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Info
titleAntenna Placement

All tests were performed with all antennas pointing up

  •  Xbee interference with 433Mhz band
  •  Xbee levels at 960mhz band
  •  orangerx 433mhz 
  •  orangerx 960mhz
  •  ezuhf 433mhz
  •  ezuhf 960mhz
  •  esc interference with 433mhz and 960mhz bands
  •  gps interference with 433 and 960mhz bands
  •  picpilot power supply interference iwth 433 and 960mhz bands
  •  everything inside noise floor results (everything but uhf on for 433mhz test, everything but xbee on for 960mhz test)

Tests Performed:

  •  Xbee@433Mhz
  •  Xbee@960Mhz
  •  OrangeRX@433Mhz 
  •  OrangeRX@960Mhz
  •  EzUHF@433Mhz
  •  EzUHF@960Mhz
  •  Plane ESC@433Mh and @960Mhz
  •  PicPilot Switching Powersupply at @430Mhz and @960Mhz
  •  Integration Test Results @430Mhz and @960Mhz
    •  Involves putting everything inside plane, and testing 960mhz noise level when xbee is off, testing 430mhz noise level when uhf is off. This provides an overview of the entire noise floor at the frequencies we care about

Range checks

  •  range Range check with dragon link powered by battery
  •  range Range check with dragon link hooked up to esc directly
  •  range Range check with dragon link hooked up to picpilot powered by battery
  •  range Range check with dragon link hooked up to picpilot powered by esc
  •  range Range check with dragon link hooked up to picpilot + esc + gps
  •  range Range check with dragon link hooked up to picpilot + gps + xbee
  •  range Range check with dragon link hooked up to picpilot + gps + xbee + dji
  •  range Range check with everything inside plane ready to fly (packed in the same way as before flight, this is important to test antenna placements)

...

LocationBay
Frequency Range426-442Mhz
ConditionEverything off, noise floor
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

Max Level

-97.7

Max Hold Level-91.70
Max Level Freq434.286Mhz
Image

PicPilot Switching Power Supply Testing


LocationBay
Frequency Range426-442Mhz
ConditionPicpilot off, rf explorer antenna right next to and parallel to the board
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

Max Level

-85.9

Max Hold Level-85.9
Max Level Freqentire range
Image

Image Added

LocationBay
Frequency Range426-442Mhz
ConditionPicpilot ON, rf explorer antenna right next to and parallel to the board
Notes

Max levels stayed the same, however average RSSI was way higher near 435Mhz.

Note that this is when the antenna is RIGHT next to the power supply

RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

Average Level

-86.23

Max Hold Level-83.50
Max Level Freq435.875Mhz
Image

Image Added

Dragon Link Testing

LocationBay
Frequency Range426-442Mhz
ConditionDragon Link On, Lowest Power, 5ft away
NotesIncreasing power level created RF overload
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

TX Antenna0.7dbi 398-428Mhz range
Max Level

-18.6

Max Hold Level-18.6
Max Level Freq437.10Mhz
Image

...

900-960 Mhz Tests (in Bay)

Noise Floor

LocationBay
Frequency Range899-960Mhz
ConditionAll off, noise floor
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

Max Level

-97.05

Max Hold Level-96.05
Max Level Freq900.089
Image

Image Modified

PicPilot Switching Power Supply Testing

LocationBay
Frequency Range899-960Mhz
ConditionPicpilot off, rf explorer antenna right next to power supply and parallel to board
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

Max Level

-85.83

Max Hold Level-85.86
Max Level FreqEntire range (noise)
Image

Image Added

LocationBay
Frequency Range899-960Mhz
ConditionPicpilot ON, rf explorer antenna right next to power supply and parallel to board
NotesAverage RSSI levels again higher, though not as high as 433Mhz band
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

Average Level

-91.95

Max Hold Level-89.95
Max Level Freq911.527Mhz
Image

Image Added

Xbee Testing

LocationBay
Frequency Range899-960
ConditionXbee ON, 5ft Away
RF Explorer Antenna

Retracted

TX Antenna3dbi 868-928Mhz Antenna
Max Level

-70.01

Max Hold Level-70.01
Max Level Freq904.991
Image

Image Modified

LocationBay
Frequency Range899-960
ConditionXbee ON, 5ft Away
RF Explorer Antenna

Not Retracted

TX Antenna3dbi 868-928Mhz Antenna
Max Level

-64.49

Max Hold Level-64.49
Max Level Freq906.080Mhz
Image

Image Modified

LocationBay
Frequency Range426-442Mhz
ConditionXbee ON, <1ft Away
NotesNot a significant noise level increase. Should avoid 435 band however
RF Explorer Antenna

Not Retracted

TX Antenna3dbi 868-928Mhz Antenna
Max Level

-94.00

Max Hold Level-91.00
Max Level Freq435.857Mhz
Image

Image Modified

LocationBay
Frequency Range426-442Mhz
ConditionXbee ON, Antennas next to each other
NotesBasically the worst case that can occur. Raises noise level to about 75dbm. Happened when antennas were perpendicular to one another. This is why we should keep the antennas away from each other
RF Explorer Antenna

Not Retracted

TX Antenna3dbi 868-928Mhz Antenna
Max Level

-76.50

Max Hold Level-76.50
Max Level Freq435.714Mhz
Image

Image Modified

Orange RX Interference Testing

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