Evo - cracked antennas

[TravisPNW]

Hi all,

I've had my Evo just over a month and am totally happy with the performance and range. I've read that the antennas are garbage... cheap and flimsy... etc... etc...

Well I got back from a flight today and noticed both are cracked. See attached pictures. It's at the base where they rotate. One is cracked but still together and the other has already had the small plastic pieces fall apart. The other side of both antennas appear to be fine.

So I'm wondering... how did this happen? I've been gentle with them the entire time and most definitely haven't put any pressure or force on them.

What are my options here? Both are still together and the flight today went well.. 2600 ft away with no signal issues. I don't wanna send to Autel if I don't have to. They are less than an hour drive from me though here in Washington state. Will they accept fault for a cheap design or is it gonna be user error? LOL.... I was half considering an antenna mod anyway based on all the hate I've read lately and now that it's happened to me I'm thinking about it even more.

Thoughts?

 

[macoman]

I will not put attention... It's still functional and the crack appear to be minimalist.

 

[TravisPNW]

I will not put attention... It's still functional and the crack appear to be minimalist.

Yeah... the other side of both appear fine... and that's keeping them together. Will try the crazy glue on the one with the visible cracks... the other has already had the little plastic pieces break away and I don't see any further cracking so I'll probably leave that alone.

No apparent signal issues... not that I expected any.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Squerly]

Will they accept fault for a cheap design or is it gonna be user error?

Call them, my guess is they'll send you 2 new antenna's.

 

[G_G]

Call them, my guess is they'll send you 2 new antenna's.

Nope. Current policy regarding cracked antenna bases after two weeks of ownership is you must send in the RC and the aircraft for evaluation, and if they determine that it is a covered warranty issue, they will repair the RC by installing new antennas and return it at their expense, if you are in the United States. It will be a restricted signature delivery, so someone must be present to sign for it! They will not replace the RC, so even an advance purchase of a replacement RC won't keep you in the air during the repair, because they won't replace the RC for cracked antennas. You will not see your EVO for three weeks! Plan for this every few months, as that is the average frequency for cracks to appear.

 

[Squerly]

Well OK then. My XSP is looking better all the time...

 

[macoman]

Nope. Current policy regarding cracked antenna bases after two weeks of ownership is you must send in the RC and the aircraft for evaluation, and if they determine that it is a covered warranty issue, they will repair the RC by installing new antennas and return it at their expense, if you are in the United States. It will be a restricted signature delivery, so someone must be present to sign for it! They will not replace the RC, so even an advance purchase of a replacement RC won't keep you in the air during the repair, because they won't replace the RC for cracked antennas. You will not see your EVO for three weeks! Plan for this every few months, as that is the average frequency for cracks to appear.

That's ridiculous that you need to send the aircraft as well. I checked the antennas of my RC and one of them appear to have a very minimalist crack but I don't care at this point. You can barely see it.

 

[G_G]

That's ridiculous that you need to send the aircraft as well. I checked the antennas of my RC and one of them appear to have a very minimalist crack but I don't care at this point. You can barely see it.

Even if you were to persuade Autel that there is no need to also send in the aircraft, it's not like you can do anything with the aircraft without the RC during the three weeks it will take them each time to repair the antennas! They should be replacing defective RC's with new ones, and allowing an advance shipment of the replacement with a CC, to secure the return of the defective one! That way you would have no downtime. Even DJI doesn't waste time repairing anything! Once the repair invoices are paid or warranty coverage is established, they send out brand new units called "refurbs" that come in a plain black box instead of a white retail box within 48 hours!

 

[waverider]

When I had to send in my RC they shipped me back a totally new controller rather than repairing mine per warranty. Total time beginning to end that I was Evo-less was 14 days. I think a major factor in this delay was the fact that they shipped it back to me by UPS ground, which gets very low priority. UPS missed the delivery date shown on the tracking info twice before they finally showed up with it. But I was pleasantly surprised to get an all-new RC instead of a repair.

 

[Hazz]

I sent my rc in for repairs of the antennas that had cracked. Only had the evo for a month or 2 with less than 10 flights. Got it back from autel and three weeks later the antennas started cracking again. I did the antenna mod. They work great so far took it out 2 miles so far didn't want to go any further signal was still strong.

 

[Ansia]

My RC got the antennas replaced. The new antennas? Arrived cracked as well....lol after market antennas is definetly the way to go.

 

[macoman]

My RC got the antennas replaced. The new antennas? Arrived cracked as well....lol after market antennas is definetly the way to go.

Bro where I can find after market antennas? Just in case in the future.

 

[TravisPNW]

My RC got the antennas replaced. The new antennas? Arrived cracked as well....lol after market antennas is definetly the way to go.

Yeah as said it's something I"m thinking about. I'm fine with a cheap crazy glue fix (well, maybe not so much) but in the end I'd rather have something a bit more durable. If that means an antenna mod, so be it. As it stands right now the piece that is cracked but still together might turn out OK with some glue... but the other has already had the plastic pieces around the hinge break away which basically has the antenna hanging on by a thread... (the other side that isn't cracked yet) Nothing is holding it to the base on the broken side.

I did go ahead and email Autel this morning with pics and will let everyone know their response. They are local so who knows if that would expedite things.

I noticed it when I got home and went to charge the controller. It flew yesterday for an hour and I hit 2600 ft in range without any issue.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Will update.

 

[Ansia]

Bro where I can find after market antennas? Just in case in the future.

Amazon.com: 2 x 8dBi WiFi RP-SMA Male Antenna 2.4GHz 5.8GHz Dual Band +2 x 15CM U.FL/IPEX to RP-SMA Female Pigtail Cable for Mini PCIe Card Wireless Routers, PC Desktop, Repeater, FPV UAV Drone and PS4 Build : Electronics

Buy 2 x 8dBi WiFi RP-SMA Male Antenna 2.4GHz 5.8GHz Dual Band +2 x 15CM U.FL/IPEX to RP-SMA Female Pigtail Cable for Mini PCIe Card Wireless Routers, PC Desktop, Repeater, FPV UAV Drone and PS4 Build: Network Antennas - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

First time I bought these, I was stupid and broke the coaxial, but now I know what I did wrong and won't make the same mistake twice.

 

[TravisPNW]

Amazon.com: 2 x 8dBi WiFi RP-SMA Male Antenna 2.4GHz 5.8GHz Dual Band +2 x 15CM U.FL/IPEX to RP-SMA Female Pigtail Cable for Mini PCIe Card Wireless Routers, PC Desktop, Repeater, FPV UAV Drone and PS4 Build : Electronics

Buy 2 x 8dBi WiFi RP-SMA Male Antenna 2.4GHz 5.8GHz Dual Band +2 x 15CM U.FL/IPEX to RP-SMA Female Pigtail Cable for Mini PCIe Card Wireless Routers, PC Desktop, Repeater, FPV UAV Drone and PS4 Build: Network Antennas - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

First time I bought these, I was stupid and broke the coaxial, but now I know what I did wrong and won't make the same mistake twice.

Thanks for the link. Is there a specific assembly guide/video you used?

 

[Ansia]

Thanks for the link. Is there a specific assembly guide/video you used?

I used this guide. The link I provided earlier are not the same used in this guide, but overall it's the same process. Only thing missing is that you have to flip the battery to make the coaxials fit inside the controller without any damage.

That being said, I will stick with OEM antennas until they fall off.

 

[macoman]

I did go ahead and email Autel this morning with pics and will let everyone know their response. They are local so who knows if that would expedite things.

I hope that Autel takes the feedbacks very seriously and if they are going to make in the future an Evo 2 or version 2 or whatever... Make the antennas quality more stronger like my mavic pro platinum antennas. I believe that they rushed the Evo into production without caring on the plastic quality of the antennas.

 

[TravisPNW]

I used this guide. The link I provided earlier are not the same used in this guide, but overall it's the same process. Only thing missing is that you have to flip the battery to make the coaxials fit inside the controller without any damage.

That being said, I will stick with OEM antennas until they fall off.

Thanks for the guide. I checked out YouTube and saw some disassembly videos related to antenna extenders as well.

I'm a bit confused though... you are sticking with OEM antennas? Haven't made the mod?

 

[Ansia]

Thanks for the guide. I checked out YouTube and saw some disassembly videos related to antenna extenders as well.

I'm a bit confused though... you are sticking with OEM antennas? Haven't made the mod?

I did made the mod, but I broke the coaxial inside the controller, because I didn't turn the battery upside down and closed it with pressure. When I went flying, the Evo disconnected after 70', causing me a huge scare. I installed the OEM antennas again and ordered a new set. I have it, but haven't installed them yet.

 

[TravisPNW]

I did made the mod, but I broke the coaxial inside the controller, because I didn't turn the battery upside down and closed it with pressure. When I went flying, the Evo disconnected after 70', causing me a huge scare. I installed the OEM antennas again and ordered a new set. I have it, but haven't installed them yet.

Gotcha. Now it makes sense.

Will follow up with Autel's response to my email.