What do Yagi antenna types mean?

[Giygas]

Hello, I often see Yagi range extenders in e-shops described as "Type 6", "Type 2" etc, example: Yagi Antenna Signal Booster 2.4Ghz (Type 6) and I'm curious what does that mean? It's what's made me hesitant about buying one as I have no idea what it means and Googling brought me no information either.

I'd also like to ask a secondary question which is: are there legit omnidirectional range extenders available for the Mavic Mini? I only saw results from Aliexpress and I am hesitant to order things like this from there.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I believe it has 6 dipoles on the antenna (I think that is what they are called).

 

[Giygas]

I believe it has 6 dipoles on the antenna (I think that is what they are called).

Thank you, but is more dipoles = better? And this Type 7 seems to have just 6 dipoles?

 

[wardtom084]

I am a ham, and I see no reason for this antenna to do the first thing. Antennas are hooked up into transmitters.

 

[StantonZ]

The "types" are irrelevant in this case; the Yagi antennas for our drones are either built for 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz (depending on WiFi regs in your country). It would help if you identified which drone you have, but you can buy Yagi's specifically made for the controller/drone you have (e.g. I bought one for the MA2 RC). I wouldn't pay attention to the omnidirectional stuff.

 

[wardtom084]

The "types" are irrelevant in this case; the Yagi antennas for our drones are either built for 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz (depending on WiFi regs in your country). It would help if you identified which drone you have, but you can buy Yagi's specifically made for the controller/drone you have (e.g. I bought one for the MA2 RC). I wouldn't pay attention to the omnidirectional stuff.

How do you hook it up. It has to be part of the chain between the finals in a transmitter to the antenna.

 

[Dbez1]

If you have a Mini1, it can extend your range and give you better signal strength. You simply slide them down over your antennas. They can also be used in conjunction with parabolic reflectors. I had this combination when I had my original Mini and it worked great. If you have a Mini2 you shouldn’t need them.

 

[wardtom084]

Any other hams here? This is not possible.

 

[Mynah]

Any other hams here? This is not possible.

@wardtom084 the existing antenna on the transmitter/remote controller serves as the driven element, reflector and directors are added to that at calculated values to complete the yagi array, it works, I have done it and tested it.
As for the OP's second question; I personally would not bother with active signal amplifiers as an 'add-on' to the existing RC radio frequency circuitry, altering transmitters that runs at such high frequency is a very exact science, a minor design flaw can significantly increase standing wave ratio which is detrimental to the whole excercise and causes general RF 'pollution'. I found that adding the passive slip-on yagi's and parabolic reflectors goes a long way in making up for what the Mini lacks in 'occusinc' technology.

 

[scro]

Any other hams here? This is not possible.

The only bit on a yagi antenna electrically connected to the transmitter output is the driven element. Similarly, the parabolic reflector on a microwave dish isn't electrically connected to the transmitter. As @Derek ZA says, These "slip on" range extenders put a reflector element behind the driven element and several directors in front of the driven element to make the stock omni-directional antennas on the remote directional. They don't need to be electrically connected to the driven element, just physically in the right place relative to each other.

 

[ElRubio]

Any other hams here? This is not possible.

Hey Tom, I’m a fellow ham and an RF Engineer. Derek and scro are correct in their explanations on how the yagi adapters work. They aren’t perfect yagi designs, but are not far off. I don’t know what type of antennas are on the controller. Dipoles would be ideal for the yagi adapters. Also, having two yagis in such close proximity can cause interaction between them. Typically, two or more yagis will be stacked to increase gain. This requires optimal positioning and phasing. The radiation pattern is probably distorted with major side lobes and less gain than textbook calculations, but no doubt most will outperform the stock antennas, so long as directional is OK.
The other thing is why are there two antennas on the controller and drone? Many wifi routers utilize a feature called MiMo which produces different data streams on each antenna. This is a method to increase data rates. Sometimes, a second antenna is just receive only diversity antenna. Have you ever been at a traffic light and your radio station fades out a little only to come in clear as you inch your vehicle forward a few feet? There are lots of reasons for the fading, but a second antenna could be unaffected and able to receive the signal. With realtime video transmissions between the drone and controller, i would guess it is probably used in a mimo configuration and probably just uses wifi protocols. This would make the interaction between the two antennas more likely, but probably just distorted radiation pattern and lower gain.
Personally, I think it’s an ingenious idea and certainly can be an improvement in many cases.
Regarding amplifiers, make sure you are not exceeding legal limits on power out. You would want a bi-directional amp that sends on one frequency and listens on another and amplifies in both directions.

 

[RogerDH]

... Also, having two yagis in such close proximity can cause interaction between them. ... The other thing is why are there two antennas on the controller and drone? ...

Only one antenna is used to transmit, but both are used to receive.

 

[DroneZone Thailand]

Last year I tested the "Yagis" with the Mavic Air 2.
Here is a video:

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