I think that may have been my problem. I was in a really tight canyon and I'm using a yagi I want to say it's an 8dBi and inverted V antenna on the plane. I just found out that circular would have been better to prevent multipathing. I thought it was strange that as I would fly further away and above the canyon walls my signal would clear up.

I think I'm going to go with one of these and get some circular antennas to go along with it.
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=823

What do you think?

What camera are you guys using. I have a Pixim but I'm not having much luck with it.

crosshair is the latest and greatest.

If you are interrested in my advice.


I use the Skewed planar wheel on the transmitter side, and I raise it above the fuselage about 9".

That configuration resists multipathing better than any other configuration that I have tried.

Then for an omni

The stack fan / or skewed planar wheel is a good antenna.
I built a (skewed planar wheel / fan stack) that I am really liking, but I can't strike hugo's interrest in it.


Then for high gain directional

the crosshair is an excellent choice (from what I have read)
I'm still stuck in the helical era


Hope this helps

Originally Posted by Plane Insane RC

I think that may have been my problem. I was in a really tight canyon and I'm using a yagi I want to say it's an 8dBi and inverted V antenna on the plane. I just found out that circular would have been better to prevent multipathing. I thought it was strange that as I would fly further away and above the canyon walls my signal would clear up.

I think I'm going to go with one of these and get some circular antennas to go along with it.
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=823

What do you think?

What camera are you guys using. I have a Pixim but I'm not having much luck with it.

I'm stuck in the helical era and will stay. I've tried the crosshairs and they're good too. I really like a 3 or 5 turn helical for the benefit of the beam width. My personal preference is a cloverleaf on the airplane and a 7.5dbic helical on the ground. This gives you a 145 degree beam to play in. Look what I just had custom made...3 turn on 1.3GHz. I can't wait to fly with it!

Decisions decisions. What kind of range are you getting on a 7.5dbic and what does the "c" mean.

You tried a crosshair and what don't you like? Too directional?

Who custom makes antennas and what do they cost if I want one?

Sorry for all the questions.

Originally Posted by Plane Insane RC

Decisions decisions. What kind of range are you getting on a 7.5dbic and what does the "c" mean.

You tried a crosshair and what don't you like? Too directional?

Who custom makes antennas and what do they cost if I want one?

Sorry for all the questions.

The combo of the cloverleaf/ 7.5dBic helical gives me plenty of range for almost everything that I fly. Lets put it this way, I'm more concerned about my flight battery's getting me home than the range. I'm not really sure of the max range but have no problem out 2-3 miles and I'm not restricted to a narrow beam path.

The "c" in dBic is a reference to circularly polarized. It's the "forward gain of an antenna compared to a circularly polarized isotropic antenna". Directional antennas only use the dBi reference.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the crosshairs. They actually provide a better punch when it comes to trees and other obstacles than a helical. They generally handle multi-pathing better. I like them better on a quad that flies close to the ground.

It's like anything else, it really comes down to preference and what you're trying to do.

By the way, I have a brand new, never used RMRC 1.3Ghz 3 turn 7.5dBic helical for sale if anyone wants it. I'll charge what RMRC charged me and save you the freight and time to get it to Utah. I think it was $69.

Do you guys use an antenna tracker with your helicals or crosshair?

Originally Posted by Plane Insane RC

What caused the crash? looked like it was flying fine until then.

Im flying on 2.4 ghz for radio, and when I dove down that hill, it was directly behind me and lost complete control from the receiver.

Yes

Originally Posted by geminiryan

Do you guys use an antenna tracker with your helicals or crosshair?

Fly low and take chances!

Antelope Island FPV Flight part 2 (4 min 53 sec)

Ryan,

There are a couple of things that could cause decreased range.

First off, I should state that I am very satisfied with CP antennas,

but lets put that aside.



reasons for decreased range

1) you have damaged the antenna and the angles are not quite right

2) you are getting a short circuit between the driven and the ground poritons of your antenna. This could be a single wire crossing over and touching a portion of the sma connector, or elements that it does not belong too...

3) You have a poor connection at a sma pin (I experienced this once, and now I solder the pins), or a poor solder joint which is causing too much resistance.

4) you have changed something in your setup, and now you have some sort of physical impediment, or RF interferance in your system.

5) your flying habits have changed, and now you are flying lower, and behind objects, which does not bode well with LP



*I have some antennas that you can have.

Originally Posted by geminiryan

Do you guys use an antenna tracker with your helicals or crosshair?

No tracker for me.

Originally Posted by m_beeson

Ryan,

There are a couple of things that could cause decreased range.

First off, I should state that I am very satisfied with CP antennas,

but lets put that aside.



reasons for decreased range

1) you have damaged the antenna and the angles are not quite right

2) you are getting a short circuit between the driven and the ground poritons of your antenna. This could be a single wire crossing over and touching a portion of the sma connector, or elements that it does not belong too...

3) You have a poor connection at a sma pin (I experienced this once, and now I solder the pins), or a poor solder joint which is causing too much resistance.

4) you have changed something in your setup, and now you have some sort of physical impediment, or RF interferance in your system.

5) your flying habits have changed, and now you are flying lower, and behind objects, which does not bode well with LP



*I have some antennas that you can have.

I think I'm going to switch from LP to CP on my quad and reaperxl and see how that goes. My flying habits have changed now that I have a capable plane. I don't get the rush like I used to just having a plane in the air. Now I have to be close to the ground or other objects to get the same thrill.

What kind of antennas are you willing to give away? I defiantly would like to try them.

Here is still from a flight I had yesterday of the Little Grand Canyon.

I've got a SPW, fan stack, and helical that you can have.



*that place is amazing...

Originally Posted by Plane Insane RC

I think I'm going to switch from LP to CP on my quad and reaperxl and see how that goes. My flying habits have changed now that I have a capable plane. I don't get the rush like I used to just having a plane in the air. Now I have to be close to the ground or other objects to get the same thrill.

What kind of antennas are you willing to give away? I defiantly would like to try them.

Here is still from a flight I had yesterday of the Little Grand Canyon.

Originally Posted by Plane Insane RC

Here is still from a flight I had yesterday of the Little Grand Canyon.

Ah man Ryan....that is an AMAZING area. I was going to ask if anyone had flown down there, but didn't want to give it away if no one had. There is a slew cool places down there.