Hi everyone. I've decided to get a high gain antenna to add to my ground station. I currently have a cloverleaf from bignose as my basic antenna.
So far I like the look of the VAS pepperbox (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=1288 (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=1288)) and the circular wireless patch (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=2951 (http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=2951)), but im not sure which is best to choose.
I'm not wanting mega range, but it would be nice to fly around without worrying too much about my signal. I have a groundstation which has pan and tilt and able to follow my plane, but I dont mind it staying stationary either.
Any suggestions/experience welcome!
Not that I've got either but by all accounts the pepperbox is very good providing a wider beam than the patch and good sensitivity for distance.
Chris
The problem with the pepperbox imo is the size and weight of the thing. It's bloody huge and you are really gonna be limited to being close to your car most of the time.
In comparison the patch is so small it can come along in a rucksack and a small tripod for a very portable setup.
I really don't think the extra beamwidth is worth the hassle. If you want beamwidth then omnis are good for at least 6-8km with a 400-600mw VTX. If you want to go further out then the 90 degree cpatch is more than enough. Once you get a few KM out it's a huge bit of sky you can fly in, and it's also really good for your spatial awareness to be able to rotate the patch to either side and get a bearing on your plane in relation to yourself.
Thanks guys, good info there. Initally I didn't think size was really an issue, but I do agree that it a pain trying to carry everything from the car, so the option at least to fly without the ground station and still have range is appealing.
Dogzilla, would the patch also work as a tracking antenna? I'm guessing it does? I really like the videos you have done flying over to ferries etc, and if they were Done with that patch then I think it will be more than suitable. Does it have a best frequency that it works on?
Aitch, I currently have a 4.5t helical (home made) and it's ok but without having my tracking perfectly set up it's not always great. Saying that I guess I would get great gain, but more turns would make it huge! My partner already calls it the proton canon lol!
Yeah you can use the patch on the tracking antenna no problem. That ferry vid was done with the CPatch. It has a huge beamwidth for a patch, 90 degrees or so. When you get a few KM out, 90 degrees is a whole lot of sky.
I track my antenna by hand but not everyone is comfortable doing that. A tracker on 1.3ghz isn't that important and if you haven't got one yet I'd suggest probably don't bother.
If I want to fly all around myself I just put a SPW on the receiver, I can go 6-8km with very good video, never bothered pushing it but surely it would go to 10km before it got totally unflyable.
Then when I want to go long distance, I just put the patch on, choose my heading and just fly out. You really don't want to be zig zagging around when trying to go range, better you know your terrain and plan a route and stick to it. If you get any problems you know where you need to go. In which case you never have to even move the patch.