Posts: 12 Threads: 3 Likes Received: 0 in 0 posts Likes Given: 0 Joined: Aug 2020 Reputation: 0 Not really a beginner but getting back into the hobby. I built a really cheap rig a few years back but never really flew a ton because I couldn’t afford repairs and the cheap rig was kinda bad and not super fun. Recently upgraded the quad with (among other things) a foxeer reaper extreme vtx which should have more than enough output power for my needs (also bought a “quality antenna” as required by the manufacturer) however I don’t see any improvement in video range. My working theory is that this is due to my poor quality goggles (an extremely old pair of eachine goggles that I can’t even find online anymore). Putting different antennas on the goggles seems to affect range slightly but I still can’t get more than 20-30 yards of range in a line of sight low interference area. I really just want confirmation that the goggles can dramatically affect range before I buy a new pair and if anyone has any recommendations on something (ideally pretty cheap) that would work better that would be much appreciated. Thanks and happy flying  ![[-]](https://intofpv.com/images/collapse.png) • Posts: 199 Threads: 4 Likes Received: 62 in 57 posts Likes Given: 17 Joined: Oct 2022 Reputation: 8 if the receiver is really crappy (if its old cheap eachine goggles, it is) it will definitley affect range. What antennas are on your goggles and the quad as well? There can be polarization which if not matched can also cause poor range. • Posts: 1,490 Threads: 92 Likes Received: 574 in 468 posts Likes Given: 0 Joined: Nov 2020 Reputation: 27 20-30yrds..
is either pit mode or opposite polarization.
or antenna not attached.. SMA vs RP-SMA.
If you have good goggle receiver even when quad vtx antenna unconnected, you can still fly 200-300m. but its fuzzy. • Posts: 157 Threads: 7 Likes Received: 55 in 42 posts Likes Given: 33 Joined: Jan 2021 Reputation: 0 Just a question, did you use the goggle 'auto find' to tune into the Vtx?. If so it may be on the wrong channel they are know to do that. That's about the distance you'll get on a close ,but wrong channel. Maybe? • Posts: 173 Threads: 10 Likes Received: 61 in 50 posts Likes Given: 18 Joined: Aug 2016 Reputation: 2 How can we help constructively when we do not know what you have? OK, you list the VTX, but VTX antenna(s), goggles, Goggles antenna(s), the position of these on them. Power used. If you cannot accurately state a series of photos please, then we likely can really help. Oh, and state your budget! We CAN help.......................  • Posts: 6,093 Threads: 172 Likes Received: 2,283 in 1,830 posts Likes Given: 4,724 Joined: Feb 2019 Reputation: 100 thebvrx from a cheapish goggle can be bad and go worse, its the bottleneck in your case for sure.
eachine does some good inexpensive stuff, the eachine ev800 for about 80$ works nice, its vrx can receive well from faraway. it might be the best for a low price.
dont miss to check the used marked, some decent modules and goggles can be bought for a low price in these digital transmission times :-)
a mod of your old ones, add an external module to the video in of your actual cheap googles vould be an inexpensive solution either, but some work and a bit risk. you might need to find a good example for a mod. • Posts: 5,857 Threads: 47 Likes Received: 2,778 in 2,240 posts Likes Given: 7,618 Joined: Jul 2019 Reputation: 97 Hi ZX1181, I have some really cheap Eachine VR006 goggles that I got in a combo kit with an Eachine E013 tiny whoop quad and cheap toy transmitter for $ 75 USD total. I don't know what the "range" of the goggles is, but they always kept up with what ever quad that I was running. If I had to guess, I would say that the range is somewhere between 1K and 2K (maybe more). So, I don't think that the range issue is in the goggles per se. Of course, you have to have them on the correct channel as has already been stated. The antennas on the goggles are firmly attached correct. By the way, even the cheap linear antennas that come with the goggles have quite a range unless you have some type of non-compatible antenna on the quad. My guess is that the issue is related to the VTX or antenna on the quad. I also concur that pictures would be nice as well as any information on both the goggles and the VTX. One other thing. The goggles are likely NTSC, however, the VTX or Camera could be set to PAL. It doesn't matter which one you use, but they both need to be the same setting. Later, iFly  • Posts: 395 Threads: 51 Likes Received: 150 in 106 posts Likes Given: 256 Joined: Apr 2023 Reputation: 11 I had a quad that was only giving good video range to 30 yards. Just changed the rat tail antenna to an rhcp and now I'm getting normal whoop ranges and a pretty good image. I would try that first since it's so easy to change. • Posts: 12 Threads: 3 Likes Received: 0 in 0 posts Likes Given: 0 Joined: Aug 2020 Reputation: 0 (09-Jul-2023, 02:08 AM)matt0725 Wrote: if the receiver is really crappy (if its old cheap eachine goggles, it is) it will definitley affect range. What antennas are on your goggles and the quad as well? There can be polarization which if not matched can also cause poor range. I have a weird linear rp-sma antenna on the goggles (im having trouble with attaching pictures to the post) I’m pretty sure it came with the goggles but like I said i haven’t flown in a while and on the quad i have an XILO AXII MMCX 5.8GHz Antenna (LHCP) - LHCP. • Posts: 320 Threads: 21 Likes Received: 162 in 117 posts Likes Given: 185 Joined: Apr 2022 Reputation: 5 Being the cheapest thing to test (assuming you're connected on the correct channel and video system, NTSC/PAL), maybe grab a LHCP antenna for your goggle to identify if that solves the problem. If it doesn't then chances are that there could be some other issue with the goggle
If you don't know anyone to that flies and could check the signal on their goggles, then you could also buy one of those cheap OTG usb receivers, and plug it on your phone (if android) or computer, and test how that works. • Posts: 121 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 61 in 47 posts Likes Given: 21 Joined: Apr 2023 Reputation: 4 14-Jul-2023, 05:19 PM (This post was last modified: 14-Jul-2023, 05:26 PM by truglodite.) It could be a lot of things causing poor video range, and when this happens it's usually best to start with the cheapest possibility. Antennas are usually it... I always keep a set of known good antennas around for testing whenever I see poor video range. Even a pair of linear whips works fine for this; they don't have to be fancy (if they are too fancy you might be tempted to use them on a quad and not preserve them for testing).
Side note... if you found your VTx antenna was bad... it is possible it can damage the vtx too. Some VTx's handle broke antennas better than others, but this is something to look out for as you troubleshoot. With this in mind, and knowing you got a powerhouse vtx... when poor video range issues come up like this, resist the temptation to throw more watts at it. Doing so with a bad antenna is just asking to destroy a good vtx... especially when there is a lot of available output power. As others mentioned, even 25mW should get you well across the soccer pitch with minimal static if all is working well. Anytime I run in to video issues, I stick to 25mW for troubleshooting, and don't up power until it's fixed. |
