17 replies to this topic

[Miro]

Hello all. Not sure if this antenna has been covered in here before, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it:

Antenna

And is it really 27 lbs??

The prospect of high gain omni antenna is very appealing, would save me building directional antenna ground station...

Thanks,

Miro

Edited by Miro, 18 April 2008 - 09:32 PM.

[W3FJW-Ron]

There would be many 13 cm stacked elements inside that 6' pvc pipe & the shipping wgt is 27# and I think they made a mistake on that. Most likely 2 dot 7 pounds. Probably work fine in this application. Comet is a reputable antenna and their gain figures are usually right on due to their field testing.

[Mr.RC-Cam]

It appears it would require a long shipping box, so the calculated "dimensional weight" could indeed be 27 lbs. But, the best thing would be to call them and simply ask.

[Miro]

Thanks for your replies... I read somewhere one guy was getting over 20 miles range with that antenna on the receiver and 1000mW transmitter with stock rubber ducky on it... Might be worth a try... I was gonna purchase second receiver and video diversity box, but this is cheaper, although 70" longer

Anyways, here's the maiden FPV flight of my Telemaster with Pandora pan-tilt, 1000mW 2.4GhZ transmitter and rubber duckies on both tx and rx. Towards the end of the video you can see 3 landings using the goggles on a relatively narrow path with the crosswind.

Video

Telemaster is a great fpv platform, but I want something that will fly low and slow, so I've just finished building a SlowStick and I'm currently waiting for the USPS to deliver one more tx and camera. Will post some photos of the setup later on...

Thanks,

Miro

Edited by Miro, 19 April 2008 - 11:20 AM.

[Terry]

Would make a good long range aerial if your in a low use area.

Terry

[Miro]

Hmm, being in the middle of the Silicon Valley, I'd say not... What do you think the range would be, considering everyone in the neighborhood has WiFi, cellphone etc...

Would make a good long range aerial if your in a low use area.

Terry

[Terry]

Hard to say but I would go with a directional aerial or forget 2.4Ghz all together if your in a high use area.

Terry

[W3FJW-Ron]

Keep in mind that an antenna is a reciprocal beast. And they usually hear better than they transmit.... Especially on a hill..

[Mr.RC-Cam]

If you are out in the boonies, away from interfering sources and reflective surfaces, then the 15dBi omni would stand a better chance. But if WiFi or other 2.4GHz devices are in the vicinity then heed Terry's advice. Frankly, its vertical beamwidth seems to be quite narrow, so be prepared for that.

[Miro]

Thanks to all that answered... As far as vertical beamwidth, says 3 deg negative, but i'm not sure what's in positive direction... I asked them for the radiation pattern, didn't get an answer yet...

Miro

If you are out in the boonies, away from interfering sources and reflective surfaces, then the 15dBi omni would stand a better chance. But if WiFi or other 2.4GHz devices are in the vicinity then heed Terry's advice. Frankly, its vertical beamwidth seems to be quite narrow, so be prepared for that.

[W3FJW-Ron]

Positive is up.. Would be a dead spot above the vertical. The higher you go the larger it gets. Cone shaped as it were. At 2.4 gc it's line of sight. Very little bending or reflection of wave.

Ron

Edited by W3FJW-Ron, 19 April 2008 - 08:24 PM.

[Miro]

Did a test of the patch vs. omni.

http://www.chromasoftware.com/fpv/

The video of the stationary patch will follow as soon as it gets edited.

Miro

Positive is up.. Would be a dead spot above the vertical. The higher you go the larger it gets. Cone shaped as it were. At 2.4 gc it's line of sight. Very little bending or reflection of wave.

Ron

[AGS]

Did a test of the patch vs. omni.

http://www.chromasoftware.com/fpv/

The video of the stationary patch will follow as soon as it gets edited.

Miro

Hey how did you record your FPV? Also I need some advice on an antenna, the problem is im using it on a cheap built in 50mW transmitter that came with a 'wire antenna' on 2.4Ghz with the advertised range of 100m on the ground I'm making the goof proof patch antenna on the RX end but I dont know how much Im expected to get out of this cheap hong kong import

[ThomasScherrer]

miro did you get your slowstick flying ?
is it the big one or the small one you got ?
have you seen mine ?
http://www.webx.dk/rc/1902.jpg (me with the plane)
http://www.webx.dk/rc/rc.htm#plane19
http://www.webx.dk/r...ick/page_01.htm

[Miro]

Hey how did you record your FPV? Also I need some advice on an antenna, the problem is im using it on a cheap built in 50mW transmitter that came with a 'wire antenna' on 2.4Ghz with the advertised range of 100m on the ground I'm making the goof proof patch antenna on the RX end but I dont know how much Im expected to get out of this cheap hong kong import

I used mini DV on the receiving end. About the 'wire' antenna, I would highly suggest rolling your own (see my web site) as the rubber duckies that came with the stock receiver/transmitter don't seem to be tuned for 2.4 GHz... As far as RX, I just purchased 2 60deg circular polarized patch antennas. I'm just finishing up the ground station, as I got the diversity setup running. Will post some photos on the web site in a couple of days.

Miro

[Miro]

Yes, slowstick flies very well... Didn't realize it comes in 2 sizes
Your setup looks great !!

Miro

miro did you get your slowstick flying ?
is it the big one or the small one you got ?
have you seen mine ?
http://www.webx.dk/rc/1902.jpg (me with the plane)
http://www.webx.dk/rc/rc.htm#plane19
http://www.webx.dk/r...ick/page_01.htm

[W3FJW-Ron]

I like your Chicken Thomas. Real neat..

[dalbert02]

Thanks to all that answered... As far as vertical beamwidth, says 3 deg negative, but i'm not sure what's in positive direction... I asked them for the radiation pattern, didn't get an answer yet...

Miro

Would it not be better to buy the Comet GP-24 (no downtilt) instead of the GP-24-3 (3 deg neg downtilt) antenna for FPV use?

-dave