Spark antenna mod?

[suprPHREAK]

I was looking at a Spark teardown, and noticed the internal antennas connect to the mainboard by standard U.FL connectors. This got me thinking....would it be possible to replace the flat antennas inside the Spark itself with something better?

I have seen many mods to the RC, adding complicated looking antennas, so why not add something to the Spark itself? Either some higher gain omni on top, or maybe some CPL antennas below?

Thoughts? Is this possible?

And for anyone who has modded the RC: are both antenna the same, or is one a 2.4, the other a 5.8? Or do they both work for both signals?

 

[wimh]

Adding a high gain antenna on Spark is not a good idea imho unless you know very well how the antenna pattern looks like and how it is polarised. Note that "high gain" and "omni" are contradicting terms. Either you have a low gain omni antanna or a high gain directional antenna. Antenna gain is just a measure of its omni-directionality, lower gain being better omnidirectional and vice versa.
I feel there are a lot of misconceptions about antenna gain. A high gain comes at a price. It means an antenna is very sensitive at some spatial angles but will have blind spots in other spatial directions, sometimes only a few degrees left/right/up/down compared to your high-sensitivity angles. Not knowing where those angles are exactly when putting new high gain antennes in your TX or drone can result in worse performance compared tonlow gain omni antennas.

Another reason for not messing with antennas blindly is you need to consider noise pickup from Spark itself. Putting the antennas or even the antenna cables in a slightly different position or using antennas with different patterns might very well open pandora's box of interference issues. Seen this first-hand on many products.

Finally there is antenna matching. Each antenna has a specific impedance that needs to be matched on the pcb it connects to. Not doing that well, will lead to inferior performance.

Not to scare you but swapping antennas and knowing what you're doing requires a lot of technical insight, measurement equipment and patience

 

[Dilf]

I was thinking about this myself.
It should be relatively easy to connect two U.FL antennas to the outside, maybe put two of these on the cover:

 

[RSpark]

I have done that few weeks ago. Only connected to one connector with 7dbi external antenna.. It improved range a bit. Before mod I tested max range of my Spark was 1.7 km and after the mod I reached about 2.1 km. Problem is antenna we have to install on spark has to be omni directional. Otherwise if you turn the Spark around will loose the signal straight away.

Also be careful that anything you add on the Spark will mess with its compass calibration. I forgot to do that and I lost my spark on fist long distant flight with the external antenna!

 

[suprPHREAK]

I have done that few weeks ago. Only connected to one connector with 7dbi external antenna.. It improved range a bit. Before mod I tested max range of my Spark was 1.7 km and after the mod I reached about 2.1 km. Problem is antenna we have to install on spark has to be omni directional. Otherwise if you turn the Spark around will loose the signal straight away.

Also be careful that anything you add on the Spark will mess with its compass calibration. I forgot to do that and I lost my spark on fist long distant flight with the external antenna!

This is exactly what I was thinking of. A 23% boost in range isn't insignificant, especially when you have no plan to fly that far. Maybe I'll order a spare cover and start hacking.

 

[suprPHREAK]

Adding a high gain antenna on Spark is not a good idea imho unless you know very well how the antenna pattern looks like and how it is polarised. Note that "high gain" and "omni" are contradicting terms. Either you have a low gain omni antanna or a high gain directional antenna. Antenna gain is just a measure of its omni-directionality, lower gain being better omnidirectional and vice versa.
I feel there are a lot of misconceptions about antenna gain. A high gain comes at a price. It means an antenna is very sensitive at some spatial angles but will have blind spots in other spatial directions, sometimes only a few degrees left/right/up/down compared to your high-sensitivity angles. Not knowing where those angles are exactly when putting new high gain antennes in your TX or drone can result in worse performance compared tonlow gain omni antennas.

Another reason for not messing with antennas blindly is you need to consider noise pickup from Spark itself. Putting the antennas or even the antenna cables in a slightly different position or using antennas with different patterns might very well open pandora's box of interference issues. Seen this first-hand on many products.

Finally there is antenna matching. Each antenna has a specific impedance that needs to be matched on the pcb it connects to. Not doing that well, will lead to inferior performance.

Not to scare you but swapping antennas and knowing what you're doing requires a lot of technical insight, measurement equipment and patience

You are correct, the terms don't align. Omni, I meant a dipole type antenna.

When I was building FPV stuff, different antennas got different results. CPL "mushroom" antennas seemed to work very well, as did "V" shaped ones, both for helping eliminate interference. Hence my wonderment.

 

[Blue Baron]

I guess an antenna mod for the Spark should be possible.
But I don’t think it makes any sense.
With an antenna mod and a good directional antenna on the RC, and leaving the craft in FCC mode, the video feed remains strong as far as you can fly out in sports mode (3-4 km). So what to gain?

This would only make sense for a one way no return flight scenario (where you can actually use a directional (rear facing) antenna an the craft.

 

[Kevin Okum]

I was looking at a Spark teardown, and noticed the internal antennas connect to the mainboard by standard U.FL connectors. This got me thinking....would it be possible to replace the flat antennas inside the Spark itself with something better?

I have seen many mods to the RC, adding complicated looking antennas, so why not add something to the Spark itself? Either some higher gain omni on top, or maybe some CPL antennas below?

Thoughts? Is this possible?

And for anyone who has modded the RC: are both antenna the same, or is one a 2.4, the other a 5.8? Or do they both work for both signals?

To answer your Question about the antennas whether they’re 2.4 and the other is 5.8. Go on eBay look up a ARGTEK WiFi signal booster antennas DJI spark.
The antennas them selves are Omni directional. Dual band. 2.4/5.8
Now the ones
On my spark in the included picture I have attached to this reply Are-dual band Omni directional 2.4/5.8 GHz. ARGTEK also makes kit with square shaped antennas as well that are also Omni directional however one is 2.4 and the other antenna is 5.8. I preferred just to get the dual band antennas where both of them are dual band because the latency is a lot less and the band can fluctuate out of each antenna according to the signal reply coming back to each. I only got about 1 mile or so here in Clarksville Tennesee Without the mod. (Factory antennas, ) with the ARGTEK mod, I flew yesterday at dusk, flew over 2.70 miles ... a little shy of 2 3/4 miles. While sitting in a Burger King parking lot

 

[Kevin Okum]

Sn

To answer your Question about the antennas whether they’re 2.4 and the other is 5.8. Go on eBay look up a ARGTEK WiFi signal booster antennas DJI spark.
The antennas them selves are Omni directional. Dual band. 2.4/5.8
Now the ones
On my spark in the included picture I have attached to this reply Are-dual band Omni directional 2.4/5.8 GHz. ARGTEK also makes kit with square shaped antennas as well that are also Omni directional however one is 2.4 and the other antenna is 5.8. I preferred just to get the dual band antennas where both of them are dual band because the latency is a lot less and the band can fluctuate out of each antenna according to the signal reply coming back to each. I only got about 1 mile or so here in Clarksville Tennesee Without the mod. (Factory antennas, ) with the ARGTEK mod, I flew yesterday at dusk, flew over 2.70 miles ... a little shy of 2 3/4 miles. While sitting in a Burger King parking lot

Also check these out, For any of you guys that like to fly at night this would be a great option I’m getting some and this particular lights are the best in the business that’s why they’re so high and they warranty it theyre not some Chinese piece of crap
ARC Drone Strobe Light Kit DJI Phantom Inspire Mavic Pro AIR Spark Matrice RC 742832060608 | eBay

 

[peterwo2e]

this is an old post but here is my 2 cents, any antenna that is vertical (standing up) is omnidirectional and vertically polarized if you take this same antenna and put it horizontal (flat down) it will still be omnidirectional but horizontally polarized, punting another antenna or metal element close to it would make it directional as it will disturb the signal pattern. example the TV roof antennas are directional and they are horizontally polarized. putting the spark 2 antennas outside the craft and as far apart as possible is a great idea. and most likely would work a lot better if you can put the antennas Horizontal (remember the RC antennas also has to be place horizontally) the reason! is that horizontal would eliminate most interference like microwaves, transformers, motors, etc, etc. when they made the spark a lot when into packaging all that technology into a small area. so performance had to be compromised at some point. just my 2 cents.