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4Hawks Raptor Range Extender Reviews And Questions

Looking at your video you should have no problem going a lot farther unless you are sitting right by a tree blocking the signal. If not my only other suggestion is to point it better at the X-Star.
 
The props are made from Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite and will shatter just like stock props.
Reinforced nylon (glass fiber) are mid stiffness,mid strength,holds up well but will break.
They are not made from carbon fiber which is much stronger and don't bend.

I have had a couple of my Yuneec quads come down due to ESC faillers. Not a nice site watching them drop from 200 feet up.

I have the Q500 4K but turned it into a home brew from the parts. :)

View attachment 998
Is that home brew still fitting in the case?

Sent from my Vivo 5R using Tapatalk
 
Not beside any tree from where I operate, am way behind a house and not flying over it neither, is there a chance there would be a bad connection or it would simply not connect. I check my aim constantly, would it help if I used DU recorder where you would see the what I see ? It would have to wait a couple hours as I'm charging my batteries.
@intrepidusa it is simply a limestone gravel pit which was blasted out.
 
When I first started using mine I lost signal pretty easy. Thought I was pointing at the quad but I guess not close enough. I started watching the signal bars on the RC to find that sweet spot. The last few times I have been out this has helped me greatly.
 
I'm to understand that was over 4 miles? I obviously don't know what I'm doing! I installed a Raptor and see minimal difference in both range and video loss. This thing has not come close to what's advertised. The single antenna print card is the controls, the double is the video card as best I can tell. I'm guessing the drone has the transmitter for the video and the drone the receiver. Sounds like people are sending in the drone only and getting the video corrected. I seem to be spending all my energy chasing down FW issues, distance issues, video issues instead of enjoying my drone. Still sounds that they are under staffed, and overworked!!
 
The flight I posted was 2 miles there and 2 miles back. When I ran stock antennas I would get video pixelation around 1 mile out. It would come and go but enough that I knew it was time to turn around. With the 4Hawks 2 miles out not one video pixelation or disconnect.
You could have other issues. Maybe a bum board for video.
Sorry I can't tell you more. All I know it works for me really well.
 
The flight I posted was 2 miles there and 2 miles back. When I ran stock antennas I would get video pixelation around 1 mile out. It would come and go but enough that I knew it was time to turn around. With the 4Hawks 2 miles out not one video pixelation or disconnect.
You could have other issues. Maybe a bum board for video.
Sorry I can't tell you more. All I know it works for me really well.
No apologies necessary. I have a shorter lightning cable on the way and will see what that does.
 
New member. While installing the 4 hawks and attempting to remove the rf connection (the one with the hot glue) connector and all came off of the board. I was not using excessive force so I assume it was not connected to the board very well from the factory. No option left so ordered a new controller. Just a heads up to all when installing the 4 hawks. Anyone with a idea on how to remove the hot glue on this connection?
 
I just picked away at it with a micro screw driver till it came off.
You might be able to get that board repaired. There are people out there that do micro soldering. I have used this company in the past for a camera repair. They specialize in repairing Iphones but do other work also.
iPad Rehab

There are others but you would have to search them up.
 
Thanks Agustine, that's the same way I got the glue off. Figured I would take the board off of the new controller and continue the install. In the mean time I will take your advice and try for the repair. I have read where a small amount of alcohol will work for removing hot glue but was concerned it may damage the board.
 
alchohol is OK for circuit boards, we used it all the time in military for cleaning circuits. I did the same as agustine and used some fine point tweezers as well.
 
I would look into getting that board repaired. Like I said I had that one company do a micro soldering job on a drone camera that crashed and it is as good as new. I could not buy a new board as it was married to the camera so a new board would not work. Two weeks later I had my board back and the camera still works :)

20150830_125119.jpg 14403504039051.jpg
 
Good to know about the alcohol. When I get the new controller I will look at the connecter on the board to see if the one that came off is damaged. Its so dang hard to tell because it is so tiny. Sure would ease the pain it can be repaired. If damaged I fear the odds of any place having a like connecter would be slight. Maybe someone would have a trashed controller I could use for parts.
 
Nice antenna, that should work awesome. These are the kind we had, HF 10KW transmitters with 9 to 12 db of gain...could talk half way around the globe on a good day.

View attachment 1262 View attachment 1263

BTW, I find it hilarious that a transmitting facility with the ability to talk half way around the globe is called "Bellows"! *Somebody* had a sense of humor!
 
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.
4HawksTest1_10252017.jpg 4HawksTest2_10252017.jpg 4HawksTest3_10252017.jpg
 

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