdronez eh?


Well done.
Thats just shady.

 

[AZDave]

Also there was a reply here that got deleted from a new user @uavbooster with 0 posts praising the boosters,
How convenient @nolimitdronez eh?
View attachment 133964

Well done.
Thats just shady.

Shabby, slimy, underhanded ... lots of words would seem to fit. Hope you are able to get your money back.

 

[Apostol.]

Shabby, slimy, underhanded ... lots of words would seem to fit. Hope you are able to get your money back.

They didn't reply here, they didn't reply to my emails.
I opened a dispute with PayPal and magically 2 (!) minutes later i received an email from them stating that ofcourse! i can get a refund if i return the boosters back, which i will happily do, the boosters are already out.

If they try to pull anything fishy again or wont refund me i will post about this on every forum in existence.

I hope this thread serves as a precaution to others contemplating about this product.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Its really to bad you hijacked this post to complain about another company. Anybody reading it might assume Covert Drones is not a reliable company also which is the farthest from the truth. I don't think Luke from Covert Drones deserves to be drawn into your problems with nolimitdrones. You should have started you own post and then there would have been no confusion.

 

[Apostol.]

Its really to bad you hijacked this post to complain about another company. Anybody reading it might assume Covert Drones is not a reliable company also which is the farthest from the truth. I don't think Luke from Covert Drones deserves to be drawn into your problems with nolimitdrones. You should have started you own post and then there would have been no confusion.

I concur and i am sorry about that to anyone offended except NLD, it wasn't my intention to drag this thread so far, should have been on a separate thread.
I must stress that this has nothing to do with Covert Drones or Luke, which i have no affiliation with.
Peace.

 

[AZDave]

Its really to bad you hijacked this post to complain about another company. Anybody reading it might assume Covert Drones is not a reliable company also which is the farthest from the truth. I don't think Luke from Covert Drones deserves to be drawn into your problems with nolimitdrones. You should have started you own post and then there would have been no confusion.

Does Covert Drones provide an amplifier for the drone as well? Or just for the controller? If it's only just for the controller, then the information that has surfaced here per the nld discussion is applicable.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Does Covert Drones provide an amplifier for the drone as well? Or just for the controller? If it's only just for the controller, then the information that has surfaced here per the nld discussion is applicable.

Not really. Transmitter side boosted antennas have been successfully used for increasing range and signal stability for years. Most attempts to also amplify the drone side have failed miserably. Covert Drones only modifies the RC side.

 

[AZDave]

Not really. Transmitter side boosted antennas have been successfully used for increasing range and signal stability for years. Most attempts to also amplify the drone side have failed miserably. Covert Drones only modifies the RC side.

Yes really. Attempts to amplify the drone side may have failed, but it's silly to think that you can get an appreciable improvement in range by making only one direction stronger. It's like you having a bullhorn to talk to somebody a long distance away while they have to just shout. The only way that adding an amplifier only to the RC would significantly help is if the drone already puts out a stronger signal than the stock controller in the first place. I suppose that's possible, but it seems highly unlikely to me.

It would be different if we were talking about antennas because antennas can provide gain and discrimination from noise and interference in both directions. But we're not talking about antennas.

This is basic physics, folks.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes really. Attempts to amplify the drone side may have failed, but it's silly to think that you can get an appreciable improvement in range by making only one direction stronger. It's like you having a bullhorn to talk to somebody a long distance away while they have to just shout. The only way that adding an amplifier only to the RC would significantly help is if the drone already puts out a stronger signal than the stock controller in the first place. I suppose that's possible, but it seems highly unlikely to me.

It would be different if we were talking about antennas because antennas can provide gain and discrimination from noise and interference in both directions. But we're not talking about antennas.

This is basic physics, folks.

We are talking about external antennas and amplifying them! You can talk physics and analogies and speculate all you want. Fact is it works. I have 4 years of experience using this type of external boosted directional signal antennas on the P3P and P4 DJI aircraft, where the stock range was 1.5 to 3 miles, depending upon the version of the GL300 transmitter. Adding external Itelite DBS-02 antenna panels with amplification increased that range to over 5 miles, such that external batteries were required to support the increased range! No modification other than external batteries to support the increased range was made to the aircraft.

 

[AZDave]

We are talking about external antennas and amplifying them! You can talk physics and analogies and speculate all you want. Fact is it works. I have 4 years of experience using this type of external boosted directional signal antennas on the P3P and P4 DJI aircraft, where the stock range was 1.5 to 3 miles, depending upon the version of the GL300 transmitter. Adding external Itelite DBS-02 antenna panels with amplification increased that range to over 5 miles, such that external batteries were required to support the increased range! No modification other than external batteries to support the increased range was made to the aircraft.

No ... by "antennas" I meant the simple Yagi antennas that clip to the existing antennas. They are passive and give gain in both directions.

An amplifier connected to the existing antennas alone does NOT improve the return signal from the drone.

As best I can tell, the add on Itelite antenna panels you use DO provide gain ... both for transmit and receive ... but that gain has nothing to do with the amplifier. The amplifier by itself provides additional gain for the outgoing signal, but whatever improvement there is for the return signal from the drone is entirely due to the Itelite antenna panel.

Tell me this ... what is your maximum range for the stock drone and controller, what is it for the amplifier without the Itelite antenna, what is it for the Itelite antenna alone, and what is it for the combination of the amplifier and the Itelite antenna? I suspect you will just make up some numbers, but I had to ask. Unless you have done a comparison of all four cases over the same terrain you don't really know where your additional range is coming from.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I also have experience using amps just on the RC. They do work by at least doubling the range on some RC's, not all but some. Your mile may very. I have one setup with just stock antennas (not DJI) and it performs one heck of a lot better then un-amped. You seem to think you know what your talking about but you don't. Like GadgetGuy said "Fact is it works."
Sorry you cannot wrap your head around it but you really need to stop bashing a company like Covert Drones and a product that you obviously have no hands on experience with.
CALL OR TEXT them
24/7 Customer Service

+1 (612) 816-0039

I'm sure they will be happy to answer any of your questions.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Truthfully with OcuSync 3.0 I really do not know why anyone needs a Amped system. I find it performs as well as one of my Amped systems right out of the box. It's actually scary how far you can fly with it. I do notice the drone seems to be directional with its antennas. In the picture below where the arrow is I dropped from a 5 bar reading to a 4 bar reading. As soon as I turned towards home point it went right back to a 5 bar reading. No real tests on this but it was something I noticed on one of my flights.

 

[AZDave]

I also have experience using amps just on the RC. They do work by at least doubling the range on some RC's, not all but some. Your mile may very. I have one setup with just stock antennas (not DJI) and it performs one heck of a lot better then un-amped. You seem to think you know what your talking about but you don't. Like GadgetGuy said "Fact is it works."
Sorry you cannot wrap your head around it but you really need to stop bashing a company like Covert Drones and a product that you obviously have no hands on experience with.
CALL OR TEXT them
24/7 Customer Service

+1 (612) 816-0039

I'm sure they will be happy to answer any of your questions.

I'm not bashing anyone or any company. I started out here asking how it is possible to extend the range of a drone by amplifying only one end of the communication link. I'm a degreed electrical engineer with a solid RF background so I included both physics and a relevant analogy in my posts. Neither you nor anyone else here has been able to answer that question. You just say "it works" without having a clue why. That's anecdotal stuff (look it up), not something anyone in a technical hobby should use as a reference when trying to decide whether to spend $500 or not. There are thousands of people out there who claim that a copper bracelet cures their arthritis, and lots of people claimed to be getting much better sleep after spending tons of money on non-magnetic mattresses that didn't "interfere with the earth's normal magnetic lines of force". Your endorsement is in the same league unless you can explain HOW only one amp also improves the return signal.

And the guy from nld who DOES sell these $500 amplifiers said EXACTLY what I've been saying ... that amplifying only one end of the link doesn't provide greater range. Did you somehow miss that comment from him?

But I will try to see what Covert Drones says about all of this. I'm surprised they haven't jumped in here already since I assume they monitor these forums like other vendors do.