Spironet Antennas

[James]

Anyone tried a spironet in place of an omnidirectional (rubber duck) antenna on 2.4? I had a glitch last weekend so going to try one from my fpv quad setup this w/e..

Any thoughts / experts out there? I know for a fact i get better fpv footage with spironet vs rubber duck on my video transmitter and receiver so shouldn't it be a better option...? Stronger more consistent signal in all areas theoretically..?

[neallewis]

Originally Posted by James

Anyone tried a spironet in place of an omnidirectional (rubber duck) antenna on 2.4? I had a glitch last weekend so going to try one from my fpv quad setup this w/e..

Any thoughts / experts out there? I know for a fact i get better fpv footage with spironet vs rubber duck on my video transmitter and receiver so shouldn't it be a better option...? Stronger more consistent signal in all areas theoretically..?

Circular polarised antenna on the transmitter should mean the signal has more chance of being in the same plane as the receiver antenna, at any given time, which can only be a good thing. The tordial output profile of the linear polarised rubber duck antenna means there is always a signal hole with lower gain, and the antenna orientation needs to match that of the receiver for maximum signal strength.
While the transmitter output can be improved, the receiver antenna it still linear, but given the spironets generally also have a higher gain output (than a rubber ducky), the receiver should be inside a better coverage area, and in plane with the transmission signal as it moves.

Are you on sanwa?
I'd be looking at the condition of your receiver antenna, ensure the exposed core is the correct length, and not kinked or damaged in some way. check it has not become detached inside the receiver case.

so long as your fpv antennas are 2.4 and not 5GHz it should work fine. A 5GHz antenna would be bad. Also check the gender of the SMA connector to ensure a match. It may screw on but have two sockets facing and no connection.

Glitching can be difficult to prove, but I've known of issues with BEC voltage drop with high current drain, or faulty servos be more common causes than signal interference.

Did it occur with both cars? was it at any particular location on the track?

I'm picking up a 2.4/5GHz spectrum analyser for fault finding in wireless networks for a client. I'm very interested in firing it up at a race meeting to see how various brands of radio gear use the spectrum, how much overlap occurs, and what other interference sources do visually, eg. microwave ovens, wlan, etc.