4Hawks Raptor Range Extender Reviews And Questions

[run8]

I agree sundog. For me it is not how far but the piece of mind of knowing the bird has the best chance. Very impressive, good job.

 

[WildDoktor]

Had my longest flight yet with the new Raptor antenna - 2.43 miles.

Awesome! I notice you have 19 GPS satellites connected...what firmware are you running on your XSP?

Also, what's the "total capacity" on the battery you used on this run? At the turn-around on my 2.42 mile run, I was at 17 min 74% battery remaining...you were at 14 min 57% battery remaining. Might be your battery is starting to die; or it might just be winds, or you loitered a bit longer than me before taking off, or some other factor.

Anyway, just curious...it's interesting to note the differences.

But congratulations on the distance! No video glitches and no loss of control is awesome for that far away.

 

[Sundog775]

Awesome! I notice you have 19 GPS satellites connected...what firmware are you running on your XSP?

Also, what's the "total capacity" on the battery you used on this run? At the turn-around on my 2.42 mile run, I was at 17 min 74% battery remaining...you were at 14 min 57% battery remaining. Might be your battery is starting to die; or it might just be winds, or you loitered a bit longer than me before taking off, or some other factor.

Anyway, just curious...it's interesting to note the differences.

But congratulations on the distance! No video glitches and no loss of control is awesome for that far away.

Thanks, I'm still running the now "old" firmware, haven't updated yet, been waiting for the official release which just happened yesterday. The late morning is one of the best times for GPS coverage in my area right now, there's about a 2-hour window when I can usually get 19 - 21 satellites. I was wondering if anyone might pick up on that % battery remaining number - I did a fair amount of messing around before I finally got off the ground for good, and my battery was already down to 87% when I launched. I probably should have popped in a fresh battery, but quite honestly I didn't know it was going to be so easy to go so far!

 

[Sundog775]

I agree sundog. For me it is not how far but the piece of mind of knowing the bird has the best chance. Very impressive, good job.

Thanks much for your comments. For me, building confidence has been one of the toughest parts of this whole "adventure", and anything that helps that is worthwhile!

 

[run8]

Got the refurbished controller today and finished the 4 hawks install. All went well but did have to bind 4 or 5 times to get it all up and running. Too windy today, the test tomorrow. Now to get that tiny connecter soldered back on.

 

[KunBow]

Had my longest flight yet with the new Raptor antenna - 2.43 miles. Perfect flight with no video breakup, app disconnects or RC loss whatsoever. Decided to go out to a remote location for testing and fly to a spring I knew to be about 2.5 miles away. Conditions were ideal, absolutely nothing around to cause any kind of interference and perfect flying conditions. I flew past the spring and was making the turn to return home when automatic Go Home initiated. It took me a couple of minutes to realize it was the Failsafe mode kicking in to make sure the XSP had enough battery to get home (it was showing 57% at the time). Sure enough, as I was landing the Low Battery Warning (25%) popped up - now that really is one smart battery! My original plan was to go up to near 400', then head out pausing at 1/2 mile intervals to check the radio signal strength through the Overall Status screen in Starlink and adjust the tilt angle to get maximum reception. I started with the Raptor in the vertical position and was going to make gradual adjustments upward, but every time I checked, the signal strength was reading 100%, so I never made any adjustment at all - the face of the antenna remained vertical throughout my test, from directly overhead to 2.43 miles out, and never had a glitch. I have 3 screen shots attached, the first two are from the iOS 11 screen recorder, one shot at the turnaround point, and one shot just a couple of seconds later of the Overall Status screen showing 100% radio signal strength. The third shot is from the Flight Log, at the end of the flight while landing when the Low Battery warning came up (numbers indicating remaining minutes and percentage turn orange). My main goal with the Raptor wasn't necessarily to see how far I could go, but to make sure I have the highest possible level of reliability at the distances I would normally fly, usually well under a mile. This testing has given me the confidence to know I can achieve that, and I'm extremely satisfied with the performance. Thanks, Agustine, for your guidance on the install.
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Thank You for this post!! This is the first time I have seen any report on this upgrade.
Keep it it the air

 

[Wayne Maine]

I have a controller on ebay if someone wants to mod one up.