After battling with TBS Tracer's PATHETIC short range {150 yards or less} I FINALLY solved the problem and now it is FANTASTIC!!!!    Here are the steps I went thru to solve the problem:  Step 1: CAREFULLY trace EACH wire connected from flight controller to the TBS tracer receiver.  Step 1:  firmly secure receiver with alligator clips.  Step 3: Unsolder all wires connected to TBS tracer receiver.  Step 4:  Remove TBS Tracer Module from back of your transmitter.  Step 5:  Carefully identify Expresslrs solder pads on the new receiver.  Step 6:  Solder Expresslrs pad wires to FC.  Step 7:  Bind new Expresslrs receiver to new transmitter module and last BUT NOT LEAST Step 8:  Gather TBS Tracer receiver and transmitter module FIRMLY in your hand and promptly throw this POS in the garbage!  That is unless you intend to fly around your mommies basement and not venture out into the real world.

Tracer uses FLRC modulation. With you unsuccessfully having tried two Tracer modules, that suggests there might be some kind of interference or noise floor in your area that is specifically affecting FLRC modulation devices. ExpressLRS uses LoRa modulation (as does TBS Crossfire) which is completely different to FLRC, so if that is now working fine then it does sound like FLRC modulation isn't suitable for where you live / fly.

(17-Aug-2021, 10:12 AM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Tracer uses FLRC modulation. With you unsuccessfully having tried two Tracer modules, that suggests there might be some kind of interference or noise floor in your area that is specifically affecting FLRC modulation devices. ExpressLRS uses LoRa modulation (as does TBS Crossfire) which is completely different to FLRC, so if that is now working fine then it does sound like FLRC modulation isn't suitable for where you live / fly.

I completely agree with you!   Something is NOT right with this setup or my area.  Regardless, ANY system that claims 15+ miles should AT LEAST be able to have a range beyond 150 yards.  I mean Expresslrs at least DOUBLED this range under the same circumstances at ONLY 100mw before I got tired of walking.  I tested it at my parents and was able to get to 650 yards at 100mw before signal decreased with straight line of site.  Again WAY under advertised range but quad was on ground and i took transmitter with me also at ground level.  Receiver quality at 650 yards was around 40 at 100mw.  I bumped it up to 250mw and signal went back up to 90+.  I didn't go any further because the area was not passable due to a lot of rain and muddy conditiions.  Nevertheless this was MUCH improved over TBS and a no brainer on which system I will be using from now on.  Now it is doubtful I will ever fly this far but sometimes I forget im not flying my Phantom 4 and dont realize I have decreased range.  Still dont get how a 6+ year old technology still has better range than today.

(17-Aug-2021, 10:41 AM)jeffames226 Wrote: I completely agree with you!   Something is NOT right with this setup or my area.  Regardless ANY system that claims 15+ miles should AT LEAST

Yes I agree that a range specification of 15+ miles is BS for anyone who isn't flying high up in the Swiss Alps. Which is pretty much no-one except a select few, and those people would still be better of with a LoRa based RC Link anyway IMO.

The bottom line is that Tracer is only suitable / reliable for close proximity flying and it was really designed for low latency racing (on a course that is close to you) with much less chance of micro failsafes occurring where there are a lot of pilots in the air at the same time. I don't understand why some people buy Tracer with the goal of using it to fly out medium / long distance. LoRa modulation is specifically for that purpose so is far superior and reliable than FLRC modulation will ever be for that. That said, you should still be able to fly out more than 150 yards even on FLRC which is why there must be some kind of strong interference in your particular area.

TBS would do Tracer users a favour if they allowed Tracer to be switched from FLRC to LoRa modulation just like ImmersionRC Ghost can. But TBS won't do that because they don't want to jeopardise sales of their other already existing LoRa based system (Crossfire).

I think you definitely made the right choice by switching to a LoRa based system.

i would've gone tracer early this year if it was using lora. Instead i'm super deep into expresslrs, which ended up being a much more fun project to learn and play with.

Somehow after crashes, FrSky antenna detached from receiver... but at the time I didnt know. Cannot arm. If I squeezed canopy.. I could arm. Flew about 50m before rx loss... ie without antenna.

This is not first time something like this.
1. Ipex can be secure, but antenna wire inside broken
2. Wire ok, but Ipex connector broken.. or if soldered it broke off

ExoressLRS
I tried making my own mini 900Mhz boards.. but with $10 just for RF chips.. ended up just buying BetaFPV nano receivers.