4Hawks Raptor Range Extender Reviews And Questions

[Jagerbomb52]

If you don't need the Raptor XR for some of your flights your can order 2 GSM Omni Antenna 900MHz 3.5dbi RP-SMA Male(female pin) from ebay for about 6 bucks each. They just screw in to the connectors. You can also order a 5.8 5.8GHZ 5dBi RP-SMA Female Antenna and screw it into the 5.8 connector. In my case I already have several directional 5.8 antennas and will be using one of them.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

This?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

yes

 

[Jagerbomb52]

and this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pack-5GHz...880586&hash=item5b3d11a247:g:phYAAOSwryNZlnw6

 

[Old Bama Dude]

So this just takes the place of what's already on the controller, but is better?

 

[Tufargon]

I would definately go with the highest DBI antenna as possible. Seen some 8 DBI ones.

 

[intrepidusa]

I would definately go with the highest DBI antenna as possible. Seen some 8 DBI ones.

MORE GAIN!!!! It usually doesn't hurt to have a little more gain.

 

[Tufargon]

Did you mean cow bell? hahahaha

 

[Old Bama Dude]

So, what do we already have on the controller? I am rather confused at this point. I thought if you were going to replace the antennas, you would be going with something like the 4Hawks Raptor, not just a similar looking antenna. HELP! me old brain is spinning!

 

[intrepidusa]

Antennas, even of the same shape, can have higher gain characteristics...which can basically amplify the signal being broadcasted by the antenna. Each 3 db or dbi of gain doubles the transmit power in the direction of the lobes increasing transmit distance but not changing the characteristics of signal penetration...so that tree will still block the signal, but in the open you could achieve greater transmit distance.

The Raptor has antennas with better gain inside, but there is always a little more gain to be had.

 

[Hilander]

Has anyone installed any of the above antennas that is talked about on ebay? If so was the range extended and if so by how much? I don't need a 4 mile range or anything like that but if I can get an extra 1/2 mile with these antennas instead of paying 150.00 for the Raptor unit then I might go that route.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

Exactly what I would like to know.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

No, mine are still in China waiting to be shipped on that slow boat.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

No, mine are still in China waiting to be shipped on that slow boat.

Ahh, there you are. OK, so what leads you to believe these will be better than the stock antennas, past experience, or is this an experiment? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[intrepidusa]

The geniuses behind RF mathematics say so. I studied RF engineering in the Air Force, db gain on antennas is a fact, it works, pretty much all antennas have some gain property to them, unless they are just a straight piece of wire. Antennas are cut in length to match the properties of the frequency of the signal, that's why older cellular antennas were longer and got shorter over the years. By making an antenna a specific multiple of the wavelength and increasing the propogation properties of the transmitting element you get increased signal being broadcasted. Dish style and yagi style (old TV antennas that look like arrows, where you adjusted the point of the antenna for better reception) are the best way to describe a yagi) antennas focus the beam, stick antennas are omni directional. Make a directional antenna like a dish with high gain and you can transmit solid signals for miles...like microwave links for telephone and cellular towers. Reception is different, that is typically done in the electronics by amplifying and cleaning up signals after reception by the antenna. Hope that was high level enough.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Ahh, there you are. OK, so what leads you to believe these will be better than the stock antennas, past experience, or is this an experiment? Inquiring minds want to know.

Well I don't recall saying these antennas where any better or worse. These antennas are just a option to be able to remove the Raptor XR and go back to almost stock antennas without tearing your controller apart to do so.
My intent was never to say they are better, just a option some people might not have thought of.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

OK, I gotcha. Going easily back to stock from the Raptor. I thought you were talking about replacing the current antennas with these. You had me all excited there for a bit, thinking I could replace my antennas with these cheap antennas and boost my signal.
Good idea, by the way.

 

[intrepidusa]

I couldn't wait to try out the 4Hawks antenna till tomorrow so I decided to take the added subtle risk of flying out from the backyard again. I went so far out I decided manually to turn around...not sure how these guys fly that far beyond their natural line of sight, balls of steel? I had to update the firmware on the controller first...lol...forgot I hadn't done it to 2.0.1 yet. Another point, I am not on 2.0.8 yet. Previous distance was 3014ft or about .55 miles from the yard, surrounded by houses...well, at 5,100 ft away I chickened out. Not a video signal loss or screen video blip...not one issue other than my nerves. It is a real clear day with some white clouds and I still lost true sight of it before I got to 5,100 feet for sure...although I thought I could vaguely see a spec in the sky at times.

 

[intrepidusa]

OK, I gotcha. Going easily back to stock from the Raptor. I thought you were talking about replacing the current antennas with these. You had me all excited there for a bit, thinking I could replace my antennas with these cheap antennas and boost my signal.
Good idea, by the way.

I'll buy them and tell you for sure OBD, but the real challenge is that you don't have the raptor connectors installed that these antennas fit on...they won't replace the original antennas as you must remove the original ones completely and install new connectors and cabling in the remote.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

I'll buy them and tell you for sure OBD, but the real challenge is that you don't have the raptor connectors installed that these antennas fit on...they won't replace the original antennas as you must remove the original ones completely and install new connectors and cabling in the remote.

Right, very good. That would be neat if they did work better than the stock antenna.