thUndeadMod v3.4 - openLRS S**T just got real :)

[papa_lazerous]

I have a dipole in my tail and a turnstyle on the end of the wing on my skywalker, it over hangs a little but fits ok. I'm waiting for diversity ;)

[Splashy]

Trev

I lost total control of the plane for that second...every 30 seconds or so...then nothing but the power was still on at the plane....I have the standard kit for the ez*2 ESC and its a 20A

The Rx is being powered from a 8.5amp BEC and powering 4 micro servos

I still keep picture and all displays from the EZOSD mate

it just seems the further away the plane gets the less control I have.....but full picture and display from OSD

Does 20A ESC sound too small to anyone else?
I started with 40A Flyfun, changed to Plush 30A which was better and then solved the problem with 60A Plush.

If you would like to try out a 60A Plush then just let me know. I really like the Plush. Have never had a problem with them. You can have it free ..

[Cat695]

Trev

I lost total control of the plane for that second...every 30 seconds or so...then nothing but the power was still on at the plane....I have the standard kit for the ez*2 ESC and its a 20A

The Rx is being powered from a 8.5amp BEC and powering 4 micro servos

I still keep picture and all displays from the EZOSD mate

it just seems the further away the plane gets the less control I have.....but full picture and display from OSD

Does 20A ESC sound too small to anyone else?
I started with 40A Flyfun, changed to Plush 30A which was better and then solved the problem with 60A Plush.

If you would like to try out a 60A Plush then just let me know. I really like the Plush. Have never had a problem with them. You can have it free ..

Check your PM Trevor.....and I'm happy to try anything at this stage

[webe]

Cat,

you should try uploading spectrum analyzer firmware to you RX and check the noise floors in the field you are flying. Maybe theres some strong interferences in the band your are flying - as someone here already said. But you will have to carry a notebook with you to get actual readings from RX.

I've played at my home with OLRS RX as spectrum analyzer and got some peaks from: my 433 wireless thermometer, car key-chain, roadgate key-chain.

EDIT: Here's the link to the nice GUI: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1617297

[webe]

Does anyone know why I'm not allowed to write PM's?

Cat, thundead,
sorry I didn't contacted you on skype yesterday - got very late back from neighbours home where we were playing poker. I'll get to you this evening.

[Coyote]

Because you need 20 posts, it was a measure we had to introduce to stop a spammer

[webe]

aah, ok.
So now i have to write just 6 spam messages to get PM activated  ;D

[Coyote]

Lol, spam posts get deleted

[Cat695]

Does anyone know why I'm not allowed to write PM's?

Cat, thundead,
sorry I didn't contacted you on skype yesterday - got very late back from neighbours home where we were playing poker. I'll get to you this evening.

Thats ok mate....be warned I'm traveling north tonight (I have 2 weeks off) so might not be around till tomorrow.....but did read your link cheers.....its pointing now (in my mind) that the chips on the board is obviously more for 433 freq and really doesn't like being pushed upto 459.

Mihai, splashy, dev, Papa and Coyote  are the guys who have all the gear and more importantly all the idea.....I'm just a foot soldier mate BUT I'm more than happy to learn...wouldn't bother me taking my laptop in the field and testing stuff)

I find it all very interesting

[Coyote]

Right, so I went out and performed the range test :)

The results, were to say the least, bad, worse than bad, terrible :(

1) This was a ground to ground test
2) TX was at 459MHz UK legal 100mw output power ( Or supposed to be but I seriously doubt it )
3) Tx antenna was a Diamond SRH771 SMA 433MHz
4) Hopping was 5 channels
5) A GoPro was on and recording, but then turned off to see if range came back
6) Gopro was 12" from the OpenLRS Rx
7) My OpenLRS antenna was not fitted as recommended directly to the Rx but on a 24" RG318 tail
8) 5.8ghz vtx was running the whole test with a linear antenna so to cause as much effect on results as possible. It shouldn't, but anything that was gong to be switched on while flying was.

I repeated last times test, the tx was sat at exactly the same place within 12" of last time, the weather was exactly the same as last time and I covered the same route for the test.

Expecting the same results as last time I drove straight to the 2.4km first check point and got out the car, not a thing, RSSI 0.04v no control :( I then just for the purpose of the test continued to the 4.3km point that 433mhz code has passed fine with no glitches no problem. Got out the car, RSSI 0.04 no control :(

Very disappointing

So I started from scratch, I went back to the tx to make sure everything was fine, it was, so I did a much shorter range test.

To my horror my max distance with no glitches was only 300m !

At 470m if I banked the plane to induce dbi loss I lost control at 90 degree bank.

At 870m if I banked the plane anywhere past 10 degrees, total loss of control :(

My conclusion :

1) Cat your not doing something wrong :)

2) I have no doubt Thundeads code is in no way at fault, the pins were moved up one, the RSSI code has nothing to do with the connection

3) I believe, very much, that the 433 chip just can not take the 459mhz, I believe it drops the power that much it renders the system useless. I also don`t believe the output is anywhere near 100mw, not even close. 459  and 433 are that close in frequencies that if they were using the same power, the ranges would match within a few meters of each other. Which suggests the chip is running way short of anything close to 100mw

4) The only way this is going to be improved is by using a different chip

[papa_lazerous]

Christ that's a massive difference! I'm flashed with latest FW but didn't get a range test done today, Ian can you repeat the test at 433 just to prove its 459 causing troubles and not anything else?

[Coyote]

Not today, but i will be, it was a long trek to go home re-flash and try again

[thundead]

shit.. that's not good news for 459 then... Don't think its my code since everybody was getting 3km on 439 mhz...

[Devonian]

Is anyone actually using antennas cut for 459MHz during these tests?
A quarter wave should be 163mm - anything else is a compromise IMHO and will be off tune and affecting readings.

I will try to test mine soon, but my Tx is modified with better coupling circuit for the PA (Power Amplifier - yes, all 100mW of it !!) according to HopeRF's pdf document on components for different frequencies.

Nigel.

[Coyote]

No these were with 433 antennas Nigel, but even so, a range reduction of 10x is not down to de-tuned antennas. Your results will be very interesting to see