New antenna mounting option for my frame. (Yellow 3D printed)
I’ve seen this type of mountig before on other frames so I thought I would try and design my own.
I keep braking the green ones and cutting my antenna so thourght I would give this a go.
They are fixed to the frame using the exstisting screws for standoffs.
and smaller then the landing pads 4mm think with a 2mm deep groove for the antenna.
I’ve made them in two parts so if you break one its a smaller and faster to print a new one.
What you think?
Any thing you would do differently?
Will snap off fairly often, especially if landing on hard surfaces.
Personally, i run my antennas down the inside edge of the arms, front or back, doesn’t matter, just depends on which end i mounted the receiver. I run a strip of electrical tape over the edge of the arm to keep it from contacting the carbon fiber and another over the top of the wire to hold it in place. The bare ends, i bend down under the motors. The props keep them pointed in the right direction when it is flying.
I have never had to replace an antenna. Have lost a receiver or two from blunt force trauma, but never an antenna. Antenna holders look cool, but i have yet to see a practical design that looks like it would hold up well to multiple crashes. Anything under, on top, in front or behind the quad is going to get ripped off eventually. As such i base my VTX antenna choice on durability and run them straight out the back of the quad.
My antenna mounts between the arms are that short (hard to tell from the picture) they never come into contact with the ground at any angle unless something comes up between the arms.
At some point I’ll print them in TPU so they can flex but nothing is unbreakable.
One thing I am liking about this mount is that the antennas aren’t fixed in to the mounts, so they can be pulled out when I work on the quad.
I am glad to see you isolate the antennas from direct contact with the carbon. So many people forget to do this.
That is a also a nice solution and does not require any extra bits too. I would of thaught that having them so close to the CF plates would weaken the signal (since CF act abit like a Faraday cage ) … but I suppose if you have diversity receiver you can put one on the front of an arm, and the other on the back.
Have you ever done any comparisons between your method and the more traitional way of mounting ontop using zipties?
The rib at the bottom isn’t there for strength but as a support for printing. With it I can print the part without supports.
After a quick update to the design.
I’ve made the rib bigger and the antenna through hole I doubled in size.
I’ll hold off any more print now. Until I get a AXII antenna.
) … but I suppose if you have diversity receiver you can put one on the front of an arm, and the other on the back.
