Discussions

In September last year a thread entitled 'FrSky not so free' appeared in this forum raising similar X8R range issues to mine but it has been closed and the initiator seems to have left the forum. The answers to questions raised by respondents don't appear in the thread and although I picked up a couple of tidbits from the discussion I would like to know more.

I have X8Rs in several fixed wing aircraft bound to a Taranis 9X Plus transmitter running OpenTX in D16 mode, all of which meet range tests comfortably and fly with plenty of operating range.

I also have an X8R in a small quad which I first flew bound to an XJT module in a Turnigy 9X running Er9x, again in D16 mode.

It did not take long for me to realise that the quad had a serious range problem, with complete loss of normal signal at about 60-70 metres. I first thought that this was due antenna setup but more careful orientation yielded no improvement. 

At that point I started researching X8R range issues on the internet and found lots of questions but no clear answers. Most of the discussion was around the Taranis/X8R combination.

Out of curiosity I switched transmitters over to the Taranis with no noticeable increase in range. The thread mentioned above seemed to suggest that updating the OpenTX firmware in the Taranis might fix the problem. Indeed, updating to version 2.1.7 increased the range substantially. A range check went to about 50 metres and although I have no idea what the maximum operating range is I am confident that it is sufficient for normal flight.

Can anyone shed some light on why a change in the Taranis firmware resolved the issue with that transmitter? Was it due to an effective reset of the Taranis or was there some other reason? Am I right in assuming that the issue in this case was with the transmitter, not the receiver?

Unfortunately circumstances mean that I am obliged to fly the quad with the Turnigy transmitter/XJT combination, which still has unacceptable range and this leads to my main stumbling block. Is there some way to reproduce the same improvement in the XJT module as I achieved with the Taranis, for example by shifting the Turnigy over to OpenTX firmware?

Any suggestions/observations gratefully received.