sheeps build

[sheep600fx]

Cool once again thanks for the advice coyote  changing mode now

[sheep600fx]

Well went out today and flew for 2 hours on and off although not all of it fpv(aint that brave yet). Absolutely brilliant although i still struggle with positioning and landmarks seeing its on the moor and there arent many lol.
I have the 8dbi circular polarised antenna and a ??mw transmitter but found the range not as good as i expected.flying directly in front of me i reckon 2-300m before video starts to go? I know that cant be right so something must be wrong. Picture is perfect at closer ranges with no lines/static etc. Also i find the kx131 camera a bit crap to be honest , grainy and generally not too clear. Anyway any ideas what may be causing the video range issues guys and heres a few pics.

[Coyote]

Hi Sean, with a low power transmitter its surroundings are critical. From what i see it could be a few things.

1st thing to check is the antenna on the vtx, these types of vtx are prone to the wire coming away from the board. Check its soldered joint first. It should be soldered to the middle pin of three together. Make sure its a good connection and not in conact with the two other pins.

2nd, The camear is very close to it, this will bloack a lot of the signal when the plane is flying towards you. Also your main flight lipo is directly below the transmitter too, so blocking the signal below, as the planes up high this can cause a drop in performance.

I think with that transmitter it might work a lot better to the rear of the plane, along the tail would be best

Also have you tried this on other channels in case its interference

[sheep600fx]

Thanks for replying mate. I will move the transmitter as you suggest and will check connections. I assume with the transmitter/antenna combo i have i should be expecting a lot more. Im also trying to figure the best angle to have the antenna as im getting about the same distance as i was with the 10mw transmitter and 8db omni antenna. if i upgraded to the transmitter you have would that make much difference ?

[Coyote]

Yes it makes loads of difference. But no needed unless your going "the distance" lol

Yours should be going much further. The antenna on the vtx wants to be vertical, the antenna on the floor varies, but ideally you want it on the deck, but on a tripod will work fine for now

[sheep600fx]

So when you say on the floor ideally should the antenna be on its back so to speak pointing up?

[Coyote]

No half a wavelength up from the floor ideally. So around 5cm, thats why simon sells those mini tripods just for this. But ive had mine up high from the start with no bother. If you do have it low, it wants to point where your flying at around 45 degrees

[sheep600fx]

Ok thanks again mate. Im going to do some modding lol

[sheep600fx]

Right extended the wires and moved the tx back behind the wing, couldnt go any further back as ran out of wire lol. Tested camera and all is working so will test tomorrow. I checked the antenna on the vtx and its secure and is not touching other solders. Voltage wise i use a fully charged  11.1v 3 cell lipo(1600 mAh ) when you say change channel how ? The video signal only works on channel 4 so i assume theres a way to change it ?. I will try again tomorrow and see how it goes. There cant be any outside interference as there literally nothing here within miles of where i fly

[Coyote]

There are 4 switches under the rectangle on the vtx lable to change channels

[sheep600fx]

Okedoke will test tomorrow and see if i can get better results.

[simondale]

Make sure you vtx is getting as higher voltage as possible. As the voltage drops off so does the transmission power.

This is not true.  The transmitter has a regulator so the transmitter module, and the camera, always get exactly 5V.  Its actually better to give the system fewer volts so that less energy has to be converted (wasted) into heat.

:-)

[Coyote]

Oh yes, regulator on board, my bad