Impressive long range test 🏆🤙. Thanks for all your efforts and explanation. Encourages me to keep my analog gear and improve step by step … Best greetings, MOG 😎👋👋
Thanks bud, appreciate the comment and support. Analog can still be fun, especially when pushing the limits! (This is HDZero in this video to be clear though). Cheers!
Thanks, definitely a great test environment here. Just hoping my videos are helpful and entertaining to other folks in the hobby. Appreciate the comment and support as always, cheers!
Great video. Interesting to find out you have interference with the crossfire. I have interference with GPS reception. So much that it is unflyable. Have you done anything about it as I can see you have a solid GPS signal from many satellites
Thank you, appreciate the comment and support. I have since switched to ELRS and I’m getting much better performance for some reason, and less interference. The ELRS is 2.4ghz and only running at 100mW, versus my CRSF setup which was 900mhz at 1000mW. Regarding GPS I initially had issues getting satellites and sometimes they would completely disappear mid-flight. I don’t really know what I did, but one day I went into BF and set the GPS Baud Rate to Auto and suddenly/ever since I’ve had no problems with GPS! So weird… but easy to try, I’ve mentioned to others and they said it helped as well. Give it a try and let me know. Often when I power the quad up I unplug my HDZero Freestyle VTX, simply so it doesn’t heat up if I take too long getting ready, could try that too.
Great range!!! With two directive antennas (patch+helical) on the VRX and an Albatros long on the VTX I can barely get to 2.7km with a lot of interference :( even with 1.6w of power.. do you have any advice for me?
@@DroneVisionIT well, you must have clear line of sight (LOS); meaning nothing (trees, building, power lines) between you and the drone. If you have clear LOS, try different channels, generally VTXs output the most power on lower channels like “R1” and the least power on higher channels like “R8”. So I always use “R1”. Antennas are sensitive, if you’ve ever crashed the quad the Albatross might not work as well as it should, and if you’re using a UFL to SMA Pigtail connector those fail often. Try replacing both. Which VTX/VRX are you using? Do you have any DVR footage to share?
@@DroneVisionIT I just watched a video and noticed both your FPV feed and Control link signal were struggling. So it could have been some “environmental RF noise” causing interference. With directional antennas “head/antenna aiming” is extremely important, seems obvious but I’ve seen people looking at the ground while using directional antennas… Have you had any success or updates?
@@GiantAntCowboy yeah, I managed to get to over 3km being careful to keep my head and antennas facing the drone. I had to go back because the lipo was running out of power
Thank you for the great content! What's the benefit of 5 turns vs 7 turns? I see a lot of models on thingiverse are 5 but you seem to use 7. Is 7 better?
Appreciate the comment. Simply put a 7-turn antenna will have more total range but the total beam width will be narrower which will require better aiming. Both work very well at 5-6km, after which the 7-turn will start to perform better. So it really depends on your goals and flight path. You could also make and run both, I’ve done that in the past. Will you use these antennas on HDZero?
@@GiantAntCowboy That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the informative response! I haven't made the upgrade to HDZero yet, this is my first Quad and its purely analog. Goggles I'm using are ev800dm with stock antennas.
@@MrElemem Happy to help. Lots to learn in this hobby, and that’s part of the fun. These antennas work great on analog as well, and will be a fantastic upgrade to your current antennas. Not sure if you’ve seen my Helical DIY video yet, but it starts out showing my analog system using these antennas. (th-cam.com/video/TS4fYcT3DEE/w-d-xo.html) Before these antennas i could barely go 1-2km… it was a major break through and I still use them today! You’re next step will be bigger batteries, so eventually check out my Li-Ion DIY! Always something to do next! 👍
@@GiantAntCowboy I'll definitely have a look at those videos thanks! My quad is a 4" that I can easily get over 12 minutes of cruising on a 1100mah 4s pack. It's sold as a long range setup but the vtx is definitely holding it back. I have a TBS unify pro32 hv on the way that should really help get things moving, and now thanks to your videos, that VTX signal should be easily captured by my goggles! It is such a fun hobby, and what a great community around it!
@@GiantAntCowboy Your thingy-verse model is set to 12 mm. So I just wanted to know before I print if it was a mistake, or if the 10.4 was the mistake. I will just shrink it, thanks.
Yea, I knew this comment was coming. Haha! Really there’s no definition for long-range, I once heard anything beyond 5km… Ultimately this setup with standard Omni antennas is only good for about 2-3km, so going 7km feels pretty long-range. Also my quads would never make it 15km and back… i guess it’s time for a wing build. Thanks for watching, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy dude from radfpv , or something like that , had longrange.. he fly to mountains on 7" quad. but of couse it on analog, dji and orca cant do video link on that distance
@@GiantAntCowboy … in most comments which I get people are surprised when you go further than 3 km … but of course that’s nothing for the wing-pilots 😂😉
Theoretically yes. In fact one guy I know turned off Telemetry to reduce interference, I don’t think that’s the right solution though as I depend on telemetry. However the interference issue I have seems related to the Transmitter proximity to my VRX antennas and as I mentioned in this video it’s much worse with the helical antennas.
Yup, helical antennas and awesome, I use them for all my longer range flights. FalconRad flys analog, I made this video to demonstrate a simple antenna upgrade for HDZero users. Thanks for watching and commenting, cheers!
You know, it’s funny I’ve been talking to the VAS team over the last couple weeks about a couple different antenna setups. VAS as an antenna company is great, they test and tune each antenna before shipping, and have a solid history of solid products. BUT, How do their antennas compare to helicals? That depends on which antenna you mean. VAS actually still sells helical antennas which I assume are very good, certainly better than my amateur guess work. And they also have an antenna called the Avenger which I literally just asked about and was told it’s basically meant to replace the high gain helicals. So I’m actually hoping to do some testing with that antenna soon, as well as a high gain Omni they have. It probably won’t be for a couple weeks because shipping to Norway is always slow and then I spend too much time making each of these videos… but I’ll try to share anything I learn. Cheers bud!
Hello, can you maybe provide more insight about how to deal with this Crossfire interference ? I'm having the same issue, but with cheap goggles EV800dm. When the receiver switches to the helical only, I get 3 big horizontal lines in my feed. Any more tips on how to deal with that ?
@@GiantAntCowboy 7 turns, second one made. I'm pretty sure it's really well made. No problem with the stock antennas but I really really want to use the helical. No problems with the stock antennas :| Maybe I should test the helical with someone else's goggles. Just wondering if you can provide more resolves as you are having the same issues, but better VRX :D
@@filipmaftei7264 yup, did you see the part of the video where I explain wavelengths vs antenna length? Basically a 7-turn helical can have two modes, working as a 5.8ghz Helical and a 900mhz dipole. One thing to try would be to shorten/cut the helical a turn or two. This would make it less likely to receiver 900mhz interference. Test: Power up your setup using only the helical, walk into another part of the house with the transmitter and goggles. Put the transmitter in front of the helical and see if you get interference. Then trim the helical down and re-test until it gets better. This test is best performed with low VTX power and high CRSF power to simulate a long-range situation. Let me know if you do this and how it works out.
@@filipmaftei7264 cool, the video just visually explains it better than I can here in text. Not sure how far your fly, but even 5-turn helicals work great out 6km+, and they have a wider beam which is nice. Post an update if you figure out anything, good to share this sort of information. 👍
For the money there is no comparison to these DIY helical antennas; that’s really the point of this video. However I’m curious to see if professional Crosshair antennas will have more consistent signal with less noise and interference. Thanks for watching and stay tuned, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy i ve spent so much money on all these fancy antennas thinking that is dificult to get right a helical diy antenna. will try to make one as i own a 3d printer and come back with some comparison against top range antennas.
I don’t know if you saw my DIY Helical video yet, (Here: th-cam.com/video/TS4fYcT3DEE/w-d-xo.html) But the whole point is that you don’t need to be very accurate or even use decent parts to build an awesome antenna. My first ones were just random parts from the trash… and I was exceeding 6km no problem and with great signal. I’m sure you’ll have no issues making one and you’ll be impressed; if not you didn’t lose much time or money…
@@ridewithandrei I’ve made 5 with nothing more than a ruler, and I’m sure they’re not perfect but I regularly fly 6-7km (as you saw here) with strong enough signal. p.s. I see you’re a Motorcycle/Ducati guy. Cheers! I have one of the last air cooled 900ss’ from 2001, and a handful of other bikes. That’s actually where the “GiantAntCowboy” name originated… i lived in 2-wheels for years, didn’t even own a car.
oooooo I like the teasers for the upcoming videos! Looks like i'll have to press the bell icon
Woah, “The Bell”, nice! Appreciate the dedication and support, cheers!
Impressive long range test 🏆🤙. Thanks for all your efforts and explanation. Encourages me to keep my analog gear and improve step by step … Best greetings, MOG 😎👋👋
Thanks bud, appreciate the comment and support. Analog can still be fun, especially when pushing the limits! (This is HDZero in this video to be clear though). Cheers!
Awesome video.
Keep on living your dreams.
Regards from South Africa 🇿🇦
Thanks man, appreciate the support as always. Cheers from Norway 🇳🇴
Love your long range Videos! Very exited for the next Videos.
Thank you, happy to share my tests and findings, and hopefully provide a few minutes of entertainment. Cheers!
I'm looking forward to the x2-air comparison
Yea, that’ll be interesting for sure. Excited to start that test.
Very impressive what an amazing place to fly great info video 😊👍
Thanks, definitely a great test environment here. Just hoping my videos are helpful and entertaining to other folks in the hobby. Appreciate the comment and support as always, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy very helpful and always entertaining 😊
Nice cruise and great edit
Thanks, appreciate the comment. It’s a nice mountain run for testing, stay tuned for the follow up video. Cheers!
Great video. Interesting to find out you have interference with the crossfire. I have interference with GPS reception. So much that it is unflyable. Have you done anything about it as I can see you have a solid GPS signal from many satellites
Thank you, appreciate the comment and support. I have since switched to ELRS and I’m getting much better performance for some reason, and less interference. The ELRS is 2.4ghz and only running at 100mW, versus my CRSF setup which was 900mhz at 1000mW.
Regarding GPS I initially had issues getting satellites and sometimes they would completely disappear mid-flight.
I don’t really know what I did, but one day I went into BF and set the GPS Baud Rate to Auto and suddenly/ever since I’ve had no problems with GPS! So weird… but easy to try, I’ve mentioned to others and they said it helped as well.
Give it a try and let me know. Often when I power the quad up I unplug my HDZero Freestyle VTX, simply so it doesn’t heat up if I take too long getting ready, could try that too.
So cool, as always
Thanks, appreciate it
looking forward to the battery test
Glad to hear that, I’ll try to finish it up this week. Thanks for watching and commenting, cheers!
Amazing content, super super helful! Thank you!!
Thanks, glad to hear and happy to help. Stay tuned, cheers!
Great range!!! With two directive antennas (patch+helical) on the VRX and an Albatros long on the VTX I can barely get to 2.7km with a lot of interference :( even with 1.6w of power.. do you have any advice for me?
@@DroneVisionIT well, you must have clear line of sight (LOS); meaning nothing (trees, building, power lines) between you and the drone.
If you have clear LOS, try different channels, generally VTXs output the most power on lower channels like “R1” and the least power on higher channels like “R8”. So I always use “R1”.
Antennas are sensitive, if you’ve ever crashed the quad the Albatross might not work as well as it should, and if you’re using a UFL to SMA Pigtail connector those fail often. Try replacing both.
Which VTX/VRX are you using? Do you have any DVR footage to share?
@@GiantAntCowboy I had a clear line of sight :( you can see It in my last video.. i dont know what to do..
@@DroneVisionIT I just watched a video and noticed both your FPV feed and Control link signal were struggling. So it could have been some “environmental RF noise” causing interference.
With directional antennas “head/antenna aiming” is extremely important, seems obvious but I’ve seen people looking at the ground while using directional antennas…
Have you had any success or updates?
@@GiantAntCowboy yeah, I managed to get to over 3km being careful to keep my head and antennas facing the drone. I had to go back because the lipo was running out of power
Looking to your crosshair vs test. I usually default to TrueRC for everything and support my compatriot, but I do like to tinker 😁
Yea TrueRC is great, but you can never go wrong with some DIY helicals! Stay tuned though, I’m currently testing and editing. Cheers!
Awesome place to fly.
For sure, perfect environment and scenery for this sort of hobby. Cheers!
wow wonderful Video,
Hey thanks man, appreciate the comment, stay tuned, cheers!
what a great success!
Yea, pretty impressive for such a cheap and easy setup! Thanks for watching, stay tuned!
@@GiantAntCowboy yes, and I can't wait for the next one
Thank you for the great content! What's the benefit of 5 turns vs 7 turns? I see a lot of models on thingiverse are 5 but you seem to use 7. Is 7 better?
Appreciate the comment. Simply put a 7-turn antenna will have more total range but the total beam width will be narrower which will require better aiming. Both work very well at 5-6km, after which the 7-turn will start to perform better. So it really depends on your goals and flight path. You could also make and run both, I’ve done that in the past. Will you use these antennas on HDZero?
@@GiantAntCowboy That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the informative response! I haven't made the upgrade to HDZero yet, this is my first Quad and its purely analog. Goggles I'm using are ev800dm with stock antennas.
@@MrElemem Happy to help. Lots to learn in this hobby, and that’s part of the fun. These antennas work great on analog as well, and will be a fantastic upgrade to your current antennas. Not sure if you’ve seen my Helical DIY video yet, but it starts out showing my analog system using these antennas. (th-cam.com/video/TS4fYcT3DEE/w-d-xo.html) Before these antennas i could barely go 1-2km… it was a major break through and I still use them today! You’re next step will be bigger batteries, so eventually check out my Li-Ion DIY! Always something to do next! 👍
@@GiantAntCowboy I'll definitely have a look at those videos thanks! My quad is a 4" that I can easily get over 12 minutes of cruising on a 1100mah 4s pack. It's sold as a long range setup but the vtx is definitely holding it back. I have a TBS unify pro32 hv on the way that should really help get things moving, and now thanks to your videos, that VTX signal should be easily captured by my goggles! It is such a fun hobby, and what a great community around it!
Why did you change your design spacing from 10.4 to 12? Wasn't 10,4 more accurate?
@@thesouthwestern did I saw 12mm somewhere? My most recent builds use approximately 10.4mm spacing.
Let me know, appreciate the comment!
@@GiantAntCowboy Your thingy-verse model is set to 12 mm.
So I just wanted to know before I print if it was a mistake, or if the 10.4 was the mistake. I will just shrink it, thanks.
i always think, that "longrange" it is more than 15+ km. or maybe 25+km.
less than 10km its normal for any basic drone. so i am wrong?
Yea, I knew this comment was coming. Haha! Really there’s no definition for long-range, I once heard anything beyond 5km… Ultimately this setup with standard Omni antennas is only good for about 2-3km, so going 7km feels pretty long-range. Also my quads would never make it 15km and back… i guess it’s time for a wing build. Thanks for watching, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy dude from radfpv , or something like that , had longrange.. he fly to mountains on 7" quad. but of couse it on analog, dji and orca cant do video link on that distance
There really isn’t going to be many people going 15km out with a drone. I definitely think 7+ km is LR as far as drones are concerned.
@@kevcdrone Yea, it’s all relative I guess… I consider jogging a mile “long-range”, meanwhile other people are running full marathons for fun!
@@GiantAntCowboy … in most comments which I get people are surprised when you go further than 3 km … but of course that’s nothing for the wing-pilots 😂😉
So, if 915 and/or 868 cause interference, would the crossfire nano pro RX also induce more interference on the VRX on 500mW telemetry?
Theoretically yes. In fact one guy I know turned off Telemetry to reduce interference, I don’t think that’s the right solution though as I depend on telemetry.
However the interference issue I have seems related to the Transmitter proximity to my VRX antennas and as I mentioned in this video it’s much worse with the helical antennas.
FalconRad is doing 12 km with these antennas.
Yup, helical antennas and awesome, I use them for all my longer range flights. FalconRad flys analog, I made this video to demonstrate a simple antenna upgrade for HDZero users. Thanks for watching and commenting, cheers!
what you thinks about VAS antennas compared to helicals?
You know, it’s funny I’ve been talking to the VAS team over the last couple weeks about a couple different antenna setups. VAS as an antenna company is great, they test and tune each antenna before shipping, and have a solid history of solid products.
BUT, How do their antennas compare to helicals? That depends on which antenna you mean. VAS actually still sells helical antennas which I assume are very good, certainly better than my amateur guess work. And they also have an antenna called the Avenger which I literally just asked about and was told it’s basically meant to replace the high gain helicals. So I’m actually hoping to do some testing with that antenna soon, as well as a high gain Omni they have. It probably won’t be for a couple weeks because shipping to Norway is always slow and then I spend too much time making each of these videos… but I’ll try to share anything I learn. Cheers bud!
@@GiantAntCowboy Thaaanks!
Hello, can you maybe provide more insight about how to deal with this Crossfire interference ? I'm having the same issue, but with cheap goggles EV800dm. When the receiver switches to the helical only, I get 3 big horizontal lines in my feed. Any more tips on how to deal with that ?
How many turns is the helical? Is it diy or store bought?
@@GiantAntCowboy 7 turns, second one made. I'm pretty sure it's really well made. No problem with the stock antennas but I really really want to use the helical. No problems with the stock antennas :| Maybe I should test the helical with someone else's goggles. Just wondering if you can provide more resolves as you are having the same issues, but better VRX :D
@@filipmaftei7264 yup, did you see the part of the video where I explain wavelengths vs antenna length? Basically a 7-turn helical can have two modes, working as a 5.8ghz Helical and a 900mhz dipole. One thing to try would be to shorten/cut the helical a turn or two. This would make it less likely to receiver 900mhz interference.
Test: Power up your setup using only the helical, walk into another part of the house with the transmitter and goggles. Put the transmitter in front of the helical and see if you get interference. Then trim the helical down and re-test until it gets better. This test is best performed with low VTX power and high CRSF power to simulate a long-range situation. Let me know if you do this and how it works out.
Saw all the video, just didn't want to cut loops until I am positive it's the last chance. Will do these tests. Thank you a lot !
@@filipmaftei7264 cool, the video just visually explains it better than I can here in text. Not sure how far your fly, but even 5-turn helicals work great out 6km+, and they have a wider beam which is nice. Post an update if you figure out anything, good to share this sort of information. 👍
Good job 👍 so I’m working on a new concept and I want to talk to you in private if possible .
Thanks.
Thanks! If you use Discord, I’m on the “HDZero Community” channel, or try my Instagram/Reddit accounts. Cheers!
60$ antennas are a waste
For the money there is no comparison to these DIY helical antennas; that’s really the point of this video. However I’m curious to see if professional Crosshair antennas will have more consistent signal with less noise and interference. Thanks for watching and stay tuned, cheers!
@@GiantAntCowboy i ve spent so much money on all these fancy antennas thinking that is dificult to get right a helical diy antenna. will try to make one as i own a 3d printer and come back with some comparison against top range antennas.
I don’t know if you saw my DIY Helical video yet, (Here: th-cam.com/video/TS4fYcT3DEE/w-d-xo.html)
But the whole point is that you don’t need to be very accurate or even use decent parts to build an awesome antenna. My first ones were just random parts from the trash… and I was exceeding 6km no problem and with great signal.
I’m sure you’ll have no issues making one and you’ll be impressed; if not you didn’t lose much time or money…
@@GiantAntCowboy i ve seen various diy clips about helical antennas but i got told it s hard to calibrate it. will give it a try
@@ridewithandrei I’ve made 5 with nothing more than a ruler, and I’m sure they’re not perfect but I regularly fly 6-7km (as you saw here) with strong enough signal.
p.s. I see you’re a Motorcycle/Ducati guy. Cheers! I have one of the last air cooled 900ss’ from 2001, and a handful of other bikes. That’s actually where the “GiantAntCowboy” name originated… i lived in 2-wheels for years, didn’t even own a car.