Improving the signal range by installing antennas and a mirror.

[notisjim]

I used a pair of 2.4GHz Yagi antennas
and a pair of 5.8GHz Yagi,


after previously disconnecting the mirror that was with the 5.4GHz antennas. The antennas were placed in pairs on the original antennas.





Where necessary, I used the familiar black cable ties. The mirror was mounted independently, behind the antennas to reflect the signal to them, and was also held in place by cable ties. At points where two antennas were touching each other, I used plastic insulator, so as not to distort their signal.
The result is to be fixed on the controller along with the remote controller and the 8.7" tablet I use as monitor.
The signal radius has been greatly improved, I have 4 bars signal strength reading at 5km (FCC). The additional cost, apart from the purchase of Yagi antennas, is negligible. The only downside is that now the antennas are very directional and you need to aim directly at the drone.
But the greatest satisfaction is that this improvement was made with my own hands. (The next plan is to improve the range with an extra LiPo battery on top of the original).

 

[Don Testme]

nice work

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I am no radio ham but surely if using a Yagi with a reflector each Yagi should have its own reflector. As I understand it the idea being that waves are focused onto the antennae, to my mind your single reflector does not do that, or worse, completely scrambles them.

As I said I am no radio ham so if I am wrong someone please do correct me.

 

[Lets Fly]

I am no radio ham but surely if using a Yagi with a reflector each Yagi should have its own reflector. As I understand it the idea being that waves are focused onto the antennae, to my mind your single reflector does not do that, or worse, completely scrambles them.

As I said I am no radio ham so if I am wrong someone please do correct me.

I agree, it seems the focal point would wined up between the two instead of on the antennae. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[notisjim]

Reply to PhiliusFoggg and Lets Fly. Thanks for your remarks on focal point.

As you can see in the photos, the reflector I used is neither purely parabolic nor purely spherical.
If you use a laser pointer, you will find that its special curvature, leads the incident rays not to an exact point (focal point of a spherical or parabolic mirror), but to a horizontal area with a beam thickness of about 2 cm. This beam is directed to the two original controller antennas.
Besides, this reflector, with the special design, is placed by the manufacturer of 5.8 antennas, in the middle of the two Yagi elements. (shown in the second photo).

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Not arguing but could you show that with a laser pointer and perhaps some dust? It would be interesting to see.

 

[Lets Fly]

Reply to PhiliusFoggg and Lets Fly. Thanks for your remarks on focal point.

As you can see in the photos, the reflector I used is neither purely parabolic nor purely spherical.
If you use a laser pointer, you will find that its special curvature, leads the incident rays not to an exact point (focal point of a spherical or parabolic mirror), but to a horizontal area with a beam thickness of about 2 cm. This beam is directed to the two original controller antennas.
Besides, this reflector, with the special design, is placed by the manufacturer of 5.4 antennas, in the middle of the two Yagi elements. (shown in the second photo).

Makes sense.

 

[notisjim]

Not arguing but could you show that with a laser pointer and perhaps some dust? It would be interesting to see.

This is the image from the reflection of the light beam from the mirror, at a distance of 50 cm, on the wall. Of course, at a distance of a few centimeters, which is the distance between the mirror and antenna elements, the beam is narrower (about 1-2 cm) and more concentrated. (It is very difficult to take a photo of the reflecting beam from the place of antenna elements, so I used the wall simulation).
With this test, I made sure that this mirror does not diffuse, but condenses the beam to the controller antennas. If I saw diffusion, I would not install this mirror of course.

 

[eEridani]

What's rather funny is that those Yagis already have a reflector attached. Any dish behind them is doing nothing.

 

[Deleted member 154956]

Licensed HAM 35+ years (Technician level) and 22+ years as a US Navy RADAR operator and technician here and I will tell you that your setup is sketchy, despite your beliefs otherwise. This is not how RF waves propagate with high efficiency. The reflective parabolic dish (mirror) is both shaped exactly for frequency and is placed at a very precise position (location) to focus transmitted and received RF on that exact wavelength (or quarter or half wavelengths, what have you). And doubling up on antenna mishmash (frequencies) is simply just a hot mess. Thumbs down on this setup.

 

[eEridani]

Besides, this reflector, with the special design, is placed by the manufacturer of 5.4 antennas, in the middle of the two Yagi elements. (shown in the second photo).

• Operating Frequency [2]​

• 2.400-2.4835 GHz, 5.725-5.850 GHz

A 5.4GHz antenna... lol. An optical mirror? ROTFLMAO.

 

[Lets Fly]

If the antennas pick up the signal first and then the signal is reflected off the mirror to the antennas, wouldn't that cause some interference in receiving the signal, or transmitting it?

 

[eEridani]

If the antennas pick up the signal first and then the signal is reflected off the mirror to the antennas, wouldn't that cause some interference in receiving the signal, or transmitting it?

Electromagnetic waves are not photons.

 

[Marcass Carcass]

Yagi, it just a money grab, tried one made it worse. If you want a 'real' range extender you will have to mod your RC. For example: these kick butt.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yagi, it just a money grab, tried one made it worse. If you want a 'real' range extender you will have to mod your RC. For example: these kick butt.

View attachment 143588

I have one for my EVO 2 Pro 6K crappy RC and it more than triples the lousy stock range!

 

[Lets Fly]

Electromagnetic waves are not photons.

The entire electromagnetic spectrum are photons.

 

[eEridani]

The entire electromagnetic spectrum are photons.

Then try attaching a wire to that mirror to detect the field those EM "particles" are producing.

ps: The Antenna Theory Website

 

[Lets Fly]

Then try attaching a wire to that mirror to detect the field those EM "particles" are producing.

ps: The Antenna Theory Website

Try attaching a wire to a light beam?
The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is the range of all types of EM radiation. Radiation is energy that travels and spreads out as it goes – the visible light that comes from a lamp in your house and the radio waves that come from a radio station are two types of electromagnetic radiation. The other types of EM radiation that make up the electromagnetic spectrum are microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma-rays.

 

[Lets Fly]

The terminology is the same across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. No matter what the wavelength, frequency, energy, etc., the quantum particle of electromagnetism is called a photon.



In a moving reference frame, a magnetic field appears instead as a combination of a magnetic field and an electric field, so electric and magnetic fields are made of the same "stuff" (photons).

 

[Lets Fly]

I think we covered it.