Don’t know what you’re talking about pal I stick to the law and only run 25mw like a good boy 
But if you do have a ham license then yes you can crank that bad boy up to 800mw
Can be done both in betaflight or the goggles using Tramp protocol provided the VTX table is correct in betaflight. See iFlights website for the correct VTX table.
Otherwise is using the button on the VTX
Errr, no you can’t.
The UK Amateur Radio Licence specifically states that you cannot install and use transmitting equipment on any airborne platform, model aircraft or general aviation. The 25mw limit on 5.8GHz is covered by the regulations governing license exempt Short Range Devices (SRD’s).
I’ve held an amateur radio license for nearly 40yrs. I’m allowed to use up to a maximum of 400Watt’s input measured at the input of the antenna, on most bands, using my regular license, and I’ve been granted the use of 1500Watts in accordance with a Notice Of Variation (NOV). but I’m still only allowed to use a maximum of 25milliwatts for 5.8GHz FPV.
In other regions of the World it is permitted and this is why there is confusion. I really would like to see some relaxation that allows for amateur radio experimentation with drones and other airborne platforms, as this would bring new technical blood into both hobbies. As it is amateur radio is dying on it’s arse as a technical hobby to the point that there’s very little distinction between it and CB Radio. The antenna discussion in this thread has been more technical than some of the discussions I’ve seen in many amateur radio forums.
I stand corrected, thanks @Nidge 
to be honest I haven’t really looked into the regulations in the uk to much because I only use 25mw so doesn’t matter to me 
Just out of curiosity how do they police it? 
same way they police masks in shops I guess
Edit: actually never mind. I’m taking this thread off topic so doesn’t matter
Ironically they don’t. OFCOM are the regulators and they lack the technical manpower to investigate and enforce. Priority is given to the emergency services and commercial users. So if you are not interfering with either then you won’t appear on their RADAR.
As for patch antenna’s, I’ve had reasonable success with the Menace-RC range. They’re well designed and constructed, and they’re a UK company. I’ve recently been testing one of these.
It caters for both LH and RH polarisations, but you will need to purchase a SMA 50ohm load to terminate the unused input otherwise the performance really drops off. I’ve found that it’s a very good long range antenna but the cost in that is the beamwidth is narrower and so your head needs to be in antenna tracking mode. I intend to do some proper field strength measurements and see how it performs against the IRC and Menace-RC patches I have.
I should also add that if you’re using a diversity module with the inputs close together you really should use an extension on at least one of the antennas. If the antennas are too close to one another they will interfere with the radiation pattern of both. I generally use an extension on the Omni so that it’s well away from the patch.
Thats very interesting thanks Nidge. Just out of curiosity if you were to up your VTX output to 800mW, what kind of issues could you be causing? And would these issues still be a problem out in the middle of a field in the countyside?
I’m currently using a TBS Fusion module. I have a fairly long TrueRC Singularity on a right angle SMA connector. Would that be enough separation? See below
Apologies of course.
I meant in theory you’d know how to do that should a person with a licence want to do that
What about a hemispheric antenna like this one? Would this have any advantages over the stubby TrueRC singularity antenna I’m currently using?
Stubbies are usually on a quad for weight. But you’re good with the setup. Just crank that power up and go!
Its also interesting that if you fly in one large room (like a sports hall) with multiple obsticles, you are best with no antennas on the goggles. It seems to cut down on ghost signals / multipathing.
Cheers Karl I’m looking forward to seeing the difference an omni on the quad will make got a gps module on order too so hopefully both will be here early next week
If it’s a quality VTX, such as TBS, IRC, etc, then there shouldn’t be an issue. As far as I know TBS and IRC do submit their VTX’s and transmitter modules for CE certification, so they will have clean outputs.
However some of the rebranded no-name things could be problematic. As an example the VTX’s supplied with the Tyro range of kits claim RF power levels which they can’t achieve. I’ve tested a couple and on the 600mW setting they’re barely touching 400mW. On the 200mW setting they are outputting 200mW, so this may indicate that at higher power settings they are no longer working in a linear fashion, and the output signal is distorted which results in many harmonics and other unwanted spurious nasties.
I’d assume it would interfere with WiFi signals and play havoc with the mobile phone cell towers amongst causing other radio interference giving white noise on CBs and stuff. At a pure guess. Lol
Possibly adjacent channel interference to municipal 5.8 GHz Networks, which unlike domestic indoor WiFi is protected.
Thanks Nidge for the information I’m not planning on turning up the power but was definitely curious as to what could happen if you did
