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Newbie question... what is this?

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Ok, I feel stupid for even asking this, but... I was looking around at a website that had Typhoon H parts & there was a thing called an Antenna Holder. I see these on the underside of my Typhoon H running parallel to the landing legs, but ( and here's the stupid part ) what are they for? The term "antenna holder" suggests they hold an antenna, but it just appears to be a piece of something sticking out that's holding... nothing. Is this an actual antenna? Seems like if it was they'd just call it an antenna. Just curious because I was feeling stupid & I don't mind embarrassing myself. Thanks!
Antenna holder.jpgTyphoonH.jpg
 
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Cool. I'll look for the wires. I know the Typhoon H came out in '16 & they've made little improvements over the last few years. Is this one of them? I've seen pics & heard talk of some that don't have those, but have internal antennas & that there was a antenna mod you could do (like in the pic below). Thanks guys!
TyphoonH antennas.jpg
 
All H's have two external antennas near the landing gear for the control signal and telemetry. Later model have the holders added to help protect each antenna and hold them in place. The pic you have posted represents a modification to the antennas. I'm dubious of any improvement from that mod.
 
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All H's have two external antennas near the landing gear for the control signal and telemetry. Later model have the holders added to help protect each antenna and hold them in place. The pic you have posted represents a modification to the antennas. I'm dubious of any improvement from that mod.

Not to mention that it is technically a violation of FCC regs. Part 15.203 prohibits modifying the antennas.
 
They did extend the whip part of the antenna with those tubes. The original just had the antenna wire tips coming out with one by the left leg and one out an open slot in the back air flow vent. The current design does get better video connection then the original.
 
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The 2.4 antennas won't affect the video signal since video comes from the camera antenna.
I wonder if tilting the camera up or down would help the video loss when you raise the legs? I'll have to try.
 
The current design does get better video connection then the original.
The antennas in the tubes don't transmit video. Video signal uses a different 5.8gHz mushroom antenna located in the chin of the camera, not the 2.4gHz wires near the landing gear.
 
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I wonder if tilting the camera up or down would help the video loss when you raise the legs? I'll have to try.
Tilting the camera can affect the video signal on the CGO3+ because the antenna is tilting with the camera.
 
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Tilting the camera can affect the video signal on the CGO3+ because the antenna is tilting with the camera.
Yes it's strange how it can lose feed only about 3 or 4 metres away, one of the silly firmware traits, you would of thought camera horizontal would be OK, perhaps I should tilt it up, but then the legs aren't in the way, and it doesn't do it with 4hawks attached.
 
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Cool. I'll look for the wires. I know the Typhoon H came out in '16 & they've made little improvements over the last few years. Is this one of them? I've seen pics & heard talk of some that don't have those, but have internal antennas & that there was a antenna mod you could do (like in the pic below). Thanks guys!
View attachment 17113

One of my H’s has that dipole antenna “upgrade” modification. With the exception of drilling holes in the lower shell it’s almost a plug and play installation. However, after a couple years of using it I can’t say it works any better than the original exposed antenna wire set up. As I also have one of the original release (May, 2016) Color Box versions, comparisons are easy to make.

When the H was released they had two versions; the Color Box Standard version and the H Pro. The standard had the two exposed wire 2.4 antennas while they put those B.S. “antenna holder” tubes on the “Pro” to make it look fancier. The tubes do nothing and are nothing more than empty, hollow tubes to hide the wire antennas. Other features that differentiated the Pro from the Standard was RealSense and an extra external antenna on the Pro transmitter.

If you were to remove the tubes you would find the wires hanging out the bottom of the shell just like a standard H. If for some reason you broke one or both of those tubes there’s no reason to replace them. They do nothing. If the antenna wires are intact the system will work just fine without the tubes. Perhaps better as the antennas would be less shielded.

If you want to make an improvement to the 2.4 wire antennas on an H the easiest way is to remove the bottom shell and drill a 1/16” diameter hole in the bottom shell about 9mm ahead of the landing gear opening on the tight radius bend of the shell. When you put it back together route the antenna wire through the 1/16” hole. Do this only for the antenna that exits the shell from the landing gear opening.

You also have the option of enlarging the exit opening for the other antenna by using a thin file at the air vent on the other side. Lengthen the vent slot about 1/8” “away” (outwards) from fuselage center.

Doing those mods moves the 2.4 antennas to locations that are less obscured by the landing gear and fuselage.
 
Perhaps better as the antennas would be less shielded.
Great post Pat, as always. I would respectfully submit that the plastic tubes provide no shielding whatsoever to the antenna wires, as plastic is transparent to RF. However moving them away from the landing gear will definitely help with shielding from the struts when they are extended. Once the gear are retracted there would no benefit.

The true benefit of the tube shields is they help hold the antenna wires straight and stationary in an extended position. This is a big improvement over letting the wires hang where they will, reverting to their coiled-memory created by the wire spool, as well as prevent them from being blown around as the aircraft flies and encounters wind gusts. This all adds up to a more consistent signal. The straighter an antenna wire is the better it will perform.
 
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2.4
One of my H’s has that dipole antenna “upgrade” modification. With the exception of drilling holes in the lower shell it’s almost a plug and play installation. However, after a couple years of using it I can’t say it works any better than the original exposed antenna wire set up. As I also have one of the original release (May, 2016) Color Box versions, comparisons are easy to make.

When the H was released they had two versions; the Color Box Standard version and the H Pro. The standard had the two exposed wire 2.4 antennas while they put those B.S. “antenna holder” tubes on the “Pro” to make it look fancier. The tubes do nothing and are nothing more than empty, hollow tubes to hide the wire antennas. Other features that differentiated the Pro from the Standard was RealSense and an extra external antenna on the Pro transmitter.

If you were to remove the tubes you would find the wires hanging out the bottom of the shell just like a standard H. If for some reason you broke one or both of those tubes there’s no reason to replace them. They do nothing. If the antenna wires are intact the system will work just fine without the tubes. Perhaps better as the antennas would be less shielded.

If you want to make an improvement to the 2.4 wire antennas on an H the easiest way is to remove the bottom shell and drill a 1/16” diameter hole in the bottom shell about 9mm ahead of the landing gear opening on the tight radius bend of the shell. When you put it back together route the antenna wire through the 1/16” hole. Do this only for the antenna that exits the shell from the landing gear opening.

You also have the option of enlarging the exit opening for the other antenna by using a thin file at the air vent on the other side. Lengthen the vent slot about 1/8” “away” (outwards) from fuselage center.

Doing those mods moves the 2.4 antennas to locations that are less obscured by the landing gear and fuselage.
But 2.4 isn't generally the Achilles heel, it's video.
 
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The tubes accomplish two things:

1) They protect the fragile small diameter coaxial cable that the antenna is made from
2) Maintain the geometry of the antennas so it does not change during flight.

On my planes I always put the antenna in some sort of plastic tube for these two reasons.
 
The tubes accomplish two things:

1) They protect the fragile small diameter coaxial cable that the antenna is made from
2) Maintain the geometry of the antennas so it does not change during flight.

On my planes I always put the antenna in some sort of plastic tube for these two reasons.

And then there is:

3) may reduce the posts of “there is/are loose wires hanging from my aircraft near the legs. Should I be worried?”
 

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