marc s

Is it OK to leave the overall aerial length slightly longer than the original Weatronics wire aerial, or should it be exactly the same overall length?

I cannot due to the installation remove exactly the whip length from the wire aerial, albeit 2 or so inches - so the real question is it OK to have the overall length longer than the original?

David Gladwin

No ! Its all in the manual , P35/36 refers (5.6 ).


Regards,

David Gladwin.

marc s

David, if I had a manual then I would have checked it, I would also check on the Weatronics web site, but wanted to ask here first.

I'll phone Germany..........

siclick33

In the latest manual on the website under heli installation it says (about the second antenna):

'The overall length of the antenna should not be less than 1 metre, no problem if longer'

It doesn't seem too specific to me. The manual does not caution against what you have suggested.


If you are really worried about it, you could always cut a couple of inches off the whip to maintain the original overall length.


EDIT: you can download the manual from the website if you need one.

marc s

I was also looking at the manual, and it was a little vague by just stating the length should be no less than 1M. I will speak to germany to see what they suggest - reducing the whip length would be good (cosmetically) but not sure this is ideal.

I'll let you know what Weatronic say.

Ali

My Feedback: (5)

Hi Marc
It is ok to extend the aerial but not to shorten it.
( Advice given by Axel of Weatronic when we were installing my firebird and big skyraider)
Regards al

marc s

Ali,

Cheers.

Did you get the recent mail ref delivery hook up etc?

marc.

flyexperimental

I had the same situation as you.I needed the wire to be about 2 inches longer to put the whip were I wanted it.The way I understood the directions was that too short was a no- no ,but they did not stress anything about too long.

David Gladwin

Doesn't the excellent manual make this CRYSTAL clear !! (well mine does anyway) It states that the aerial MUST be 1 metre long, no shorter, longer is NOT a problem, what could be clearer ? The Rx RF performance is, amongst other things, a function of antenna length not model type !

You can of course compare Rf values using the software, NavView, to read out the values.

Weatronics produces arguably the best and most comprehensive manual (available on their web site) in the model industry as well as top notch products !

Regards, David Gladwin.

marc s

David,

As I said in my earlier post, I do not have a manual, and thought I'd post the question on the forum for some advise 'first' before using my nouse to find out info if the answer was not forthcoming. In the past this forum has been very helpful so it has generally been my first port of call.

As you are obviously very experienced at these things its people like you who I look to for advise and solutions, maybe I should reconsider.

Finally as you are a 'stickler' for detail, P35/36 in the on-line manual (which I understand might be different to your printed manual) carries NO details of the aerial length regulations - it is in fact on P44 for those who might require it.

Carsten Groen

One thing that is missing in (at least) my manual, is how to interpret the signal strength shown for the arials, one one of my receivers it goes from 0.11 to 0.63 on one antenna, and 0.27 to 0.63 on the other.
What are the numbers referring to ? (I know, it's a "releative signal strength indicator", but what are the "recommended" values (don't just answer "highest possible"), when is the signal "too low" etc etc etc)
Othwerwise I agree, the receivers are top class !

siclick33

David,

If you read back then you will see you have contradicted yourself, which means that to me the manual is not completely clear.

At first you said that you can't cut off less than the length of the whip (i.e. making the overall aerial longer). Now you say as long as it is 1m then you are ok? Which option do you want to settle on?

Also the mention of 1m is in the heli setup and not mentioned in the airplane part.

Why can't you just answer the polite questions without getting your knickers in a twist?

fw190pilot

Aerial lenght is in direct correlation to the wave lenght of the tranmitted signal. Too short very bad. A little too long no big deal.

David Gladwin

Sorry to you guys (marc and sicklick) I answered the first question to which the answer is NO ! (it does NOT matter if the ariel is a little longer than 1 m. )

I saw the question, THOUGHT I knew the answer so I could help you. Took the time to go and look it up in the manual and gave you the exact reference so the answer was correct as indicated in the manufacturers manual, NOT off the top of my head !. (my printed version is from the first of my three receivers, as far as I know they have changed very little on the RF side , mainly firm/software, apart from the fact there is no longer any data storage on internal memory)

In my printed manual it covers helicopter installation and carbon wings AND aerial length in the same chapter AND it is on page 35/56 para 5.6, "routing of antennas", perhaps later manuals have be rearranged but I gave you the reference, in good faith, according to my hard copy and it is crystal clear.

SO, Sicklick, if I got my nikkas in a twist its because I sought out a definitive answer from THE source AND the gave reference which IS on P35 and 36 of my printed manual and it all seemed a waste of time. I thought my reply to the original post was totally polite, brief (too brief) and to the point ! On all of my 3 DRs the uncut length of the antenna is 1 meter fom PC board to extremity on 35 MHZ, pretty sure 36 is the same.

FW190 pilot confirms the reasoning.

Cgroen: I asked this question of Alvin and he did explain it BUT he lost me a few moments into the theory. Anyway the figures you quote seem pretty typical. In that conversation I also asked Alvin why the receiver did not always select the ant with the highest RSSI and he explained that signal QUALITY is also used by the Rx in deciding which ant. to use. Clever stuff.

Regards,

David.

morelli

Dear Collegues,
David knows the manual even better than we do . The answer is simple: the whole length of the antenna - whip aerial + cable should be one meter, not less. A little bit longer is no problem.
The other question concerning RSSI: the indicated value is a relative and logarithmic one and goes from 0-1. Transmitters with full length of antenna put beside the receiver induce about 0,6-0,7. The lowest acceptable value cannot be fixed - about 0,2 is mostly okay. But that is not a problem because you have two receivers with two aerials and if one signal is too low or too bad the other one will be used. Best explained by David again.

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