WARNING: Read my update at the bottom of this description.

In this video I explain how I went about upgrading my Taranis radio so that I can have improved range, by using a 5dB antenna mod.

It also covers how to fix issues with your Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) value to maximise the antenna efficiency.

---- Products used in this tutorial ---
5dB antenna mod (US): [ Ссылка ]
5dB antenna mod (Australia): [ Ссылка ]
RG316 high quality coax cable: [ Ссылка ]

--- Useful learning resources ---
Mr Steele 5dB antenna mod video:
[ Ссылка ]

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
I have watched Joshua's recent video about the troubles he (and others) have been experiencing. I have been experiencing a few issues where my Alien quad has been unresponsive in mid flight and I have had to disarm. I've never had a FailSafe occur in the 2+ years of flying so I'm not sure what that feels like when it happens.

Therefore I'm not sure if my issues are down to the antenna mod or my FrSky RX. The reason I say this is that my UBAD quad has an older RX and I don't get the same issue. Having been a professional electronics engineer for many years, I know it's not related to any anti-static damage on my part or poor soldering skills. Something else is at play here, and I'm troubleshooting this right now. So my recommendation is NOT to do this mod, as even with my meticulous approach I have an issue.

Here is Joshua's warning video: [ Ссылка ]

I have the RX Failsafe set to "no pulses" in the Taranis menu for all of my bound RXs and my FC is set to 'drop' in Stage 2.

Here is some quick DVR footage showing the copter losing attitude control doing a drop-catch exercise while flying LoS a few meters in front of me. We notice that all the props were spinning as it tumbled and the RSSI value is still high.

I had trouble disarming and although we do hear what sounds like a failsafe beeping, I'm not convinced that it was a traditional failsafe event.

[ Ссылка ]

A few things worth considering for some people:
1) There are genuine FrSky 2dB and 5dB (RPSMA) available and perhaps the solution is to revert back to a 2dB one.
2) Perhaps soldering the braid to both ground solder pads that sit either side of the signal pad? My thinking is that this may be a requirement for a healthy RF signal, even though both pads are connected together at some point on the PCB.
3) One thing that is still unclear is how does the FrSky telemetry and protocol work. The Taranis antenna is both a transmitting device (RF to copter) and a reception device (RF from copter). Therefore, there may be some particular way that these 2 functions are balanced (or multiplexed) and what we are doing with removing UFL connectors, soldering directly thick coax and using higher gain antennas could well be upsetting the equilibrium of the system.
4) I'm going to create a test rig with my known parts that have given me issue (like RX module, FC, ESC, motor etc) and set this up on the bench. Then use the Taranis with 5dB antenna and try to reproduce the error condition by 'flying' in my usual way. If I can find a way to replicate it on the bench, then perhaps I can find a solution (like going for better quality antennas, lower gain antenna or soldering to each ground pad)

Please see this interesting video from Alex about why the 5dB antenna is not a good idea for a control radio: [ Ссылка ]

Joshua has just released this video that explains what might be happening to some people's radios following this mod. He also offers a possible solution too:
[ Ссылка ]

One final word from me. I have purchased a new genuine FrSky 2dB antenna (that looks just a bit bigger that the one I took off the Taranis) and have not had a single failsafe since :D

Regards Tony

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© Tony Leyland of E x p r e s s i v e I m a g e r y
My images/videos are posted here for your enjoyment only.

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