Hey guys, having an issue with my robot platform… cannot get an further than a few hundred meters of range of either rc transmitter control or av video…
Controller is a flysky i6 2.4ghz
I have a 2 watt 2.4ghz booster on that with a 9dbi antenna.
Av video is a parton 1.2ghz av transmitter x 2 with a 10watt booster and standard antenna. X2 Have larger 9dbi antennas on the way.
When all parts arrive all antennas will be 9dbi and all boosted… by heaps… so why no range???
That sounds like quite a long/useful range already!
Might want to be careful there. As far as I know, the FCC rules part 15 says something along the lines of:
Most other countries have similar regulations. I see you have many prices in your pictures in AU$, so here is a link to the ACMA about it. They say the following:
Seems like very similar rules.
Also, it might be important to point out that more power does not necessarily mean more range. Signal quality (and range) depend on more than just power (though it is important). You probably have other characteristics in your setup (either electrical/transmitter/receiver or interference-wise) causing issues with your signal quality.
It is also possible that the extra power (according to your numbers, probably over 15 W!) is saturating either receiver and causing the communication link to be wonky. What range do you get without all the boosting?
I figure you’ll need to do more reading about all of this to figure out the issues.
ahh thankyou, i wasn’t aware of the regs. will adjust accordingly, also when i retested it without the boosters, i got nearly triple the range… so with an obvious power interference… how does one “shield” against this?
Hey,
Yeah, most people are not! Depending on where you are you might’ve been making some neighbors unhappy with their WiFi when you were doing your tests, especially for those with less powerful transceivers (i.e.: phones and tablets).
This would be a strong indication that the educated guess about using too much power was in the right direction.
Well, use the appropriate amount of power, first of all! 
There is no way to shield against too much power (on the band you are using). Typically receivers (and transmitters) have filters to prevent receiving and transmitting outside of their target band. But if the overpowering signal is on the band they are using they will get saturated and therefore not work properly (or at all) and may even be damaged if too much power is received.
The only option here is you do need to use more power is to use a different transceiver that can work with more power on both sides of the communication. Of course the unlicensed equipment/bands limit power quite a bit so you may need to get a special licence or specially made equipment, both of which may be costly. All in all, if you are in the 2.4 GHz (or 915 MHz or any other unlicensed bands) you will have strict power limitations due to the band being a shared one.
As for increasing range, aside from the obvious point above (power) you would want to improve connection quality as much as possible (i.e.: improve line of sight, reduce destructive interference, etc.). Many of these will depend on your use case and environment.
Good luck with the project!
Sincerely,
