4Hawks Raptor Range Extender Reviews And Questions

[Jagerbomb52]

Not knowing anything about the stock antennas it would be hard to say if any of the aftermarket antennas from China with X amount of DB gain is any better. Assuming the stock antennas are just that......STOCK and 3 db gain with aftermarket would be noticeable but not to the point making worthwhile tearing your controller apart and screwing up your warranty if you still have one. I plan on using a 9 turn 5.8GHz Helical antenna, Circular Polarization that I just happen to have for the 5.8 antenna. This should be a lot better then stock antennas as it is directional with a 40 degrees beam. This is real beam width at highest gain. I bought this antenna in 2015 and used it on my Yuneec Q500. It out performed FPVLR.coms 4.25 turns 5.8ghz helix antenna by a lot. Funny thing is the guy who made them lives in Poland to LOl

 

[intrepidusa]

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.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

Not knowing anything about the stock antennas it would be hard to say if any of the aftermarket antennas from China with X amount of DB gain is any better. Assuming the stock antennas are just that......STOCK and 3 db gain with aftermarket would be noticeable but not to the point making worthwhile tearing your controller apart and screwing up your warranty if you still have one. I plan on using a 9 turn 5.8GHz Helical antenna, Circular Polarization that I just happen to have for the 5.8 antenna. This should be a lot better then stock antennas as it is directional with a 40 degrees beam. This is real beam width at highest gain. I bought this antenna in 2015 and used it on my Yuneec Q500. It out performed FPVLR.coms 4.25 turns 5.8ghz helix antenna by a lot. Funny thing is the guy who made them lives in Poland to LOl
View attachment 1261

Which one did you order?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I ordered 2 of the 900MHz 3.5dbi RP-SMA Male(female pin) ones you had posted earlier.

 

[Old Bama Dude]

OK, 3.5 DB, correct?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Well that is what it said in the ad for the antenna. Have no way of knowing if this is true or some Chinese magic LOl

 

[Old Bama Dude]

Well that is what it said in the ad for the antenna. Have no way of knowing if this is true or some Chinese magic LOl

Yep, about like those super bright Chinese flashlights, (which I have several of)....every lumin rating you can imagine.

 

[Normex]

Hi Agustine, just to let you know I will put my order for the Raptor range extender as Carolina Dronz are receiving a shipment tomorrow, with my French accent I spoke to Natasha and much obliged to keep one aside for me as long I call tomorrow. Sorry to ask again but will it fit in the case less the antenna itself?
Most likely I won't be able to do the install as I'm right handed and my MS affects my right hand side so we have a computer store that build their own but should I go to a Hobbly shop instead as they are much farther from my place?
I just received my Marco Polo today and hopefully won't have to use its services anytime soon

 

[Jagerbomb52]

First I would ask you do you really need this? Do you get a lot of disconnects? It does add a lot of weight to the controller so this might not be a good thing for you. And remember it will void your warranty. Not trying to steer you away, just want you to understand what you are getting into.

If you end up getting it I would make sure the people understand what is involved with the install. As for fitting in the case I was told it will fit in the side slot but I have never tried so I cannot confirm this. It is smaller in size then the Itelite antenna which will not fit into the slot so I have been told.

 

[Normex]

I would have to reread the posts but at least in one you gave it a good mark(https://autelxpilots.com/threads/was-i-boondoggled.1178/) and I never looked back and did not quite follow the ones of the female antennas,
in terms of me flying with it I bring a heavy duty lawn chair ....Mmmm just check my YouTube norm brisson and check the Barley harvest anf if you don't want to see it all jump to the 4:00 minute mark and you will see my set up with my four wheeler.
I appreciate your concern as I get a lot of video interruptions which makes it hard to fly when a bit far away.

 

[intrepidusa]

@Normex - to use the other antennas you would still have to mod the controller to get the right connectors for the other antennas...the original antennas are hard wired into the controller boards, they don't unscrew like the replacement antennas that have been talked about. It would be nice if all of the drone manufacturers would put RF adapters that allow for antenna replacement, but some don't like AR and DJI.

 

[Normex]

Intrepid thanks for the clarification on this matter which encourages me to get the Raptor that is set aside by Carolina Dronz and of course Natasha.
I was busy today on another project sorry it took me that long to respond.

 

[Normex]

Ok the Raptor XR is on its way and I contacted my hobby store where I used to buy my model flying planes and has confirmed to me that they work constantly in RCs, so I sent the video for the Raptor install and he will be ready when I bring it in. On another note I have tried the Marco Polo from a mile away and it worked flawlessly, when one is inches from the tag it shows 99%.

 

[intrepidusa]

Intrepid thanks for the clarification on this matter which encourages me to get the Raptor that is set aside by Carolina Dronz and of course Natasha.
I was busy today on another project sorry it took me that long to respond.

YW buddy, glad to hear they will do the mod for you and install the Raptor.

 

[Hilander]

Ok the Raptor XR is on its way and I contacted my hobby store where I used to buy my model flying planes and has confirmed to me that they work constantly in RCs, so I sent the video for the Raptor install and he will be ready when I bring it in. On another note I have tried the Marco Polo from a mile away and it worked flawlessly, when one is inches from the tag it shows 99%.

I was looking at the Marco Polo and saw a You Tube video on how well it works. I just can't get past the high price for it though. Being the the Rural area I get lucky and if I go down I could probably find it pretty quickly. Especially now since everything is being harvested and I have nothing but open fields. I do think the Raptor is worth it though. Is the cost from your hobby store to install the Raptor expensive? I saw the install video and think I can easily do it myself but still have concerns with the ribbon strips that you have to pull out and put back in.

 

[Normex]

I have received the RaptorX and going to the hobby store this evening for the install, so it will be roughly $100.00 for the install and like I said I would do it myself except my hand numbness by my MS prevents me for doing so.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Sounds good Norm, hope you like the improvement.

 

[Normex]

Ok install done and went really well and removing the existing antennas proved a bit fun, I also met another worker at the shop and he was involved in many drone projects for companies on contract for the government in other words he knows drones a lot except he never saw an XSP before and he started asking questions on it so when he asked about the controller I told him to check the specs on Autel's website and he went holy smokes and was very impressed with the PixHawks PX4 controller being open sourced and all. He was drooling on its capacities and capable to extend its present settings but it was a bit over me. Although the antenna is a bit on the large side, it fits in the case with only 1 set of propellers. Going to try it tomorrow to see if it reaches its claims.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

How long did it take them to install? Just wondering.

 

[Normex]

1 hour and 10 minutes, charged me $60.00 but I also left him a tip.
In reality it would have taken 45 minutes as some clients kept asking some questions.