(14-Dec-2020, 10:24 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Rather than re-typing what I wrote in another thread I will just post a link to it  

https://intofpv.com/t-a-pause-to-say-tha...#pid121351

Got the point! 

Here in Italy the weather is cold and you can feel your bones getting wet but, luckly I can fly my smallest quads in the courtyard of the company i'm working for. I have to pay some attention because the floor is unmerciful concrete but it's better than nothing at all.

By the way, which is the difference in mounting the omni on top connectors instead of bottom ones ?

Conrad compares the iFlight CRYSTAL to the Lumenier AXII HD patch antennas...

I'm puzzled! Since watching JB's "DJI goggle patch antenna top or bottom?" video, where he concludes he "sees little difference" (thus inconclusive), and that he prefers the omnis "on top" because "they perform better when placed higher" (really? 4" higher), and seeing that many more pictures/videos where the patch antennas are attached at the bottom (and like iFlight's Crystal, the connectors are routed towards the bottom), I have to wonder ...

The top antennas are also used for (request frame re-)transmission. Would it not make more sense to install the directional antennas on the top - so the transmission signal is also improved (when flying at a distance)?

Edit: from DAXtasy FPV's YT comments ...

"I tried both ways and for 360 close proximity freestyle, definitely omnis on top. More range because you have less of your head in the way. Now for long range, I would swap and run the patches on top."

Edit 2: while looking for Crystal specs on iFlight's sight

They are currently $40.49

(15-Dec-2020, 02:32 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Conrad compares the iFlight CRYSTAL to the Lumenier AXII HD patch antennas...

It's interesting to note Conrad mentioning the poor signal to the right in his test.

I have been using IF Crystal Antenna +their Omni for a week now and I'm happy with its performance for close proximity flying around the parks except on rare occasion.

Last evening, I flew my quad to my right above some pine tree line may be 60m+ above ground and it started to stutter with high latency, pixelation. This was with DJI Radio and I managed to regain control as quad dropped some altitude. I flew the same line/area with 4 omnis a few weeks ago with no issue then. May be I got into weak beam coverage to the right??

Need to try it again at the same area to see if it's reproducible.

(16-Dec-2020, 07:32 AM)jasperfpv Wrote: It's interesting to note Conrad mentioning the poor signal to the right in his test.

I have been using IF Crystal Antenna +their Omni  for a week  now and I'm happy with its performance  for close proximity flying around the parks except on rare occasion.

Last evening, I  flew my quad to my right  above some pine tree line may be 60m+  above ground and it started to stutter with high latency, pixelation. This was with DJI Radio and I managed to regain control as quad dropped some altitude.  I flew the same line/area with 4 omnis a few weeks ago with no issue then.  May be I got into weak beam coverage to the right??

Need to try it again at the same area to see if it's reproducible.

An explanation regarding worse signal on the right is in the following post...

https://intofpv.com/t-dji-antenna-placem...#pid121997

(16-Dec-2020, 12:14 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: An explanation regarding worse signal on the right is in the following post...

https://intofpv.com/t-dji-antenna-placem...#pid121997

Ah that makes sense now. Thx.

I was flying to the left side at much further distance and higher up with no issue at another location. Need to be more aware of my future flight path with this setup.

So... What's the verdict on these? Any better than the TrueRC X-Air?

(20-Dec-2020, 12:35 AM)NoDoze Wrote: So... What's the verdict on these? Any better than the TrueRC X-Air?

None of the reviews have put the iFlight CRYSTAL in front of the TrueRC X-AIR. The latter is still better but at the expense of you having to either lug around goggles with a huge form factor, or with you having to keep installing and removing the TrueRC X-AIR antennas every time you go out to fly. Unless you are flying medium/long range and need the absolute best range possible then the iFlight CRYSTAL is a much more compact and convenient solution.

Hard question to answer (based on how I've seen the antennas configured). I'm going with the Crystal. They're an improvement over the DJI antennas. Also, for me, another factor is convenience (Like NURK comments in his AXII HD vs TrueRC X-Air video). I don't want to have to remove the antennas every time I pack. That said, I've seen pictures of FPVers with 4x helicals that carry their goggles in a partition of their back pack. For me, again, I don't expect to be flying so far as to need 4 directional antennas any time soon. Since the Crystal are comparable in performance to the AXII, perhaps NURKs video can shed light (again, antenna configuration?)

Are you only concerned about maximum distance (vs proximity coverage)? Are you planning to buy 2x X-Airs? As Snow alludes above, the 4 antenna connectors of the DJI goggle have different importance. I've only ever seen 2 X-Air antennas being used. either horizontally connected (like in Nurks video above) or vertically (like in the drone-boarding Rotor Riot video).

Edit: Or like Snow succinctly put it above.

What Snow said. I used X-Air with 2 singularity Stubby for 8 months or so.
For my style of flying at the local park , often flying behind myself among trees, I didn't find the performance that impressive.

Happy to use the IF Crystal for the convenience/ ease of packing and better than stock performance. Just sold the Truerc on eBay last week. If I were to do any Long range, I would probably get two X-Air.

(20-Dec-2020, 01:58 AM)GeeVee Wrote: Hard question to answer (based on how I've seen the antennas configured). I'm going with the Crystal. They're an improvement over the DJI antennas. Also, for me, another factor is convenience (Like NURK comments in his AXII HD vs TrueRC X-Air video). I don't want to have to remove the antennas every time I pack. That said, I've seen pictures of FPVers with 4x helicals that carry their goggles in a partition of their back pack. For me, again, I don't expect to be flying so far as to need 4 directional antennas any time soon. Since the Crystal are comparable in performance to the AXII, perhaps NURKs video can shed light (again, antenna configuration?)

Are you only concerned about maximum distance (vs proximity coverage)? Are you planning to buy 2x X-Airs? As Snow alludes above, the 4 antenna connectors of the DJI goggle have different importance. I've only ever seen 2 X-Air antennas being used. either horizontally connected (like in Nurks video above) or vertically (like in the drone-boarding Rotor Riot video).

Edit: Or like Snow succinctly put it above.

I am debating between the IF Crystal vs the TrueRC X2-Air (https://www.getfpv.com/truerc-5-8ghz-x-a...x9EALw_wcB) which I think is better than the older X-Air...? I'm actually not sure the difference between the two X...?

I do freestyle, but occasionally go the distance. I'm also concerned about penetration. Isn't it better to have max range/performance anytime? Since with DJI if you go out of range it'll just failsafe into a rock out of the sky? And yes, however, I am leaning more towards the Crystal because it looks sweet and compact.

(20-Dec-2020, 07:29 AM)NoDoze Wrote: I am debating between the IF Crystal vs the TrueRC X2-Air (https://www.getfpv.com/truerc-5-8ghz-x-a...x9EALw_wcB) which I think is better than the older X-Air...? I'm actually not sure the difference between the two X...?

I do freestyle, but occasionally go the distance. I'm also concerned about penetration. Isn't it better to have max range/performance anytime? Since with DJI if you go out of range it'll just failsafe into a rock out of the sky? And yes, however, I am leaning more towards the Crystal because it looks sweet and compact.

So, I'm curious, if you can afford the DJI Digital experience, must your antenna choice be a mutually exclusive decision?

You could get the Crystal (for compactness and better omni-directionality) AND two X2-Air for distance. Since you occasionally "go the distance", you would only need to go through the antenna swap occasionally, when you intend to go the distance. 

According to the specs, the X2 has twice the gain of the X (and they are currently at the same price!). Observe the vertical orientation of the X-Air antennas on TrueRC's product page (whether X2 or X; It would seem to suggest how the antenna designer intended them to be mounted).

As to penetration, though the narration in the video below may be foreign, you can see the image based on his test and, at ~4:18, you can augment this empirical data by viewing the bandwidth graphs. Review: Are TrueRC X-Air the best antennas for the DJI Digital FPV System?