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

[Interficiam Stercore]

This isn't an ad. I just wanted to post this. I find it so cool. Plus, I'm a happy customer.
Covert Drones has a new product. They are now able to put a power amplified antenna system inside your remote. No more bulky Antenna. It is a bit expensive, but if you don't want a bulky antenna hanging off your remote you can have this mod done for no more than $500.00 US.

From Covert Drones, "We are happy to announce a first of its kind amplifier! This dual band (2.4, 5.8ghz) amplifier system is built right into your remote. There are no external antennas to attach, no separate battery sources to charge. "

NEW** Covert Drones stock antenna built-in dual band amplifier

ALERT! NEW PRODUCT! Please be aware that this mod is needed on the remote AND, the drone. One amplifier is put into your remote and, the other into your drone. The mod includes both installs. This mod cannot be installed into all drones so please look at the list for compatibility. The...

www.covertdrones.com

 

[Jagerbomb52]

In the right hands this could be handy but in the wrong hands this could be dangerous.
Remember you can only fly VLOS and how long your battery lasts.

 

[mr.bill]

I did a long flight over water, clear LOS, and the battery was the only issue, not signal loss. However, in densely populated areas, lots of RF, even within LOS, this might be beneficial.

So, the chip goes into compatible remotes, not the drone? I didn't see the SC on their list of RCs, so I guess it's incompatible.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

I did a long flight over water, clear LOS, and the battery was the only issue, not signal loss. However, in densely populated areas, lots of RF, even within LOS, this might be beneficial.

So, the chip goes into compatible remotes, not the drone? I didn't see the SC on their list of RCs, so I guess it's incompatible.

At first I thought they were talking about amplifying the drone, but then realized it was the remote. I'm not sure what criteria the remote must meet for them to be able to do the modification.

Oh yeah,as you mentioned, antenna amplification isn't just about "range boosting". In heavily populated areas and cities there are lots of obstructions and radio interference with a drone signal. Amplification helps very much in those types of environments.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

It will all depend on IF it fits the RC. Having a dual amp is a game changer. We used to do the old Yuneec Q500 RC's but that was two seperate Amps. That made for a tight fit. The price he wants is pretty much in line for what the Amp would cost him plus labor.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

The other thing I would like to know is where he is getting the power to run the Amp from. RC? Separate battery? If its RC they will add to the drain of the RC's battery pretty fast.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

The other thing I would like to know is where he is getting the power to run the Amp from. RC? Separate battery? If its RC they will add to the drain of the RC's battery pretty fast.

Edited. I have 2 remote external amplified antennas, they do not need recharging for 2 weeks with twice daily drone use. They use the same batteries as most remotes. He says it's not going to need another battery source. He is probably hooking the power source to the remote's batteries. The amplifier itself rquires very little power.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Edited. I have 2 remote external amplified antennas, they do not need recharging for 2 weeks with twice daily drone use. They use the same batteries as most remotes. He says it's not going to need another battery source. He is probably hooking the power source to the remote's batteries. The amplifier itself rquires very little power.

Seems they have improved over the years. I have run Sunhans amps for years, 2017 was my first install. Ran a separate battery and they would run it down pretty fast. It wasn't pretty but it did the job LOL

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

Wow. You created quite a monster.

I've made that type of amplifier, I thought it might outperform Alientech's amplified antennas. I even used 4w amps. But it didn't surpass alientech, so now I have the old AMPs in storage. Alientech is much neater anyway, albeit much more expensive.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Ya I had the 4Hawks on my old Autel drone. A lot larger then what we have now but worked really well.

 

[AZDave]

Nobody has ever been able to explain to me how a one way amplification (controller to drone) gives an appreciable improvement in range. It's not amplifying the return signal from the drone, and if it did it would be amplifying the signal AND the received noise so no improvement in signal-to-noise ratio ... which is pretty much the only important metric. Any interference that affects the controller to drone signal would equally affect the drone to controller signal. The only way I see these things being significantly helpful is if the power out from the drone as supplied by DJI is already greater than that coming from the unmodified controller.

Anybody know the actual RFout specs for the stock drone and controller?

On the other hand, it's easy to understand how the various directional antennas DO make a difference since they improve the signal to noise in both directions (depending upon where any interference might be coming from) ... at the expense of a narrower pattern, of course.

 

[Mike Mas]

Outrageous price for something that has no piratical use. The stock radio system has 4-5 times more range than any pilot needs. No one needs to increase (illegal) range for hobby or business use. You can buy an entire Mini 2 and have $200 in you pocket for the same price verses their cost of a few dollars for the antennas. Hello . . . ..

Mike

 

[hiflyer201]

Plus, I'm a happy customer.

I'm curious as to how it has aided your own flights. Where/how have you noticed the difference?

 

[AZDave]

I'm curious as to how it has aided your own flights. Where/how have you noticed the difference?

Good question. "I'm happy" is a terrible way to judge the actual relative effectiveness of something, especially since it's human nature to lean toward acceptance of anything we paid lots of money for. I'm a ham radio operator and that hobby is rife with glowing reports of antennas that barely work because the owner wasn't able to do an actual A versus B rigorous comparison in real time. I'd bet money that that's the case here as well.

 

[GFields]

Thanks for sharing. I'm perfectly content with the range I'm getting I can't see very far anyway . I'll spend the $500 on a few extra batteries

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

I'm curious as to how it has aided your own flights. Where/how have you noticed the difference?

Forested areas and dense housing developments with units up to 2 stories. I can't stay as low as I want, still being able to see the drone, because the trees and or te buildings deflect the signal. They also affect the video latency. With the amplifier I can fly lower and still keep a signal and not get video lag. I get so annoyed when I have to fly at almost 400ft when I want to shoot a subject that is in or surounded by a forested area or surrounded by high density housing. Also, the high density housing, because so many have wifi, and wifi towers nearby it interferes with the drone to remote signal. To escape it I have to go higher, the amplifier reduces the interference.

I like filming people in swimming pools, and need to get real low to see the details, JUST KIDDING.

Here is a real example, lets say I see a bird or animal on the ground. If I go to low (but not out of VLOS), I get signal interference in the type of areas I described above. I get less video or control interference with the amplifiers.

Added edit. If by chance someone needs or has the itch to go BVLOS. Then the amplifier also doubles or triples the distance relative to the stock remote. That's a personal choice. I'm not going to judge.

Another Edit; Lets say I'm in a forested area with a winding stream and there is no chance of hitting a manned aircraft. I want to fly about 10 ft above the stream or river. The amplifier penetrates the trees so I can follow the stream.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

Nobody has ever been able to explain to me how a one way amplification (controller to drone) gives an appreciable improvement in range. It's not amplifying the return signal from the drone, and if it did it would be amplifying the signal AND the received noise so no improvement in signal-to-noise ratio ... which is pretty much the only important metric. Any interference that affects the controller to drone signal would equally affect the drone to controller signal. The only way I see these things being significantly helpful is if the power out from the drone as supplied by DJI is already greater than that coming from the unmodified controller.

Anybody know the actual RFout specs for the stock drone and controller?

On the other hand, it's easy to understand how the various directional antennas DO make a difference since they improve the signal to noise in both directions (depending upon where any interference might be coming from) ... at the expense of a narrower pattern, of course.

The amplifiers increase the remote's SENSITIVITY to the incoming video signal from the drone. And, they AMPLIFY the outgoing signal from the remote. So amplified sensitivity to incoming signals and amplification of outgoing signals. I don't know the specs.

 

[AZDave]

The amplifiers increase the remote's SENSITIVITY to the incoming video signal from the drone. And, they AMPLIFY the outgoing signal from the remote. So amplified sensitivity to incoming signals and amplification of outgoing signals. I don't know the specs.

An amplifier in the controller cannot ... repeat, cannot ... improve the signal to noise ratio of the incoming signal. The amplifier amplifies the noise and any other interference the same amount as it does the desired signal. The ONLY way an amplifier can improve the signal to noise ratio of an incoming signal is if the amplifier has a narrower bandwidth than the drone does ... and I find that difficult to believe since I'm pretty certain that DJI would have tried to optimize that. It's pretty basic.

By the way, there is no such thing as "amplified sensitivity". You just made that up. You're talking to a degreed electrical engineer with an RF background and a long time ham radio enthusiast.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

An amplifier in the controller cannot ... repeat, cannot ... improve the signal to noise ratio of the incoming signal. The amplifier amplifies the noise and any other interference the same amount as it does the desired signal. The ONLY way an amplifier can improve the signal to noise ratio of an incoming signal is if the amplifier has a narrower bandwidth than the drone does ... and I find that difficult to believe since I'm pretty certain that DJI would have tried to optimize that. It's pretty basic.

By the way, there is no such thing as "amplified sensitivity". You just made that up. You're talking to a degreed electrical engineer with an RF background and a long time ham radio enthusiast.

OK, Let's call it a frequency amplifier. I was just trying to make it easier to understand without righting a book. The reciever recieves what it recieves but the amp amplifies what the reciever is getting. In essense making it more sensitive, if you will..

 

[AZDave]

OK, Let's call it a frequency amplifier. I was just trying to make it easier to understand without righting a book. The reciever recieves what it recieves but the amp amplifies what the reciever is getting. In essense making it more sensitive, if you will..

No .. .that's not how it works. There is no such thing as a "frequency amplifier" either, and your post that you apparently deleted (I got the email with the post but it's gone now) with the quote about IF stages in a superheterodyne receiver, while perfectly accurate, has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

I'll say it for the third time here in this thread, any amplifier for a received signal amplifies the noise every bit as much as it does the desired signal ... except as I said above in the very unlikely situation that the amplifier has a narrower bandwidth than the drone receiver already does. The net result is a louder signal AND louder noise, and the ratio of signal to noise is all that is important. If the signal is so weak without the amplifier that it's down in the noise and can't be properly decoded is STILL going to be under the noise after both are amplified. This is really, really basic stuff that you're not getting.

And in many cases, and especially at these frequencies, it can be really difficult to design an amplifier with a low enough noise figure that it doesn't actually degrade the signal-to-noise situation for the receiver.

I wouldn't keep making such an issue out of this here except that I truly hate to see misinformation being quoted as fact. Unless the stock drone ALREADY puts out a stronger signal than the controller does (which nobody here seems to know) then these $500 amplifiers are only improving one side of what needs to be a two way communication link. I may not be able to convince you of the physics involved here, but maybe I can help somebody else think a little deeper about it. This indeed a hobby, but it's fundamentally a technical hobby and we should be talking actual science instead of whatever it is you're posting.