EZ-12 Parabolic reflectors (Windsurfers) modded for Mavic

[P0V]

I modified the EZ-12 Parabolic reflectors (windsurfers) from FreeAntennas.com to fit the Mavic controllers.

Download:
You can download it here: Mavic_Parabolic.pdf

Instructions:

• Make sure to print it in "scale to fit" mode on an A4 paper.
  
• Watch assembly instructions here.

Changes:

• Adjusted the height of the reflectors so they'd cover the 95% of the antennas' length.
• Extended the inserts so you can curl them and tape them behind.
• Added a rectangle for cutting a hole for the antennas.
• Resized them to fit exactly the size of the Mavic controller.

Results:
These reflectors are known to give 1.5-2x the range in Phantoms. I was expecting something similar, but my results weren't that spectacular. In my tests, I was able to get 1.3-1.5x with Mavic Pro. In EC mode, that's about 5-5.5 km, which isn't bad at all. Give it ago, do some tests, and see what you get.

Preview:

 

[P0V]

Another test this morning: I stood on a water tower and had a uninterrupted line of sight to the drone. I managed to get to 5830 meters. Very happy about it!

The downside is that I had to land about 200 meters away from me because the battery was dangerously low.

 

[dex_]

Nice! I really want to try this out. Thanks for sharing it.

Does it matter which side the aluminum foil is on? In the Youtube assembly video you linked, the person put it on the other side of the paper. Would multiple layers of foil make it more effective?

Will try to put this together this week.

 

[djhoodrich]

I love mine got over 10,000' range

 

[flyNfrank]

Your expectations should be extremely limited using the setup in the OP's post.

I only use "Dynamic 3D Solutions" WindSurfer. They were the 1st to develop them starting with the P3P & P3A. Their WindSurfers are the only ones I'm aware of that have been developed to best performance specs. Speaking of such, if you are like me and like some of your things to be setup on your own terms, you will at some point make your own revisions. With that said in this matter, while standing out in front of the deflectors, you should be able to point a laser pointer at any point on the deflector below the top of the antennas, and find your laser beam of light is being directed into the backside of the antenna. This should apply to both antennas while standing at the same location. In other words, you do not want one side receiving the signal properly, and then have the other side pointing off into the trees somewhere. Keep in mind, this is not only about transmitting, but also includes the info being sent out from the aircraft. There will be obviously many situations where back & forth communication between the R/C (remote controller) and aircraft simultaneously.

So...this is why I prefer a one piece style that supports both antennas. For the Mavic I was sent the two piece design which I mounted on the R/C and set them as mentioned above. I then epoxied together on the back side. Extra reflective tape came with my windsurfer so I used it on the front side as to strengthen the setup that much more. Everything turned out very well overall. My last distance flight was flown out to 15,800 with 4 bars displayed at turn around.