Good evening, is there any way I can mod my DJI RC-N1 to give it more transmission power? I was seeing some people hooking up RP-SMA-compatible amplifiers to older DJI RCs, can it be done with this one? Also, there is no signal boosting tutorial online that I could find, I would appreciate it if you knew of one I could use. I've seen the Alientech and FourHawk adapters, but was wondering if there was something more custom that I could do (and avoid paying 500 bucks). Thanks!
Modifying RC-N1 for more power
- Thread starter matharpre
- Start date
Assuming it is for an Air 2S, best way is to replace it for $450 with an RC Pro in the Air 2S Combo with RC Pro for $1750 and sell off your current Air 2S combo for $1300. RC Pro has 4x the power of the RC-N1 controller!
www.dronenerds.com
DJI AIR 2S Fly More Combo with DJI Smart Controller
Purchase the DJI AIR 2S Fly More Combo with DJI Smart Controller today at DroneNerds. Free Shipping on orders over $599. ★★★★★ Financing available.
www.dronenerds.com
realistically 1300 for an air2s FMC is alot on these forums and ebay. i know from recent experience! more like 1100.
Im just saying because i did the exact same thing, and at 1850 after tax, and sold my drone for 1100, its more like 750 to do it. Still a pretty good deal though.
Im just saying because i did the exact same thing, and at 1850 after tax, and sold my drone for 1100, its more like 750 to do it. Still a pretty good deal though.
Cool! If $1100 is the going rate for resale of your existing Air 2S Combo Kit, DroneNerds doesn't charge sales tax on the $1750, so one can save another $100. Net of $650 then vs. the $1200 cost of the RC Pro separately for the Mavic 3. Presumably, with a change of FW, the Air 2S compatible RC Pro can later be used with the Mavic 3. RC Pro for Mavic 3 hardware is certainly the same!
yup, just waiting for the updated firmware here!
edit: wish i had known about the no sales tax with Dronenerds. oh well.
Does it use the same occu-sync 2 controller?! Like the DJI mini 2?!
Are you talking about the the Fcc limit?
If you mean yes?!
Read carefull and be very mindfull!
Stay out of area's you do not belong.
Or better where you might cause damage,
geo-fencing should keep working.
Make sure to cover you location in your
video's when flying obliviosly without fcc protocal or talk about!
Dont post video's with namens like
fcc standard drone unlocked....blablabla.
Taken in account when you fly
and where you fly!
Dont do stupid things without thinking because flying to the max hight is ready possible.
Just know when and where
you do that and install some radar app.
For as long that you Stay out of real trobble.
And be mindfull about the possible interfearance you might cause on public
and government property
Because it's unlikely that when causing like dammage or you fly into area51 this fcc-ce standard is the problem.
But you have one or became a problem.
so be mindfull of your actions.
DJI is not allowed to share that info atm.
Due to privacy altough when really causing a scene like a plane crash then.they might or Will get acces.
Wanne go "B3yond" that limit....?!
Then Just look up that word.
There is a app from the playstore
and it's working.
Get it, install the app connect phone on top.
You only need to do this once.
So run app then power remote,then goggles/mini and go.
Be aware you are Breaking the Law
if you fly CE protocol.
So be very aware about where you fly,
is a must.
But that part i've have already explained.
Take care and fly safe!
.
.
Hi, I already have a Drone-Hacks license (FCC), I know people like Alientech can increase the directionality of the transmitter as well as the power (to a certain extent), but I jut want to know if the raw power itself can be increased by using an amplifier from a seller such as Alibaba. My country does not have strict frequency regulations so most things short of a 1000w transmitter should be ok.
UPDATE: I just found this
nolimitdronez.com
NLD 2.5W Bi-Di Signal Booster/Amplifier Kit v2 for DJI drones
2.4GHz & 5.8GHz dual band signal booster kit for DJI drones in particular but can be used with anything that uses WiFi for transmission
Rnl
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And it works, have it on air2sUPDATE: I just found this
NLD 2.5W Bi-Di Signal Booster/Amplifier Kit v2 for DJI drones
2.4GHz & 5.8GHz dual band signal booster kit for DJI drones in particular but can be used with anything that uses WiFi for transmission
I don't know if this is correct. The RC-N1 is rated as <=26dBm (0.4Watts), and the RC Pro is <=33dBm (2 Watts). So that's 5 times more powerful.
It seems much smaller to me in practice (I have both controllers). I looked at the FCC data, and it's very interesting to me that there are actually 3 different copies of the user manual submitted, and there are different levels of power reported there than in the user manual available on DJI's site. Here is one: RM51021 DJI RC Pro User Manual SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY -- this shows a maxmium FCC transmission power level of 31.5dBm. That's 1.4 Watts. Still more than the RC-N1 but quite a difference from the 33dBm on the website.
My guess is that both the 26dBm for the RCN1 and the 33dBm for the RC Pro are 'marketing' numbers and don't actually represent transmission power.
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Agreed. However, even if it is only 3x, it can make a very large difference in signal stability in areas with lots of interference. Also, all other things being equal, separate external antennas have always been better than a bar antenna, or an internal antenna, like on the DJI RC.
Yes agreed. I'd also note that the RC Pro actually has 4 antennas for Ocusync (and two more for wifi+bluetooth). Two of these are internal. See page 10 of this: RM51021 DJI RC Pro Teardown Internal Photos SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY
All of this helps for sure. However, the drones themselves have weak transmitters too. For example, the Air 2S which I often fly is rated as <=26dBm - about 0.4 watts. So 3x the power in the remote will help signal transmission, but it won't do much for signal reception.
I suppose the latter depends upon whether the RC Pro is also amplifying the received signal, like most external amplified antenna mods do. Any info on that?
pati0furniture
Active Member
I came across a video on YouTube that gave a short demo/tutorial to do just what you're describing, once I find it again I'll link it. The guy essentially made a semi portable rig to boost transmission from the controller using a tripod and claims to have flown a Mini or Mini 2 out to around 11km if I remember correctly. Personally I'm planning on doing a roof mounted setup to experiment with since I live in a rural area and don't have to worry so much about causing interference.
pati0furniture
Active Member
I think your question was directed to @Rnl, but I just installed this (the NLD booster) in my Air 2S. The install itself was pretty easy in terms of connections, but physically cramming the booster board and power converter into the space (above the fan) was a bit finicky. I found I had to install a small shim between the edge of the board and the fan, otherwise after screwing everything together the fan was impeded by the board. With the shim the fan is spun up easily and there's no interference.
The booster definitely makes a difference. When flying at ~120m height, I can fly around 50% farther before I have signal loss. I don't notice any material difference in battery life, but to be honest I haven't tried long running timelapses yet.
One weird thing I've noticed with the Air 2S (both stock and modified) is that my signal varies greatly depending on which angle the drone is pointing relative to the controller. I seem to always lose signal strength when I'm far away and then turn the drone to point towards home. In the past, I've had this cause a loss of signal and RTH to start, but with the booster I'm now able to usually maintain control of the drone in similar conditions (and distance).
I fly my Air 2S with a stock RC Pro. Since this controller is pretty strong (compared to the RC-N1) and has 4 antennas, I always figured the weakest link was the drone transmitter/receiver. Having said that, my next step will be to install a booster into the RC Pro if I can. I don't know if it's possible on the RC Pro, and I haven't found any reports that its been done before. There may be enough physical space in the small compartment at the bottom/back of the controller (which is for the cellular dongle I think), but I wonder if there's enough active air cooling there or not (these boosters will apparently die quickly without active cooling).
Here's a signal strength table from AirData for a recent flight. I wouldn't spend much time trying to grok the relationship between signal and distance (too many environmental factors at play). I share this to show that the uplink signal (using RC Pro controller) seems to be the weak link (after adding the booster to the drone):
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Rnl
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That's interesting. NLD specifically recommends a fan when testing. Perhaps installation in a passively cooled remote is ok, if the module is attached well enough to some kind of heat sink. Here is the relevant bit of their instructions:
- Heat: Leaving a board connected to power for long periods before mounting using an appropriate exoxy compound or using a cooling fan can cause damage to the board. If powering up without permanent mounting, make it a brief momentary operation for the test you are performing, or if you want to do a longer test you MUST use a fan.
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