Hi,
I did a first flight with my 3DR telemetry radio a few days ago. I only flew a distance from home of about 0.4 km and I think I am getting a very weak signal. I am using the stock antenna and the default settings (64 airspeed) I attached a graph of my rssi, rmrssi, noise and distances. How can I improve my range on this?
Also i have been told that the OEM antenna is not a true 915 mhz antenna. So I took one apart. I have attached a picture of it. I am in no way an antenna person. Is this a true 915 mhz antenna?
Thanks for your help and replies.
farmertom
Replies
I get about 1200 meters stock 3DR through some trees as well. Was at about %25.
I re-used a repeater Yagi (tuned for 440Mhz) and connected the 3dr radio. I have not been able to send the drone far enough to drop it below 98% (LOS). The extreme range for a roundtrip, limited only by battery supply, has been about 3 miles. I mounted the Yagi on a tripod with a half gimble (also recycled from the side of a road!). The tripod with gimble makes it easy to transport the Yagi, and easy to point in the direction of the Iris. You can see the setup in the attached photo.
2014-08-19 16.05.43.jpg
Hi,
An update to my 3DR radio range. I am now using a dipole antenna on my ground station. The antenna is on a 12 ft. pole. I am still using the stock antenna on the airborne radio. I did a test flight of about 1100 meters at an altitude of 500 ft. AGL. The lost packet icon on the flight data screen never went below ~80% and that was on the way back. Does anyone know what parameter this is so I can plot it? below is chart of my rssi, etc on the flight. Looks like going to the dipole antenna increase my rssi levels about 20.
Thanks
farmertom
Btw...has anyone in Europe tried running these alongside an LRS setup (eg: EzUHF)?
I'm toying with the APM for a UHF-equipped TBS Cappy, but not if it means the telemetry tx/rx stomping over my control.
Not sure which one of us you're asking but I'm gonna bite. Thanks for requesting, I just learned a lot doing this, should have studied the wikki closer earlier. What I still don't know is what is considered a lot of noise vs what is considered low noise. Noise levels on this graph scale are between 20 and 40, but is that good or bad? In fact I have no idea how to read this. Are the radio signals good or bad? I can clearly see where it dropped out though. Thanks for helping.
Ok, put me down as another "poor ranger".
After doing some range tests on my quad, I notice that the first radio to go is the 3DR telemetry. It drops out at around 400m out, even LoS, and LoS is completely unobstructed. Whips are aligned for optimum reception.
Which is strange, given I'm running 2.4ghz DSMX (plus TM1000 telem), and 5.8ghz video (200mw), which should be the first things to go.
However, I am using the standard whips. Which - combined with the likely-very-high RF noise on the quad itself affecting these unshielded V1 radios - is probably what's limiting my range.
So - what to do? The mW rating is more than enough for 433, so we're looking at RF noise insulation and upgrading the antenna's. I've got the telem tx attached to the side of the legs, pointing down to maximise distance from the noise. But the biggest gains will come from new antennas.
But to what?
A CP skew at 433 will be bigger than the quad itself. It would be so big I could build a 4 lobe and use each lobe as a prop protector....:-). So we're looking at linear. But what? Off the shelf would be preferred.
Ask anybody or do some research and you will confirm that rubber duck antennas are the worst possible antenna and are only provided to prevent tx from burning out when powered. There are many better designs (yagi, clover etc) that vastly improve range and reception. Im not an expert on which to pick for each circumstance but nothing is free. You might want to search rcmodelreviews who has a good video explaining antennas and gain and more, which helps one get more familiar with radios and antennas.
Hello guys, I also have a problem with my original 433Mhz version, the second one with a FTDUI cable, not the first version with embeded USB.
I don;t have a APM anymore but use it with FBOSD and my Naza controller, I don;t think there could be an issue because of FBOSD.
I have my antena near the GCS as you can see in the pics bellow, but the log attached was not created with the antena in that position, I will make another flight today with it in that position to check the noise.
The connection broke imediatley after launched my hexa, as you can see the GPS Sat Count line.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you
3dr radio noise.jpg
3dr_radio_antena_positon.jpg
im not sure about the 3DR one but im using the rfd900 with stock antennas and at 2500-3000m im still on 98% signal. Lots of factors can reduce your range.
Please tell me how to connect the rfd900 to APM 2.6 and what's the best antennas to give me more range.
thanks
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