$50 radio 5km out to sea?!!

[@iforce2d]

Looks like the Eachine monitor lets you select a specific antenna and I had it set to antenna A, what a dummy. I vaguely recall noticing that when I first got this monitor, I would have immediately set it to diversity because there's usually no good reason for any other mode. I definitely remember seeing it switching between antennas at some point, but that was quite a while ago and I hardly ever use it. So I guess somewhere along the line that setting got changed - maybe when my little nephew was using it last week. Yes, FBWB with a low-altitude limit means even a 5 year old newbie can have fun with a fast plane and not cause the plane owner any stress :)

[@sammy5576]

do you know of any fpv / drone clubs in nz

[@blackhd92]

@Koa Stefan ,Dont think anyone cares....

[@shatterpointgames]

Video title: 5km Actual range: 11 KM This is how you under promise and how you are never accused of click bait.

[@aadharshj10]

WHAT DO U MEAN?

[@Twin_Flyer]

A great video and explanations of how it was done! Have to say I'm impressed how far a cheap radio worked.

[@tabdougherty8549]

Really hope FLYSKY has sent you the the top of the line radio from every line they sell. Because you have done more for their sales then the ad department for Flysky for sure. I own two of these radios because of your vids. I upgraded to a Taranis because of fail-safes due to no warning on OSD at the time anyway, not sure if they have fixed it yet.

[@s4rg380]

To prove your point, I want to get me a FS-6X, was sceptical, but I am impressed that it got past 1000m. Being such a cost effective "entry level" radio. I want to get into RC, but need to fiddle with sims before I commit.

[@mikerhodes9198]

I have been out of RC for many years but when saw the price and your use of the Banggood TX my interest was peaked. A am very impressed with the design of your experiment. I thought I was looking at many hundreds of dollars for a new TX as my old one was crap. Leave it to the engineers of Bangggood to produce what we need for another excellent price. Anyway, I have subscribed to your channel. Wish I lived there as have always thought about immigrating there when I was younger. Now 71, I just dream about it. Best wishes from Ft. Worth, Texas and looking forward to more of your videos.

[@djsavage2421]

Thank you so much for this video! I’m an avid flyer that started out many many years ago and just recently got back into it because of my grandson! We both have the same radio as yours and I’m grateful that you showed that this radio can be set up to do fail safe with an airplane! And I mind blown this thing actually traveled over 6 miles before it lost signal that is very very far! Keep up the good work I would love to see more of your technological breakthroughs with regards to model airplanes.

[@iforce2d]

The radio is not doing the failsafe, it's the autopilot doing that.

[@k1ortia]

theres nothing out thre that touches this radio for the price. still got my first fsi6...now an fsi6x, bloody amazing range and features for the price

[@RCwithAdam1]

Thanks for testing the Flysky i6X! I really like mine! For what it is (a budget radio), it's a great radio. (for me flying out to 1k is a LONG ways!)

[@lasersbee]

Nice detailed explanation and range test. It has been a while.

[@JohnFHendry]

12:28 This difference in direction regarding the distance away from home till signal loss phenomenon needs further testing as I recently observed the same thing testing a 2.4ghz radio going through power output settings and it was consistent and happening under completely different RF conditions but the same ratio was noted it seems. What I noticed was as if there was glue on the signal keeping itself attached to the RX but after distance broke the initial constant connection to the RX it became intermittent returning in the return to home direction and I didn't get the signal back well and I remember thinking on the first low Mw output setting jezz this is about a 25% difference relative to each direction where the distance gained got pushed back about 25%. I had the RX on a thin low density RF friendly foam board with a bubble level meter to keep the antennas in a fixed position with my body kept on the same side in both directions, a 6.6v Life battery feeding a switching 5v regulator set at fixed distance to the RX to add it's RF noise to the servo's as is most common in my setups, and two weights on a string to keep the RX antennas at the same height above the ground as the TX was set up at which was height I hold the TX at LOS standing, and check the RX reception at a lower height which makes a surprising difference and showed the RX put just one foot lower at range could lose the signal and not get it back at that height so wonder if the pitching up and down you mentioned had affected your altitude enough to take it out if the fresnel zone. But at that distance in a vast open ideal RF area the huge difference in control range relative to direction should not have occured due to altitude or antenna placement nor moving off to one side slightly on the return leg of the flight. I noticed keeping the RX height constant and antennas level, with my body to the same side holding the RX antenna board, that with each Mw power increase where the increase moving away gave me say a 100 ft gain.. after losing the signal it did not become solid again until perhaps as much as 50ft back returning in the other direction connected to the exponential curve of RF range gained from higher Mw settings as if the increase in power output was reduced moving back towards it consistent with the exponential gain from increasing TX power output settings. Because the point of losing reception was so wide I determined the range testing was flawed for comparing components and was being affected by RF noise perhaps and just a rough estimate of limited value the way I was doing it... but seeing this video makes me want to redo the measurements and see if the first failsafe in one direction is consistent which I marked off to test different TXs. Will use GPS and Google next time and take better notes as going away seemed like a more consistent and measurable distance than the return measurements contradicting the out bound measurements I assumed would be the same. I wish you had just turned around and keep the same return path, but at that distance out over the ocean unless you really moved off to one side or up and down in height the extreme difference in RF reception directions noted should not be caused by that, nor your antenna placement as this phenomenon seems to be more than antenna placement. I always favor return home placement of antennas and this video shows why that's so important, but it may show something else to look for as your setup favors RTH reception IMO. Normally I'd say you GPS was causing this but after seeing this happen on multiple range tests myself I'm baffled by what caused your extreme loss in control range on return to home. Like you said you are an an area that eliminates other 2.4 Ghz RF unless some HAM operator is jamming the frequency and even that should have the same effect in both directions. 17:08 is a possibility I suppose but doubt he noticed your plane and was broadcasting on your frequency. At any rate I've noticed good reception going out to a rather defined distance but after the failsafe not as good coming back so something to look for and see if it happens before getting to that point of failsafe and will test for that next time using different RX's and TX's to try and isolate the observation. Been right in the middle of changing gear and doing LOS range tests where I fly and was disappointed by my results to compare RF modules so really glad you posted this this as going out failsafe happened as expected, but RTH performance was not defined by showing the same type of range reduction... thanks.

29:00 I soldered a miniUSB connector to my FlySky i6 transmitter for power. It's really convenient, USB powerbanks are easy to charge and if you don't have one, you can use OTG on your phone. You can also keep them warm in your pocket. I've found that NiMH's voltage sags significantly in cold weather.

[@derdrolftesinn]

Have this Transmitter too and the range is great! Very nice Radio

[@jackhammell1926]

10k before first fs! Did not expect that! Wow! The best use that I’ve found for the aomway helical is hangin on the wall in the man cave, cuz it looks cool. The VAS helical rocks. And u rock, thanx for the vid.

[@Migueldeservantes]

Just incredible how far you can go when you don't have to compete against any other floor noise rf..... I have a hard time making it any farther than 5 miles with a high power VHF... but there is tons of people using the same frequencies....Great Job...

[@georgedowning1803]

Put a great big yagi and 2w booster on the flysky and see how far you can get!!

[@iforce2d]

lol it might not come back :)

[@MrFrobbo]

Dead birds.....

[@sakibian01]

Holy flysky! I'm not gonna sale/giveaway my one ever after watching this

[@timvukman4734]

Thankyou. That was most helpful. I'm all out for range so this applies quite well.

[@iforce2d]

If you want serious range you'd probably be better of with a lower frequency like 900MHz, or maybe a bit better spec 2.4GHz like the FrSky Taranis.

[@karendavis6838]

I really like the stand/holder you made. I use a mobility scooter and have been wondering how to mount my transmitters to the scooter. Now I know!

[@groundzonepilot7536]

I'm not surprised at all. Fly Sky is my first radio and it proved to be just awesome in the past 2-3 years now.

[@cutefoxRC]

Oh, but i'm surprised pretty much about such good range! I heard some people were saying FlySky is not so good radio and failsave kicks around 500 meters even.

[@groundzonepilot7536]

@@cutefoxRC To be honest with you, I had a misfortune and lost the signal at about 300-400m and sadly lost a very expensive drone. I never found it :( But that's part of this hobby. Anyway, I will always love FlySky, my first radio :))

[@cutefoxRC]

@@groundzonepilot7536 oh, wow, do you know what caused such failure on such short distance? I guess this radio is very vunlerable to interferences? Also, is there any warning about bad signal, or it's silent always?

[@groundzonepilot7536]

cute fox there is a radio tower nearby, I assumed it was the cause, but not sure honestly. You do have an “signal strenght indicator” on the radio, but I was using FPV goggles and couldn’t see it on my radio. It was a sad day really lol 😂

[@skyvidznz3544]

Informative perhaps just a wee bit long . But very very interesting . Nice you also showed and explained the gear and your opinion / experiences /thoughts . A great flight with the safe return of your aircraft .. Nice work Chris.

[@MasboyRC]

Nice video, thanks for explain and presentations. Appreciate it 👍

[@jeffvenable3845]

Really interesting! Thank you and great details so i can get parts too.

[@s4rg380]

But the radio is rated for 300-600m? Damn, I'm even more impressed... They call it a budget radio.

[@Mansare94]

Interference on the 2.4 band is massive though so being where he is it's not surprising that it gets a lot further away.

[@s4rg380]

@@Mansare94 In all honesty, at that price point, even reaching the claimed range is kind of impressive. Not mentioning that it comes bundled with a receiver, which places the radio in an even lower price bracket should that $10 be discounted. But I get what you are saying. I'm out in the middle of nowhere myself, so very little WiFi routers, cordless phones, microwaves and mobile service provider masts that could cause interference. Amazing bang for the bucks, nonetheless...

[@rc-hobby250]

Great video, I hope some day you could explain the setup of the omnibus and arduplane (mission planner) so I can set it up for my plane.

[@iforce2d]

Plenty of videos about that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqi6anaXh9GdY7c Maybe see the "setup steps for flying wing" one.

[@sayedmuhammadidrees1453]

that is exactly i wanted to test but i didn't have enough resources to go safe. Thanks Bruh,, you'r awesome

[@iforce2d]

Keep in mind it will not work so well in a city.

[@sayedmuhammadidrees1453]

@@iforce2d Got it... Thanks man..

[@RobisonRacing68]

The little bit at the end was nice Chris... :) I have one of those Flysky radios too and for cheap, it's damn solid. I also have the same monitor. I wasn't real impressed with the receiver sensitivity but it's nice for watching when the FC is booting up and catching satellites instead of taking goggles off and on. Nice flight! I enjoyed that! Keep 'em coming. It's winter here. Had our first snow already. I need entertainment. LOL!

[@DoRC]

The monitor stayed on channel a because you have that channel selected. (i have the same monitor and can see it on the osd at 14:28) . The monitor lets you choose channel a, b or diversity. If it doesnt say diversity in the upper left you arent using it.

[@iforce2d]

oh shit... I didn't even know that, now I look stupid.

[@DoRC]

@@iforce2d no worries. The only reason I keyed in on it was I did the exact same thing when I got mine.

[@hippopotamus86]

Diversity sure would flip quite a bit when it is near.

[@martinbabl1635]

Really awesome experiment! As for the up and down motion of the plane: Two things are happening, the first is that the aircraft tries to keep a set altitude of 100m and secondly it is trying to maintain a fixed airspeed. When the altitude is to high the controller pitches the aircraft down and lowers the altitude but thereby it increases the speed. Now the speed is too fast and it tries to reduce the speed by pitching the aircraft up which causes it to increase in altitude. From what I understand you should be able to get away without using an airspeed sensor and just rely on the IMU and the GPS in order to estimate your airspeed. What could help is adding an airspeed sensor to get the actual aircraft airspeed. Anyway, you make really awesome videos and have gotten me to invest in a flying wing.

[@iforce2d]

I think Arduplane is smarter than that, otherwise all my planes would have this problem. I figured it out later, the throttle slew speed was set too slow, meaning the autopilot could not adjust the throttle position very quickly.

[@GiBBO5700]

Actually really good mate. Thanks for that

[@tjones99]

Your video has gotten a lot of views really quickly and I have to say it is well deserved. great video. I really like the full explanation of all the gear used and the links. Thanks for taking the time to post the video. learned a lot and that will help on a variety of my projects that include drones and remote controlled cameras etc. Too bad that micro whip antenna for 915MHz is discontinued, I really like the look of that one. Anyways, thanks for sharing. Oh and the bit about the diversity receiver... won't say I have ever done that... not CAN'T say I have ever done that... WON'T say... :-)

[@KevinGenus]

Love those cows on approach!

[@SteveWrightNZ]

You can re-use old wifi dish antennas and use those little antennas as feeds. Any modern wifi gear has pretty insane antennas, especially the outdoor stuff.

[@MrFrobbo]

Really interesting video, thanks Chris. I'm a big fan of the ia6 so am always interested in your videos featuring this radio. In terms of batteries, three reasons to avoid AAs and use Lithium Iron LiFe (not polymer LiPo), 1. Avoids oxidation of the AA cell caps which can lead to poor connection and radio drop out. 2. Self discharge, LiFe remains charged for years, NiMh will self discharge within weeks. 3. LiFe can be fully discharged without penalty. Really interested in Ardu Pilot and all the associated electronics so thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the next instalment. Thanks again.

[@iforce2d]

NiMH can also be fully discharged without penalty, no? Maybe not entirely undamaged, but better compared to a lipo. Personally I fly a couple of times a week at least so self-discharge is not a concern. I don't get why the chemistry inside the battery affects oxidation of the terminals...

[@CozzyKnowsBest]

Love it, that was ballsy. The antenna is (I think) a spiral antenna like the Axii/ Truerc singularity range.

[@didactylos4diddy474]

A very good test. The _effective_ control range seems about right to me as with exactly the same Tx/Rx combination in a slightly less advantageous area the max range was about 2.7km at about the same AGL . It's a lot shorter in more populated areas though. The vertical "hunting" is quite curious but not being a ardupilot boffin my only suggestion would be a slight throttle speed increase in that mode (and that's probably wrong). Fascinating detail thanks

[@Mightymouserc]

I’ve had the fly sky radio for a couple years now and am pleased with the bang for the buck u get it is only 50 bucks but it does a nice job nothing fancy

[@MertUluc]

This was very interesting (also impressive and very informative) man, thanks for sharing! You've got a new subscriber :O)

[@itsme-tm4vd]

great job

[@itsme-tm4vd]

great video and explanations good advice.thank you

[@chlordk]

15:15 The horizon going up and down. There is an adjustment problem with the PID (proportional integral derivative) controller. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller

[@iforce2d]

Yes, I have written many PID controllers myself. Ardupilot has multiple PID loops all working together along with other factors that might influence this such as throttle slew and damping, the trick is to know which of them I might have missed in the 2 hours I have already spent twiddling with adjustments.

[@56thSPSk970]

Very interesting, great video I really learned some thing.

[@xjet]

What were all those surfers planning to do on such a callm day? (LOL)

[@iforce2d]

Yeah I was thinking that too, maybe they just go there every weekend regardless

[@quattro4468]

Get away from the wife.

[@samholdsworth420]

It's where boys go to gossip

[@Irigoyen4]

Hello. I live in a Canadian city....it looks much, much nicer there...especially the fact that all your water isn’t frozen.....:)

[@WX4CB]

i would suggest with regards to the porpoising, increase your cruise throttle

[@Ard1400]

Nice video with a lot of info. Thanks!

[@xjet]

The Aomway helicals (and patches) are indeed crap.

[@iforce2d]

I was just reminded that there is an 'input source' selection on that monitor which lets you use A, B, or diversity. And I had it on A..... genius.

[@toddhazell925]

G'day from across the pond. Premier or not, I choose what I want to watch. Awesome distance with your antennae like the way they were and in perfect no wind conditions, possibly expect longer flight distance fitted vertically.It would be interesting how far it will get when set up with diversity on and antennas vertical.

[@nicktwinn6760]

Great info and very entertaining too. The MT looks well dialed in for some distance flying. Shame you're not nearer us in Hawks Bay

[@stephengloor8451]

There is a throttle slew rate parameter or something. I don’t get that throttle pulsing on my Mini Talon. It is a quadplane so there are some differences. My ESC is mounted recessed in the top of the fuselage between the tail fins. Had to put it there otherwise is overheated after about 40km.

[@markgreco1962]

Thanks Chris

[@flightlieutenant6902]

Great Video mate 👍 Very helpful. Thanks

[@rodrigoperez258]

I have an rc sailboat, I want it to have a great range. Can you recommend a transmitter and receiver to achieve a very long range.

[@petertothRC-FPV]

Good show man.I am using same batteries for a couple years in my cloned FS-i6x. iRangeX what a great TX for $34 on sale came with a8s-rx.Never had failsafe with the ia6b.Where i fly my quadcopters really noise close to NYC.2 months flying FS-NV-14 Nirvana but still keep a few birds on my i6x love it.

[@noamamir0942]

Does the nv14 has a better reception than the fs i6x? I want to upgrade my cheap fs i6x to the nirvana

[@petertothRC-FPV]

I could not say for sure with Flysky Protocal but i think so.With Nirvana OpenTX you can use long range modules R9M & TBS Crossfire without mods.Just make sure you get full size modules with XT30 for external battery power source.

[@noamamir0942]

@@petertothRC-FPVthe only point of getting the nirvana is that I don't have to buy new receivers, I don't want to move away from flysky, and if I would go for long range I would buy the qx7s with R9 for like 175$ it's on sale currently

[@petertothRC-FPV]

I trust my Flysky receivers ia6b,ia6c most of all and held out a long time to upgrade my tx since they are that good.I just hope they can fix bugs that Flysky Nirvana has capability to be a top contender for FPV pilots.

[@danny.project]

works. nice

[@Manawyrm]

Nice to see someone else using Kdenlive for YT video editing :) Cool video!

[@wearemany73]

I believe the pulsing was caused by a mismatch in response time from your flight comp to your ESC. The ESC response time needs to be set to start immediately rather than what’s called a “soft start-up” or something on your ESC programming. (Experienced the same issue a little while back)

[@iforce2d]

Very good call. After thinking on this for a while I realized I had set the "slew rate" for the throttle to a fairly low value, instead of the default of 100%. The slew rate specifies how much the autopilot is allowed to change the throttle in one second. I think I had it at 50% so the outcome would be similar to what you are suggesting. Having said that though, I think the start-up time setting of the ESC applies only to starting from zero, rather than throttle adjustments after it's already spinning.

[@ReevansElectro]

Did you notice the little red pull tab on your monitor? That is there so that you can remove the manufacturer's protective cover for their assembly process. Remove the cover.

[@iforce2d]

Yes I noticed it about 2 seconds after I took it out of the box. It's like all the other screens of this type that I have, the colored tab is firmly stuck under the plastic frame and would require disassembly to pull out, and actually doesn't look like a protective covering either. But if it was, why would I want to remove it, I had not even noticed it while using the monitor for two years until you reminded me. I would rather it remains protected and with a slightly matte surface than a glossy shine, it's hard enough to see on a sunny day as it is.

[@ReevansElectro]

@@iforce2d I have the same unit and found it a bit difficult to remove the protective screen cover as the tab is slightly under the bezel. With a little effort though, I was able to remove it and was pleasantly surprised as to how good the screen looked.

[@paulsharpe3794]

Hi grate video again if you hot glue a peir of tie wraps vertically on the fuselage you can then fit the antennas on them. To get the best diversety put one the wrap across the bottom of the fuselage out to the side

[@grahamrdyer6322]

That rising and falling beyond horizontal maybe the sea doing the same and the plane is trying to copy of ? Just a thought. I just found your channel and I was impressed ... Just a bit more technical, I subscribed and I'll have a few video's to watch.

[@stustjohn]

Another great video. Thanks!

[@WX4CB]

as far as the esc, i mounted mine on the top between the V tail

[@electronic7979]

Excellent

[@rogeronslow1498]

Make yourself a 1.5m dish and use the circularly polarised antenna. Probably have to add a boresight to the dish for aiming. That will increase your range considerably.

[@jacktheninja]

or just use a 3g dongle on board.

[@pedrofdmp]

Regarding getting less control range on the way back. Think about a doughnut shaped radiation pattern around the receiver antenna. The doughnut is at an angle pointing to the ground when you look at it from the back of the airplane and pointing to the sky when you look at it from the front of the airplane, hence why you got less signal on the way back. This is more clear with the flysky because the receiver antennas are sleeved dipoles which create a flatter doughnut pattern than a sanders style antenna for example. Regarding the signal breakup on the monitor with the patch antenna. This is due that the patch antenna is not circular polarized, so it's not rejecting signal reflections from the ground. Regarding the monitor not switching to the helical antenna from the patch antenna. The patch antenna probably has higher gain than the helical one so the diversity receiver selects the one with the strongest signal. Strongest signal does not mean the best signal in this case, since the helical antenna even with a weaker signal would give you better video since it would reject the signal reflections from the ground and eliminate the breakups. Best would be to use only circular polarized antennas, imho.

[@TheClearchoice18]

I'm not sure I was wondering if you can do the same test but with crossfire

[@sayedmuhammadidrees1453]

you can modify the firmware on the flysky i6 transmitter. just to activate 10 channels for the controls

[@iforce2d]

yes kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5LNYYBoZp17ia8

[@reyniersnyman9536]

lovely video thank you

[@jamesceastep8874]

iforce2D: Your KZbin videos are the best! However, I don't see where you specified the receiver type for your FS-i6X transmitter. Was it a X6B? I have one and need tips on how to connect to the servos on a fixed wing (not multicopter) aircraft to the FS-X6B which has only single pin PWM outputs. Can you help? Thanks. Jim

[@iforce2d]

ia6b, I showed some of the setup near the end 26:36 Servos need a ground, positive voltage (usually 5v), and a signal pin. The first two are the same for all servos, and don't need to come from the receiver. Only the signal lines are unique for each servo. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJ67k6yCj6-kf80

[@JamesSleeman]

Take care to note that from that flying location, you are inside the 4k radius of Raglan

[@ishigamiyu1991]

Nice explanation

[@ishigamiyu1991]

buying this radio now lol

[@neail5466]

I dont understand why you kept the radio Tx vertically?? Otherwise very well explained and very informative... Thanks

[@iforce2d]

Which way should it be, and why?

[@neail5466]

@@iforce2d Hi, thanks for responding, i am not an expert in RF but , i understand you are trying to provide much of the horizontal component of the signal (from short antenna) In theory it may influential but the receivers are made to be hand held so if an angle could be provided it may result some different!! I am not sure .... Also you are flying a little higher for which i cant see any benefits of the horizontal component of the signal . As i heard i cant remember where ....these diversity antennas send the signal splitting the message in 2 separate channels so the divergence of the signals maybe a cause of the controlling hindrance you spoke of at the end of the video....if the controller unit could be held at an angle some of the reflected wave may compensate for the loss!!! What are your views??

[@arendmookhoek4314]

@@neail5466 flysky uses double antennas for the tx, so the orientation doesnt matter, its not the single antenna frsky stuff.

[@iforce2d]

There are two antennas in this radio, one in the little stub pointing upward and one horizontally across the handle. Both are sleeve monopole and radiate in a donut shape, so the strongest direction will be perpendicular to both, ie. the direction in which I sent the plane in this test. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopole_antenna#Radiation_pattern I was not really flying high, 60 meters up at 10,000 meters away is practically horizontal.

[@joe0932]

Nice flying location! The pitching oscillation might be to do with the altitude PIDs rather than the pitch PIDs? :D

[@jamalbarrow5815]

What type of battery were you using in the AC..... that’s awesome!!

[@iforce2d]

Lipo battery. Hour long flights are not uncommon for this size of plane, check this out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX2rXmSolr50bKM

[@angelofmusic477]

My flysky fs th9x has only 200m on the ground and so is my friend Th9x... is even shorter with original antenna and receiver.. In the air the range will extend. In addition, some Tx module of same model gives over 400m on the ground. It depends on your luck. We lost some aircraft due to the shorter range TX module.

[@peterzingler6221]

It doesn't depend on luck. Get the right receiver and you will get at least 1km. Fs ia6b receiver in this case

[@angelofmusic477]

@@peterzingler6221 we tested , its the transmitter problem. We use one receiver to test on 3 set of tx module of the same type. 3 different tx module yield different range on same rx . Only one module turn out to be about 400m range...the rest is below 200m ....so I guess its a different batch of plug in module.

[@corywilliamsmith]

This is the same radio I have been using since my start of RC hobby. I'm too poor to afford anything fancy.

[@MSmith-jf5wo]

Same here, as I have a 6 channel and a 10 channel radio by FlySky. (I'm new to the hobby, and thought I had a bad radio, so bought the 10 channel for a "back-up" radio. Turns out, that I'm a dummy when it comes to R/C Electronics...And I'm learning quickly just how much I DON'T know!). Haha!

[@s4rg380]

Same boat as you guys. I want to start, but my budget is a bit tight. So no Taranis for me... 😅

[@MSmith-jf5wo]

All that "stuff" is way over my head, but I would like to get involved in the Video Aspects of R/C. It would help me greatly, as I'd like to find good fishing spots on lakes/rivers to try, and instead of paddling a kayak to them, I can "explore" with a setup like you have. Great pictures of the beach and ocean... Happy Winds and Flying to you...

[@iforce2d]

For that I would recommend a DJI Phantom 4. Very easy to fly for beginners and with good video feed. Some models also have anti-collision features which would be very helpful if you're close to trees and over water :)

[@MSmith-jf5wo]

@@iforce2d I have the Phantom 3 Pro, but don't want to take a chance on losing $1100+ worth of drone "in the drink"! I'm just now getting back into R/C Airplanes, and thought it might be a good idea to have a FPV Plane I could use for "Scouting". Thanks for your quick response, and Fair Skies to You...

[@iforce2d]

I see. I thought with a Phantom you would be able to stop and take a better look at the area below from a lower height than a plane would let you do. But I guess it depends how large an area you're talking about and how good a picture you actually need. The plane I'm using here needs to move pretty fast, you'd probably want something with a lower stall speed. The Volantex Ranger series comes to mind kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYGbo2aviqZjf80 kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooa8fnlqjtilpKs

[@HighTekRedNeck]

the helical has to be aimed pointing at the plane every time i saw it it was aimed up to the right pointing at the sky so it wouldn't have picked up much of anything. have to aim it like a patch, its just slightly better for if you have CP antennas on the transmitter than a patch if its made well.

[@iforce2d]

Yes, I moved it at some point, but the whole way out it was pointing correctly

[@poulmartinmller4094]

Very nice. A couple of mistakes but you do all right - keep it up.

[@pcka12]

The cattle aren't even vaguely perturbed!

[@tarmac245]

I dont have a clue about the tech stuff. Still enjoyed a well put together video, good on ya mate.

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

I'm willing to bet you're thinking right on the antenna position I believe most recommend one vertical and one horizontal ideally as far out on the wings as possible the less components in the way the better in particular an HD camera and the battery on the nose probably block a lot of RF if you'd tested control going out I bet it would have been better.

That bobbing is most probably from the altitude hold loop or air speed loop (or from the baro or the pitot tube but I doubt it a lot). Increase the P term on one of these and test. If bobbing harder, decrease or try to add in some D (if possible). If decreases, keep pushing the D until starts pulsing the motor again (might do it violently) and decrease a bit from there where it is solid.

[@wearemany73]

Pașca Alexandru “pitot rube!?!?” 😧 barometer?!?!🥴 maybe the nonsmoking sign was on in the cabin & causing some fluttering of the flugenbongle🤔 (😄)

[@stratos2]

Maybe you need to increase the pitch I value

[@rbmwiv]

You can upgrade the firmware on that transmitter for 10 channels.

[@iforce2d]

The FS-i6X will do 10 channels already, you might be thinking of the FS-i6 which I tried the 10 channel mod on here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5LNYYBoZp17ia8

[@serhiyranush4420]

What are the wires with connectors coming from the back of the transmitter?

[@iforce2d]

They were used to add a third gimbal kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHyad3eqet6dl7s

[@serhiyranush4420]

@@iforce2d Thanks. But, didn't you mean a third joystick for the gimbal control?

[@iforce2d]

The joystick assembly is itself a gimballing structure, not uncommonly referred to as a gimbal. oscarliang.com/frsky-m9-hall-gimbal-taranis-upgrade/

[@kral5932]

Awesome video, well done on the setup! Are you ever going to do a similar test with frsky?

[@iforce2d]

Probably not at this rate :)

[@stevefox3763]

A pair of turbowing 2.4ghz amplifiers (one for each antenna output) will have you going considerable distances. I don't know how far my range is as I loose video before coming even close to failsafes but I regularly fly 2 miles out whilst being a mile up over an area of land which has significant RF. There are thousands of routers in the area but also several radio stations, a tv transmitter in the kw power range just 1000ft from where i fly and another tower with other communications on it. My 2 mile out whilst 1 mile up flights are not the limits of my control range, my video is the limiting factor for me.

[@justinsincoise6693]

Brilliant.

[@Steveme1973]

I'd love to see you try the qczek open source long range system. It uses 915mhz for control and telemetry. Have you looked into it at all?

[@iforce2d]

No, looks interesting though

[@wilcohijink]

I'm getting easily 30 km on 868 Mhz (Europe), using QCZEK. Tx is a 1W module, but mostly set to low power, even at 30 km. Receiver is just a 100 mw module, and I still get telemetry back from 30 km. The flight battery is the limit for me.... using a home build moxon on the Tx and a homemade dipole in the air.... Must have clear line of sight though..... total RX+TX about 25 us$..... highly recommended ! (qczek.beyondrc.com)

[@wilcohijink]

I'm getting easily 30 km on 868 Mhz (Europe), using QCZEK. Tx is a 1W module, but mostly set to low power, even at 30 km. Receiver is just a 100 mw module, and I still get telemetry back from 30 km. The flight battery is the limit for me.... using a home build moxon on the Tx and a homemade dipole in the air.... Must have clear line of sight though..... total RX+TX about 25 us$..... highly recommended ! (qczek.beyondrc.com)

[@danlatu209]

I love this radio, low latency, light weight, thin, great range and great price. I just prefer my taranis.

[@jeff.drifts]

cool setup! I am going to start playing around with 900mhz

[@SONICBOOM-117]

Do you think those 2w range boosters are gimmicks?

[@iforce2d]

I don't doubt they make the signal stronger, but probably not by 2W and it doesn't help the telemetry coming back from the plane. If you want really really long range I would be using something other than 2.4GHz anyway.

[@SONICBOOM-117]

@@iforce2d thanks. I'd be happy with 1km lol

[@dtec30]

try swaping the fat shark antena on the dvr screen and see how that goes

[@aglandorf75]

I am looking into the RC hobby and been interested into Helicopters and maybe Drones/Planes later on and was wondering: Would you recommend the FlySky Radio for a beginner which has no gear at all. Because I was thinking to get myself a RTF Helicopter with a Radio for 80~140€ but when buying a Radio like the FlySky and looking for BNF (BindToFly) you got way more options for buying a Helicopter.

[@iforce2d]

Yes, it would be hard to find a better first radio. Or if you're like me you might not move on to anything else even after you're not a beginner

[@aglandorf75]

@@iforce2d thanks for your reply. Good to know that there is a Radio which does not cost an arm and a leg to get started.

[@iforce2d]

See this, might be helpful getting started: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXzKh2aCnaaqjNE

[@bardenegri21]

If you want to not spend a lot before being sure it's the right hobby for you, the i6 is a clear winner. I've had it for a year, bought on the advice on this channel and it's really great use it for both drones and planes. If you're sure you will go on with the hobby, then get the Frsky radios with a port on the back for a separate module and OpenTX support, it will be way more future-proof but a bit more expensive.

[@johnguy6138]

@Muhammad Qaisar Ali 4

[@joshhowell6]

What are the wires coming out of the back of radio transmitter

[@iforce2d]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHyad3eqet6dl7s

[@DRSElectronic]

in water the OEM waves is reflected more easily

[@bardenegri21]

Curious about using a raspberry pi zero and a 3g mobile internet usb stick for telemetry and control. There aren't really any recent serious videos about this at all. Most stuff doesn't show how to set it up and is from 5 years ago. There's some documentation in the ardupilot docs and it's being actively worked on, looks like you can get video too. Maybe you're interested, it's basically a program u run on the pi and it creates a mavlink bridge to the internet, then mission planner connects via tcp-ip

[@Josh-er7pm]

We do this all the time and have tested control of a plane over the internet from more than 250 miles away. Get yourself a Huawei 3372h USB modem and OTG cable and the Pi Zero will recognize the modem as an ethernet adaptor straight out of the box. We use Mavlink-Router on the Pi to create a TCP listener that we connect to over the internet. If you're unsure or want a more simple "plug and play" solution, have a look at uavmatrix.com which does all the software bits for you.

[@bardenegri21]

@@Josh-er7pm thank you Josh, I will certainly give it a shot!

[@jacktheninja]

@@Josh-er7pm yasss thank you

[@snewl5324]

Will this not have very high latency?

[@bardenegri21]

@@snewl5324 too high for a quadcopter or aerobatics, but more than adequate for a plane on autopilot to get telemetry and maybe change the flight waypoints

[@Liofa73]

Nice quiet place to live.

[@hippopotamus86]

Is this a sponsored video?

[@peterxyz3541]

How did you set up a plane to return to launch?

[@iforce2d]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYesaHVqfsuXgas ardupilot.org/plane/index.html