ANTENA

GJH105775

GJH105775

Off and on
Moderator
SKIP said:
LOST ANTENA OFF DRONE WILL ANY PIECE OF WIRE WORK IT IS A SYMA X 5 S W
Click to expand...
Well you will want the antenna to be of a length that supports resonance with that frequency. Basically that is a fancy way to say that the length determines what frequency is picked up best by that antenna. Also most antennas will use coax where the conductor is suspended directly in the center of the ground. I'd suggest you buy a cheap $0.75 wire antenna for 2.4 GHz antenna and solder it on.
 
Gyro Doctor

Gyro Doctor

Electronics Tech for over 45 years
... Also of note, if you use "any piece of wire" (which WILL work just fine as long as it's the proper length) is that the "active" part of that wire
(IF you're using coaxial wire that is) will be only the length which is stripped and not covered with the shield. And remember the shield has to be
soldered to ground! (this comes in handy when wanting/needing to remote locate the antenna like with racers or as an improvement mod to your
Syma) otherwise the antenna will consist of the entire length of wire .... Better reception will be had by using a half-wave antenna (62mm)
instead of the quarter-wave (31mm) length too, (actually 31.23mm or 62.46mm to be exact) ;)
When making the new antenna you want to use a longer than needed piece and first solder it onto the board,
THEN cut it to the correct length as measured from where it contacts the solder of the board to the end of the wire :)
 
jmdlcar

jmdlcar

Well-Known Member
I have a old FlySky 2.4 GHz 8ch receiver which has a wire and something on the end. If I un solder it from the receiver then solder it on the X8C receiver board. Would that work and help on the range? I have FlySky FS-CT6 transmitter could do the same to the X8C transmitter to?
 
Gyro Doctor

Gyro Doctor

Electronics Tech for over 45 years
jmdlcar said:
I have a old FlySky 2.4 GHz 8ch receiver which has a wire and something on the end. If I unsolder it from the receiver then solder it on the X8C receiver board. Would that work and help on the range? I have FlySky FS-CT6 transmitter could do the same to the X8C transmitter to?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can remove the antenna from the old unused receiver and it will work just fine (In fact BETTER than the original one).
That "something on the end" of it is likely a small piece of brass tubing, which indicates that antenna is what's known as a "Sleeved Dipole" .

This also means that repairing your Syma by replacing the original simple piece of wire antenna, which is NOT coaxial, with this better one
which IS coaxial will require an extra soldering connection (no big deal) in that the shield will have to also be soldered to the board.

I would not recommend salvaging parts from a working FS-CT6 transmitter to mod the X8C transmitter ! That's like taking parts off of a
working Porsche to soup up a Volkswagon Beetle ... lol ... the antenna on the X8C transmitter is just a little snub of wire hanging off the circuit board,
as is done with the receiver in the drone, and you can either simply replace it with a longer wire, as previously discussed, or better yet convert it to
having a "real antenna" as is shown in numerous YouTube videos. By just modding the X8C transmitter with a good (5dB) antenna you will dramatically increase the flight range of your quad. ;)

Check out this video on what's involved:
 
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jmdlcar

jmdlcar

Well-Known Member
Gyro Doctor said:
... Also of note, if you use "any piece of wire" (which WILL work just fine as long as it's the proper length) is that the "active" part of that wire
(IF you're using coaxial wire that is) will be only the length which is stripped and not covered with the shield. And remember the shield has to be
soldered to ground! (this comes in handy when wanting/needing to remote locate the antenna like with racers or as an improvement mod to your
Syma) otherwise the antenna will consist of the entire length of wire .... Better reception will be had by using a half-wave antenna (62mm)
instead of the quarter-wave (31mm) length too, (actually 31.23mm or 62.46mm to be exact) ;)
When making the new antenna you want to use a longer than needed piece and first solder it onto the board,
THEN cut it to the correct length as measured from where it contacts the solder of the board to the end of the wire :)
Click to expand...
If I go with this route and use a wire and cut it 62.46mm how much more range will I get? If I change the wire in the receiver board to would the wire be cut to 62.46mm to? I have a Digital Caliper to cut the wire exact length on both.
 
Jackson

Jackson

USA member at large
jmdlcar said:
If I go with this route and use a wire and cut it 62.46mm how much more range will I get? If I change the wire in the receiver board to would the wire be cut to 62.46mm to? I have a Digital Caliper to cut the wire exact length on both.
Click to expand...
Don't touch it, leave it be as you may ruin your PCB. Learn to fly the thing first, you can worry about antennas later if you find the range lacking.
 
jmdlcar

jmdlcar

Well-Known Member
Jackson said:
Don't touch it, leave it be as you may ruin your PCB. Learn to fly the thing first, you can worry about antennas later if you find the range lacking.
Click to expand...
I was just asking beside that what I was going to do. I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

I want to get a Syma X13 to learn how to fly inside. One thing I did fine out the X8C transmitter will work for both. I'm going to start saving for it. What do you think?
 
Gyro Doctor

Gyro Doctor

Electronics Tech for over 45 years
jmdlcar said:
If I go with this route and use a wire and cut it 62.46mm how much more range will I get? If I change the wire in the receiver board to would the wire be cut to 62.46mm to? I have a Digital Caliper to cut the wire exact length on both.
Click to expand...

Not that much of an increase in range for a 1/2 wave vs a 1/4 wave (as for the antennas themselves) aside from the fact that it's reaching further from the PCB (for instance running it down one of the legs) which makes it more sensitive than being so close to the PCB ... likely half as much more range at most. However, installing a 5dB antenna on the transmitter will roughly double your existing range.

These mods assume that you are proficient in soldering capabilities otherwise, as Jackson has warned, you can just ruin everything.
 
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