5.8GHZ, 1.3GHZ and DJI Digital Comparison (at Lake George)

[@dumitrumalai4114]

Thank you for sharing this experience, it definitely makes a difference in me choosing the appropriate system for my build.

[@jedidiahsmith3]

Thanks for the great comparison that far out between the three. Really helpful for my next build. :)

[@ZaksterBlue]

It's a pretty noisy environment to test in. A 1.3g ground station would have gotten the others away for sure if you're aiming for long range.

[@ber0006]

Awesome spot to fly stumbled across this location last time I was driving though Canberra and managed to get the ar wing up just before sunset. Going to be trying 1.3 soon so good to see some comparisons.

[@HaukLanglo]

Great video. Never used anything but 1.3, but a comparison like this was really nice. Also good to see that the Matek VTX works well. About to use it in an AR-Wing Pro

[@ZaksterBlue]

If I'd invested in 1.3g earlier and built a portable GS I could strap to the backpack I may have stuck with analogue a while longer (or run both).

[@HaukLanglo]

@@ZaksterBlue The HD looks amazing. Guess there is no way back from that :)

[@ZaksterBlue]

@@HaukLanglo exactly. 😀

[@undeze]

I like how you show the goggles you’re using and aircraft you’re flying in the inserts at top left and top right of the video. I’m still using analog gear but I think I’ll be splashing out on digital fpv gear very soon! Thanks

[@ZaksterBlue]

Digital let's you enjoy the detail in the scenery while you're flying. Definitely worth it. Many more options these days!

[@oneistar6661]

Hey nice comparison, Thank you. I did yesterday 14km on DJI fpv with iFlightHD patch on 700mw. So not bad for the quality you get.

[@ZaksterBlue]

Wow, that's great! Must be really low noise floor as I've had dropout by 12.5km a few times now, and a long scary recovery period.

[@joslinnick]

I flew an old FPV wing in North Carolina where there are lots of trees and easily obscured lines of sight. The video signal was atrocious. I should have tried to set it up with 1.3 GHz, but I didn't really know what I was doing back then.

[@ZaksterBlue]

Digital video does pretty well with patch antennas, but yeah - if you are flying on the fringes of line-of-sight coverage, not much will beat 1.3G on a ground station.

[@grim-upnorth]

I'm in a similar situation right now myself. I have some planes on 5.8 and 1 on 1.3 at the moment. I also have DJI Digital system on the way. Good comparison 👍

[@grim-upnorth]

I even have the same three aircraft. My Reptile Dragon is on 5.8, Mini Talon is on 1.3 and my Dart XL is currently empty, having been gutted of all its components over a year ago. Maybe I'll put the DJI digital system on that

[@helmuthuneke1775]

i fly dji since a year and my analog quads catching dust, just started with wings... ordered the dolphin kit ...happy flying

[@ZaksterBlue]

Yes, no one wants to go back to analogue! The dolphin is excellent, enjoy!

[@Athaprat]

Really good! Thank you man!

[@MrStorm-tp6mq]

Cant beat digital. I abandoned all analog the second i got my first air unit. Now I have also been using hdzero for low latency but thats more important with the quads I fly I feel. Thanks for the vids bruv

[@ZaksterBlue]

Same, all analogue kit was gone within weeks. :)

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

Was thinking getting a 1.3ghz for rc car and/or 10" quad for long range. 1.3ghz 800mw should get out further than 2w 5.8ghz granted 5.8ghz has alot of small easy to wear patches available. Right now my tank has 5.8ghz 3w vtx and my long range drones are dji might switch one to walksnail for on board recording

[@ZaksterBlue]

Wow, 3W! You must need a whole lot of penetration where you drive the tank! I think you need a ground station with decent antennas to make the most of 1.3G.

[@permanentlygrounded7770]

I never had any luck on 5.8 without bad breakup. I love the 1.3 mateks vtx though. Small and runs cool. Never looked back after I used 1.3. I use it with crossfire as well, and dragonlink 915. Haven't upgrade anything to digital yet.

[@ZaksterBlue]

I used to get much better 5.8 performance, but I think more RF noise (wifi etc) is impacting on it now, in combination with vtx quality/component matching getting more variable.

[@selfish1716]

I am trying matek with crossfire but cant get further then 2km

[@blackterminal]

Do you need a filter on vtx on the plane?

[@fpvbomber]

@@blackterminal voltage filter ? What kind of filter?

[@micsherwood4930]

IMO, your analog signals get nasty due to temperature inversions that gets established along the perimeter of the lake. Id be interested to see results when there is no significant inversion.

[@Indonesia01ian]

Hi Can you share more information regarding to the VRX and antenna in the ground station? Currently I am using 5.8G VTX AKk race ranger 1.6W and ORT Pagoda as the antenna in my plane For the ground station, I use diversity module DIY with ORT Patch Feeder I want to increase my Video Range Thank you

[@ZaksterBlue]

Hi, I didn't use ground stations - just crosshair antennas on goggles on 5.8g, so can't really make recommendations sorry. How much range are you getting now? You could consider switching to a 1.2/1.3ghz setup for longer range on analogue, or the Walksnail system on digital.

[@WheelzTV]

Very new to the FPV world, going with Nebula Pro and DJI Goggles V2 on my Dolphin. I've watched many of your videos when you've overlayed the goggle view, or like this one where it's all goggle, and all it ever shows is "Delay", "Voltage" and "Bitrate". I'm going with F722-WPX and I-Nav, do you actually see much more info in the goggles like on the other 2 comparisons, or like I do in my DJI FPV Drone? I'm still in the process of installing all my equipment, so haven't gotten to programming or testing anything... but was just curious. Thanks, and even though I know very little about any of the 3 systems, it looks like a very informative video.

[@ZaksterBlue]

Hi! Yes, there is plenty of telemetry data while you fly DJI digital using iNav. Arrow and distance to home, GPS coords, speed, altitude, volts, amps, efficiency, etc... nothing important is missing. Just a shame DJI haven't enabled a way to record this extra data. I've not tried using some of the other tools to overlay telemetry data on videos yet - there's a gopro GPS data overlay tool / recording blackbox data on an SD card (if your FC has a slot) / or even recording on your radio if you are using a telemetry link like crossfire (I don't).

[@ErronKebabb]

Exactly the informations i was wondering about! I'll be diving into adding FPV systems to my favorite airframes soon and am torn between 1.3 and digital.. Im still split tit for tat its a dead heat! Really nicely directed video, though! It looks like 1.3 will give more range especially if optimized with ground station antena tracking, but the range comparrioson of digital is what i hadn't heard anyone talk about, and what i was looking to learn! Good point i tik you meant that when the latency goes too low and signal drops it could be more sudden that analog? Like analog will slowly fuzz more until total drop, where digital will suddntly drop its clear image to nothing? Thank you !

[@ZaksterBlue]

There is no comparison with a analogue ground station for sheer distance. It's really a decision on whether image quality/immersion within 10km is more important or not. I decided it was as I'm generally pulled up on the side of a lake or river to fly. And yes, the DJI Digital will cut off as soon as latency is too high at around 12-14km and you can be faced with a couple of terrifying minutes of no video before it reconnects if the area you are in has a high noise floor. Thankfully rare.

[@thefirm9679]

Good Video

[@sherwoodp2738]

It would be a lot nicer to have the telemetry data on the recording should you need to perform any post-flight diagnostics or find your aircraft should it go down.

[@ZaksterBlue]

Absolutely. The later digital systems apparently support this. I've switched to ELRS which gives me telemetry to the radio for essential info, including airspeed, altitude, GPS data, in case I lose video.

[@Chris-vc1dh]

What video system do you think is best for fpv car?

[@ZaksterBlue]

For short range penetration behind trees, dirt, buildings, etc, I think DJI is still the king. The best FPV image quality is a bonus. But you have to keep the VTX unit cool, either in airflow or put a small fan on it. Otherwise anything else will work as you don't normally drive RC vehicles that far away.

[@lucasvanhamburg4937]

what about long range?

[@ZaksterBlue]

@@lucasvanhamburg4937 maintaining line of sight the 1.3ghz would win for range using similar gain antennas. Not sure how that would go if you were driving into a forest with obstacles... again using similar gain antennas to the digital goggles to keep it fair. I'd guess that 1.3ghz would get a little further.

[@lucasvanhamburg4937]

@@ZaksterBlue thanks man

[@ADF_Cable]

Thanks for the video! Which is your most efficient flyer? Im trying to get as efficient as possible for distance. Cheers

[@ZaksterBlue]

The AtomRC Dolphin. Kept light it can cruise on 2.5a. It can be balanced with a 4s2p (6-7a) ion pack if you don't put a HD camera in the nose. Cruising at around 4a, that would be a lot of endurance!

[@Enz5623]

Did you use any notch filters for 1.3? Interference from control link could be the problem

[@ZaksterBlue]

Yes, a 1.3/2.4 notch filter was installed.

[@JD_1]

Great Comparison! Been waiting to see this. As you know I'm the 5.8ghz King, Lol. But the dji has given me some interest. Question: Once you hit 12.5k the signal goes completely out... Can you add some type of more directional antenna to go further?

[@ZaksterBlue]

No unfortunately. Once the two way telemetry latency is impacted by sheer distance, that's that. And you can have a long scary wait for it to recover, sometimes minutes of screen saver.

[@JD_1]

@@ZaksterBlue yikes! Thanks for the info Brother. I think I will leave the dji setup alone.

[@camus83489]

did the dji digital have a better camera? or is digital video transmission just so much better?

[@ZaksterBlue]

Digital provides HD with very little glitching out to 5+ km. There's no comparison for image quality.

[@EnglishTurbines]

Of course, had you been using Dipoles and a directional VRX antenna on 1.2G, it would have been a different story.. The other Elephant in the room is your DJI system running at 1200mw?... Hard to imagine how you have a lousy noise floor in the middle of nowhere though..?🤔🤔🤔🇬🇧

[@ZaksterBlue]

The point for me, as always, was to see what could be achieved from stuff that fit in my regular backpack.

[@ZaksterBlue]

There are transmission towers on both sides of the lake spewing out the pulsing noise here.

[@EnglishTurbines]

@@ZaksterBlue Yes, I can imagine..So, you have to hike it to get up on that ridge launch point..? .It's a high vantage point,and explains why you don't need much altitude, even 10kms out...Shame about the Towers, I bet they are directional beam transmitters of some kind maybe...🤔🇬🇧

[@marcellowithtwols]

Thanks for the great vid! One question I had, sorry if you already went over it. How much more range can you get out of 5.8 digital vs 1.3 analog? It seems like you could go really far with the digital system, but I guess I'm wondering about your max range. Thanks!

[@ZaksterBlue]

Current DJI (V1/V2 goggles) are limited to 13.3km range regardless of how much signal you have - it's programmed in. Other digital systems may not have this software limit, and we're yet to see the results of the new DJI goggles 2 and v3 vtx. Wes Varty recently posted his Walksnail digital range test and it got to 31km using massive (ridiculous) antennas on his goggles. So at this point, it's possible to push both analogue and digital to 30km or more, if you are willing to use large directional antennas. The antennas on 1.3ghz are already large, so this normally means a ground station setup... but you then could go for extreme range, 50+ km. Digital will provide a better HD image and experience, so it depends what you are willing to invest in. I like a light goggle solution and am okay with a 13km range, so the DJI kit I tested in this video are still all I use two years on.

[@blackterminal]

​@@ZaksterBlue artificial programmed limits disgust me. Thumbs down to dji. At least leak a way to hack it.

[@jailbirdcoin-to-the-moon]

so this is exactly what you see as well?

[@ZaksterBlue]

Hi, the digital feed? Yes, more or less. The live feed to goggles actually looks a bit sharper than the compressed recording. This video is all DJI video feed if you want to see more: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaGUlXalnbR-gck

[@bn880]

You shouldn't be including the DJI footage if you're not going to do the same flightpath. just weird

[@Bishop-FPV]

Excellent comparison. Can you use 1.3 on digital ? Regards.

[@ZaksterBlue]

Thanks! DJI use dual-band 5.8/2.4 only for their camera drone. 5.8G only for the FPV kit. I don't think anyone else is using lower frequencies yet - Orqa are hinting at developing 2.4 and 5G, but not ready yet.

[@dronetechtoday]

holy shit man i live in lake george and build drones hit me up!!!!

[@ZaksterBlue]

Hi, we fly fixed wing around the fringes of Canberra. What are you flying?

[@blackterminal]

If you switch to digital you switch to a light wallet

[@ZaksterBlue]

For sure. However, for the superior visibility and immersion in flight, still totally worth it for me. 🙂