What are you folks using to protect your FPV antennas?

I have been using Foxeers because of the tough plastic cover and low cost. FPV antennas are a little bit of a "consumable" in my opinion.
Mostly comes down to your frames design and how many options you have to mount it, as well as your own personal preference. Myself personally I like it exiting the frame horizontally (at the rear) and then bent upwards. This way keeps the connection safe in a top or bottom crash and only hits the props when it gets bent from an impact which usually results in a hasty disarm anyway
Biggest help for me is that tough plastic cover though. Some can even be 3D printed.

I agree with DOP, antennae are one of those parts that require replacement quite often. And the more you try to protect them, the more they lose their efficiency. I think I'm going to try the new pagoda style antenna due to it's low cost.

I protect mine by never crashing.    Which is why I have them laying all over my workbench is various stages of destruction.  They are defiantly a consumable and the pagoda ant. are great....and tougher then they look......

I've been using gorilla glue mixed with water on a couple of aomways I have. The glue transforms into a foamy expanding substance which covers the lobes of the antenna and when cured, leaves a semi-hard shell. I have been thinking about combining this method with the new aomway "hats" an I assume that they will be almost as bulletproof as the tbs triumph

Thanks for the responses folks. I was thinking about getting a 45 degree SMA adapter so it pointed at 45 degrees using a pagoda. They are cheap enough to replace.

(28-Jul-2017, 06:22 PM)t3rminal Wrote: Thanks for the responses folks. I was thinking about getting a 45 degree SMA adapter so it pointed at 45 degrees using a pagoda. They are cheap enough to replace.

Just get a pagoda antenna, you should be able to bend it to 45 degree.  Or do whatever necessary to avoid using an adapter........

(28-Jul-2017, 06:04 PM)oyvinla Wrote: I've been using gorilla glue mixed with water on a couple of aomways I have. The glue transforms into a foamy expanding substance which covers the lobes of the antenna and when cured, leaves a semi-hard shell. I have been thinking about combining this method with the new aomway "hats" an I assume that they will be almost as bulletproof as the tbs triumph

Wait what!? A Bill Nye science experiment AND my RC hobby  Mind Blown  

I'd love to know more about the process. Just simply mix equal parts, Gorilla glue and water?

My aomway antennas seem to not break so easy sometimes they have odd shapes after crashes, but the only damage ever was 1 lobe breaking at one end which could be easily soldered back on.

I'm using vtx with a pigtail connection, then simply zip-tie the antenna to the top plate, with the antenna sticking out the rear and bent upwards.

(28-Jul-2017, 06:35 PM)Drone0fPrey Wrote: Wait what!? A Bill Nye science experiment AND my RC hobby  Mind Blown  

I'd love to know more about the process. Just simply mix equal parts, Gorilla glue and water?

Not sure about the exact mix, but it doesn't seem to be that important as you can only mix in so much water. You can pour off the excess water. I have used gorilla glue the size of a 500mg paracetamol pill and a drop or two of water

(28-Jul-2017, 06:45 PM)fftunes Wrote: My aomway antennas seem to not break so easy sometimes they have odd shapes after crashes, but the only damage ever was 1 lobe breaking at one end which could be easily soldered back on.

I'm using vtx with a pigtail connection, then simply zip-tie the antenna to the top plate, with the antenna sticking out the rear and bent upwards.

Yeah, and with the new plastic hat they are pretty tough to break.

On the mushroom cap ones... I just stopped replacing caps. When they fall apart enough that they need replaced than I get new ones.

I have a couple of TBS Triumph stubs but the stupid things are all RP-SMA (I didn't know about RP-SMA yet) and the only VTX that I had that was RP-SMA fell apart on me in a crash.

Other than that... I mostly just try to keep em out of props in whatever ways that I can. Kinda like the other guys I treat them like a consumable and just get new ones when it's time.

I have a few TBS, and they are like tanks. They have been fine through many crashes.

I also ended up spending about $70 for DIY 160 Pagoda antennas. I shrink wrap my pagoda antennas to improve durability with crashes. I just make a new antenna when one breaks. So far, I only had to replace one.

(29-Jul-2017, 07:40 AM)voodoo614 Wrote: I also ended up spending about $70 for DIY 160 Pagoda antennas. I shrink wrap my pagoda antennas to improve durability with crashes. I just make a new antenna when one breaks. So far, I only had to replace one.

I can't find anywhere in the UK to purchase the Pagoda Jig and its around £10/$13 p&p from the USA ?

It is probably still worth the cost of shipping. I would buy a few jig.

The other option would be to make your own either through STL files from thingverse if you have a 3D printer.