I'm building a small plane (Skywalker X-5) and I'm wondering where to put the following on the fuselage/wing, or more precisely their respective antennas:
- GPS/compass cell (I've got a pedestal mount)
- radio RX (TGY-iA6B 2.4GHz)
- telemetry RX (915MHz 100mW)
What is the best location for each so that signal loss and interference are kept at a minimum? Vertical? Horizontal? Far away from the motors or other antennas? For the GPS/compass I understand the best is probably vertical straight up on top.
Thanks!
Replies
@James - Thanks that's helpful. One more thing: do these frequencies travel well through foam? I'm wondering what will happen if I burry these cells/antennas into the foam of the wing or fuselage. And does it matter if they're vertical or horizontal?
Also slight digression since you mentioned the ESCs and we're talking about sticking things out on the airframe. I've seen a few folks leave them out there on the wing/fuselage. Is this recommended and do they tend to get hot? I was hoping to be able to leave them inside the fuselage.
@James - thanks for the suggestion. Is this based on your experience and empirical tests? What is an ideal layout for the config of these antennas? What is a worst layout?