My FPVLR antenna arrived!

[jerryn]

Hopefully there will be great weather for flying this weekend. My FPVLR antenna that I ordered from Drone Nerds arrived today. There are strong thunderstorms ripping through my location right now but that didn't stop me for prepping for a flight this week

 

[Steve Langford]

Keep us updated.

 

[Learning2Fly]

Right on!
Do you have any other mods i.e.; GPS upgrade or WiFi upgrades? I'm thinking of getting one of these FPVLR antenna but I'm just curious how it alone improves distance. I've already have an mRo GPS enroute but I'm on the fence about the WiFi cards and how much they are needed ?

 

[dirtyvu]

I feel the GPS upgrade is a must because of how long the Solo can take to lock on to the satellites with the standard GPS, especially if you're taking your drone to so many different locations.

The FPVLR antennas are terrific but very line-of-sight. So if you live in a place with a lot of elevations or trees or buildings, you're going to have a hard time maintaining line of sight unless you can get on top of one of those buildings or on top of the mountain/hill. Also, if I fly over my head, I have to basically point the controller upward which is awkward. Before people say that I shouldn't have to, I have gotten disconnections while flying above me.

I have ordered the WiFi upgrade. What I'm hoping is that the video is more stable with the WiFi upgrade because I had always thought that the regardless of the connection to the drone controller, that the GoPro videos would be unaffected by disconnections. That the recording would continue regardless of the connection. But I found that was not the case on a number of occasions.

 

[jerryn]

It does not take long at all for my Solo to see 11 satellites. I live in a rural location in the north east. The r/c club I belong to has an airfield on a farm, near an estuary and a few miles from the shore.
I get a GPS fix in less than a minute.

 

[jerryn]

Right on!
Do you have any other mods i.e.; GPS upgrade or WiFi upgrades? I'm thinking of getting one of these FPVLR antenna but I'm just curious how it alone improves distance. I've already have an mRo GPS enroute but I'm on the fence about the WiFi cards and how much they are needed ?

The stock GPS works for me. I fly near the coastline out of an r/c club's airfield I get a GPS fix in 30seconds.

I just got home from flying. I didn't have my sons to be my spotter today so I did not fly out until I lost video
I flew out 4600 feet. I couldn't see the Solo got close to the coast.
When I have a spotter I plan on flying out until I loose video.
I was 4600 ft out, 400 ft elevation.
So far the biggest bang for the buck is the Alfa paddle antennas. 2200ft out and only $20.00
I could not reach the coastline with those.
I think it will be possible with the FPVLR antenna. Alfa makes a 9.1 db omnidirectional antenna I am going to try that next.

So far the mods are just the antenna and a vinyl skin so I don't get my Solo confused with my oldest son's or my friend's. Solo.

I hope to have an ultra bright search light led by Fall.

 

[jerryn]

Here's photos from the first flight with the FPLVR antenna. It increased range significantly, but it's highly directional. It helps if you have a spotter. I didn't and it was tricky to keep the antenna pointed dead on when my visual on the aircraft was just a fuzzy spec in the sky. In between watching the video feed in and looking at that spec in the sky to aim the antenna is tricky but I'm sure it's a skill that will develop. I used the signal strength meter to help as well. Maybe when I have OpenSolo on the
bird I'll have the signal level displayed in dB rather than bars. Here's some photos from today. As you can tell from my videos I posted. I got out further than my usual flights. It's because my confidence level was high, signal was strong.
When one of my sons or a BCRCC club member can spot for me I'll fly further out. My goal is to at least reach the whitcaps you see out in the ocean in this photo


Here's a photo of the Solo facing me from the above waypoint. To get an approximation of where I am, look at the water tower, look a little lower and a little to the left, see the bright white rectangle ( in front of the dark object that's slightly to the left) I am located there. I'm just about 1 mile away.

 

[jerryn]

Right on!
Do you have any other mods i.e.; GPS upgrade or WiFi upgrades? I'm thinking of getting one of these FPVLR antenna but I'm just curious how it alone improves distance. I've already have an mRo GPS enroute but I'm on the fence about the WiFi cards and how much they are needed ?

Here's the video taken with the first flight using the FPVLR antenna.

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[dirtyvu]

yeah, I think it's because you live in a rural flatland area with a lot of open space.

Trying living in the Southern California area with rolling hills, tall buildings and skyscrapers, 10 million people with a zillion wifi connections, tall vegetation, etc.

 

[BillHally101]

Nice flight you have to be pleased with the results of that antenna.

Bill

 

[jerryn]

yeah, I think it's because you live in a rural flatland area with a lot of open space.

Trying living in the Southern California area with rolling hills, tall buildings and skyscrapers, 10 million people with a zillion wifi connections, tall vegetation, etc.

I live near the coastline in a suburban/rural area. There's rolling hills, but no skyscrapers, no tall buildings, and a lot less people than in Southern California. The cornfield at the farm I fly out of should be reaching peak height soon. It'll be interesting to see if that has an affect on the GPS signal.

 

[jerryn]

Nice flight you have to be pleased with the results of that antenna.

Bill

Yes I am. I am hoping to have at least two spotters next time I fly.

 

[Learning2Fly]

yeah, I think it's because you live in a rural flatland area with a lot of open space.

Trying living in the Southern California area with rolling hills, tall buildings and skyscrapers, 10 million people with a zillion wifi connections, tall vegetation, etc.

Dirtyvu I just got my Solo and haven't got it up in the air yet(kinda nervous to be honest) but I too live in the city and wonder what type of signal strength and range will I have ?!?! ... can you share your experience ?

 

[jerryn]

I am.

 

[Vegasrobbi]

I've flown the stock, Alpha and FPVLR's with my Solo. The stock antennas have the least range, Alpha's about 20% more range than stock and the FPVLR's the most range.

The stock antenna is the least directional but only good to 4-500 feet in the city. I fly in a park surrounded by medical buildings bombarded with signals. The Alfa's get about 20% more range but you need to aim the panels properly.

My FPVLR's are impressive, I've had them 1,000 feet out in the city no problem; again they are directional but seem more forgiving than the Alpha's.

I normally shoot in the desert and use my FPVLR's exclusively. I regularly fly 1/2 mile out with full bars. When I orbit my vehicle that far out rssi drops when Solo is behind me so I aim the antennas at Solo and rssi comes back.

After hundreds of flights my FPVLR's never let me down, never had a disconnect and video feed is solid. If really far out or flying through trees a get slight screen freeze but its minor.

 

[jerryn]

I live in a rural location in Southeastern Ma.
I had my solo out 4600ft with 2bars of signal strength left.
I only did a RTL because I could barely see the Solo and I didn't have a spotter.

Next test is going to be with the 9db Alfa onmi antennas

What kind of range do you get in the desert with the FPLVR ?

 

[dirtyvu]

I'm fully maxing out my Solo. I actually have a pair of Solo drones as well as multiple spare parts (a third gimbal, multiple batteries, etc.).

I have the FPVLR antennas. I upgraded the GPS. I'm upgrading the Wifi. I'm getting the amplifiers with battery. It's not that I plan on going to extreme range. I just want to minimize all the possible things that can get in the way of a good flight. I've had so many hiccups of all varieties with various trips that I decided to just upgrade everything. I also picked up filters for the GoPro.

And I'm hoping to get some good FPV goggles that work well with the Solo. Really hard to find good info because everyone with a Solo are using very low end equipment or skipping FPV goggles altogether..

 

[dirtyvu]

Dirtyvu I just got my Solo and haven't got it up in the air yet(kinda nervous to be honest) but I too live in the city and wonder what type of signal strength and range will I have ?!?! ... can you share your experience ?

you'll get a good experience even if you just upgrade the FPVLR antennas. all the other upgrades will enhance your experience but aren't necessary. But the more you fly and the more you try to do different things, the more you'll experience problems. but play around before you upgrade all the parts.

 

[jerryn]

The reason why I don't use goggles is because my Google Nexus 6p with a sunshade works fine for me. Besides legally if you are flying fpv with goggles, you need a dedicated spotter. With my setup I can use fpv and keep a visual on the solo. I didnt upgrade my wifi.I just upgraded to the FPVLR antenna and got
4600ft out without a spotter and 2bars of signal. With a spotter I could go out farther.
I don't need to upgrade wifi because my distance limitation now is now battery life. It's not a real limitation because legally if you can't see your aircraft with your eyes then you are in violation and subject to fines and penalties. Check out my latest video I shot using the FPVLR and no spotter. 1mile is pretty far for tracking an object the size of the 3dr solo

Be selective where you launch from. You need a wide open field for a good GPS fix no matter what GPS guided drone you fly. I wouldn't bother upgrading the wifi. The FPVLR antenna alone makes a huge difference. If the wifi signal is too strong you could cause interference with GPS.
Also 1watt at 2.4ghz near your eyeballs isn't healthy.

For the best flight experience I recommend joining the AMA, join a local club. You will gain access to some great airfields
That's what I did when I learned I couldn't fly out of RI State parks anymore.

 

[dirtyvu]

that's some good advice...

as for me, living in a dense urban jungle, it's not exactly practical to drive far to go to wide open spaces. So I'm compensating through technology to work with the environment I live in.

And while flat farmland may be interesting to many, I'd rather travel to more exotic places with more exotic terrain. Or take advantage of the living, exciting nature of the urban jungle.