Hi guys,
I have been making rapid prototypes in plastic plated with a layer of nickel all over the part, the reason for doing this was to improve the material properties of the plastic to make it stiffer and stronger. I also wondered if this could be used to control RFI and wondered if this could be applied to UAV's.
Does anybody have an opinion about this? is it a real or imagined problem? what protection are people using? and would it affect the ability to get a UAV certified ( if you dont have any protection). I was wondering what protection is used on different parts of the plane....the auto pilot the servo's etc.
Cheers
Oliver
Replies
One thing I intend to do on my Tri is mount all the sensitive electronics on single sided G10/FR4 copper clad and see if that helps. It is an effective screen and it should create an RF shadow behind it (above in this case).
A lot depends on where the RF is coming from its usually the motors/ESC and the video downlink.
Thankfully the motors and ESC's will be at the ends of the arms and the downlink can be mitigated somewhat with careful antenna placement.
Most decent manufacturers also ensure their electronics comply with most emission regulations, which means they shouldn't (in normal use) cause too much stray RF.