RobanyBigjobz

I was posting this more for the engineering/physics demonstration of what's possible because they actually achieved it. I'm sure it didn't escape your notice that there was an explicit rider about not claiming if this would be legal in the UK I sympathise with your view that vendors are pretty useless about what's legal and what's not, but that wasn't the focus of the post. One of the more interesting bits of the video for me was the section on axial ratio and the need for it to be high enough for what they suggest to work. For anyone who hasn't watched it, all CP antennas emit/receiv

Interesting video from Alex Greve on how to get many FPV pilots flying together. Just as importantly for a nosey devil like me, is it includes some info on how it works too. N.B. I have not checked the UK legality of all the frequencies they claim to use. Let's call that an exercise for the reader?

Devil's advocate: If it is done safely, within sensible rules to protect human-carrying aviation and people and property on the ground, who are we or the CAA to prevent people doing things? Just because we may not find it impressive or interesting doesn't mean other folks don't and why shouldn't they enjoy it? I'm sure there's plenty of folks out there who think flying RC models at all is pretty out there, weird and potentially dangerous.

Second test, same Rx position as last time but using the Crossfire micro Rx with single dipole instead of the diversity Rx with its coil loaded dipoles. Another difference is the carbon fibre frame instead of fibreglass so not an ideal comparison with two variables changed. -117dBm RSSI, -3dB SNR and Link Quality down to 50% by the time I got to the gate. Unlikely to be easy to fly with that amount of packet loss but it didn't lose link completely.

Comparative data against the Taranis and Horus would be very interesting. I look forward to the test.

My enduring airborne RC jinx is still strong. After last night's magic-smoke-escaping-from-the-current-sensor incident, I decided to take my other favorite techno-toy to the field and snap some pics instead of demonstrating my ineptitude at flying. Tiny Flyer Dead Centre Limbo Fail Embedded Under Bent Hoop The Better Part Of Valour... Some Can Do It Fixed Wing Others, Not So Much

Definitely not the first one. With my sense of balance, I'll be going straight through the props when it wobbles

Since data is king and we don't trust anybody, here's a data point. N=1 isn't brilliant but it's a start. Quad with Crossfire Rx placed on the ground, antenna in 90 degree V orientation. I walked away from the quad back down the track watching the RSSI, SNR and LQ, my body was between the Tx and the Rx. By the time I reached the gate the RSSI was -110dB (TBS claim sensitivity down to -130), SNR was 3-4dB (TBS docs say max is 8dB and Rx can maintain link at -12dB, SNR is how far above the noise floor you are) and LQ hovered between 90-95% (LQ is fraction of packets received successfully

Useful reference chart, thanks

The proliferation of non-conforming RF devices is definitely a problem though I'm not sure that it would be limited to just the Crossfire's working band. 2.4GHz is used for a huge range of things from WiFi to baby monitors and TV repeaters so there's scope for 2.4GHz radios to be negatively affected near densely populated areas too. TBS do make some pretty strong claims about the noise resistance of the Crossfire in busy RF environments. How true these are I can't answer personally. What it does provide is RSSI and link quality metrics on the OSD so the pilot has real time info on the

Crossfire is an SRD (Short Range Device), OFCOM's license-exempt SRD page is here. Quote from section 3: "SRDs have little potential to cause interference to other radio users, provided they operate under the correct technical conditions. In keeping with Ofcom's general policy of deregulation and reducing unnecessary burdens, we have removed the need for most SRDs to be licensed." From the Interface Requirements (IR2030) page 20: IR2030/1/14 2010/0168/UK Oct 2010 Non-specific short-range devices Equipment may be used airborne Analogue audio applications other than vo

While I haven't had the chance to fly it at Fickleshole, I have a quad that I fly FPV. I've had problems with losing the 2.4GHz RC link while the video is still fine even while using an omni Rx antenna, a 25mW Vtx and well within the accepted limits of LOS. After much fiddling around with no success, I gave up on 2.4 with this quad and picked up a TBS Crossfire to provide the RC link. The Crossfire is a frequency hopping digital radio, similar in principle to the current crop of digital radios, that operates at 868MHz instead of 2.4GHz. TBS claim a telemetry range of 30km but all I wanted was

Team BlackSheep's Crossfire UHF system supports GPS telemetry and future firmware updates are likely to allow this to be displayed on the screen of your Taranis. The diversity receiver has a built in battery that will allow it to keep broadcasting its last known position for 24h even if the flight battery is disconnected in a crash.

If it wasn't fatal before the perpetrator passed on their genes then it's only an honourable mention

It's a robot, it looks like a robot, it sounds like a robot and yet there's still empathy as if it was an actual animal when you watch it stagger when the guy kicks it...