How to extend range on the Solo

[Gunter Harald]

I have seen a few range extension kits out there, but when I realized the antennas can just be screwed off I wondered wether it was possible to just buy higher gain antennas (2.4 or 5GHz) from amazon fro a fraction of the price that the kits cost. Does anyone know if this is possible, and if not what would be the best option fro me to get more range out of it (especially in urban areas).

 

[erikgraham]

I have seen a few range extension kits out there, but when I realized the antennas can just be screwed off I wondered wether it was possible to just buy higher gain antennas (2.4 or 5GHz) from amazon fro a fraction of the price that the kits cost. Does anyone know if this is possible, and if not what would be the best option fro me to get more range out of it (especially in urban areas).

Yes it is possible, and I'm sure someone will come along who can suggest a specific model. I think Alfas are popular. But in the end, it seems like most folks end up using the FPVLRs. I don't use them since I'm happy with the 1 or 2 kilometers I get with the stock antennas, but I fly in remote areas with no wifi interference.

 

[Gunter Harald]

Yes it is possible, and I'm sure someone will come along who can suggest a specific model. I think Alfas are popular. But in the end, it seems like most folks end up using the FPVLRs. I don't use them since I'm happy with the 1 or 2 kilometers I get with the stock antennas, but I fly in remote areas with no wifi interference.

Awesome thanks! The only question left is with the fpvlr kit they talk about standard and amplified. what exactly does that 'amplified' mean?

 

[erikgraham]

Awesome thanks! The only question left is with the fpvlr kit they talk about standard and amplified. what exactly does that 'amplified' mean?

Basically it adds a little battery to amplify the signal.

 

[Danbo]

I run the FPVLR's and I love them. If I don't need the distance, I run without the amps. But yesterday I ran with the amps and got out 4000 feet at 350 feet altitude in a seriously WiFi interference prone city. I'm sure they would get out much farther in an open area.

Check out the video: FPVLR distance test part 1
FPVLR distance test part 2

Oh yea, if you do buy the amp kit, they will come with antennas. Those antennas on the amps will get out pretty good too. Not as good as the amplified FPVLR but double or better then the stock ones. I picked up a couple of long antennas and tried them, but the ones that came with the amps did better. On a comparison note, in the city, the amplified antennas did as well as an un-amplified FPVLR.
Best bang for the buck: amps with FPVLR. Can't beat em. Oh yea, these are of course my opinions on testing I have done.

 

[Gunter Harald]

Basically it adds a little battery to amplify the signal.

And how is that done?

 

[erikgraham]

And how is that done?

Uh. Are you asking what amplification means? I guess I don't understand the question.

 

[Danbo]

And how is that done?

The battery powers the 2 amps. Did you read my other post? Amps boost the signal and get powered by a battery.

 

[Gunter Harald]

The battery powers the 2 amps. Did you read my other post? Amps boost the signal and get powered by a battery.

right, so does it automatically amp the signal?

 

[Danbo]

right, so does it automatically amp the signal?

Yes.....the battery has a switch on it. Just switch it on and boom.....tons of signal.

 

[Joe Horn]

Yes.....the battery has a switch on it. Just switch it on and boom.....tons of signal.

Be careful! Using "tons of signal" is dangerous! Since e=mc^2, tons of signal will instantly turn the antennae (and everything else within a few miles) into superheated plasma, thus voiding the warranty, and probably worsening our public relations problem. <tongue firmly ensconced in cheek>

 

[Vegasrobbi]

I'm curious to know how Lightbridge gets such distance without killing your neighbors Netflix?

 

[Jun Mangahas]

I run the FPVLR's and I love them. If I don't need the distance, I run without the amps. But yesterday I ran with the amps and got out 4000 feet at 350 feet altitude in a seriously WiFi interference prone city. I'm sure they would get out much farther in an open area.

Check out the video: FPVLR distance test part 1
FPVLR distance test part 2

Oh yea, if you do buy the amp kit, they will come with antennas. Those antennas on the amps will get out pretty good too. Not as good as the amplified FPVLR but double or better then the stock ones. I picked up a couple of long antennas and tried them, but the ones that came with the amps did better. On a comparison note, in the city, the amplified antennas did as well as an un-amplified FPVLR.
Best bang for the buck: amps with FPVLR. Can't beat em. Oh yea, these are of course my opinions on testing I have done.

Hi Danbo,
You can probably double that range if you set up your amps with attenuators. Your FPVLR directional antenna upgrade will do fine as long as there is no amps between them and is "DIRECTED" at your quad. Turn your back towards your SOLO from a good distance and your SOLO will lose the communication between your TX and it will RTH (hopefully) . You have been lucky with your amps on it but I will bet you your amp and antenna combo is not properly matched without an attenuator between the amp and TX. You will need an SWR meter to prove a match.

I have another thread asking for SOLO owners what they have done to match their boosted set up with the SOLO's TX and so far no one has reported. I will say you have been lucky you have not dropped your bird yet with an unproven or un-matched boosted signal.

Here is my link to that thread. I would like to hear from your experience. How is your distance with the Sunhan WiFi Amp? | 3D Robotics Drone Forum .

 

[erikgraham]

Hi Danbo,
You can probably double that range if you set up your amps with attenuators. Your FPVLR directional antenna upgrade will do fine as long as there is no amps between them and is "DIRECTED" at your quad. Turn your back towards your SOLO from a good distance and your SOLO will lose the communication between your TX and it will RTH (hopefully) . You have been lucky with your amps on it but I will bet you your amp and antenna combo is not properly matched without an attenuator between the amp and TX. You will need an SWR meter to prove a match.

I have another thread asking for SOLO owners what they have done to match their boosted set up with the SOLO's TX and so far no one has reported. I will say you have been lucky you have not dropped your bird yet with an unproven or un-matched boosted signal.

Here is my link to that thread. I would like to hear from your experience. How is your distance with the Sunhan WiFi Amp? | 3D Robotics Drone Forum .

FPVLR sells the amp with the antenna kit... so one would assume they are properly attenuated. It's just an assumption - I don't own the product, but I've perused the website. As you point out, they are directional, but I think the angle is wide enough that there is a fair amount of wiggle room. I fly stock antennas because 1km is enough distance for me, and because I prefer omni directional. Having said that, I will likely get the fpvlrs at some point for cases where I need to "punch" through foliage more reliably. An issue I have with the fpvlrs is that it seems to me they should be matched on the drone itself, but people are getting very good results, so it's probably worth it.

 

[Jun Mangahas]

FPVLR sells the amp with the antenna kit... so one would assume they are properly attenuated. It's just an assumption - I don't own the product, but I've perused the website. As you point out, they are directional, but I think the angle is wide enough that there is a fair amount of wiggle room. I fly stock antennas because 1km is enough distance for me, and because I prefer omni directional. Having said that, I will likely get the fpvlrs at some point for cases where I need to "punch" through foliage more reliably. An issue I have with the fpvlrs is that it seems to me they should be matched on the drone itself, but people are getting very good results, so it's probably worth it.

If you are going for distance then it is worth it but if you fly within line of sight then stick with the stock antennas without the amps. Yes the site does sell the amps but no it not going to be a proper match.
Imagine this;
Stock antenna is match with the TX's output at 100% to the RX = Very good
Upgraded antenna (only) will match with the TX's output at 100% to the RX = Very good
TX's output at 100% x 3 W of boosted signal to the RX = Amplified distorted signal is a disaster waiting to happen.
TX + proper "ATTENUATOR" to decrease the SOLO's TX output without distorting its signal x 3 W of boosted signal to the RX = Better coverage or distance with stock or directional antennas or the combination of both antennas.

 

[Danbo]

Hi Danbo,
You can probably double that range if you set up your amps with attenuators. Your FPVLR directional antenna upgrade will do fine as long as there is no amps between them and is "DIRECTED" at your quad. Turn your back towards your SOLO from a good distance and your SOLO will lose the communication between your TX and it will RTH (hopefully) . You have been lucky with your amps on it but I will bet you your amp and antenna combo is not properly matched without an attenuator between the amp and TX. You will need an SWR meter to prove a match.

I have another thread asking for SOLO owners what they have done to match their boosted set up with the SOLO's TX and so far no one has reported. I will say you have been lucky you have not dropped your bird yet with an unproven or un-matched boosted signal.

Here is my link to that thread. I would like to hear from your experience. How is your distance with the Sunhan WiFi Amp? | 3D Robotics Drone Forum .

Hey Jun,
I have read your post on attenuators. Very interesting. At some point I will probably get a SW meter to check it out. For now I can say that with my "home testing" I've come up with plenty of distance for my needs. Almost a mile in the city isn't bad. That is with the amplified FPVLR. I also ran the omnidirectional antennas that came with the amps. They did fairly well too. About 3000 feet in the city. I understand that the FPVLR is directional and I believe the angle of the beam coverage is 60 degrees. I'm looking to punch through the local WiFi interference which is what I managed to do. So, my distance needs are met and I have a choice as to whether to go omni or directional with my antennas. I appreciate the info. Love learning new things. Winter just hit New Hampshire and I'm sure I won't be doing as much flying. I also have a very heavy work load the next couple of months. I will be following the thread though and see what people say. I don't feel "unlucky" that my bird hasn't dropped out of the sky. I push the limits till RTH kicks in and then take control after re-acquisition of my signal. I can say this, my distance and signal strength are better with the amps then without.

 

[Danbo]

FPVLR sells the amp with the antenna kit... so one would assume they are properly attenuated. It's just an assumption - I don't own the product, but I've perused the website. As you point out, they are directional, but I think the angle is wide enough that there is a fair amount of wiggle room. I fly stock antennas because 1km is enough distance for me, and because I prefer omni directional. Having said that, I will likely get the fpvlrs at some point for cases where I need to "punch" through foliage more reliably. An issue I have with the fpvlrs is that it seems to me they should be matched on the drone itself, but people are getting very good results, so it's probably worth it.

Erik,
I agree that omni is great for most needs. I find the FPVLR to be great at punching through local interference. I believe some people are actually modding the bird for even more distance. All I can say is in a city with tons of interference, I could only get 900 feet and 300 feet of altitude with the stock antennas. I didn't expect the 1/2 mile distance that 3DR mentions in their ad. I AM a realist. I've had the Solo out to 4500 feet and an altitude of 800 feet in the city with the amplified FPVLR. The amplified Omni antennas that came with the amps got me 3000 feet at 500 foot altitude. I can say I'm happy with my bird.

 

[erikgraham]

If you are going for distance then it is worth it but if you fly within line of sight then stick with the stock antennas without the amps. Yes the site does sell the amps but no it not going to be a proper match.
Imagine this;
Stock antenna is match with the TX's output at 100% to the RX = Very good
Upgraded antenna (only) will match with the TX's output at 100% to the RX = Very good
TX's output at 100% x 3 W of boosted signal to the RX = Amplified distorted signal is a disaster waiting to happen.
TX + proper "ATTENUATOR" to decrease the SOLO's TX output without distorting its signal x 3 W of boosted signal to the RX = Better coverage or distance with stock or directional antennas or the combination of both antennas.

Again, I don't own the FPVLR antennas, but it sounds like you are ASSUMING the amp kit does not include proper attenuation. Do you actually know this to be a fact? Have you researched the product?

 

[erikgraham]

Erik,
I agree that omni is great for most needs. I find the FPVLR to be great at punching through local interference. I believe some people are actually modding the bird for even more distance. All I can say is in a city with tons of interference, I could only get 900 feet and 300 feet of altitude with the stock antennas. I didn't expect the 1/2 mile distance that 3DR mentions in their ad. I AM a realist. I've had the Solo out to 4500 feet and an altitude of 800 feet in the city with the amplified FPVLR. The amplified Omni antennas that came with the amps got me 3000 feet at 500 foot altitude. I can say I'm happy with my bird.

I'm lucky in so far as I pretty much only fly in regions that are so remote that there is no wifi interference. (Unfortunately that also means I often find myself in places with no cell coverage either, which means I can't pull up the map in the Solo app or in Tower unless I pre-cache, which I never remember to do ;-).

 

[Jun Mangahas]

Again, I don't own the FPVLR antennas, but it sounds like you are ASSUMING the amp kit does not include proper attenuation. Do you actually know this to be a fact? Have you researched the product?

NO sir I am not assuming. No sir the amp does not come with an Attenuator or attenuated. Yes I have and yes I did.

I used my Taranis with a built in SWR meter. See link to thread below. How is your distance with the Sunhan WiFi Amp? | 3D Robotics Drone Forum .