[Thunder Chicken]

So....I have an occasional signal loss, with a complete loss of picture.
I am running the TS5823 Vtx (2 of them with the same problem)
I am powering the camera/Vtx from my PDB (3s battery power) with a JST connector and a homemade harness. The connectors at the vtx and camera are hot glued in to reduce any vibration. I also put a ferrite ring on the longer wire run to the Vtx....however the wiring is a bit of a rats nest in my quad frame, but away from the esc's/motors.
I am using IBCrazy's Duraspec cloverleaf antennas, both the same direction.
I've also wrapped the coax connector on the Vtx in black tape in case it was touching the carbon frame and causing a problem.
Range on a flying wing was about 300m, (a 200mw tx remember) not as good as it could be.

Im down to adding a filter/voltage regulator in the power line?
Any other tips?
Also, it does it with other guys flying around me, or not. Makes no difference. Also, it happens at any altitude, or direction from me, not in the same spot. I had been hoping the antennas would have solved the problem.... Thanks for any thoughts! FPV is awesome!!!

[Max]

Another thing to try is a separate power supply for your VTX. Like 250 3S or something small like that. It may not be what you want to try but if you want to eliminate powerline noise as the root cause, this is the best way to find out.

On all but my 250 quads, I am running a separate battery and power.

my 250's share the same power via PDB like you are doing but I havent had any problems.

Keep us abreast of your progress.

[uberjay]

If you're flying anywhere near people/houses (eg. public park, etc.) then could there be someone with a 5.8 range booster on their wifi or phone? The further you get from your vRx the less of your signal it gets, etc.

Have you tried other frequencies to see if the problem occurs across the board or just with some?

Just brainstorming... I'm no expert

Cheers,
J

[Thunder Chicken]

Thanks for those tips! I'll be out today to give them a try! Our field is in a very isolated area, no houses for miles, no powerlines for miles either.

I'm going to also try putting a nylon washer between the antenna coax and the carbon frame where it mounts/passes through. As well, maybe i'll also try eliminating the extension wire and mount the antenna directly to the Vtx.....
Its a nice day to fly here at least! Thanks for the tips

[bcsaltchucker]

If the video is cutting out - that is not a filtering problem at all. And likely not from noise floor nearby. Those will just generate line or noise on the video, not intermittentloss of signal.

the biggest culprit which will cause this is - dare I say it - being tuned to the wrong channel. It is very easy to make this mistake. This is the number one thing that will produce your kind of intermittent video. The channel-choice charts can be screwy to deal with - sometimes the dip switch polarity is opposite of what the chart suggests. It's why I really love the new Cricket type vtx with push button channel selection - cna quickly scan through the channels to ensure I am on the exact right channel. With all the 5 bands of channels we use now (40 channels) it is incredibly likely to tune to a channel that is off by only a few MHz, but enough to really hurt your range and cause intermittent signal loss/low range.

The next big thing is the antenna location on the craft. I am going through this exact problem on my MIA ultralight - the metal cage structure of the aicraft is wreaking havoc with my 5.8 video transmissions. Getting intermittent loss. I know the solution - need to get my antenna way high above the aircraft structure for more clear LOS to my receiver. Like my metal frame plane, a miniquad has a CF frame and a lot of close quarters wiring that messes with signal transmission.

Can also be: poor antennas. using wrong SMA vs RSMA connector. damaged antenna.

but I would play with the channels first. even though I know you've already checked this

I never use an antenna extension. No need if you build it right. Just another complication to hurt the signal

[grepis]

I spend half of winter doing testing with the same problem - intermittent lost of signal. Even did replace of antenna with IBCrazy. But problem still there. Partially it is connector on transmitter (same model - TS5823), on cold weather it become loose. Another suspect is monitor (do you run on monitor, googles). From the same source monitor intermittent lost of signal, while my TV keep display it. My last quad has different location for antenna and looks like it significantly improved - almost no signal loss.

[Thunder Chicken]

Lots of ideas, keep em coming!
I experimented for 3 hours last night....tried all sorts of things, removed the camera/vtx from the copter and set it up on my deck. (15' above ground). Cycled through all the channels on the rx, attached a 2nd ground from the audio gnd on the vtx, IBCrazy also suggested in a video to ground the audio wire if not being used, that is next.
As for the monitor, it is a quantom V1 goggle kit. I thought the power to the Vtx may have been loose causing the problem but I cant get it to replicate consistently..... however im going to find another monitor to try with, in case the problem is on that end of the system.

[bcsaltchucker]

Originally Posted by Thunder Chicken

As for the monitor, it is a quantom V1 goggle kit. I thought the power to the Vtx may have been loose causing the problem but I cant get it to replicate consistently..... however im going to find another monitor to try with, in case the problem is on that end of the system.

which receiver is it? the RC305? RC805 or RC832?

The RC805 is specifically known to be a bad receiver. They left too much exposed antenna line on the PCB. The 832 is newer 32ch version, I thin they solved the issue on it. RC305 is good too.

BUt I am suspicious of all these cheap receivers. I find I get better signal from my various goggles receivers than some of these boscam ones.

[grepis]

Mine is RC305 and skyzone diversity receiver. Both are work the same.

[Thunder Chicken]

i have the RC832.
I shortened the Video wire, cut off the audio wires (on the Vrx end) to reduce the bundle of wire hanging off my goggles, maybe that was some weird signal stuff?
I also noticed....the 12v power in plug on the Vrx will cause signal loss if it gets wiggled around a bit, i must be shaking when i'm flying!!!
Its been too windy for a flight test today, hopefully tomorrow I can get it in the air to see if any of these changes have helped.
(it is working better around my yard, but i notice a bit of interference/lines in screen that were not there before, but the Vtx is on my deck, next to my house....hydro wires overhead at the road 150' away....)