A note for those beginners/intermediates interested in the
Controller, Monitor and CG035 antenna mods:
The stock antenna is pointing straight out inside the controller which is slightly the wrong
orientation during normal use for the greatest range, the antenna in the controller is quite
poor, essentially just a bare piece of wire for the signal to come out of. To increase the
range somewhat you can replace it first with a decent antenna, one designed for 2.4ghz. If
you wish to start modding your transmitter I would suggest you start by fitting an external
sma socket which means you can screw onto it a whole raft of different commercially
available third party antennas offering a wide range of claimed dB ‘boosts’. There are so
many antenna mods you can do to improve range that if you research it there's practically
no limit to them, hell you can even fit a wifi booster to it to increase the (wattage) output of
the controller if you were so inclined.
A ‘simplified’ bit of the theory behind antenna types and dB gain.
Antenna design depends on what they are to be used for. They are generally 'tuned' to a
broader frequency range than needed, for economic and practical reasons. For instance
while we say this is a 2.4GHz control system it is not exactly 2.4GHz, it could be 2.35 or
2.45GHZ depending on what channel you are using and so if it is calibrated to one end of the
spectrum and you change channel it would mean a somewhat reduced range. Focusing in on
a specific frequency also requires more precise engineering, driving up cost.
Then we have signal 'pattern'.
To liken the transmission from your controller to a light source is a simple way of describing
it.
Think of your controller as a bulb producing a source of light and the antenna as a reflector
and lens. Think of using the same power supply and the same 'bulb' giving out the same
amount of light but projecting it in a different way.....
The standard antenna produces a slightly squashed dome shaped transmission, sending the
signal everywhere more or less equally, including into the ground, somewhat like a naked
light bulb pointing down would produce light. Good for use nearby and particularly if you fly
at a very variable height and direction.
A cloverleaf or mushroom type antenna projects out and up giving a more 'doughnut'
shaped transmission, like a lantern. Good for all around flight but some height is sacrificed,
particularly directly above you.
A flat panel (patch or patch array) antenna projects everything almost all in one general
direction like a floodlight. Good for long distance flight, in one specific direction, more
commonly used with ‘diversity’ receivers often paired with a mushroom antenna.
If we were to use a dish shaped antenna (like a satellite dish) it would be a highly focused
pattern like a spotlight and using one of these could increase gain by over 50dB in extreme
cases. Almost entirely useless for flight control unless used with a ground station that can
track your flight, only really used in fixed wing extreme range cases such as military UAV’s.
So, each of these can be 'seen' progressively further away by the receiver.
The same can be said of the receiving antenna on the quad its self. If it 'looks' for a signal in
a limited area, it's field of view being narrower means it can see the signal from further
away. Much like a fisheye lens, a naked eye, binoculars and telescope depending on
antenna type. However if it turns away from the source of the transmission with a high gain
