Question on DBS Range Extender

[BlackHawk]

Had loss of video while flying behind a ship abt 1/2 mile away. I was in a yard with lot of metal parts and a fence and a bigggg pipe. This was an officialy sanctioned flight so no worries. Telemetry and radio contact was working.
So the question is how effective would a DBS range extender have been in this situation.

 

[Steve Carr]

Anytime you get behind a large object you're bound to lose video and maybe control signal especially a large metal object like a ship. It's doubtful any antenna will improve that kind of situation. It is important to set your RTH altitude very high before testing the limits.

 

[BobW55]

I had similar issue once. I use to fly on the river and film the freighters, went on the other side of one once about 20-25 feet off the water, lost video, telemetry was kind of in and out, wasn't until I came above the edge of the freighter I got everything back. Very interesting perspective filming a large ship on the water. Coast Guard would not let me fly OVER the ships unless I had radio contact with them, but were pretty cool about what I was doing. Even gave me some tips on staying out of Canadian air space on the other side of the river. Didn't feel like buying a handheld marine radio too.
And yes, I do not think any antenna would have helped. A large metal object will block most radio signals in the 2.4-5.8 Ghz range.