Limitless Radio for SpeedRuns? (and Noble NB4 discussions)

[IWANTBLUE]

Do these range boosters need to be the same brand to communicate with the transmitter / receiver? Or are they kind of self contained in that they are simply an antenna/a signal booster so dumb in that they boost whatever they are given ?
So brand agnostic as it were?

 

[rotauq]

Do these range boosters need to be the same brand to communicate with the transmitter / receiver? Or are they kind of self contained in that they are simply an antenna/a signal booster so dumb in that they boost whatever they are given ?
So brand agnostic as it were?

Brand agnostic indeed. They boost the signal strength and don't care what protocols are used for communication. They are bandwidth specific/optimized, so it must be a 2.4G model

 

[IWANTBLUE]

Excellent, thankyou,

 

[ABabyEater]

So I've been having issues with my Radio, and was hoping to get a little input/feedback. I've got an RC6GS V2 and over the last few months the broadcast signal has been getting weaker and weaker, to the point of losing signal at about 150' today. It has put a serious damper on my RC experience and prevented me from speedrunning. Now that I'm geared for 130+ I can't afford to have any doubt in my Radio and need to get this rectified before I can get back to it. So. Here is my dilemma... Should I upgrade to an NB4 with a range extender, including a bucket of receivers to rebind all my cars, or would it be worth rigging up an extender to the Radiolink? What could be causing the issue to progress with time? Additionally, since the Radiolink can unscrew the antenna, can I just run an adapter, or will I have to crack it open and run it from.the IPX/IPEX if it has one?

 

[jondilly1974]

So I've been having issues with my Radio, and was hoping to get a little input/feedback. I've got an RC6GS V2 and over the last few months the broadcast signal has been getting weaker and weaker, to the point of losing signal at about 150' today. It has put a serious damper on my RC experience and prevented me from speedrunning. Now that I'm geared for 130+ I can't afford to have any doubt in my Radio and need to get this rectified before I can get back to it. So. Here is my dilemma... Should I upgrade to an NB4 with a range extender, including a bucket of receivers to rebind all my cars, or would it be worth rigging up an extender to the Radiolink? What could be causing the issue to progress with time? Additionally, since the Radiolink can unscrew the antenna, can I just run an adapter, or will I have to crack it open and run it from.the IPX/IPEX if it has one?

I would think you have a pinched antenna somewhere. Have you checked for that? Is this with just your speed run car or is it with all your rigs?

 

[ABabyEater]

I would think you have a pinched antenna somewhere. Have you checked for that? Is this with just your speed run car or is it with all your rigs?

All my rigs. And it getting progressively worse pretty quickly.

 

[jondilly1974]

All my rigs. And it getting progressively worse pretty quickly.

Then I would say check the trans antenna. Inspect the PCB. What battery are you running?

 

[ABabyEater]

Then I would say check the trans antenna. Inspect the PCB. What battery are you running?

AA's... No change when swapped to fresh ones.

 

[ABabyEater]

Then I would say check the trans antenna. Inspect the PCB. What battery are you running?

Ok, after pulling it apart and taking a look, the PCB looks just fine, no cold solders or any that could really benefit from reflowing. Antenna is also soldered on, so a range extender is pretty much out of the question.

Taking a closer look at the radio, it has a DSC port. What about the possibility of transmitting through a signal booster via the DSC port?

 

[rotauq]

DSC is a trainer port, not an antenna.
I'd try adding the booster at the SMC connector on the extension cable. The signal degrading could be the pcb, extension cable or the antenna.
Plenty of reason to go for a noble with extender, but if your radiolink can go on for a while with a booster, why not. If the output from the pcb is degrading it will probably hold up whiles boosted, when that happens you can still get a noble and already have a booster at hand.

 

[ABabyEater]

DSC is a trainer port, not an antenna.
I'd try adding the booster at the SMC connector on the extension cable. The signal degrading could be the pcb, extension cable or the antenna.
Plenty of reason to go for a noble with extender, but if your radiolink can go on for a while with a booster, why not. If the output from the pcb is degrading it will probably hold up whiles boosted, when that happens you can still get a noble and already have a booster at hand.

So I was wrong. There is no extension, just a hardwaired antenna from the board through the top of the tx. As for using the DSC port, I was considering trying to hijack the trainer signal to broadcast it, possibly with a JR module or the like, before running it through a booster. Just a stop-gap to delay the inevitable of the Radiolink dieing. I was playing around with a similar idea using an OrangeRX module plugged into the DSC port on my old Walkera 2801 Pro to see about getting into flying rather than shelling out a wad for a good modern transmitter. From the looks and sounds of it, the Noble is much closer on the horizon than I would have liked. I have a custom $2500 rifle just around the corner I have to pay the remaining amount on once it is completed, and that drains the fun bedget pretty deep.

 

[rotauq]

So I was wrong. There is no extension, just a hardwaired antenna from the board through the top of the tx. As for using the DSC port, I was considering trying to hijack the trainer signal to broadcast it, possibly with a JR module or the like, before running it through a booster. Just a stop-gap to delay the inevitable of the Radiolink dieing. I was playing around with a similar idea using an OrangeRX module plugged into the DSC port on my old Walkera 2801 Pro to see about getting into flying rather than shelling out a wad for a good modern transmitter. From the looks and sounds of it, the Noble is much closer on the horizon than I would have liked. I have a custom $2500 rifle just around the corner I have to pay the remaining amount on once it is completed, and that drains the fun bedget pretty deep.

It's not like soldering a new (extension) cable isn't a valid option. Easier than hooking up a module if you ask me...

 

[ABabyEater]

It's not like soldering a new (extension) cable isn't a valid option. Easier than hooking up a module if you ask me...

Fair enough. Admittedly I hadn't considered it... What would you then reccommend for a booster and a (sacrificial) cable to solder to the board?

 

[jondilly1974]

Fair enough. Admittedly I hadn't considered it... What would you then reccommend for a booster and a (sacrificial) cable to solder to the board?

I have the Turbowing 4W booster. I chose it because it can take up to 16VDC power input. Some are 5V max, so be careful and check the specs. My other 2W booster for my Futaba ran really hot. This newer one runs much cooler and has nice indicator LEDs too.

 

[rotauq]

I have like the cheapest i could find 2w and 5v (i have a 5v ubec in between to allow 4S input power)

 

[Szymon]

I have the Turbowing 4W booster. I chose it because it can take up to 16VDC power input. Some are 5V max, so be careful and check the specs. My other 2W booster for my Futaba ran really hot. This newer one runs much cooler and has nice indicator LEDs too.

I did order the same. How do you supply power? What voltage? Specs I found says ”most stable voltage supply is 12v.

 

[jondilly1974]

I did order the same. How do you supply power? What voltage? Specs I found says ”most stable voltage supply is 12v.View attachment 162056

I run an Ovonics 3S 1000mah lipo.

 

[ABabyEater]

I have one of those boosters on order as well. The supplied power cable feeds off a JST plug, and I found this 3S transmitter battery with dual output plugs, so hopefully I can run both the transmitter and signal booster from the pack. If it works well, I'll pick up a couple more.

I'm thinking about routing the new threaded plug to the front of the controller, slapping a 90 on it to turn the booster upward, and keeping the old antenna for the A E S T H E T I C.

 

[IWANTBLUE]

I Got Fed-up waiting for HobbyKing to get stock in, so I'm heading to ALI EXPRESS .... Forgive me if it's already mentioned in the thread, I read it a long while ago..., but is there any known difference between the Red heat-shrink Antenna version of the FTR10 and the Black with red writing version of the FTR10? either in Antenna only? or model/version of the FTR10?

cheers, along with that are there known /recommended antenna replacements, similar to what @LibertyMKiii showed, but with longer leads to allow visible placement?

I noted the recommendation of 12/16V booster being better, but as the Noble has the base Battery with usb-out, are the 5V versions 'that' inferior?? when balanced with the increased convenience of having a built-in battery supply for the booster rather than a separate 12/16v battery?

Just speaking out loud to gain others experience/recommendations, before ordering more parts, I'm currently unable to take it out through injury, so getting ahead of myself whilst stuck at home
Cheers, and Great thread!

Just as an FYI you can add the +3dbi antennas to almost any receiver like these Air dual antenna receivers have. The only complaint I have is the short wire length.

I picked up a pack of 10 on eBay for around $10.00 to 15.00 about a year ago to replace a broken Futaba antenna.




When my Noble NB4 comes in I'll test the regular antenna on the FGr4 versus one of these +3dib antennas to see what it does.

Current planned range tests:
1. Noble with FGr4
2. Noble with FGr4s (no external antenna)
3. Noble with FGr4 swapped 3+dib antenna
4. Noble with FTr10 dual antenna
5. Noble+4w booster with FGr4
6. Noble+4w booster with FTr10

Did you get a chance to complete these Comparisons @LibertyMKiii ?

NIck

 

[dure16]

I’m going to squeeze an xlx2 in there somewhere instead of the MMX8s it had. All while retaining both battery trays and keeping the motor in stock orientation, under the stock shell.

I know this is an ancient thread, but did you find a way to make this all fit?