Was I Boondoggled?

[Donda]

I was out of town when my wife calls to tell me the extender arrived. I'm I'm stoked for sure! I get home today and can hear things rattle in the box, while still inside the shipping envelop. I pull it from the envelope and this is what I find. Did those of you that have done this install find the same thing, or did Carolina Drones try and pass on a used unit to me?

 

[intrepidusa]

I got mine directly from 4Hawks...straight from Poland. Mine was completely sealed.

 

[Donda]

My question should have been more along the lines of what to expect from Carolina Dronz as far as customer service? For you that are more seasoned than I and have used them before, do you think this a simple mistake on their part, or are they to be avoided? The photos speak for themselves, and it's obvious that it's a used item was sent, and not something new and unopened. This is the first item I have purchased from them and am a little disappointed to say the least.

 

[wingshooter]

Have you contacted Carolina Dronz yet about your concerns? They are well respected company and many of us have dealt with them.

If that is a 4Hawks I think I remember some units coming in to Carolina Dronz (Scratch and Dent) and they were advertising them For Sale as such.
If those things are coming from Poland like you said then maybe damage happened during shipping from over there.
Just throwing out some suggestions to check before saying anything negative. There might be a good explanation.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I also received mine direct from Poland as some of us are beta testers for Adrian the owner. When I received mine I was surprised also to hear things rattling around inside the box. It would seem they need to improve packaging the product with at least some bubble wrap to hold the bracket in place so it does not damage or scratch the antenna.

Many of us have dealt with CarolinaDronz for our UAV needs and I can tell you they go above and beyond customer service. They are rated as one of if not the best customer service shop around. Drop Frank a email or give him a call and they will address any of your concerns. Frank and his staff are very easy to work with and will make things right.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I also emailed 4Hawks (Adrian) about your concerns and some of mine. He returned my email with in 10 minutes. Here is his reply:

"
Thank you very much for your suggestion. All of them are very importand for us. Only this way we can improve the quality of product.
We will consider how to deploy them asap."

 

[intrepidusa]

I am going to do a full test of mine this weekend including range testing. I am headed out to the country side of a Florida to get away from all this RF. I also sent Adrian emails about installation ideas that I posted in the forums here and about the packaging...mine didn't rattle at all, but they do need to wrap things up a little better and use small bubble wrap on the antenna case itself, the cardboard box is very thin.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Ya Heath Lawrence put his 5.8 in a different spot. So there are options.

 

[Donda]

First of all, thank you all for your input. I learn something new every time I visit with you fellas here.

After the jet lag from yesterday wore off and looking at the install video again, I looked at things a little closer this morning and it looks like everything is in the box. They may consider including a parts list so the customer can take a quick inventory when first opening things up. Other than some little scuffs on a few items, I can say that there is nothing bent, no threads damaged or cables kinked, or anything else that would warrant a return. This one was not from Poland, so was not a "box in a box" with wrapping on it. It was the Raptor box in a standard USPS white plastic bag. The only thing that really got my attention was the small round seal that was cut on the box itself, indicating it was tampered with in some fashion. This may be a case of CarolinaDronz checking it to be sure everything was in there before sending it along to me...who knows? At any rate, It's too tempting so I'm getting this rascal installed. Agustine, I think I'm going to follow your suggestion from the other thread and get a set of the screw-on GSM Omni Antenna 900MHz 3.5dbi RP-SMA Male(female pin), and single 5.8 5.8GHZ 5dBi RP-SMA Female Antenna. I do a lot of traveling and am thinking this would be a good option for getting everything in the case, leaving the larger Raptor at home. From your pictures, it doesn't seem any modification of the case would be needed to do this?

Not to redirect the thread, but have any of you taken your rigs on a jet? If so could you please let me know how that went, did you check, gate check it, or carry it on? I have the plastic case and know it won't fit in the overhead of some of the smaller regional jets, and it looks questionable if it will fit under the seat?

 

[Donda]

The Heath Lawrence install, does that put any unnecessary strain on the cable with the offset connectors? I presume thats done on purpose to keep things clean by drilling the hole where it's recommended?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Heath decided to put the 5.8 straight out rather then through the top. He said it involved a little more work. I see no reason to do it that way.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

 

[Donda]

You guys were right again!! I spoke with Natasha at CarolinaDronz. A super sweet gal that would not let me hang up until she was satisfied that I was satisfied. How refreshing is that, a place that answers the phone in person!! They do in fact open items up and check them before shipping them to their customers. They had a number of these that were packaged with the hardware rubbing against the antenna face causing scratches. They requested a packing change from 4Hawks and are checking them as they come in. I think they have a few scratch-and-dent units at a reduced price, if your interested.

I finished up my install and have a few observations:

First - I don't think I would attempt this unless you are pretty comfortable doing this type work. I have been troubleshooting and repairing CNC equipment for a good number of years, so it was a dive in for me.

Second - The install video, as well as the 4Hawks website, shows all three internal cables to have 90 degree threaded connector ends. The longer of them installed on the face of the controller. It also shows the three external cables to be absolutely identical in both length, as well as how the cable ends are crimped on and oriented...or however those connectors are fastened. I'm not sure what's going on, but you can see from the pictures its not what I got? The straight end on the gold cable makes it a little impractical to mount on the face of the RC. Your placement better be pretty close to dead on, or you will interfere with other components in there when putting the faceplate back on the main body. Then, you still have to make a bend with the cable that is pointing down, to get it routed where it needs to go. I personally like the idea of going out the top edge with all three cables. Not that I expect to be inside the RC much, but not having a cable hooked to the faceplate will make it easier to remove and set completely aside. I had to move the RC around quite a bit to get the install done, and if I need to go back in there for any reason, I'm sure it will have to be moved around, tilted, turned upside down (i drop little tiny screws a lot), etc. and I don't need anything connected to the faceplate when it can be avoided.

Third - I think the mechanism for clasping it to the RC rails is a little cheesy. Unless i am not finding it, there is no way of adjusting the spring tension so it doesn't slide freely along the rails. I have the little allen wrench that came with it, but for the life of me I have no idea why it's there? I know, it fits the little the spring loaded bolt that holds the bracket to the RC rails, but it does nothing that I see other than fit a bolt. I might have to come up with something different, perhaps something using knurled screws similar to what is used to fasten the bracket to the antenna, along with some heat shrink on the rails if that can be done, that will sandwich things with a little more force on the rails. I like to know it's not going anywhere, unless I want it to.



Just my two cents.

 

[intrepidusa]

@Donda - same here with the springs on the clamps not being firm enough. I improvised and just tie wrapped on each side to snug them up. But now I have to remove and replace tie wraps when I take the antenna off. I am also looking at more permanent solutions and will post if I find one. As for the new antenna port, yes, my cable was also a straight ended connector and not a 90 degree and it did seem a little odd for the face mount...my cable didn't touch the bottom case so it's not being stressed at least. Thanks for verifying your install and what you saw. Hope it works for you...I will finally get to test mine on Sunday if the weather holds up, but it's supposed to be stormy Sunday afternoon.

 

[Donda]

I'm curious @interpidusa, were your exterior cables crimped at different offsets like the ones I got?

 

[Donda]

Forgot to post the finished pics.

 

[Hilander]

So in the end what range on average is everyone getting with this? If we are to get an average of 1 mile with the normal antenna then are we getting 2 miles or more?
I am very interested in purchasing this but want to make sure it is worth it. Plus the added bonus of never getting video interference or losing complete connection is also worth it to me.

 

[intrepidusa]

I'm curious @interpidusa, were your exterior cables crimped at different offsets like the ones I got?

Not as offset as yours are. They are not all perfectly aligned but only off by a degree or 2, yours are like 40-90 degrees off.

 

[Normex]

So in the end what range on average is everyone getting with this? If we are to get an average of 1 mile with the normal antenna then are we getting 2 miles or more?
I am very interested in purchasing this but want to make sure it is worth it. Plus the added bonus of never getting video interference or losing complete connection is also worth it to me.

I'm with you on this Hilander, awaiting news together.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

2.5 miles on average from most users that have bought this antenna with solid 4-5 bars for video and RC

 

[Donda]

Have not tried it yet. I got it to remedy the RTH's and video sig losses that I was getting when flying less than 3/4 of a mile. I don't have the stones to attempt the distances some of you do.