I am in the process of putting together my first FPV/telemetry quad and have a few concerns about antennas. I am using the APM 2.6, ublox GPS,3DR 915 MHz telemetry, Futaba 2.4GHz tx/rx, and 3DR 5.8GHz fpv. My question is will the GPS,Telemetry,Futaba 2.4 rx, and FPV interfere with each other. I currently have all three on top of my quad about 6 inches apart with the gps inbetween them, and the futaba rx about the middle. Is there a general rule of thumb as far as how to mount these concerning how close they are together? I have attached a pic of the layout. I do have the GPS mounted at top between the telemetry and fpv. I can mount it higher above them if needed. I guess what I am asking is how I need to have them positioned, such as GPS above the rest? farther aprt? some mounted with antenna facing down instead of up for more clearance between them? will the frame construction interefere with signals? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Don
Replies
My GPS is higher than anything else. The Rx and satellite Rx have antennas on each side. The antennas for the 5.8Ghz video transmitter and 915Mhz telemetry module are on the bottom. So far, I can see no interference between the components. A person can go crazy trying to find the best theory on anything. You can test your build easily outside by powering everything up and watching the GPS position on the map.
GPS: Should be ok, as long as it's got sight of the sky. It's rx, so not noisy.
Telem: Should be ok too, as it's low power tx and rx.
Control: Should be ok as it's rx, but try and mount the main rx and the sat (if it has one) in "180' diversity. Also try and keep away from video tx, as some video tx units can be noisy on all bands.
Video: No interference on RF, but your frame and battery will affect fresnel zone on 5.8. If possible, location your antenna underneath, ideally as the lowest component on the frame - apart from the legs! (your rx antenna will nearly alway be below you, so there should be less fresnel issues).
I have gps above everything else telem. above deck 2.4 out and down video on landing gear just make shure your failsafes are setup and try it ;-)
does no one have any input on this or did I post it in the wrong section?