Longer Antennas for Spektrum Satellite?

[NorcoT]

I have a Spektrum AR8000 Rx with spektrum RX Sat on my 250. The issue I have is that the Sat antennas are rather obstructed by the carbon frame. When I range check from certain angles I only get about 20 to 25m from the model as opposed to the recommended 30m by Spektrum. Pretty sure that this is to do with the carbon shielding the antennas.

I have reasonable soldering skills (I can do the general soldering for my Quads and down to the header pins on the FC - smallest i';ve done), does anyone know if I can change out the short antennas on the satellite for longer ones?

And where will I get suitable longer antennas from? Obviously ones with the correct unshielded length for a 2.4ghz Rx.

Ideally I want about 100mm or so length so I can stick them out the top of the 250 using some plastic tube as support. This way they can be unobstructed from all angles.

[iam4208]

That seems a bit drastic!

Have you definitely bound the rx and tx with the satellite connected and are the base unit and satellite on opposite sides of the quad with the antenna protruding from the frame as far as possible?

I had to move the base unit to one side of the frame when I placed it on the underside of the top plate and it';s been okay so far.

[NorcoT]

That seems a bit drastic!

Maybe you';re right, just exploring the options.

Rx is definitely bound with sat attached, in fact i';ve heard the AR8000 doesn';t actually work without the sat attached. My Rx is sitting on the bottom deck on the rear with the antenna sticking out the back, the sat is currently attached to the underside of the top deck as far forward as I could get (limited by the length of the sat wire) with the antennas sticking out about 10-15mm on each side and are also 90deg to the plane of the main Rx antenna. The sat is currently siting in the center of the frame so each antenna is only just sticking.

I will maybe try a longer satellite wire first and see if I can position the sat right up front on the lower side of the quad so that the antennas are still visible nose in and pitched nose down.

[jamesb72]

25M on a range test should be more than enough for a 250 quad

I';ve put longer antenna on all in one modules before, using cheap wire just ground the outer and strip last 31.25mm, I just strip the end with a knife and then trim accurately afterwards, I stuck a video up showing this on the 350QX, you could do the same with a sat you just need to find a ground point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCH6sw9X1Ws

I bought nintendo DSi internal wifi wire on ebay for 99p delivered, the wire it came on is perfect for cutting down for this. You can easily get a couple of antennas (and practice runs) from one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/REPLACEMENT-INNER-WIFI-INTERNAL-CABLE-ANTENNA-AERIAL-MODULE-FOR-NINTENDO-DSI-/170791157582?hash=item27c3f23f4e

[NorcoT]

Thanks james will take a look. 25m range check should be ok. I only got 15m from the orangerx, that fell out of the sky when it hit 250m. I wont really fly more than that tbh but its more peace of mind more than anything else.

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[DVM]

You can use this (or similar):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-COAX-ANTENNA-U-FL-JUMPER-CABLE-MINI-PCI-WIFI-LONG-/350288304395?hash=item518ecf590b

Cut the ends off, strip the insulation to suit 2.4GHz and solder the other end to the Rx PCB (make sure you connect both the core to the signal pad and the shield to ground)

[NorcoT]

I also see that you can buy frsky rx replacement antennas for cheap off HK, looks like the unahielded bit shoul already be the xorrect length. Could i just cut the rx sode connector off it and strip it back / solder to the spektrum sat?

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[DVM]

Could i just cut the rx sode connector off it and strip it back / solder to the spektrum sat?

Yes, make the strip back as short as possible and be quick with your iron. The insulator in the coax can melt and that will spoil your day