FPV long-range RC options

[@MatthewSprigings]

As an Electrical engineering student I really enjoy these more technical videos. Good to see some of the things we learn in class in practice. Cheers Bruce.

[@CrackerMcGillicuddy]

I can't afford to buy any more RC stuff but I'll vicariously fly your new RC stuff Bruce. Thanks for the videos.

[@CZorzellaYT]

Bruce, I simply love the way you turn complicated things into something quite easy to understand. Thanks!

[@LuisRussi750]

It's nice to have a steady flow of videos again, Thanks Bruce

[@whenpigsflyfpv]

Thrilled to have you back.

[@Soldier53flyer]

I would like to see how you bind the Rmilec and how to set up the 2.4g booster, It is great to have you back! thank you for all your videos. I did not know a thing till I found you on youtube.

[@HensleysBluegrass]

Great kick off to 2013 Bruce! Here in the USA, 420-450MHz is the 70cm ham band. I've been hoping to use my license to get a UHF module for my 9X. So the future info you've eluded to in this video is very exciting to me. Thanks!

[@beyondfossil]

I'm using an L-Com 2.4GHz 1-watt booster with an antenna on the roof of my SUV. Great solid reliable range! Now I'm looking for a 2W booster with a user selectable switch for 1W and 2W. Then fly most of the time at 1W. If at the edge of range and getting flaky link, I can temporarily boost to 2W to turn the aircraft around and return to 1W for normal flight. The switch would allow one to "feel" the range of the radio without necessarily RTL. In combination with RTL, it would be even better.

[@Lithoushine]

Im soo glad you made this video. i started off wondering how to increase the range of my rc link and i got a u.fi to a sma adapter for my futaba 2.4 so i could put what ever antenna i want on it. using a 8db patchi i could fly out to 2miles no problems. to get even more i got a 500mw wifi booster with the 8dbi i got 10km easy. and i thought why doesn't every one do this it's so easy and so cheap but there is not much info on forms or in videos on this topics. so good job and keep it up

[@thenar]

I've come to depend on your well presented, knowledgable reviews and thank you much.

[@pokies100]

World first - biggest sizzers for thinnest plastic bag. But also flying to see FPV footage into a volcano. Well done RC Dante. Rod:-)

[@Seniorpyronaut]

Hi Bruce, did you show a usual Wifi booster? Does the frequency band of a 2.4 GHz Wifi booster exactly fits to our 2.4 GHz RC output band with its 80 channels?

[@mincoffnz]

Hi Bruce Nice to see a new video of you! RMILEC its not very good, or at least I havent heard very good reviews about it. Here in Argentina we most use dragon link for the rc, and 1.2ghz 800mw video, with 6dbi antenas for close flights(up to 3 or 4 km), and jsut a patch antena to fly far away. I´ve seen they go up to 30km without anyproblem at all. In my city a guy went to 75km away(and back) without anyproblem with a thomas LRS. Big hug Bruce!!

[@rpgeezus]

Great video. The biggest drawback with UHF, IMO, is that you need a UHF receiver in each of your planes. With boosting all of your planes will work without any upgrades.

[@jrockett11]

Fantastic explanation of how to increase FPV range. Yes that would be five thumbs up in my book! Thanks Again! JR

[@CurryKitten]

Looking forward to seeing what your findings are here Bruce, especially on the cheaper side of things.

[@toose70]

Cool video Bruce. What about FM as another long range option? Bit surprised you didn't mention that.

[@bryg63]

Looking forward to your review on the rmilec unit. I've had pretty good luck with it with 5.8ghz video, but seems less on 1.3ghz video. When I say good luck, I fly an fpv quad, and have been out to just at, or slightly beyond 1 mile. Thanks for your videos!

[@puretoronto]

Considering the Rmilec UHF system for my 9XR. Looking forward to your review!

[@tacopete8111]

I would love some info on what spectrum analyzers you use.

[@000006rapture]

Interesting question. I bought this system 6 months ago but i was unable to use it seeing I was so busy at work. All the people I see on youtube using it says how good it is but in the forums persons that do not have it or have the more expensive system say that RIMLEC is the worse of the lot. So i look forward to a review from Bruce.

[@kevinavis5080]

Ive got time for this guy , he knows what he's on about

[@jrcampen]

Those scissors looks like they would give off a fair bit if dirty RF if you throw them I'm sure. Great video by the way. Thanks

[@pottera00]

I am very interested in the RMILEC test as I have purchased one along with the fibre optic kit for its receiver (while it was available). Very interested in the test and what filtering i made need to do. I bought a Nagoya type whip antenna for it because every review i have read is that the telescopic antenna that comes with it is crap.

[@Left-Earth]

*"I always believed Santa Claus was into RC'S."* 🎅 🏎️💨

[@failsafedji1745]

Lol 😂

[@disturbed730]

Hey Bruce, ibcrazy makes a brand new notch filter you can put in between the UHF module and antenna. Cheap too. The key to success with lrs is to shield wires, spacing components, as many do not get along well and understand what causes the harmonics so you may put in the proper filters. (high pass, low pass, saw, notch) btw Your going to love the penguin. Good luck trying to get her to land, she floats forever. The larger motor allows a 4s and has more than enough power to push her vertically.

[@johnnotts2]

You sir know your shit! I think you are single handedly persuading me to spend a lot of money on FPV...Great and technically informative videos.

[@herryswastika3708]

Its 2021 and nubie here and the video is still very very informative.. thank you sir

[@squartochi]

Thanks for the video. I would love to see what you think of the Dragonlink.

[@VoidedWarranty]

Hi Bruce, great video! You mentioned other sources of interferance onboard the aircraft interfering with the radio link, what about problems with servos? Maybe something to look into for us that I'm interested is servo wire length problems with interferance sources. I've had problems with gas engines and long servo wires causing one servo to twitch, and it seems just changing the length of the extension helped. Could you show us some ways of predicting and eliminating that kind of interference?

[@cbluebeard]

Hey Bruce! Are you going to try out/review the TBS Crossfire?

[@MrGolden28473]

Great vid. Love to see reviews on the range and use of this, and other long range systems.

[@zostritch]

Thanks Bruce very informative and interesting cant wait to see the outcome of the volcanic flight

[@devinduncan6922]

Might be useful (from Cisco data): 0 dBm = 1mW 1 dBm = 1.25 mW 2 dBm = 1.56 mW 3 dBm = 2 mW 4 dBm = 2.5 mW 5 dBm = 3.12 mW 6 dBm = 4 mW 7 dBm = 5 mW 8 dBm = 6.25 mW 9 dBm = 8 mW 10 dBm = 10 mW note that it is a log scale, not linear. ... BUT: if your transmitter does not put out the power, the larger antenna does not increase transmitter power as indicated... it will only increase output up to the limit of the power (mW) available. In other words, a system designed around a 3 dBm antenna most likely will not reach 3.12 mW simply by adding a 5 dBm antenna.

[@jbx907]

+Devin Duncan yes its log, 0 dBm is the base power, now 3 dBm is actually double power gain. a system that outputs 1watt @50ohm with a 0dB gain will create a radiation of 1 watt equivalent, if you increase your antenna gain by a factor of 3dB, your radiated power will be equivalent to twice or 2 watts.

[@jocheluich]

Very interested in the RMILEC review :=) Great videos and reviews as always !

[@glassdogangle]

You won't regret it. I flew with 72mhz for 8 months, constantly dealing with RTL glitches at random distances (sometimes even 1km or less!). I have not had a single RTL glitch in about 30 flights or so, out as far as 7km. What is stopping me from going further? Battery capacity, and even moreso, video range! RC range is no longer my concern!

[@fpvrcstuff]

I've had an RMILEC for over a year with no problems , I got rid of that stupid long sectional antenna and bought a RH771 From ........... but the module got quite hot........I ended up buying a RMILEC SRC771 ,now it runs cool and is much better looking ....Good luck over the volcano !

[@hons5703]

Can i do on my Eachine E013?

[@stevengrey1948]

Bruce, So glad your back. How about using amateur radio bands for control and video links? In the USA we can use 50MHz to control models and with license in theory we can output 1500 watts. We can also use 430Mhz ish for video. I always wondered if it was feasible to use such bands to gather further range. I am little rusty on my ham rules but i believe the technology is there to do it. Maybe the size is not...

[@aussieaeromodeler]

concerning the 2.4ghz booster , can I use the same type of booster on my 2.4ghz fpv camera , the camera has a 2.4 ghz transmitter and I use my phone for the fpv video , I get plenty of range out of my RC transmitter but lose video signal . I was planning on using a 2.4Ghz Signal Booster Amplifier For DJI Phantom , it looks small enough to install in the camera housing , but if not I can mount it inside the drone , so would that be a go or no go , and if no , why not ? any thoughts on that one ?

[@franciscourena5636]

Nice presentation Is it possible to rely on GPS GPS waypoints to travel farther distance than relying on the antenna???

[@Len02013]

Hi Bruce, Could you please do an 'airframe efficiency review' as mentioned in your video. I am interested in which plane will achieve the greatest overall distance and how far it will fly on 1 watt of power. Thanks

[@Zodaz86]

Always love your videos. They are very informative.

[@glassdogangle]

How come at 10:45 you had to bleep out "Dragonlink" from the audio Bruce?

[@ThePavelrg]

pretty good video. I should have seen it 4 days ago before buying the rmilec system.

[@Migueldeservantes]

Would you please consider to set up the Fail Safe for the R-Milec so Other people can learn how to use it? please?

[@JbotMischief]

Glad to see you back Bruce :-) Nice scissors mate.

[@baldric450]

Hi Bruce (and Barry) :-) Any chance you could do a short video explaining how plug in modules work. I've heard of free sky but what advantage does that give me over for example the standard turnigy 9x. What other module types are available etc. Thanks in advance. Steve - Jersey

[@jfan4reva]

Legal limit on power probably depends on the country. In the US, there is a 1 watt 'hard' limit that even people with amateur radio licenses can't exceed. The WiFi booster would get you in trouble here if you start crashing wireless routers and the owner notices that "it only happens when that guy shows up and flys his model airplanes."

[@ROBOTRIX_eu]

Hi! What about 72mhz transmitters? Almost nobody uses this frequency, right? There were some futaba 72mhz..

[@floridacoder]

Really enjoy your videos! Makes me want to visit the land down under. Question about the booster... Would the antenna still provide some gain if the power was not applied to the booster (meaning booster connects to radio and antenna, but power is on a switch and the switch is off). What I have in mind is using the boost as an insurance policy (flip a switch and my range gets extended). Because it could cause problems for other people to have on all of the time, I would rather use high gain antennas and modest power most of the time, and the booster just when I need it. But I want the switch to the booster to be a simple toggle switch with no antennas to change. Do you know if there are any repercussions with this approach - either significant loss or possible damage to the transmitter module when the power to the booster is off?

[@ferp009]

i like to know too

[@ferp009]

thanks!!

[@davidmarkwood7314]

NO

[@Coachnickhawley1]

again a great explanation. very comprehensive and approachable. thanks again!!!

[@eastcoast78]

yup me to,, so stoked...you get what you pay for..another good thing with DL, the support is 110% either it be from Mike himself, DL's testers, or the community!

[@fraaggl]

Hello, i love your videos. Could you update this to speak about the Video emitter long range that exists today ?

[@goriverman]

Thanks, you always make very knowledgable and informative and very interesting video's. We should call you professor rc.

[@MrBobinAZ]

Yet another excellent and informative video. Thanks!

[@puddingpimp]

1dB, dBm is a measure of power (0dBm = 1 milliWatt, 30dBm = 1 Watt). Other than that you are correct, 1dB loss for each connector in the system is typical at 5.8GHz. You can get much better connectors down to 0.05dB loss, but they are crazy expensive, and only really used for precision measurement (eg. calibration labs).

[@GurjeetSingh-bm6us]

hi. You should update and make new video about long range fpv options on fpv

[@samlee7420]

I know nothing about signals and thanks for the education. I was wondering would it work if i connect a huge fish bone tv antenna or maybe a small tv dish satellite? With the amp that. Comes with it? Wanted to test some range limit on a self build quad.

[@MatthewJones-gi9kl]

Hi I added a cpl 2.4 ghz boosters and a booster pack to a mavic drone. As I understand one antenna is a transmitter and one antenna is a receiver? Should the booster be reversed on the receiving side? The boosters have a power led and an antenna led and the antenna led receiving side only comes on with the input coming from the antenna to the controller and does not lite up the opposite. The transmitter side does light up with the controller hooked up to the input side and the antenna hooked to the output side. Thanks for any input.

[@bryontrott]

When do you plan to review the other systems?

[@schmudge]

+RCModelReviews Is possible to set up a repeater thru a 30m culvert pipe as part of the course. Approx 5 ft 100 ft Disused storm culvert that is 90 degrees to the course. Is there some kind of Repeater system that could do everyone's signal (or even just one)? Would be a neat topic, or I could just use a big mirror. thanks back to the trench

[@snaprollinpitts]

Hey Bruce, I'm glad to see you back and in great form, have you, or do you know anything on the chainlink system thanks mike

[@locouk]

Flying close to a volcano, would it be best to cover the model in a Mylar heat reflective survival blanket?

[@priyabratasaha5385]

can a television with it's own antenna can receive signals from a fpv transmitter? Not a tv connected via AV cable with an fpv receiver module. But directly by TV's own antenna, despite of having loss of range. I want to know the signal type of fpv. If it is the same as local tv station or different. If the video receiver inside a television does the same work of a fpv receiver. Here I'm talking about the small TVs, probably 5" or 7" or 9", not a full size TV of course. I searched for this topic in RCModelReviews, some other channels, and on google also. But there is no stuff on this topic. If possible, give a review on those wireless signals with this topic. Else help me with a reply please.

[@jamesellis5445]

Priyabrata, I'm pretty sure you're going to need some form of external video receiver, either with a TV set or small monitor screen. The many frequencies that an FPV system can operate at, are not able to be picked up by the regular TV's Analog tuner (except possibly as noise), and definitely not by the TV's Digital tuner, which operates at a completely different band and frequency. If indeed you could transmit your signal on the TV's Analog tuner's frequency (would require a custom built VTx) the regulatory bodies controlling the Airwaves where you live, would probably have a few issues with it. Hope this helps clarify your question (sorry I'm not Bruce.)

[@puddingpimp]

I would love to see one day electrically steerable phased array antennas for model aircraft. this is basically a high gain antenna that automatically points at the transmitter/receiver, but instead of mechanically turning, uses electronics in the antenna to change it's beam pattern. This would effectively make the range limited only by line of sight and flight time. Combining a 30dBi ESPA on the aircraft and transmitter would give you a 60dB gain to link budget.

[@imemyself2820]

I watched some videos of the TBS crossfire using their own protocol, CRSF or something. Range is easily up to 40 km, freq is 900mhz and latencies lower than 150ms. But it comes at a price, minimum 99 dollars. You could look into that.

[@crenn6977]

What spectrum analyser did you get? Also, just a warning for some, be careful and check your local laws about using RF boosters, some countries there are restrictions on using them.

[@bodyboardingbum]

Thanks Bruce! Interesting going back and re-watching these, information is just as useful. You seem so much more relaxed here :P

[@doallkgfun8727]

Hello I have been looking in to rc booster and I and not find a booster that boost the signal from 1 booster to anuther booster and then to the rc car do thay do then or am I not looking for the right thing

[@daggad02]

Big boys have big scissors ! ;) Yet another great video Bruce. I have learned a LOT from you. Thanks mate !

[@pampaflyer]

Nice vídeo. What about put a low pass filter on Rmilec rx? Would it work?

[@B0M0A0K]

Good video Bruce. Now, as to where you have been recently. You tell us that you have been reworking your workshop then you produce a pair of sheers. Truth be told the festive season has always been a busy one for you ... hasn't it Santa :-)

[@vancelandry8314]

What about using a ruckus beamflex WiFi, which used phases array to steal the beam directly to to the target?

[@robertwong2412]

I know this video is old, but I've recently got a turbowin RY-2.4 to boost my 2.4g signal not for range but for resistance against interference from wifi and 2.4g towers nearby. Model is going wonky and crashing at certain area in the sky. I wonder if these boosters would help eliminate or reduce risk of crashing?

[@jackthediscoverer]

I've got a question. What transmitter is possible for a 20km range for a RC Plane?

[@kylejohnson779]

Have you tested the range with the 5dB antenna? My understanding (from my experience in audio) was that every 10 dB is equivalent to doubling the volume level. I'm not sure how that translates to radio so you may want to try and confirm that you can actually get 3-6km range with the bigger antenna

[@franciscourena5636]

how about placing a pixhawk flight controler to make autonomous flight ?

[@northseacowboy]

Do you need to reduce the power output of an EU spec Spektrum DX8 before connecting it to the 2.4ghz booster? hope you can help. keep up the great videos.

[@alexromanovskiey7439]

you have done reviews on all of the FPV equipment except for long range safety and GPS trackers. I lost my Bix 3 and later purchased a PinPointRC Black box, the next time I crashed my Skywalker I found it within minutes. you should ask them to do a review for them

[@puddingpimp]

Very difficult to get good coupling. It's possible but you might lose a lot of signal before it gets to the booster, if the booster has enough gain to make up the loss, it might be worth it. Also you want to start with a clean signal, any noise at the transmitter is noise at the receiver and reduces performance, and the cheap transmitter might not have as clean output as a good radio with a removable antenna.

[@BMSWEB]

It's interesting because RMILEC seems to have a bad reputation from people who have never used it. Anyone that's ever told me its no good, the first question I've asked is "Do you have first hand experience" and to this day the answer has been no. I've seen it used a number of time, even out to 25klms and its been rock solid. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this one Bruce

[@Luke-P]

would it be possible to modify the 9x to have a screw on antenna?

[@BelperFlyer]

Interesting video as usual Bruce but perhaps you might have pointed out that operating RC model control on 2.4gHz in some countries means limited power. I think in the UK it's 100mW (not sure, it may be less) but it's certainly less than 2 watts!

[@MichaelKGizzonimo]

One day I'll be learning along with one of Your videos and the Volcano down the street will cut it short! I'll be mad.

[@percypongoable]

As a rule you lose 1dBm per connector and depending on what cable you use for the tail, there will be a data sheet stating what the losses are per meter of said cable. So on your quad, you will probably have minimal loses. If your really wanting to know that your Ae system is effecient you could try and sweep it for VSWR, but thats specialized kit unless you work in telecoms. In all as long your connectors and cable are good quality and terminated properly I would say don't worry about thelosses

[@carbonwhite1]

Hi there love all your vids and they have been very help full but I do have one thing and that is what would the range be for a spectrum DX8 plus how do I get better rang with my for long range FPV

[@BlackoutTheDrunk]

I use an SMA pigtail on my Quadcopter frame for 5.8ghz video. The pigtail has a panel mount SMA connector and is used to re-leave stress from the SMA PCB connection during a hard landing. My question is, does using an SMA pigtail decrease transmitter / video performance ?

[@duckyduck1944]

What about an extension cable to mount the antenna higher?

[@rizal1974]

I wanna see the range test..... planning to get one which ever is the best.. :)

[@DonavanAarons]

I have read of guys using 2.4GHz SPW and Clovers for RC TX and getting very good range. Can you add this to your testing? and boosting them would be very interesting!

[@wdanielbonner]

What about the same thing equally, but for the camera sir?

[@rcramosrc]

You Sir are a frequency mad scientist, very informative, thx!

[@yowieP51]

PS. You mentioned the GOPRO, I'v had the HERO3 a few months just reading the manual says Wi-Fi operates on 2.4G could this present problems??

[@Y3ll0wSoda]

great video! i personally want more ads on your channel. i think this because we want you to be able to make more reviews with the money you make off the videos.

[@jbx907]

is this the 2,4 booster that is used for wifi routers? then they permit duplex with these boosters if they are, wonder if the frksy telemetry will work with the 2,4 booster! i mean transmits forward and also alows receiving telemetry datas from the model!

[@francoishaha]

thanks Bruce for this video. I look foward to the Rmilec review

[@glassdogangle]

No. Got it cleared up. No copyright, just an audio glitch.

[@sikotryne]

Great vid Bruce! I've got the dirt cheap Orange openlrs from HK. Haven't tested it properly yet, just benchtested the basic workings and failsafe. Flashed with latest thUndeadMOD firmware, seems ok thus far. I hear Dragonlink has deliveryproblems and worse at present, if you're considering DL, I would suggest you have a look at (and consider) Rangelink. It's cheaper and I havent heard any negative feedback on that system. Quite a few here in Norway that runs that system and are happy with it

[@FPVav8tr]

Bruce, Thanks for your videos. Question. You mention by changing the stock antennas only, you can affectivly gain about 40% in range. But what is the approx gain in distance when using the 2 watt wifi booster vs the 60mw transmitter power? Assuming you are using the same gain antenna. Thanks.