Good evening,
I am looking for a way to improve my video reception.
I want to stay analog for the moment.

Is it possible to upgrade the receiver modules of my goggles?
Or is a vrx like Tbs Fusion compatible on those?
Do you think it would really bring a visible improvement for the120 dollars investment?

What could be other solutions or what do I miss?
The range of my video signal does not go beyond 800 meters / 1km in a field... And I can't get a totally clear image...

Goggles: Skyzone 03OLED.
Antennas: 2x Lumenier axii, including a directional patch.
Vtx: Tbs Crossfire unify pro32 HV operating at 800mW.
Fpv camera: Runcam Phoenix 2 JB edition.

Any advice?

Thanks a lot.

You should be getting further out than 800m on 800mW even with budget goggles. Have you tried different channels in case the ones you are using are in use by other RF equipment in the area you fly? How are your antennas orientated, and have you made sure you are using ones with the correct type of connector on them (SMA as opposed to RP-SMA)? And is your VTX definitely on the 800mW setting?

I don't own a pair of Skyzone goggles but the receivers of them are supposed to be reasonable. Certainly good enough to get you out to the distances you are flying, and further. You can of course try an external module but there is no guarantee it will be any better. To use one of those with the Sky03O goggles you need to use a clunky adapter as shown in the article below...

https://uavfutures.com/reviews/skyzone-m...ay-adapter

Video quality difference between expensive VRX modules or built in ones is very marginal. Once behind a dense tree line its all goes snowy.

I fly a RapidFire module on my HDO2's and compared to my 7" Monitor that has built in diversity, the difference is very negligible even if I RCA the video feed from the monitor into my goggles. At least my eyes can not sense the difference looking at the analog feed.

I know there is going to be a difference in VRX sensitivity but I feel its better investing in better quality antenna's.

And on a quad, antenna placement is the most important piece to this entire puzzle.

Hi,
Many thanks for help.
I'm posting a picture of my setup.
Every antennas are RHCP, maybe you can tell me something about a better placement/orientation.

I'm going to try other channels but I think I already changed that without noticeable improvement. But it's definitely worth giving another try.

If I understand well, it would definitely not be interesting for me to invest in an external VRX like TBS Fusion? No improvement at all?

I really wonder how other pilotes manage to have an incredibly good range with those quality video feeds.

I must make a mistake somewhere..

The fundamental difference using Rapidfire or Fusion over cheaper diversity systems is that these modules do sync pulse reconstruction. Basically it locks on to a video signal and regenerates missing video feed basically combining frames along with sync reconstruction.

Even Fusion and Rapid fire switches to traditional diversity at time during long range flying.

When you first mentioned not being able to fly beyond 800meters, that is unusual because with 800mW power it should not be an issue especially if you maintain LOS.

Are you even sure that the VTX power setting is at max power of 800mW? Did you unlock the vtx by following the steps in the manual? While plugging in the lipo, TBS VTX’s indicate the channel/band and power via led flashes and you can compare that with the manual to verify what the flashing led is indicating.

Your issue definitely seems related to antenna quality, connectors, antenna placement or some other interference.

Also when you fly out to larger distances, gradually raise altitude as well to maintain LOS.

Else it maybe an issue with the VTX or the goggles VRX. Only way you can test this is by benchmarking it against a vtx that you know is working properly or another set of goggles. So leave this to the last.

The first thing you want to do is to get a 45 degree SMA elbow adapter so you can angle the patch antenna facing forward because if you are flying directly out in front of you that patch beam will be too narrow to cover the area in front of you and will only be getting reception to your right. At 800m the omni-directional antenna won't be doing much so you will relying on good reception to the patch antenna which is why it's direction is important.

Next, try to make make sure you keep your head UP when flying so the patch is perpendicular to the ground, or pointing up slightly, never down. If you tilt your head down the patch antenna will be pointing to the ground so it will be no good for anything.

You might also do well to get a better patch antenna like the VAS Crosshair Xtreme or the TrueRC X-AIR which should also give you better reception. I changed my patch from a ManaceRC Invader to a VAS Crosshair Xtreme and I was immediately able to tell that there was an improvement in the signal just by doing that.

Apologies, just saw the images after I posted the reply.

Your antenna placement looks ok atleast from a perspective if you fly in a line away from yourself.

If you turn around then the antenna signal will be blocked by the top mounted lipo.

If the patch on the goggles has a 45 angle adapter, position it to point forward and tilt it up a bit to ensure it stay with a line ahead of you and also incase you have unconsciously point your head towards the ground while flying.

Have you tested with any other antennas? sometimes the active element in an antenna can break connection during a crash.

---

Snow can do posts faster than me

(28-May-2021, 12:34 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: The first thing you want to do is to get a 45 degree SMA elbow adapter so you can angle the patch antenna facing forward

The photos at the bottom of the following post show how to use the 45 degree SMA adapter to get the patch antenna pointing forward (and also slightly up if you tend to tilt your head down a bit when flying)...

https://intofpv.com/t-tbs-fusion-vs-imme...#pid102177

(28-May-2021, 12:38 PM)kafie1980 Wrote: Snow can do posts faster than me

Haha. Not always, but if you write an essay that is longer than my usual ones then I win

I am really grateful for all your advice.
So, I'm going to abort the external VRX and apply all your tips this weekend.

Thank you.

Just curious here, I just set my unify pro 32 hv up and there is no 800mw setting. Of course use the right VTX table for your area…also unlocking this VTX took several tries. Holding in a button for 30sec while in the band setting is no easy task. There’s LED’s blinking all over the place. If you don’t unlock it will stay in 25mw and that’s about the range your talking about. 



________________________________________
//TBS Unify Pro32 HV - SA 2.1
//max power set to 36db as it wil lforce the vtx to ouput max power

# vtxtable
vtxtable bands 5
vtxtable channels 8
vtxtable band 1 BOSCAM_A A FACTORY 5865 5845 5825 5805 5785 5765 5745 5725
vtxtable band 2 BOSCAM_B B FACTORY 5733 5752 5771 5790 5809 5828 5847 5866
vtxtable band 3 BOSCAM_E E FACTORY 5705 5685 5665 5645 5885 5905 5925 5945
vtxtable band 4 FATSHARK F FACTORY 5740 5760 5780 5800 5820 5840 5860 5880
vtxtable band 5 RACEBAND R FACTORY 5658 5695 5732 5769 5806 5843 5880 5917
vtxtable powerlevels 4
vtxtable powervalues 14 20 26 36
vtxtable powerlabels 25 100 400 1W+

(29-May-2021, 01:48 PM)Kevin2112 Wrote: Just curious here, I just set my unify pro 32 hv up and there is no 800mw setting. Of course use the right VTX table for your area…also unlocking this VTX took several tries. Holding in a button for 30sec while in the band setting is no easy task. There’s LED’s blinking all over the place. If you don’t unlock it will stay in 25mw and that’s about the range your talking about. 



________________________________________
//TBS Unify Pro32 HV - SA 2.1
//max power set to 36db as it wil lforce the vtx to ouput max power

# vtxtable
vtxtable bands 5
vtxtable channels 8
vtxtable band 1 BOSCAM_A A FACTORY 5865 5845 5825 5805 5785 5765 5745 5725
vtxtable band 2 BOSCAM_B B FACTORY 5733 5752 5771 5790 5809 5828 5847 5866
vtxtable band 3 BOSCAM_E E FACTORY 5705 5685 5665 5645 5885 5905 5925 5945
vtxtable band 4 FATSHARK F FACTORY 5740 5760 5780 5800 5820 5840 5860 5880
vtxtable band 5 RACEBAND R FACTORY 5658 5695 5732 5769 5806 5843 5880 5917
vtxtable powerlevels 4
vtxtable powervalues 14 20 26 36
vtxtable powerlabels 25 100 400 1W+

Correct, most high power VTX's do not list the 200mW and 800mW options.

And in your case for the TBS Unify Pro32 HV, the manual states only the following power levels are supported:

Output Power: 14dBm (25mW), 20dBm (100mW), 26dBm (400mW), 30dBm+ (1000mW+)