Hi All,
Flew out to about 800m yesterday....FPV picture was all good,
however at the 800m or so mark my control inputs began to become
very delayed, and unresponsive - at least to my mind. I was not sure weather the my quad
was going in and out of Fail Safe, but controls were definitely not behaving normally.
I am using a DX6I, with the AR6200 long range receiver with satellite, however I am sure I have flown out to this distance before without FPV using a glider
so I was rather surprised.
Perhaps I am reading into it so much, but in fairness I was behind a large line of trees in comparison to where
the model was, so perhaps this was inhibiting signal output?
Anyway, I would ideally in the future like to go into longer range flights once I get an FPV system on one of my planes
and so my question is:
To do so should I stick with the DX6I and look into boosters/higher gain antennas.....or for a whole
new system life frsky?
What are expected ranges on these systems etc.
Its funny as I was worried about my picture going, let along my Tx signal!!
John.
What you have to remember with Quads or any multirotor is the spacing between the parts! Imagine 4 people shouting random things at you but you have to listen to just one!
I have got a UHF system ready for my quad Iincase I need it but at the moment I don't need to fly anymore than 500m!
Maybe you will want to upgrade soon to one, I would not bother with a booster if it was me :)
Trees will always block a 2.4GHz signal. Also in general to get further out you need to fly higher up. Far way and low down is not really a recipe for a reliable signal with any system.
How big was your glider?
It would surprise you to discover that a 3m RC glider is essentially about 10cm to 30cm long at 450 meters.
With your spectrum unit, the 800m is not bad.
Best I have done with 2.4 is 1830m using an frsky system - stock antenna. But the atmospheric conditions where perfect!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
I see what you mean.
Spacing on my quad is good, at least 8inches between Rx and Vtx.......the Rx is mounted
in the center, and the Vtx on the other side right down on the landing skids....so as far as I can get away as possible.
I understand I was surrounded by trees, so when the weather improves I will go out to a larger open field and give things a go, and see how far I can get (Will report back here)- I am glad I have the RTH for back up though!
I agree that messing around with boosters probably isn't a great idea. I think it would be best
to either look at a high gain antenna as a short fix for that bit more, and then look towards an Frsky or
UHF system for the future?...when I get an FPV system on my motorized glider (2m wingspan).
Thanks for all the replies, Hope to go out at the weekend
if the weather is good and do a real nice test with a good uninterrupted signal path.
John.
Ok guys, went out today on a large open field, went up and away with perfect video signal, but at around 500, away or so again I get very delayed control inputs and then RTH flickering on and off, in the end I let RTH bring it back and then went into Attitude to land.
It must be interference from Vtx, as I am pretty sure I have had my glider further away than this still with a great control signal!
Problem is I have the rx and Vtx as far away as possible on my set up....so perhaps a UHF or Frsky system
will give me better range?
I will do a range test asap (tomorrow) with FPV gear on and off, and see if/how much it reduces
to get a verdict of if they are/how much the Vtx could be effecting the Rx.
Then take it from there? :-\
John.
I had the same set-up as yourself (DX6i) and was plagued with fail safes around the 1 kilometre mark with a AR6100e receiver.
To remedy this -I went UHF (Overkill for a quad admittedly) however recently purchased a Taranis and have had no problems at all at 1k mark
Cheers for that. I am using DX6I with AR6200.......think I may upgrade to UHF system for future
use with Gliders, or Taranis/Frsky set up?
immersionRC was kind enough to offer a JR compatible UHF module, that fits snugly into the taranis module bay.
I that case you would have the best of both worlds together. Reliable 2.4 for close/medium range models and UHF for long range stuff.
Yeah for sure, planning to do that in the future!
Switched my Tx to US mode at the mo to get a little more out of it
while waiting for new longer range set up :))
John.