I am looking to increase the quality and distance of the video link. Currently I am using Attitudes and ImmersionRC vtx on 5.8 with skews but I am not happy with the Attitudes so plan to change to Dominators in the very near future. The sites we fly at regularly are quite closed in, one with trees and the other at the base of a large valley. Usually the signal is good but I hate the way it can disappear when turning or flying back towards myself.
Now, I don't want to go to a full blown recording Ground Station but would like to have a compact diversity system that tracks the signal better. Can anyone direct me to a thread or simple "how to" DIY instruction? Or even better is there a ready made unit?
Iuse the Immersion RC 5.8G diversity receiver . On one port I have a standard omni clover leaf and on the second I use a 5 turn helical..I point the helical in the general direction of my extended flight and this system works pretty well
Adrian
Hi there :)
There seems to be a lot of confusion in your post so first I`ll address some misconception :
If you want to increase your reception range then your looking at the antennas being used. Neither diversity or tracking will help over distance.
When your plane is turning and your loosing quality / strength that is your antenna placement on the plane at fault. If it wasn`t you wouldn't have had a good picture up until you turned around. By you turning around the only variable that has changed is the position of the equipment between your receiver antenna and your planes transmitter antenna.
If the signal goes bad when turning then that is normally associated with using linear antennas instead of circular antennas as you incur db loss through polarization losses that circular antennas don`t suffer with.
Which are you using now ?
When you say you want a diversity system to track your signal better your getting diversity mixed up with tracking. Diversity picks from multiple inputs ( depending on what diversity system you are using ) and tries to decide on the best signal to pass to your display. It does not though track the signal.
A tracker will point the antenna at the plane, which when you are using high gain directional antennas only increases your range because its pointing the high gain antenna at the plane instead of the flying out of its reception beam. The tracker though will not fix the problem of you losing / getting bad reception when your plane turns back around.
Regarding a full blown ground station vs a compact diversity / tracker system, there is nothing in them, they are very much the same apart from a tiny recorder. The only compact light option you could go for is a diversity only unit because it is itself a very small unit. Where as a tracker is always larger, heavier etc because of the nature of what it does.
Hi mate, IBCrazy did a tracking system, worked well, you'll find the video on the tube.
If it looks right, it'll fly right.
I built one myself :)
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
@rob, did you keep the plans? I'm interested.
@coyote, agreed and very well explained. I personally think the best place for a 5.8ghz skew is on the underside of the plane.
If it looks right, it'll fly right.
Is actually remarkable simple to do!
Just an arduono board, rssi feeds and a servo.
You in the UK? Much easier to fall you over things on the phone!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
No, Wife is Polish and works in Berlin so I came out here 14 years ago.
My knowledge of those ardu boards is next to nothing, if I'm right in saying it's all open source stuff isn't it?
If it looks right, it'll fly right.
Check here...
http://openrcforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=4415
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
That's brilliant, mega impressed and professional looking.
Would you sell me one? Just the brains of the system, the housing I could make myself.
If it looks right, it'll fly right.
Quote from: Coyote on April 18, 2014, 08:34:43 PM
Hi there :)
Which are you using now ?
A tracker will point the antenna at the plane, which when you are using high gain directional antennas only increases your range because its pointing the high gain antenna at the plane instead of the flying out of its reception beam. The tracker though will not fix the problem of you losing / getting bad reception when your plane turns back around.
Regarding a full blown ground station vs a compact diversity / tracker system, there is nothing in them, they are very much the same apart from a tiny recorder. The only compact light option you could go for is a diversity only unit because it is itself a very small unit. Where as a tracker is always larger, heavier etc because of the nature of what it does.
I am using skews from bignose at the moment. I know that when i change to doms I should get more range but I want to lose the dead spots. I tried mounting the ant bent down under the fuse but to honest the general reception was worse, sort of foggy and with horizontal lines. I know 5.8 can be weather dependent so it could have been that. I just thought that a pair of antenna or a single antenna tracking the plane would sort it and give more range.