This is my first build.  Everything appears to be working well...except I think the antennas are too long and floppy, and will get chopped by the propeller.  My thoughts are:

1) Bend them downward and secure them that way with a pin through the printed tail piece.  If I did this, it would never actually sit flat, always pitched forward with stress on them.
2) Somehow put something in place to force them to always be straight out with little to no bending.

Anyone have any advice?
Thanks!

where the pigtail joins the antenna, use the nut and a hole to mount. 7you ay need to make a tpu print...?

(24-Mar-2024, 11:42 PM)nobby Wrote: where the pigtail joins the antenna, use the nut and a hole to mount. 7you ay need to make a tpu print...?

I don't have a 3d printer, but I'm not opposed to ordering printed parts if I can figure out what/where.

This is my attempted solution, taping them to the screw sticking up vertically.  If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm all ears.



Thanks.

That looks like a aource for vibrations.
The antennas are way to close to each other, they need as much distance as possible between them, they shouldnt cover each other in regular flight situations and it can help for range to know what situation they cover each other or when the death point of the vtx antenna does face the pilot.

What exact frame do you have?
I would search on thingiverse.com for existing 3d print desihns for your frame and antenna.

Aslong as you are looking or waiting for a print, i would suggest to mount the antennas, all indipendently, with zip ties and shrinktube. Choose a ziptie which has enough rigidity to carry the antenna weight.
You can mount the elrs antennas on the framearms itself, one on the left and one on the right on the rear arms. That is a good mounting, specialy about durability - its not good enough if you like to go for more than 1mile. These small antennas are difficult to mount very well, for longrange it might be benefical to use 3d printed material to mount the receiver antennas.

General rule for antenna mounting is: as far away from everithing as possible, the worst things about distance to the antenna are; esc, motors and carbon itself. keep that in mind.

If you fly like that and get uncommon issues, wobbles or other vibrations; antenna mounting could be the source. But you can try and maybe it works for now

Ir might be the "darwin 240" ?
I couldnt find an existing design for printing maybe you can find one.

https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=Darwin+240&page=1

Hi JohnnyCornRocket,

I would take it out for a few flights and see how it works. Maybe it is ok, 
maybe it isn't.  You will not know until you fly it. By the way, I have done
riggings like that in the past and they worked. So, who is to say. The proof
is in the flying.

By the way, are those braces aluminum? 

Let's start with the receiver antenna (ELRS?). More recently, it is a common
practice to mount it at the front and low. Since the quad is in the air and
always has the nose pointed downward, this location provides a clear RF
LOS to the transmitter regardless of the quads orientation. This position also, 
gets it out of the way for the VTX antenna.

Regarding the VTX antenna, it needs to be high and about at the angle
that you have it. Then element at the end needs to be higher than that
battery. 

How you secure it is totally irrelevant as long as it is decently firm. It is
not really that important that it be "stiff". That pigtail looks like one
designed to be mounted to the frame. Maybe that could be beneficial
if you fabricated a bracket that it could mount to as well as to the 
rear two standoff columns.  I have some 1/16 inch aluminum sheet
which I could cut and bend to fabricate such a mount. Lexan plastic
could also be used or even some other material.

Actually, I would start by using 20mm standoff columns on top of the
top plate and attach the bracket to that; then bolt the pigtail to that
end of the bracket. The bracket itself would be a simple rectangle with
a bend at the antenna end. Drill holes for the bolts and the antenna
shaft. I would then cut out the side of the antenna shaft hole so that 
it could be assembled without removing the pigtail. 





The following picture shows how I use standoff columns above the top deck
plate at the rear of the quad to mount the GPS unit.




Later, iFly