I have a question for all the APM and Pixhawk users.
Which Telemetry system do you use, and what sort of range do you get.
I have started to build a Pixhawk system for a fixed wing, and cant decide on Telemetry.
Waiting for your inputs.

Ashim.
 

I am using the regular 433 MHz module that I bought as a set with a clone APM 2.8 from EBay. The range is pretty poor - I had pretty erratic signal only about 200 metres out. I believe that the main fault lies with the antennae that are included. I am planning to try making my own antenna and seeing if that helps.

Thanks for the reply, I have also read that the Telemetry radios have poor performance. It would be nice to hear from other users, how they have improved the telemetry link.

the higher you go the better range you get.

a quad flys at little more than tree top height , whereas you will be flying at least
triple that with a fixed wing, so range normally should not be an issue.

if you are looking for longer ( > 1 km) then you can buy
two of the orx open lrs transmitter modules and use one as a receiver and the other
as sender. you should expect >5 km with this setup , but it involves some diy ing.

look at the it.luxemborg site

I was reading that article, and you are right, there is quite a bit of DIY involved. Another option though expensive is the RFD900 radios.
with the right antenna 50km+ is possible.
Another option I saw was Telemetry over 3g/4g for theoretically unlimited range. Again these are expensive alternatives.

There is a 500mW version available ,
It has pretty good reviews .

Hi,


i have been using telemetry radios with my quad's hex...
OK here u go:
433mhz or 900 mhz i have tried both of the radios from rc timer , other china manufacturer and 3dr also....
3dr ones are little better ( slightly ) no big difference as they all are 100mW radios...
finally i did more tweaking playing around with firmware and at last antenna ... max range i got was 500m.
and for a multirotor it does the job.
now when it comes to aircraft better go for 3dr radio with good gain antennas otherwise it will be waste..
It won't give give u any real time data , infact it will be a dangerous idea to deploy your bird with poor communication system.
get a good 3dr telemetry ,
tune it properly ,
test with default antenna ,
change the antenna for better for better reception and real time data ,

Good luck buddy 

Thanks for sharing, did you have any interference using the 900 MHz radios?
I have been experimenting with 3g telemetry using Andruav, and the results were not confidence inspiring, but it works to a certain degree.
Maybe using 4g will give better results.
The best option I can find, though expensive, is the RFD900+. An advertised 1W radio with ample range.
If anybody has found and is using a cheaper solution to get range of at least 5km, I would love to hear about it.

Ashim.

Hey,

With 900 mhz fortunately it was working fine ( no interference )
3g and andruav lots of glitches and lags are there..
RDF 900+ is the best option
but i would suggest you to get original 3dr tele with good antennas ... they work fine >1km but smooth..




regards