TBS Crossfire Antenna Alignment Explained

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[@llickmogan]

I had mine horizontal on my quad i went out 1.5kms and when I turned around my rssi went to 9% vertical it doesn't go under 90% over 3kms away :)

[@filiped7298]

Expensive high tech visual aid :-) Thanks for the tip, Lee.

[@mantassernius8976]

I Messured about 10 TBS antennas with R&Z and all TBS antenna is tuned for US (915) and not for EU(868) event they are selling in EU.

[@MCsCreations]

That's really interesting, Lee. Thanks a lot! I may go for Crossfire... I just can't see another option right now. 😕

[@Painless360]

I'm not a fan of the R9M system myself. I've had a great time with Crossfire and there is some even cooler stuff coming for it,. Video hopefully coming soon!

[@MCsCreations]

@@Painless360 Yeah, but it's a bit too expensive for me. 😕

[@robofpv6241]

Seriously CRSF is the way to go.

[@maciejmotylinsky]

What about binding with few model and T16S? Need to be bind every time between models?

[@glytch5]

one weird idea is, mount it so you are out of phase all the time, and there is no worse case scenario, you can only get a better signal when your model moves around? Sounds weird but... seems to work for me.

[@LeanSheep]

Really well explained. The true-rc bardpole was released recently. Have you any thoughts on it?

[@IanF-FPV]

Hahaha.....you did the video I was asking Trappy for. Btw TBS is doing their Crossfire sales again soon per the TBS lounge.

[@Painless360]

Thank you for this comment. It's too easy for other who already know these things to dismiss videos like this as 'obvious' but forget that until, they read/saw it, they didn't know it either.... happy flying!

[@jlauby7777]

Hello: where does the antenna that rotates like yours come from? Which TBS module has the removable antenna? Ty. John from NC

[@Painless360]

The earlier modules have an SMA style connector on so you can do this. The latest modules are starting to move to a fixed antenna to comply with the latest FCC rules..

[@baggszilla]

Thank you for this Lee! Your one of the Greats! Cheers!

[@johnmcdonald751]

I know the stock antenna on the TBS tracer is straight so if I folded it down to where its side to side would work with the tiny T's from micro receiver installed on the quad side to side?

[@Painless360]

I'm not sure if you are describing..

[@johnnyrocket3200]

Lee, quick question: With all the fancy 5.8ghz Antennas, wouldn't be the best for a long range wing be a simple dipole on the tx? Since the orientation is almost always vertical? That's bugging me for quiet some time now... Thanks :-)))

[@Painless360]

That's how I mount them.. Happy flying

[@johnnyrocket3200]

@@Painless360 Sorry, I meant the type of antenna. Not a clover leaf or anything, just a simple dipole. Since a plane doesn't do shenanigans in long range.

[@ufopilotFPV]

Bit late to the party but just swapping my quads to crossfire now. Having thought long and hard about this.. considering i fly freestyle quads.. i don't think there's a way to garuntee good placement cos the quad will be at all angles regularly. So, i'm gonna go for durability and try Steele's immortal L setup.

[@packyfpv3660]

Hi!!! Your explanation is great, but what about the strenght of the signal in the direction perpendicular to the diamond antenna plane? I'm asking that because i had a failsafe about a month ago (here you can see the video kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoCulYFqbpaNa6c); the diamond antenna was placed horizontal and pointed to the base of the chimney, and the antenna on the quad was placed on the rear arm (approximately at 45 degree angle with respect to the diamond)... i was at about 10-15m from the base and i was flying right above my had when i lost the signal... that afternoon other 5 guys were flying with crossfire in the same place, and i was the only one to have a failsafe... but i was also the only one to use the diamond antenna since the others were using ImmortalT on their modules. do you think that the mutual antennas orientation was wrong? or could it depends on different factors?

[@domgoff999]

What way would give you the best signal using the Crossfire Nano Diversity receiver on a quad with 2 immortal T's?

[@changeagent228]

How is anyone supposed to mount an immortal t on a 5" in a vertical position without occlusion? I can only think that having it way up above or behind extended out on a pole is acceptable but even the extended immortal t only gives you a tiny bit of extra length. I spoke to the VAS guy about vertical antennas like the TBS tuned antenna with a U.fl rather than SMA and he said he does not do them and recommended his xfire pro antenna which seems even more difficult to mount vertical and he has it mounted horizontal and occluded on his demo video.

[@Painless360]

At closer ranges horizontal is fine as even the nulls at the ends of the antennas have enough sensitivity to get a good signal...

[@changeagent228]

@@Painless360 At what range though? I messaged VAS with my setup that is horizontal on the rear and he said it's a recipe for disaster and I'd be lucky to make it 3km and it would likely failsafe when I turned around. The same setup loses telemetry at less than 1km. I have immortal t v2 + micro module with power update on dynamic. Do you know if dynamic power stops working when you lose telemetry? Should I run a fixed power level?

[@kanenstuff]

Hi I was just wondering I have just got on the crossfire band wagon and I set up3 quads all have a very low rssi of 57 to 60 and wven the LQ drops to 130 maybe 100mts away I have watched your vids and others before I set it up and do you have any ideas on whats going on thanks.

[@Painless360]

Crossfire antenna placement is the most likely. What troubleshooting have you already done?

[@kanenstuff]

@@Painless360 I have tried different antenna positions and Ive put the back under the arms 2 are on the left 1 on the right all 3 quads are totally different fc and esc frame and motors maybe its just my setting because all read the sàme today i was get low dbm alarm less than 100mts away but my lq was still at 300 i have it on 250mw all all has 3.23 latest firmware maybe i will try my friends diamond antenna

[@Bitathisandthat]

wow thank you

[@dttocs4746]

While vertical is more optimal a lot of the time horizontal is more convenient (on a quad) but i constantly fly 3-4klm with horizontal mounting and on 100mw for crossfire

[@Ricko65]

Thank you for this explanation - I was told this, but but not why... Now I know - great stuff!

[@sunsetpark_fpv]

@ 2:46 "very expensive, high tech visual aid" 🤣 good one man! It IS a great visual aid though 😎

[@raffman4266]

Thanks for the very important tip sir! Jolly good! Kudos to your channel and such a great help to the hobby and to the entire RC Air Community!

[@mrph678]

or if your minted, just buy the diversity rx and you can have the best of both worlds😉. Another great vid 🤩

[@batmojuice5704]

I just lost at plane with a full size R9 receiver with dual immortal t style antennae (diversity, unsure, but there are two antennae). I tried various configurations, which worked fine, however, when I mounted these in a cross (looking from the back or front) next to each other, I was caught off guard and quickly lost RF about 100 meters out. Do you know if this "cross" configuration might have caused my rapid loss of signal? I'm assuming this applies to the Crossfire dual antenna receiver as well. I should also note that Frsky discontinued this full size R9 receiver (spec at 10km range). Are you aware of any issues with this receiver? Just hoping to maybe learn something from my experience. Thanks for the videos.

[@Painless360]

I'm not a fan of the R9M system here. See my video on antenna placement and the antenna lab series for how I do it. Having one at 90 degrees from the transmitting antenna could have been part of the issue.. Happy flying!

[@HolaACchillin]

Is videos like this that helped out so much!💯❤️

[@martincloutier1399]

Again, very well explained. Just the information I needed ! Do you have a similar video where you explain to same thing for Frsky RX/TX like the RX6R (2 150mm antennas). Do you point the TX antenna up or towards the model ? Thanks.

[@Painless360]

It's the same principle, see my antenna lab series .. Happy flying

[@sufysprojects2689]

Hello Lee, do you have a video on crsf antenna mounting? How far should they be from carbon fiber spars on fixed wing crafts? Cheers!

[@Painless360]

I have one on antenna alignment. As far away as you can ideally..

[@thomashannam2985]

can anyone help. my drone has no roll or pitch but everything is working in the receiver tab on Betaflight, receiver is grand and everything connects. she hovers fine but the once you get her going you loose pitch and roll. only throttle and yaw that work. Mode 3 and connected via crossfire, like I said the drone rolls and flips on Betaflight but just shoots to the moon if you give it full deflection on roll in real life. been stuck for a while, any help would be appreciated. I'm thinking about buying as new radio as I'm out of ideas.

[@Painless360]

So you've tried a regular Frsky Rx? Another version of Betaflight? Have you built a quad before? Without more detail it's impossible to offer any advice. Happy to help but please watch kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ2sooefiK97f7s and come back to me with more detail of what you've tried..

[@fidelgrillo4808]

Very well explained. Thanks a lot. The first time I really understood this. But what I still don't know and can't find anything about it: Can I use crossfire receivers as well in boats and seaplanes where everything is build inside without any antennas on the outside? Or would I be better off with another system here? Crossfire and the Tango2 I would like to use do not seem to get any reception in boat and plane communities.

[@Painless360]

The lower frequencies that Crossfire uses have better penetrative power than traditional 2.4Ghz systems so would work better inside a model. However normal 2.4Ghz should be fine with internal antennas with a little care... Happy flying

[@roadrunnerTJ]

I'm using TBS Crossfire Tuned TX Antenna. What is best alignment for receiver antenna in such case?

[@Painless360]

As it's still a linear antenna you still need to have the same orientation on both antennas. It is the same principle. Happy flying! .

[@abimaputra]

Dear Sir, This is very informative and useful video. 1. Please explain I've seen pilot install the crossfire antena mount 90 degrees in their quad like 2.4 Ghz (the cable one, not the immortal) . and for the tx installed horizontally. but is it okay ? 2. Is it worth to buy Diamond antenna? what is the great difference vs the stock tx immortal? pls share your experience, Thanks a lot Ditto

[@Painless360]

Both these questions are answered in the video. Aligned antennas are always best when they are linear.. Happy flying!

[@abimaputra]

@@Painless360 Thanks. I just got a new diamond. in horizontal mode, I saw in your video the TBS head must facing the quad. and the VAS logo facing at me if in horizontal mode. is that correct Sir?

[@willay747]

Nice visual aid and helps me understand! Thanks!!

[@YancySmithTurboRexPerformance]

Try building a Immortal L antenna and get the best of both worlds without anything hanging below the fuselage.

[@Painless360]

See the full crossfire series where I cover that... happy flying!

[@collinsnjarara3352]

Awesome video and great detail 👍😊.

[@h2o-fpv623]

great video thank u.

[@abidikar]

Nice info & demonstration. Thanks. Is there improvement in RSSI values in parallel placement & right angle placement...???

[@Painless360]

You'll need the antennas aligned in whichever orientation you use but vertical is a lot better for planes for the reasons covered in the video... happy flying!

[@abidikar]

@@Painless360 Thanks a lot to clarify.

[@kalliber]

have you got the .stl for the antenna cover? I want to print it for my wing. Thanks very much again for your help!

[@Painless360]

If I have shared it, it'll be on my thingiverse page... best of luck

[@kalliber]

@@Painless360 unfortunately it's not there, could you upload it?

[@shanewatters9251]

I like the diversity rx for fixed wing with no immortal T and mount them in an X or a V on zip ties through the fuse and it works well for me

[@Painless360]

That's a great tip!

[@Autocharge1]

Good explanation thank you for that

[@43shawn43]

Is there any reason why you use the diamond antenna over the standard crossfire tx antenna?

[@Painless360]

Slightly more sensitivity and easier to keep everything in alignment. And it looks cool! :)

[@DroneAcharya9]

Thanks for the video.. is it really worth in investing in diamond or the TBS tuned antenna for crossfire? Isn't the stock TX antenna good enough?

[@Painless360]

To be honest I got it cause it looked cool and I've not had a need for a relative test...

[@ContagiousIdeal]

The diamond antenna or the switch all outperform the standard antennas due to ground multipathing/reflections and they are a higher gain to boot

[@DroneAcharya9]

@@ContagiousIdeal thank you

[@rogergravel6638]

Thanks Lee

[@pinkunwizard]

Great short video.

[@JorgeJimenez2020]

Simple and effective

[@jackdaniels7913]

As always a wealth of information! I'd love to know just how detrimental a coil loaded dipole is and why TBS doesn't make them for an alternative to the now standard immoral-T I know the full size 8ch receiver comes with them but that's a little big for my 3" japalura 😅 🍻cheers🥃

[@markhinchcliffe5803]

Coil loaded isnt as good as a free hanging earth

[@markhinchcliffe5803]

Latency,racing,reliability,,....

[@fishmanmtb]

@@markhinchcliffe5803 over the air updates aswell.

[@jackdaniels7913]

@@EnglishTurbines simple I fly places you don't dream of obviously!😉

[@jackdaniels7913]

@@markhinchcliffe5803 I understand but just how detrimental is it ?not worth it or not as bad as you may think??? 🥴

[@XJ1345]

thanks for this video!!!

[@XJ1345]

I had failsaves when flying to my left and right and always wondered why.. it happened just 50-100m away

[@Painless360]

You should find they will all disappear when you change the orientation.. Happy flying!

[@Fuckingwev]

I still don't understand why TBS came out with the idea that we should mount their antenna horizontally in the first place, they definitely know why most (if not all) omnis are mounted vertically.