Mavic Radio Mods Primer

[mnoutdoors]

Absolutely!!

But I personally haven't seen anything worth pursuing on the mavic. The FLIR system that already ships with the bigger birds is pretty awesome, but if someone finds an elegant solution for the mavic, I would love to try it.

This one is not great resolution but it’s light and priced right, they also have some other cool stuff, power supply’s strobes etc.

DroneThermal v3 Micro UAV Thermal Camera - Flytron

 

[beanbubba]

This one is not great resolution but it’s light and priced right, they also have some other cool stuff, power supply’s strobes etc.

DroneThermal v3 Micro UAV Thermal Camera - Flytron

You should revive this thread. I am very interested in this, but not very experienced in this type of mod and would love to follow others.

Thermal Imaging on the Mavic Pro

 

[Echelon]

Hey beanbubba, quick question if I may. I saw one of your posts mentioning that you have antennas on your tower and run coax back to your controller. Can you tell me a bit about your setup? I have a 50ft run of LMR400 that I considered pairing with a low gain omni and an amp similar to one that you tested, utilizing a bias t to inject power and keep the amp up near the antenna. Now that I see we only need the left antenna output it makes this much easier to do. I also have a full az/el rotor that is computer controlled so I could use my 24dbi dish up on my roof and have it track the drone, but first things first!

 

[beanbubba]

Hey beanbubba, quick question if I may. I saw one of your posts mentioning that you have antennas on your tower and run coax back to your controller. Can you tell me a bit about your setup? I have a 50ft run of LMR400 that I considered pairing with a low gain omni and an amp similar to one that you tested, utilizing a bias t to inject power and keep the amp up near the antenna. Now that I see we only need the left antenna output it makes this much easier to do. I also have a full az/el rotor that is computer controlled so I could use my 24dbi dish up on my roof and have it track the drone, but first things first!

There is zero benefit putting the amp at the top of the tower, let alone the maintenance hassle. Keep the amp near your RC like listed below.

Make sure the antenna you choose for the top of the tower has "N" type coax connector. They are the only ones that are built in weather proof. Trust me, don't bother trying to weather proof SMA (or any other) type connectors.

Then, get a dragon amp:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B94U438/

And if you haven't bought your coax yet get 50 foot of LMR600 (N-Male to N-Female). LMR400 is fine, you just lose around 4db signal:
N-Male to N-Female 600 Series Assembly 50.0 ft - CA-6NMNF050

Then you need a pigtail to connect the giant LMR cable to your amplifier:
RP-SMA Plug to N-Male, Pigtail 4 ft 195-Series - CA-RSPNMA004

The dragon amp comes with a one foot jumper coax to connect your amp to your RC. If you need longer cable they are readily available on amazon and eBay.

This was also discussed on page 8 of this thread with more details.

Good luck!

 

[BigMotor]

There is zero benefit putting the amp at the top of the tower, let alone the maintenance hassle. Keep the amp near your RC like listed below.

Make sure the antenna you choose for the top of the tower has "N" type coax connector. They are the only ones that are built in weather proof. Trust me, don't bother trying to weather proof SMA (or any other) type connectors.

Then, get a dragon amp:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B94U438/

And if you haven't bought your coax yet get 50 foot of LMR600 (N-Male to N-Female). LMR400 is fine, you just lose around 4db signal:
N-Male to N-Female 600 Series Assembly 50.0 ft - CA-6NMNF050

Then you need a pigtail to connect the giant LMR cable to your amplifier:
RP-SMA Plug to N-Male, Pigtail 4 ft 195-Series - CA-RSPNMA004

The dragon amp comes with a one foot jumper coax to connect your amp to your RC. If you need longer cable they are readily available on amazon and eBay.

This was also discussed on page 8 of this thread with more details.

Good luck!

Bean! question If I may...are you a Ham and would this setup work on a Rohn 25 or 45 tower say 50 ft up on the tower, the panels mounted to the side of the tower on an outrigger say 4ft away from the tower?

 

[Echelon]

No need to place panels on an out rigger. An omni would need to be moved out.

 

[beanbubba]

No need to place panels on an out rigger. An omni would need to be moved out.

Yes I concur exactly. You wouldn't need 4 feet unless you are OCD like some of us

A couple feet would suffice.

 

[Echelon]

There is zero benefit putting the amp at the top of the tower, let alone the maintenance hassle. Keep the amp near your RC like listed below.

Make sure the antenna you choose for the top of the tower has "N" type coax connector. They are the only ones that are built in weather proof. Trust me, don't bother trying to weather proof SMA (or any other) type connectors.

Then, get a dragon amp:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B94U438/

And if you haven't bought your coax yet get 50 foot of LMR600 (N-Male to N-Female). LMR400 is fine, you just lose around 4db signal:
N-Male to N-Female 600 Series Assembly 50.0 ft - CA-6NMNF050

Then you need a pigtail to connect the giant LMR cable to your amplifier:
RP-SMA Plug to N-Male, Pigtail 4 ft 195-Series - CA-RSPNMA004

The dragon amp comes with a one foot jumper coax to connect your amp to your RC. If you need longer cable they are readily available on amazon and eBay.

This was also discussed on page 8 of this thread with more details.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for the info. I have all the equipment, I used to do a lot of long range wifi before all the off the shelf ubiquity stuff made it easy. LMR 600 would be better! I already have the 400 though so I may run with it and see how it goes. I actually have some hardline but no ends and equipment to put them on. I'd bet I could max out range with the boost mod into a grid dish in a quiet area. What SMA bulk heads are people using in the MP RC? They look like they have a round base.

 

[beanbubba]

Bean! question If I may...are you a Ham and would this setup work on a Rohn 25 or 45 tower say 50 ft up on the tower, the panels mounted to the side of the tower on an outrigger say 4ft away from the tower?

No, I am not a HAM. But I am fairly knowledgeable on the topic and there is much overlap with what I do for a living.

 

[Echelon]

We need to get you licensed, it's fun talking about this stuff on HF! Especially when the neighbors hear it on their baby monitors

No, I am not a HAM. But I am fairly knowledgeable on the topic and there is much overlap with what I do for a living.

 

[beanbubba]

Thank you very much for the info. I have all the equipment, I used to do a lot of long range wifi before all the off the shelf ubiquity stuff made it easy. LMR 600 would be better! I already have the 400 though so I may run with it and see how it goes. I actually have some hardline but no ends and equipment to put them on. I'd bet I could max out range with the boost mod into a grid dish in a quiet area. What SMA bulk heads are people using in the MP RC? They look like they have a round base.

BTW - I have been experimenting with the boost mod which is pretty cool. But all the caveats and customization seem burdensome versus just using an external amp IMHO.

 

[beanbubba]

We need to get you licensed, it's fun talking about this stuff on HF! Especially when the neighbors hear it on their baby monitors

I actually have just been waiting for a reason to get licensed.

 

[Echelon]

Yeah, I agree the amps are simple and cheap but I like the idea of easy setup and teardown. If i like operating from inside the house with external antennas i would us an amp and second controller for that. Still would be nice to have the mobile controller on boost so i don't have to carry and power an amp. Wasnt sure if boost mode was an option on newer versions of the app. Have you ran a boosted controller through your analyzer?

BTW - I have been experimenting with the boost mod which is pretty cool. But all the caveats and customization seem burdensome versus just using an external amp IMHO.

 

[Echelon]

I actually have just been waiting for a reason to get licensed.

Just do it! With your background you could pass the tech without studying. Maybe a bit of studying for the General simply for the rules and band limits on HF. The Extra has some theory but it's not too bad. All the question pools are on the ARRLs website.

 

[beanbubba]

Yeah, I agree the amps are simple and cheap but I like the idea of easy setup and teardown. If i like operating from inside the house with external antennas i would us an amp and second controller for that. Still would be nice to have the mobile controller on boost so i don't have to carry and power an amp. Wasnt sure if boost mode was an option on newer versions of the app. Have you ran a boosted controller through your analyzer?

At the bottom of the first post on page 1 of this thread there are charts and videos with measured output for the boost mod.

 

[BigMotor]

No need to place panels on an out rigger. An omni would need to be moved out.

How far?

 

[beanbubba]

How far?

Depends how big the mast diameter is. If its small, say 3 inches, then maybe a couple feet would suffice.

 

[Echelon]

How far?

There is no right answer, the tower distorts the omni pattern and that pattern changes as you move it closer or further away from the tower. A couple feet should be fine at that wavelength but I would look to stack it on the very top above your other antennas if possible. I know that's not always an option but LOS is king as you move into the microwave bands. With the right antenna, coax and amp as beanbubba pointed out, you won't have to worry too much about it, it will work well.

 

[BigMotor]

There is no right answer, the tower distorts the omni pattern and that pattern changes as you move it closer or further away from the tower. A couple feet should be fine at that wavelength but I would look to stack it on the very top above your other antennas if possible. I know that's not always an option but LOS is king as you move into the microwave bands. With the right antenna, coax and amp as beanbubba pointed out, you won't have to worry too much about it, it will work well.

My thoughts exactly just a thought, my tower is 70ft to the top...thanks for everyone's input...

 

[beanbubba]

My thoughts exactly just a thought, my tower is 70ft to the top...thanks for everyone's input...

Installing a 2.4g antenna on my buddies 85 foot tower recently...