Antenna placement and interference

D

donandtheresa

Member
I am in the process of putting together my first FPV/telemetry quad and have a few concerns about antennas. I am using the APM 2.6, ublox GPS,3DR 915 MHz telemetry, Futaba 2.4GHz tx/rx, and 3DR 5.8GHz fpv. My question is will the GPS,Telemetry,Futaba 2.4 rx, and FPV interfere with each other. I currently have all three on top of my quad about 6 inches apart with the gps inbetween them, and the futaba rx about the middle. Is there a general rule of thumb as far as how to mount these concerning how close they are together? I have attached a pic of the layout. I do have the GPS mounted at top between the telemetry and fpv. I can mount it higher above them if needed. I guess what I am asking is how I need to have them positioned, such as GPS above the rest? farther aprt? some mounted with antenna facing down instead of up for more clearance between them? will the frame construction interefere with signals? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Don
 

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JoeBob

JoeBob

Elevation via Flatulation
I'm interested in this subject, too.
Is antenna separation just total distance?
Is vertical separation (GPS up on top, Video Tx down below) more useful than horizontal separation (Video Tx out on an arm)?

Thanks,
JoeBob
 

jbrumberg

jbrumberg

Member
http://vimeo.com/8826952

I do not know if this is helpful to you or not as it applies more to the challenges of Tx-Rx reception challenges, but it has been floating around this site. And FYI CF material is opaque to radio signal especially the 2.4GHz frequency.
 
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Motopreserve

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
Wish those guys over at the other forum had shown some photos. They certainly would be worth 1000 words in this case.
 

CdA D

CdA D

Member
I keep my GPS above all else. The 2.4 ghz should not interfere with the 5.8 ghz. I also position my antenna down and as low as I can on the aircraft so as to have a better line of sight between my Tx/Rx. I'm not sure if the frame will have an interference factor. Good luck.
 

chipwich

chipwich

Member
donandtheresa said:
I am in the process of putting together my first FPV/telemetry quad and have a few concerns about antennas. I am using the APM 2.6, ublox GPS,3DR 915 MHz telemetry, Futaba 2.4GHz tx/rx, and 3DR 5.8GHz fpv. My question is will the GPS,Telemetry,Futaba 2.4 rx, and FPV interfere with each other. I currently have all three on top of my quad about 6 inches apart with the gps inbetween them, and the futaba rx about the middle. Is there a general rule of thumb as far as how to mount these concerning how close they are together? I have attached a pic of the layout. I do have the GPS mounted at top between the telemetry and fpv. I can mount it higher above them if needed. I guess what I am asking is how I need to have them positioned, such as GPS above the rest? farther aprt? some mounted with antenna facing down instead of up for more clearance between them? will the frame construction interefere with signals? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Don
Click to expand...

My .02 after only flying FPV for a year...

Your setup looks fine, and in general, there shouldn't be any problems with the equipment that you've chosen. There are not really any general rules other than not running VTX and RC on the same frequency, keep the GPS as far away from everything else and with a clear view to the sky. A lot of folks also keep the VTX and RC as far away as possible, and some some cameras do emit RF. Unfortunately or fortunately , depending on your point of view, a lot of your success will depend on testing and trying different setups and/or equipment. Part of the hobby, and what is fine for others might not be satisfactory for you. But that looks like a good start.

Your placement a lot of times is compromised by how much space that you have, what kind of flying that you do, and what frequencies you use. For instance, I mount 5.8 VTX antennas on the bottom since they tend to be LOS and your VRX (you) will be under the aircraft. Look for the iBcrazy and flite test videos on YouTube to learn more about which radios and antennas to use. Having an observer will keep you from stepping in dog poo or loosing your aircraft to a tree or power line. Once you get the hang of things, it's a heck of a lot of fun.
 
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